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I nod. “What is it?”
He only shakes his head and leads me to the horses, not bothering to repack the bedrolls. My head buzzes with fear.
No…The constant droning is coming from all directions. I look over my shoulder as he drags me behind him. One by one, the stars are blotted out by a large, dark mass.
When my feet stop, Cassius tugs on me again, then snakes am arm around my waist to lift me onto the horse.
The buzzing turns into a strange noise, a mix between a chirp and a short succession of screeches. Something swoops past my head with powerful wings. It’s gone before I catch sight of it.
We race down the mountain pass as quickly as we can. I turn to glance back at our hastily abandoned camp. My breath catches in my throat.
One of the creatures glides close to the fire. Large leathery wings on a bird-like body flap erratically, trying to change direction. The long narrow beak opens with a shriek, displaying rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Another collides with first, sending them both crashing to the ground. The others flock around them, and attack.
Seconds later, they fly away, leaving nothing but bones where the two fell.
The reason no one has ever returned from the pass was not because it was a labyrinth of paths, but because they fell prey to these creatures.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Clara
“We can’t runthe horses, or we’ll risk one breaking a leg!” Cassius shouts.
“There’s no other choice,” Lawrence calls back.
The swarm screeches and buzzes, gaining on us as we descend the last leg of the mountain pass.
At our backs, the sky gradually lightens. The swarm creatures stand out, dark and ominous against the fading blue as it turns blood red from the dawning sun. The cloud of flesh-eating birds gains slowly.
“What are those things?” I gasp.
“Nothing good,” Cassius responds. He urges the horse faster, but the path wends as we near the plains.
“We can’t outrun them,” Lawrence says.
I shudder. We’ll be nothing more than a pile of bones in seconds if they reach us. With their inhuman speed and strength, the vampires could easily get away if it weren’t for me. My humanity is slowing us down.
There has to be something we can do.
The birds blot out the rising light as they gain.
“Run the horses,” I shout into the wind.
Lawrence doesn’t hesitate, and Della follows closely on his heels. Cassius looks over this shoulder and frowns, shaking his head.
“I have an idea, but we need to gain some ground before we stop,” I explain.
“Stop?” Cassius shouts. “That’s insane!”
“I have an idea.”
“How?”
I tighten my hold. “Get us a few minutes ahead of them if you can.”
Cassius pushes the horse into a run. The animal slides and leaps down the uneven path. Each precarious step is bone jarring. Taking one hand from his waist, I reach into a saddlebag, fishing around. The horse stumbles slightly, and I let out a strangled cry.
