Page 57 of Heart of Night and Fire

The vetalas weren’t particularly difficult to kill, but what they lacked in brains, they made up for in numbers. There were so many of them. It seemed to take hours for the sky to lighten, signaling an end to the demons’ strength. Now only a few vetalas were left staggering at the edge of the forest.

Zarya and Yasen stood back-to-back, breathing heavily as they watched for any stragglers. Zarya’s earlier queasiness seemed to be abating now that the sun was rising.

Another vetala then materialized through the trees, but its appearance was slightly altered. Its limbs were more proportional to its body, and it didn’t look quite so… dead. A flicker of premonition suggested this was a very bad sign.

Zarya gritted her teeth and lifted her sword just as it growled and then charged. It was definitely faster, too, and as she lunged for it, the vetala ducked, evading her blade with a troubling agility compared to its more awkward cousins.

Yasen came at it from behind, tackling it to the ground and rolling off right as Zarya snuffed it out with a precise stab between the shoulder blades.

She jerked the sword up through its body, feeling the snap and crunch of bones and cartilage. Back on his feet, Yasen made the final blow with a swift slice to its neck.

She was still breathing heavily when she registered the sounds of cheers and whoops coming from the gamblers, who were now alert once again. They had finally gotten the show they had all come for.

Covered in sweat and demon blood, she shot them a dark glare, furious that they were behaving like this was all some kind of game. Yasen was staring at them with a similar look on his face, and she wondered how many times he’d nearly died out here, only to have to listen to their carousing. It was an insult to everyone doing their best to protect Dharati.

But morning had arrived, and Zarya scanned the trees one more time, relieved to find the blighted forest was finally empty.

“Khada!” Vikram called out. “Fall back!”

There was a collective sigh of relief as the soldiers made their way to the wall. Some were limping, nursing injuries, and Zarya saw two men carrying a woman, her eyes closed and her arms hanging limply at her sides.

Zarya hoped she was just knocked out, but the gash across her chest was a grim sign.

They filed back into the city through the garrison door, while above, the gamblers were calling down to them, some with words of encouragement and some with suggestions of how they might improve their form next time. It took all her willpower not to shout at them to fuck off.

Suddenly, there was a scream, and the garrison door thudded shut. Everyone spun around at the sound of a second ear-piercing shriek from the other side, followed by a shudder of something hard and heavy, like a body, being thrown against it.

“What’s going on?” Yasen shouted.

Several of the Khada were attempting to pry open the exit, but it was jammed.

“More vetalas!” Vikram shouted.

“They’re stuck outside! The door won’t open!” another soldier shouted. More vetala shrieks carried over the wall. They must have snuck up on the last of the Khada, somehow barring the door and preventing anyone from coming back out to help.

“Send word to the next battalion,” Yasen shouted, pointing at one of the recruits. “Go. Run. Tell them to come through on the other side, now!”

The man was already sprinting away like his life depended on it.

“Who’s still out there?” Yasen called to Vikram, and Zarya scanned the crowd, missing a familiar face.

“Aarav,” she whispered. “Aarav!” she shouted louder, hoping she’d just overlooked him, but he didn’t answer. Another hard bump against the door made the entire wall shudder.

“Aarav!” she shouted, spinning around, spotting the gamblers who were peering over the edge of the building. She was running before she knew what she was doing, taking the stairs two at a time until she reached the rooftop, bursting through the door.

Yasen was close on her heels as they shouldered their way through the tightly packed crowd. Zarya gasped as she leaned over the railing.

Aarav was surrounded by three vetalas—but they weren’t the mindless beasts from their earlier fight. Those had all either fled or perished in the sunlight.

These were similar to the last one Zarya and Yasen had killed, the one that had seemed more whole and solid. And apparently, they were impervious to sunlight because they were currently dueling it out with Aarav and another member of the Khada.

A third soldier—Zarya recognized him as one of the recruits—lay dead on the ground, his skin already turning ashen.

“Aarav!” she shouted, but he couldn’t hear her over the noise of the gamblers, and she didn’t know what she would do to help, even if she could. She grabbed Yasen’s arm and squeezed it, screaming when a vetala lunged for Aarav.

“Careful,” Yasen said dryly. “One might think you cared if he lived or died.”

She glared at him and turned back to watch Aarav fighting off the vetala, its sharp teeth bared as it snapped for his throat.