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Another attack.
Jude cursed, his eyes meeting my widened stare. “Get ready!”
My dagger had been in my hand the moment he’d stood.
But I didn’t go on the offensive just yet. No, I waited until one of the burly bastards lunged at me, releasing a screech of war from his gray, chapped lips. The feral sound shook my bones, but it didn’t slow me.
At the last second, I sidestepped him, watching with a sick glee as he stumbled over his feet, not having expected to swipe empty air. He wouldn’t be surprised next time.
For the brief moment my opponent was incapacitated, I twisted to seek Jude. While I could barely make him out, I could have sworn I saw three of the masked men teaming up to take him down.
I cursed and ducked beneath a flailing arm, digging my blade up and through the thick padding of my attacker’s coat, directly between his ribs.
With a wail, he fell, clutching at his side. But he didn’t stay down for long.
Jumping to his feet, his side coated in that peculiar black ooze, the masked man lifted his spear, aiming right for my heart. Using my many grueling years of training, I shifted to the right, missing the spear by a mere inch.
Twisting around, I spun on my heels, angling myself until I was at his back, my arms flying around his neck as my sharpened blade slashed through the thin skin of his throat. Micah didn’t say I was faster than the wind without reason.
This time, the man didn’t rise.
I never got the chance to catch my breath.
There was a flash of silver and a guttural roar—and then a searing pain shot across my upper arm. I whirled around. The man looked just like his fallen brother, whose blood currently pooled from his wound, his lifeless eyes open. But this new foe didn’t spare his companion a glance, not as he raised his weapon to strike me again.
Ignoring the stinging that radiated from the shallow cut, I pounced and grabbed the sides of his face before proceeding to headbutt him with a sickening crunch. When he staggered back, disoriented from my unexpected assault, I roared, thrusting my bloodied dagger up into his jaw. Blood instantly gushed from his mouth, a bubbling stream of black.
My head throbbed something fierce, but the fight was far from over. Swiping a hand across my sweaty brow, I reeled around, finding Jude.
I didn’t allow myself a moment of joy when I saw that he was still alive, two of the three men lying dead at his feet. There would be more coming, and my fingers tightened on the hilt of my blade.
I swallowed hard as three more shadows seemed to materialize out of thin air, steel specters that began to dance around Jude like the vultures they were.
How many are there?
I was about to race over to his aid when a solid body of pure rock sent me sailing several feet through the air. I sputtered as I flew, the wind whipping at my face as my pulse skyrocketed.
I landed on my side with a groan, my ribs aching and bruised. My hands fisted the dirt, my teeth grinding against the pain that seared across my torso. With a hiss, I scrambled to my feet, ready to—
A fist collided with my jaw, the impact causing me to see stars.
Whoever this one was, he enjoyed using his fists. And he would pay for the bruises that would inevitably mar my skin. I wasn’t vain, but I didn’t enjoy looking like a fresh kill.
A snarl ripped free from my throat as I stumbled back a step, putting distance between me and my latest foe. Although he was more lithe than the rest, I’d kill him like I had his friends. No one came after me and my…friend…and could expect to leave with all their body parts intact.
A yelp from my left distracted me as Jude cried out in pain.
Instinctively, my head spun in his direction, my heart plummeting. If anyone hurt him, I’d rip their damn throats out.Slowly. But in the split second I glanced away, my attacker was atmythroat, a blade pressed to my neck. I cursed myself as the metal dug deeper.
My stomach dropped, a steel band winding mercilessly around my chest, every breath drawn out and forced.
This was it. I was going to die.
A lesser woman might have shut her eyes and met her death in soothing darkness. But not me. I stared at the masked man, his eyes an icy shade of blue-gray. They were wide and determined, the haunting black of his pupils nearly eclipsing his irises.
Jude cried out again, a deep groan that penetrated all the darkest parts of my soul. If I did nothing, he would surely die. Traitorous tears welled, fighting to be freed.
All of this had been for naught. Jude had been right when he’d said it was a suicide mission. And now we were both going to die, and I would never…I’d never do all the things I wanted to do with my life.
