At her silence, Ezra’s mouth thinned into a line. He strode to the front door and opened it, letting in the last pale light of day. Within an hour, it would be dark outside, and she’d be on the road west. Away from him, from Rhys and Tej.
As Ezra held the door open, Rhys went out of the shop. He cast her a glance on his way out. Tej finished his conversation with Mr. Gunner before following Rhys. He, too, gazed at her as he headed to the door, then walked out into the diminishing day. There was nothing left for Jessica to do but head outside, as well, brushing past Ezra. He sucked in a breath as their bodies skimmed close to each other. Yet he let her go by.
They put the apothecary shop behind them, moving out onto the high street. The forest was close at hand, a dozen yards from the road. Turning away from the woods, she looked down the lane and could just make out the two-story structure of the coaching inn at the other end of the village. It was quiet now, no one in the yard or milling near the stables, but soon it would be filled with bustle and activity.
All four of them regarded the inn with grim finality. Jessica pulled off Rhys’s coat.
“Thank you for keeping me warm,” she said, handing it to him.
He looked at the garment a moment before donning it. Her heart seized when he bent his head and ran his face along the collar with a deep inhalation.
Did she, too, carry his scent? She didn’t possess his senses, but perhaps, if she was careful, she could hold his fragrance on her body for a little while longer. Curse her for bathing, and washing away Ezra and Tej from her skin.
Rhys suddenly picked up his head, his gaze sharpening. Tej and Ezra did the same. The men came alert as they stared off toward the nearby forest. Their noses twitched and a low growl came from each of them.
“Gunpowder,” Tej rumbled. “Not ours.”
“A local militia?” Jessica ventured.
Before he could answer, the crack of many firing guns filled the air. Something heavy and solid covered Jessica—Tej, shielding her with his body. Ezra and Rhys ducked to avoid the volley of pistols and long guns discharging. The sharp scent of smoke and gunpowder hung heavy in the atmosphere.
Tej straightened, though his arm was around her, as he and Rhys and Ezra turned toward the forest. He let out a low curse, and Jessica did the same.
A dozen masked riders clad in leather came thundering out from the edge of the woods. Guardians. They tucked their firearms into belts and baldrics before unsheathing silver-limned sabers. Blades glinted.
Jessica drew her pistol and aimed it at the mounted men. She fired, and one of the Guardians yelped, dropping his saber in the dirt. Ezra, Tej, and Rhys also pulled their guns and shot. One Guardian fell from his horse, but the riders kept coming. They would be upon them in moments, eleven of them against four.
“We’re outnumbered,” Ezra snarled. He sprinted toward the other side of the road.
More shots sounded and the thundering of hooves. Five additional mounted men charged at them from their position across the road—blocking any means of escape.
Trapped in the road, Jessica, Ezra, Rhys, and Tej whirled around as the Guardians swarmed from all directions. Everywhere was noise and confusion and the terrifying gleam of sabers slicing through the air. The only tack anyone could take was duck and weave to avoid being hacked apart by the blades.
One of the riders rushed at Ezra, saber swinging. Ezra ducked beneath the blade’s cutting arc. He drew a short blade from his belt and leapt across the back of the horse. As he jumped, he slashed at the saddle’s girth. Without the strap attaching the saddle to the horse, the saddle slipped and fell, and the rider fell with it.
Ezra was on the man in an instant, jamming his blade between the Guardian’s ribs. The rider jerked before sprawling in the road.
In one movement, Ezra picked up the fallen Guardian’s longer blade and began to sprint toward Jessica.
She lost sight of him when three mounted Guardians surrounded her. The sweat-flecked, stamping horses were on every side, blocking any path, hemming her in. She whirled in circles, yet everywhere she turned, the Guardians were there. The horses’ churning legs kept her from ducking beneath them. She pushed at one of the animal’s flanks, but it was too big, too heavy.
A gloved hand reached down. She tried to slap it away, yet it grabbed hold of her. Jessica snarled as the Guardian tugged hard on her arm, sending pain shooting through her shoulder and down her body. She thrashed. He was too strong, and held firm.
Air slammed out of her body as she was hauled up and pulled across the horse’s front. She hung between the rider and his mount’s neck. He held her down, one hand pressing hard on her back, preventing her from wriggling free.
From her higher vantage atop the horse, she could see Ezra whirling and dodging Guardians’ saber attacks as he tried to run toward her. Beyond him, Rhys and Tej stood back-to-back while mounted Guardians circled them, pinning them in place. Difficult to assess in the confusion, but there were easily thirteen Guardians remaining, their numbers far greater than the highwaymen.
In moments, Ezra, Tej, and Rhys would be overwhelmed—and the Guardians weren’t interested in capture. Only the deaths of the three wolves would seem to satisfy them.
Jessica grabbed the reins of a nearby horse. She tugged hard, bringing the animal about, turning it away from Ezra and the others. As the horse wheeled, she shoved her heel into another steed behind her. She rammed her elbow into the horse beneath her, crying out, “Hyah!”
Chaos spread through the Guardians’ mounts. The beasts spun and whinnied and reared.
Jessica continued to shout at the animals, urging them to bolt. Despite their riders’ attempts to control them, the horses turned and began to run down the road, through the village. Townsfolk retreated into their houses and shops to avoid being trampled by the confused beasts.
One Guardian remained, positioned between Ezra and the edge of the forest. Using his stolen sword, Ezra stabbed upward, piercing the rider’s chest. The Guardian pitched off his saddle to collapse on the ground.
From her place atop a running horse, Jessica glanced back to see Ezra, Tej, and Rhys looking back and forth between her retreating form and the shelter of the forest. Bouncing, jostled, she gestured for them to run to safety. Agonized expressions darkened their faces.
