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Phillips turned in his saddle, bow in hand. He released the nocked arrow, striking the bastard in the neck.
The barrat shrieked as Noah threw him off. The mortal didn’t waste time. He pulled his short sword free, the blade a gleaming crimson as he brought it down, ending the rodent’s suffering. Or ours. I turned my attention back to where it had come from. That wasn’t the only one.
“Gods,” Noah grunted. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it,” Phillips said, another arrow at the ready.
“If there’s one, there’s a horde,” I said. “We need to get—”
Barrats were suddenly everywhere, racing out of the foliage, surprising even me with how close they’d been. Poppy pressed back against me.
“Shit,” Noah cursed, jumping to a low-hanging branch. He hauled his legs up as a sea of reddish-black fur flooded us.
The chattering and yelping barrats flew past us, rushing between the nervous horses. They disappeared into the thick foliage on our other side.
That wasn’t good at all.
Neither were the tendrils of mist gathering along the exposed roots. The scent of rot increased, and the mist rose and thickened to our left.
“We need to get out of here,” Kieran stated. “Now.”
Finally deciding to stop hanging from a tree, Noah dropped to the ground. The mist was already deep enough that his legs disappeared in it. Withdrawing his sword, he hurried to his horse and grabbed the reins as Setti tensed—
A Craven ran out of the mist faster than the damn barrats, its shredded clothing hanging from its body in tatters. Noah, the poor bastard, didn’t have a chance. Not even with the warning. It was suddenly on him, tearing into the man’s chest with its sharpened nails and his throat with its jagged fangs. I cursed as Noah fell back, dropping his sword as his horse took off.
Then the howls came, the low moan of unending hunger.
“Shit,” I snarled as Luddie spun his horse around, catching the Craven who’d taken out Noah with a bloodstone spear.
“We won’t make it if we run.” Luddie flipped his weapon upward. “Not in these roots.”
He was right.
The mist was already at our waists. It would be over our heads if we tried to make a run for it.
I looked down at Poppy and didn’t hesitate to say, “You know what to do. Do it.”
Poppy nodded.
Swinging off Setti, I landed on one of the thicker roots. Poppy was right behind me, one leg off Setti, dropping to land on the roots. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Airrick raise his brows as he got an eyeful of her dagger.
“I know how to use it,” she said.
The curve of Airrick’s lips was goofy as hell. “For some reason, I’m not surprised.”
My eyes narrowed on the young man.
“They’re here,” Kieran announced, lifting his sword.
And they were.
Unsheathing the short sword, I braced myself as they raced toward us, a horde of pale gray skin, tattered clothing, and bones. I stepped forward, driving my sword through a Craven’s chest.
Spinning, I drew the blade across another’s neck as I caught sight of Poppy. She slammed a hand into a Craven’s shoulder, holding it back as she plunged her dagger into its heart. She turned as I did, grabbing the Craven making a run for Setti without a second’s hesitation. Damn, the way she moved… How sure she was of her movements. Strands of hair fell across her cheek as she twisted at the waist, her features set in determination and utter fearlessness as she left a wake of blackish-red blood through the mist. There was simply nothing…sexier than that. I caught a Craven in the back, piercing its heart. Poppy looked up, her gaze finding mine.
“Never thought I’d find anything having to do with the Craven sexy.” I took the head off the closest Craven. “But watching you fight them is incredibly arousing.”
“So inappropriate,” she muttered, shoving aside a limp Craven.
Laughing under my breath, I danced along a root, cleaving a Craven in half as Kieran swung both of his short swords, lip curled in disgust as rotten blood spewed into the air. Shrieks rose all around us as I swung my sword through a Craven’s neck. I grabbed the torn cloth of one heading toward the group and kept an eye on Poppy. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her ability. She slammed her dagger into the chest of another. She was fucking magnificent, but her weapon required her to get close to the Craven. I caught sight of Luddie jabbing with his spear as the mist reached our knees. A Craven grabbed for me, his bloodstained teeth snapping at the air. I kicked the fucker back. Kieran turned, bringing his sword down on it as an arrow zinged between us, slamming into the back of another fresher Craven’s head—one recently turned.
I jumped off the root, landing on the ground. Mist scattered. A Craven turned, stringy hair falling from the patchy scalp flapping against the side of her head. She opened her mouth. Gods. I drove the sword into her chest, ending the piercing wail. She fell back, on top of Noah. Spotting his fallen sword, I picked it up. My head snapped toward Poppy.
