“Shit,” Tucker muttered. “I think they’re getting more vicious.”
“Their weapon arm never tires,” Ryker said.
“It’s too bad they can’t leave these woods,” Ianto remarked. “With them on our side, we wouldn’t need an army to defeat the aristocrats.”
He was right about that, but, unfortunately, the spirits here were bound to the forest by whatever magic resurrected them. I was sure that contributed to some of their anger.
From the trees, a group of creatures I’d never seen before rushed past. They were small and resembled millipedes, with anastonishing number of legs, but they were far larger than those bugs, and their pincers looked like they could cut through bone.
There were probably thousands, if notmillions, of things I’d never encountered in the Revenant Woods before, but I’d never imagined anything like them. I hoped that, when this was over, these things slunk back to whatever distant corner they’d emerged from and didn’t decide to stick around.
When they were closer to the guards, one of them reared back on its legs and launched itself at the man. Busy with a poltergeist, the guard never saw the creature until it latched onto his face.
I was sure the man screamed, but it didn’t carry over the roar of the fire and the monster clinging to him. Blood seeped from around the pus-green creature as it… well, I didn’t know what it did, but every instinct I had screamed at me torun!
“Whatare those things?” Callan breathed.
“I… I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before,” I whispered.
I was afraid that talking louder would draw their attention to us, and if those creatures so much as turned in our direction,I’dset the woods on fire. The monster fell off the guard’s head to reveal the gaping, bloody hole where his face used to be.
The guard remained standing for longer than he should have, his fingers still twitching. And then finally, mercifully, he fell over.
“Let’s get this over with,” I breathed as revulsion curdled in my belly and the incessant clicking of thosethings’legs sent my pulse into hyperdrive. I’d have nightmares about them for the rest of my life.
Beside me, power swelled in the air as Ryker unleashed lightning from his fingertips. The poltergeists didn’t mind when the bolts pierced through them and crashed into the guards.
Lifted off their feet by the impact, the guards flew into the fire, where they vanished into the flames. The poltergeists turned away from those dead to hunt more of the living.
I didn’t know why they hadn’t unleashed this kind of wrath on passing travelers before, especially those who bore the insignia of the nobles. I’d have to ask Farley about that later.
When Ryker released more lightning, the thrum of his power vibrated deep within me. Our powers remained entwined, and when he pulled forth another wave of lightning, some of the energy for it came from me.
And deep within me, I felt his rising fury as he sought to destroy all those who hunted, oppressed, and slaughtered everyone in their way. I’d never felt his rage like this before, and I didn’t like it.
His father, and everything done to him over the centuries, had pushed him toward a breaking point. He wouldn’t take being pushed around or subjugated by that man, or any of the other so-called rulers of this realm.
Even with all the abuse and horrors he’d endured, he’d always been a good man. I worried his growing anger would somehow cause him to lose sight of that.
My fingers itched to touch him, calm him, and possibly stop what he was doing, but I dug them into my palms and willed myself not to touch him. He’d embraced who I was, and while he was determined to keep me safe and was a little overprotective… okay, alotoverprotective, he didn’t try to hold me back. I would do the same for him.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the task at hand. I could worry about Ryker later, but if we didn’t do something now, we’d lose the woods.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ellery
Liftingmy hands to the sky, I worked with the other amsirah to bring another tidal wave of rain. We were all exhausted, but our desperation to keep our home continued to fuel our abilities.
Together, we created a downpour before pushing it toward the fires with hurricane-force winds. The fire crackled, sizzled, and popped as trees crashed to the earth, the screams of the dying lessened, and smoke choked the air.
My eyes and throat burned from all the smoke I’d inhaled over the past hours. I no longer noticed the acrid scent clinging to me and the others.
The eyes of all those around me were swollen and bloodshot. Soot streaked their faces, and the falling ash had coated their hair. I couldn’t see myself, but I was certain I looked exactly like them.
Below, the last of the guards fell beneath the onslaught of the poltergeists and thosebugs. The fire sizzled louder, and the flames leapt higher before dying back as smoke billowed toward us.
Because this fire had gotten so big, it took longer for us to eradicate the flames, and by the time the poltergeists reported the fire was out, the sun had risen high in the sky. By then, the bugs had retreated to whatever hell they’d emerged from to hopefully never be seen again.
