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I glance behind me at the obvious stress and fearful expressions plaguing our group. What would Skylenna say to them now to give everyone some reassurance? I hate how I don’t know the real her like I should. I hate that I can’t sort out my own feelings about her. At least I can go back to that kiss before the Fun House Night. At least I have one memory to hold onto in moments of doubt.
“Dessin,” Warrose whispers in an alert voice from behind us.
He points over his shoulder to a Blood Mammoth trailing behind us, slowly, aimlessly, as if he doesn’t even see us in his line of sight. I motion the group along to move faster; we need to put as much distance between us and that thing as possible.
We don’t have much farther until we get to the showers. And I’d prefer not to get into a bloody fight before then because it would draw way too much attention.
“I’ll go down the chute first to make sure it has a safe landing before we have Niles and Ruth make that trip,” I whisper-yell to Marilynn. She nods, understanding that when I’m gone, it’ll be up to her and Warrose to be on guard in case they run into any other Blood Mammoths.
My strides are cut short when I notice a group of three sweaty, bulbous bodies blocking the entrance of the showers. Seven feet tall. Cages that sit on their heads like masks. Sores that ooze creamy fluids. The Blood Mammoths have us surrounded, sniffing the air like dogs, distracted, and clueless that we’re only a few feet in front of them.
I dig my heels in, holding my arm out to stop the others. It takes three seconds for gasps to break out between Niles and Ruth.
“God fucking damn it,” Warrose growls under his breath.
I consider hiding us in the vacant cages around us, but what would be the point? We’d be stuck there. Escape failed. And I do not fail. Pulling my shoulders back, I look down at Marilynn. “You take one. I’ll take the other two.” I crane my neck to make eye contact with Warrose. “You take the one behind us, and make sure they don’t get near Niles and Ruth.”
For a split second, Warrose gazes through the flickering lights at Ruth’s pale, frightened face. Tendons in his jaw pulse, and he flashes that indomitable gaze back to me with a sharp nod.
Ragged, animalistic panting comes from a few paces ahead of me. They’ve finally noticed us waiting here like sitting ducks. Their chains rattle back and forth as they shove each other to get to us first. Heavy, thumping feet shake the ground with the same vibrations as a stampede of elephants. I hand two katanas to Marilynn, lightweight and easily wielded, toss a spiked mace to Warrose, and for myself, a ring sword.
Niles hugs Ruth close to his chest as they prepare for impact.
And with their last three giant steps, the Blood Mammoths jump to throw their full weight into us as a way to use brute force to their advantage. But before I can even flick my wrist to use the ring sword as a small tool to slice into their main arteries, a snowstorm of white blasts from behind them.
Terrifying white, furry heads with unhinged jaws soar through the air over the Blood Mammoths’ heads, clamping down on their shoulders and throats in an explosion of snarls and fangs and fireworks of clotted blood. Six bodies of White Wolves’ attack without mercy, ripping into muscles and meat, overpowering the Blood Mammoths from the element of surprise and their savagery of strategic attack.
A smaller wolf goes for the Achilles’ heel, wiping them out by the legs. The others spread out with planned precision as if they’re operating from a telepathic system of aiming for the weakest points to strike.
And it’s over before it’s even begun.
Blood Mammoths scatter the floor in heaps of spurting arteries, splayed, exposed nerve endings, and glistening strips of flesh detached from the bodies.
Our group stands in mute shock as they finish their work, ensuring the enemies are dead.
What the fuck is going on?
“Should have known ya wouldn’t have waited for a rescue!” A gruff, northern accent plunges from the darkness, walking up behind the white wolves.
Of course.
Garanthian grins, hands on hips, with a few men and women dressed in Stormsage-themed warrior attire. His carrot-red beard is longer than last time, twisted into messy braids and metal fixtures.
I smirk back.
“I’m not the type to wait like a damsel,” I say, letting him hug me with a manly slap on the back.
“Who is this?” Niles asks in a quivering voice.
“The Stormsages, from the ancient colony in the North Sapphrine Forest,” I reply.
“And how the hell did you manage to get this pack of white wolves in here?!” Warrose kneels down to scratch the head of what looks like the alpha. He’s beaming at the large creature, letting his tan fingers disappear in the fluffy white fur.
Garanthian is about to answer before I stop him. “Do you have a better way out of here than the sewage pipes?”
“There’s a hidden fire escape in the commissary. Let’s go!” His son waves us forward.
I nod to the others, feeling a desire to thank God for this divine intervention. A better alternative to making us all trudge through the sewer in hopes we can manage to escape without waking the prison.
