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The chilled cave air and the dreadful sense of the hatay brought goosebumps to my arms and legs, and I could feel the fine hair on my arms stand up, not to mention the ones on the back of my neck as I looked down at the mass of demonic creatures below us. I took a deep breath and bit down on my lip as I reached for another handhold. Jack had quite a bit of rock climbing experience, so I followed him, putting my hands and feet where he had put his. So far, he hadn’t forgotten that I was snack-sized compared to his great height, and I was finding my way fairly steadily. Reach out, grip, secure, shift across, breathe. Over and over, little by little, we moved closer to the stone outcrop. I eased over to the next foothold as quietly as I could, telling myself that when we got home, I was taking my workouts a little more seriously than just trying to look good in a bikini. My arms were already sore and tired from climbing, my knees were scraped from the rough stone, and I was exhausted.
We’d made it about two thirds of the way across when I had to stop. A small ledge meant I could stand with both my feet instead of just taking the weight on one, and I took a few moments to breathe and take some of the pressure off my arms. My arms were shaking slightly with the tension, and the muscles were starting to burn. Jack continued crossing, and then he noticed I had stopped and paused to wait for me. After a minute or two, I took another deep breath and reached for the handhold I’d seen him grip before. I grabbed hold of it then slid my foot across the rocky surface to the bit of rock I’d seen him rest his weight on. I couldn’t quite reach it, so I opted for a similar bit that was a little closer. Pulling myself along with my outstretched arm, I leaned my weight on the foothold. I moved my left hand along, then pulled my other foot close to my right, searching for somewhere to rest it. I felt the rock give a split second before it completely crumbled. I hung for a moment from my fingertips, but the small ledges weren’t strong enough to bear my entire weight, and they collapsed seconds later. With nothing to grab hold of, I fell straight towards the ground.
Due to my position on the rock wall, I actually landed on my feet, though the shock jarred my knees and I crumpled immediately to my hands and knees, bruising them painfully on the rocky floor. I took a shaky breath and raised my head, glancing around.
Shit. I got slowly to my feet, the cold numbness spreading through my body like it was icing over. It could have been shock from the fall, but it wasn’t. I backed up against the wall as the hatay began to stir, their tails flicking, limbs moving, and claws scratching. I glanced over to my left. The long, rocky outcrop was less than a couple of hundred yards away. I touched the grip of the gun tucked into my pocket but left it there. One or two rounds wasn’t going to help me against thirty or so of these things. I looked at Jack.
He’d clearly seen me fall, because he was inching his way back towards me. I shook my head and pointed to the outcrop. He followed to where I was pointing, then looked back and shook his head. I ignored him. There was no sense in both of us being down here, and he didn’t have any more bullets than I did. The hatay were less than ten feet away now, and I thought back to my days at the prestigious boarding school my parents had sent me to in London when I played lacrosse. People who hadn’t watched the sport assumed it was genteel, but for those of us who did know lacrosse recognised it was more like rugby with racquets—dodging your opponent, getting past them, doing whatever it took, even taking them down if needed. When the first creature leapt at me, I was ready.
Clawed front feet reached out for me, and sharp teeth followed, its long fangs dripping with a viscous liquid. I ducked, rolling over the ground, and sprung back up on my feet as another two hatay came for me. Not looking to see what had happened to the first one, I shut off logical thinking and let my body take over. Instinct kicked in and I was running, dodging raking claws and lashing tails. One large monster came towards me, and knowing evasion wouldn’t work, I took out my gun and fired at him. To my amazement and relief, it hit him square in the chest. He fell forward, his unnaturally long arms tangling in my legs, and I went crashing to the ground on top of him.
I heard Jack shouting my name, though he seemed far away, but I couldn’t focus on him right at that moment. Another creature, its head strangely hyena-like, came for me, its jaws snapping and then opening in a grin that seemed too wide for its head. I rolled aside, narrowly missing its teeth sinking into my thigh. Then I was up again, sprinting towards the rock formation. My hiking boots crunched on dirt, stones, and fragments of bone, and then I leapt up, the treads of my boots gripped onto solid rock, and I was scrambling up the edge of the huge outcrop, my already exhausted arms reaching for the top. A hand reached down and grabbed mine, and for the second time, Jack hauled me up to safety.
At least he tried to. I cried out as pain tore through my leg like searing heat. Looking down, I saw one of the hatay, humanoid in shape with arms that ended in talons rather than hands, had slashed out at me, sinking three of its talons deep into my calf. I gasped with the pain as Jack tried to pull me up, but the beast hung on. More hatay reached us, crowding around, and some even licked my blood from the stones where crimson drops had fallen. Trying to focus through the pain, I reached down and pulled my pistol from my pocket. Taking aim at its chest as it moved back, trying to gain steadier purchase on the rocky ground, I pulled the trigger. Click. Fuck. I was out.
I stashed the gun back in my pocket to free up my hand as I scrabbled for a hold somewhere, kicking at its head in desperation. The impact had no effect on the creature, and the movement only increased the pain in my other leg. The thing managed to get some kind of hold on the rocks, and I felt myself move. It was dragging me back down towards the ground, away from Jack, the skin and tendons in my leg tearing with unbearable agony. I looked up at Jack, only to see his face was a mask of terror. My hand was slipping in his, and I knew he couldn’t hold me any longer. He realised it the moment I did, and I saw his expression change.
“No,” I yelled, but he ignored me and let go. I slid down the rocks, dragged by the claws of the creature that now towered over me. It pulled its claws from my leg and slashed at my chest. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my guts spill over the ground, but the anticipated pain never came. My eyes flew open as Jack and the creature hit the ground, rolling over and over. I saw Jack reach for his gun, fighting to get it between their bodies. Two shots were fired, and the creature collapsed on top of him. I crawled over to where Jack lay, struggling, and helped him pull the beast off so he could stand.
He looked down at my leg. “You need more blood.”
I shook my head. “Not from you, you’re already running low, and besides, there’s no point...” I gestured behind him. The hatay were mere feet away from us, and we were out of ammunition. I took his hand and squeezed it. “Game over,” I whispered, and he squeezed it back.
“Davenport! Down!”
The words ricocheted through my skull, meaningless for an instant, but Jack reacted out of sheer instinct and training, dropping like a stone and pulling me beneath his body milliseconds before an explosion tore through the cavern. Screams erupted from the hatay, and I gasped as small rocks and dust showered down on top of us. Impacts of larger rocks falling from the ceiling shook the ground, and I heard splashes as some hit the lake. Jack sat up then climbed quickly to his feet, staring towards the tunnel exit. I grabbed his hand and he helped me up shakily. The explosion had hit right in the middle of the swarm of hatay, killing dozens and sending the others crashing to the ground with the impact of the blast. As I watched, more poured out of the tunnel we had come through and from other entrances we hadn’t known about.
Their attention wasn’t focused on us, however, but on the three men who fought their way through the swarm. Dust whirled around them, and dark blood sprayed across their faces as the front man took out the hatay that came at them. The khopesh he wielded cut through their numbers like nothing I’d ever see, and the growing daylight outside glinted off the steel, flashing as it moved with incredible, inhuman speed. Seeing his hair loose down his back, his body stripped to his waist, as he wielded a blade like that did funny things to my insides.
“Whoa, Zayn is...” I began slowly, staring at him.
“The finest warrior priest you command,” Jack finished.
“Well, yes, there’s that too.”
The hatay near us turned to deal with this new threat, and Jack took the opportunity to help me back up onto the outcrop. I winced at the wounds in my leg, but it was only when we reached the top that I realised Jack was injured again too. He had a nasty gash on his head that left a blood trail down his neck. Hunger mixed with concern as I reached up and touched the wound to see how bad it was.
“I’m fine, and so are they. Look.” He turned me around, letting me rest against him as Zayn cut his way through the remaining hatay to reach us. Wesley came next, then West, firing into the ones that closed in behind them to keep them back. They managed to climb the side of the outcrop with no problems, except Wesley who practically had to be hauled up by Zayn. West came afterwards, slower, and when he finally crawled over the top, I saw why. He was covered in scrapes and deep gashes, and one of his arms hung loosely by his side. I crawled over to him, and he opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him, pressing my mouth to his and sliding my arms around him, holding him close.
He hesitated for a second then kissed me back, using his good hand to grip the back of my neck and pull me closer. His lips were dry and cracked from the dust, but his mouth was warm and soft. It lasted only a few seconds, but when I pulled back, he was breathing hard and there were tears in my eyes.
“It’s almost like you’re actually pleased to see me for once, Lady Victoria,” he whispered.
“Oh shut up, you stupid man,” I said and kissed him again.
