Terror replaced her exhaustion when Ironhide grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her forward. She ran as though her weariness was imaginary. Whining arrows chased them, clattering against the rocks when they missed. Nando snarled, hunched over as though unsure of staying in his human form or changing to the wolf. His bow was in hand, but she was sure he knew he could not match the precision or strength of their pursuers.
They reached a plateau, where jagged peaks stabbed through the low-hanging clouds around them. She frantically searched the gloom. The remains of what appeared to be an ancient temple lay several spans away, almost hidden by veins of vines and decayed leaves. The sky was dark; stars twinkled merrily as though mocking their plight.
This cannot be Asfrior. No one has dwelt here for ages. But something tugged her in that direction. She knew that it was Asfrior, dead and deserted as it was. Her one hope turned out to be a black moon, just as Nando had said.
They were trapped.
"Come on!" Nando extended his hand. As she reached, his eyes widened, staring over her shoulder. She turned just in time to see Ironhide fall heavily to the ground with two arrows lodged in his back.
"Ironhide!"
He groaned as she helped him to his feet. They took refuge behind a boulder as Nando knelt and smoothly fired arrows back at their white-clad assailants.
"Their armor is too strong. You're wasting your arrows." Even speaking seemed to require great effort from Ironhide. His eyelids were half-closed, his breath exhaled in shallow gasps.
Nando loosed another arrow. "Will you get him out of here? Even now he can't help lecturing. Go — I will hold them as long as I can, and maybe draw them away."
"Nando, I—"
His amber eyes were troubled. "It seems your task is graver than I believed, and I'm sorry for that." Nando looked at Ironhide, who wheezed painfully, his eyes barely open as though it took his entire strength to keep breathing. "He will not last long. The arrows are surely poisoned. It is on you, now. You must be the strong one." He drew his short sword and dagger.
"I should have protected you better." Regret tattooed his face. "Go, now. I will do what I can."
"Nando…"
"Go!" He sprang forward, blades flashing as if wielded by a sorcerer's hands. The whine of arrows filled the air again; she heard them deflected by his blades. "Go!" he shouted again, his voice exultant, the sound of the warrior embracing death.
She helped Ironhide to his feet, and they staggered forward. Tears blurred her vision as she heard Nando's roar fill the night, along with the clash of weapons. Ironhide could barely walk; his weight was threateningly close to overcoming her. When he spoke, his voice was a ragged whisper.
"The temple — the doorway will be lined with Banestone. It will protect you. The akhkharu are loath to cross a Banestone barrier, for it drains them of their Crafts, like the sunlight. Then they can be slain like any other."
"It is not far." Her weariness returned tenfold from her efforts to support him. "We can make it if we hurry." Behind them, Nando's roar had changed into a wild howl, the cry of the wounded and defiant wolf. She winced, choking back a sob. "It will only take a moment to focus and heal you there. Then I can go back for Nando. I can help…I can heal him too."
Ironhide shook his head wearily. "It is too late. The spawn of akhkharu is here."
A high-pitched squeal rang in her ears, accompanied by the putrid stench of rotted leather as something sailed by overhead, borne on unnaturally vast wings. She caught sight of an inhuman visage and glistening fangs as the apparition circled the clearing before landing ungracefully on a broken stump of a pillar. Its ember eyes fixed on them as its wings fanned out, ready to spring and rend them to pieces.
Her limbs stiffened, ice water froze in her veins. The creature bobbed its shoulders and chittered in a gargled tone that spoke of blood and madness.
"Don't look in its face, or the darkfear will take hold of you." Ironhide's voice sounded steadier as he eased himself upright. "The Dhamphir will only move if we do. Its task is to hold us here until its masters arrive." Ironhide gazed at Nyori with dead eyes. She wondered how he even managed to stand; she could feel the aura of the poison that coursed in his veins like a river of fire.
"When I move, you run for the door. Don't wait for me, and don't turn back. You may survive this if the Taevisa is with you tonight. It has been my life's honor, Shama."
She saw the transformation when he shot forward. The twisting of limbs, the hair that sprouted from his body, the eye-wrenching shift of his skull and face as the man was left behind and the wolf emerged. His howl was answered by the ear-piercing shriek of the Dhamphir. Mortar exploded as it leaped from the pillar, its great ragged wings blotted the light of the moon.
Nyori saw no more, for she ran as though carried by the wind, her heart a war drum in her chest. She heard the impact as the wolf and beast collided, felt the gasp of breath exploding from their lungs. Their snarls and squeals chased her up the crumbling stairs.
Glyphs covered the ancient door, the frame carved with the long forgotten runic symbols. There was no handle. She placed her hands on the surface, searching for a way inside, but nothing seemed to work. She slapped the stone with a sob as the sounds of fighting died behind her.
It was the sudden silence that made her turn around unwillingly, filled with the dread of knowing. A shaggy body fell, but what struck the ground was Ironhide's human form. He lay as though his bones had ground to powder. Nyori felt the menace of the victor's stare. With a terrible shriek the Dhamphir was airborne, rushing with all the speed of a nightmare.
Nyori's hands fluttered like frantic moths as they sought to open the door. The Glyphs that had burned into her skin in Everfell rippled across her arms, flaring bluish-white. The runes on the doorway pulsed as though in answer, and the door opened so easily that she fell inside, choking with fear.
The Dhamphir dived at the steps, landing in a spray of pebbles. Its sick garbling threatened to drive her mad. The wings folded, and it advanced with its eyes afire. She froze in place, stiff and helpless. There was nothing to bar its way, and she knew she would die faster and more fearfully than Nando or Ironhide.
It took another ungainly step, and…stopped. A look of uncertainty flashed across the beastly face as it gazed at the door. Freed from her paralysis, Nyori looked at what held the creature back.
The doorway blazed, emanating a bright bluish-white glow that made the creature shriek and throw up its shaggy arms to shield its eyes. With another piercing squeal, the wings unfurled and carried the creature away from the molesting rays. Its cries were answered by shouts from the advancing figures below. Akhkharu, Ironhide had called them. As Ayna had named them. The Wraith People. Childhood stories and legends gathered in her mind and shattered.
Her survival instincts impelled her to kick the door shut, cutting off the view of the broken body of who had only moments ago been a protector and friend. The faces of Ironhide and Nando filled her head, and she wept freely, tears disappearing in the darkness. She almost wished her pursuers would break down the door and end her torment, but it seemed Ironhide had been right once more. Whatever Banestone was, it was enough to ward off those who hunted her. The thought was of little comfort as she huddled on the floor, blanketed in grief.
Sacrifice is vanity without action to prove its worth.
She did not know if it was Mistress Ayna's words or her own thoughts she heard, but Nyori slowly felt her resolve return. When her eyes opened, she gasped. She was not in complete darkness after all. Specks of Banestone dotted the walls, glowing like stars in the blackest night. Glyphs, she realized. Her arms also shone, the characters glowing brightly. Enough light glimmered for her to see the vast pillars of what had once been an almost inconceivably massive chamber. She wondered if she had stumbled upon an ancient Aelon temple; if she was under the protection of the wondrous beings that had abandoned humankind.