The coldness of dread crawled down my spine.
I pushed up from the ground, my jacket falling away. Light filtered through cracks in the boards above, thin and grey, painting dust motes in the air like ash. The others were scattered around the room, Lionel dozing off with his rifle across his lap, Nate propped against the wall, trying to look awake but failing miserably, Jaden snoring into his jacket.
Malakai’s red eyes flicked open instantly from across the room. He was always on guard, I wondered if he had actually slept or simply pretended as I had. He watched me with that unnerving calm of his, like he’d been waiting for this.
“You feel it too,” he said with a low voice.
The others stirred; Lionel rubbing sleep from his eyes, Eve already reaching for her rifle, Nate groaning as he pushed himself up on his ass, one hand pressed against his healing shoulder.
“Where’s Ash?” he mumbled.
“I was about to ask you that,” I snapped, my eyes locking with his, I could almost see the sleep still lingering in them.
“She wanted to take the last watch herself,” Nate said, frowning. “Maybe she just—”
“She wouldn’t justgo,” I cut him off. The words came sharper than I meant them to. “Not here.”
“Yeah… You’re right,” Nate stilled, fear kicking in.
Outside, the village was deathly still. The fog had barely lifted from the night before, a layer of grey remaining, clinging to the bones of ruined houses.
The wind carried the scent of sulfur and something fouler, something that made the back of my throat burn.
Malakai rose to his feet, stretching with a predator’s ease. “We’ll find her,” he said, voice smooth but low. “Before something else does.”
I nodded, forcing my heartbeat to steady. “Pair up. Stay within sight of each other. If you sense anything, make yourselves heard.”
We spread out across the village, quiet but tense, weapons at the ready. Every crunch of sand beneath our boots sounded too loud. Every shadow looked too deep.
The longer we searched, the heavier the air grew. Even the fog felt alive now, curling around us in tendrils that whispered against the ground.
Where in the hells could she have gone? And without telling anyone?
Ashley wasn’t one to plan or think ahead of time, but she wouldn’t have run off by herself either. She knew better than to face danger alone.
Malakai climbed the roofs, they were barely holding, but he managed somehow. I stuck to the ground level of the samestructures. Nate, Jaden and Faelin checked the other side of the street and Lionel and Eve kept watch in the open.
Luckily for us, the little village wasn’t large, there were many houses, but the space was cramped. After what felt like forever, I heard Nate’s voice, loud and urgent.
“Here! I found her!”
I didn’t wait for the others. My boots hit the sand hard as I ran, Malakai following close behind me.
Ashley stood near the broken remains of a fountain, hair tangled, dagger glinting faintly in her hand. She turned towards us, wild-eyed, shoulders heaving.
“Ashley?” I breathed, relief breaking through the tension, until I saw her face.
She wasn’t relieved to see me. She looked terrified.
“Stay back!” she shouted, spinning around with the blade raised.
Lionel froze mid-step. “Ashley, it’s us—”
“No, no it’snot!” Her voice broke. “You’re not them! You’renot!”
There were cuts through her leathers and dried blood on her cheek. What had happened to her!?
What had she fought?
