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‘I had to collect an old friend on the way.’
‘Is he dead?’
Kane shakes his head, dumping Reve on the ground. ‘I resisted... just.’
He pulls a set of keys from Reve’s pocket, pausing for a second as Damon drops out of the sky in front of him. The Boogeymen folds his wings, then turns to face Nick. ‘You okay?’
‘He stabbed me in the side, so no. Not really.’
Kane unlocks the chains, helping to support Nick as he gets himself together. ‘You believe him about Scarlett?’
Nick presses his hand to his side. The wound is still bleeding but wasn’t intended to kill him. Reve hadn’t hit anything vital. ‘Yeah. He was spilling his guts about everything else. No reason to lie about that.’
Damon draws his blade from his belt, slicing Reve’s jacket apart. He gestures to Nick who lifts his coat out of the way so Damon can bandage the wound with Reve’s coat. ‘Can I kill him?’
‘No. You can’t. If anyone is killing him, it’ll be me.’
Damon grins, showing his fangs. ‘And that’s why we’re friends.’
Nick takes his real sword from Kane. He needs to help with the Púca situation, then figure out where Scarlett is. ‘Damon, bring Reve back to the workshop and lock him up. I’m far from done with him. Kane, let’s get back to it.’
Damon nods and crouches over Reve. The two of them disappear in a cloud of black mist, leaving Nick alone in the woods.
His wound is painful, but it doesn't begin to match his worry for Scarlett. Time to spill someone else’s blood. After that, Krampus better put his affairs in order. Once he finds the bastard, he’ll make sure he is the last thing Krampus ever sees.
Scarlett shivers underthe heavy coat Talen gave her. She’s not dressed for wandering through the deep snow. The coat is helping but a pair of hiking boots would be a bonus. ‘How much further?’
Talen stops and sniffs the air, smiling as he looks down at her. ‘Nick is close.’
‘You can smell him?’
‘His magic.’ He crouches down in front of her. ‘Climb on my back.’
‘I’m fine, really.’
‘We need to move faster. We risk the team every minute Nick doesn't know you’re okay.’
He’s right, so Scarlett wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. ‘Hold tight. I can move at great speed.’
She hangs on and he takes off. Great speed is one hell of an understatement. The landscape rushes by as Talen clears mile after mile in no time at all. He comes to a stop in a forested area, and holds up his hand to stop her from speaking.
Through the trees she hears the sound of fighting. She recognises Púca screeching and screaming. He lowers her to the ground and slowly approaches the clearing. When Scarlett sees the scene in front of her, she has to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from shouting aloud.
There must be at least a hundred Púca in the clearing. Bodies are strewn on the ground, their purple blood staining the clean snow. From what she can see, the team is still upright and fighting.
Then she sees Nick. He’s fighting like the others, but something isn’t right with him.
‘He’s injured,’ Talen says, answering the question before she can voice it. ‘Reve and Damon are missing.’
‘Do you think it was one of them?’
Talen nods. ‘My money would be on Reve. Damon is twisted, but dedicated to Nick.’
Scarlett watches the men fight for another few seconds. ‘Why are we still hiding here?’
‘How would you suggest we insert ourselves into that battle? You will be killed within seconds. I did not save you to throw you to your death hours later.’
‘But I thought you were bringing me here so I could help?’
