The sword swipes my way, and I throw myself to the ground, landing on my side. The wet grit of the alley clings to my hands; the musty smell of rot invades my head. I jump to my feet and face the man who’s clearly out to kill us.
For a second, it’s hard for me to understand what I’m seeing. Leo hovers behind Lucinda, her long white hair crackling with energy and her eyes sparkling with that strange, crazy-chick light that tells me she’s about to go supernova on the guy’s ass. All around us, the air is on fire. The cobbled streets are strewn with bloody bodies. A thick smoke is everywhere, curling up, around, and down like I’ve never seen smoke act. People are screaming. Running. Fighting. And the guy who’s got Bodog cornered holds his sword in a shaking hand, his head whipping left and right like a pendulum. Definitely more spooked than menacing.
The sword I had strapped on before I left the house weighs heavily between my shoulder blades, but instead of reaching for it, I hold up my hands nonthreateningly. “Hey, buddy. We’re not here for a fight. You wanna put that—”
With a bang, the back door to the building on our left crashes open, and Wyatt bursts into the alleyway, knocking the man with the sword down. Wyatt straightens, disoriented, his face the color of week-old bread left in the cabinet—pinched, green, and slightly fuzzy.
When the guy he knocked down starts to stand, Wyatt punches him in the face, this time knocking him out. It’s a sweet hit, which makes me think I might want the guy along after all. I watch him turn, stumble to the head of the alleyway, and throw up.
Then again…maybe not.
“Stop hovering, Cin,” Leo says as he pushes past Lucinda. “I can take care of myself.” He checks the guy on the ground, and then looks up at me. “He’s out. I swear, I would never have told you to come here if I knew about all this.”
“You freakin’ disappeared. What was that all about?” I squat beside Leo and pick through the unconscious soldier’s weapons—a sword, a dagger, and oddly enough, brass knuckles.
Lucinda squats and blows a huge pink bubble with her gum. The scent is the same strong sweet smell that lingered right after Leo disappeared. “You were with Leo in my room. It was you who made him disappear.”
She smiles, kisses Leo possessively on the neck, and whispers in his ear before wandering toward the head of the alley. Aloof as a cat.
“Thank God, it was her. I thought…well, it doesn’t matter.” I like Leo the way he is. “What’s going on?”
“Not sure. We arrived, and then ten minutes later, all hell broke loose.”
We both stand, and I wave to Bodog, who’s muttering to his stick about black souls, to follow.
When we reach Wyatt, he’s leaning against the brick building, peering around the corner at the chaos spilling into the streets. His face isn’t as pinched-looking as it was, or as green, but he’s still not 100 percent. He rubs his eyelids and blinks rapidly. “Crazy ride into this place, though I can’t say I like the after-kick at the end.”
I cough against the swirling smoke cloaking the town. “Sorry. I should’ve warned you. You’ll feel better in a few minutes.”
I offer him the weapons I took from the guy he knocked out. He grabs the brass knuckles, slips them on, and palms the dagger, but refuses the sword. “No gun?”
“They have better ways to kill you here.”
“Do you mean faster or more painful?”
“Take your pick.”
Wyatt scouts the area, his gaze roving from building to building, watching what I can’t quite understand. The people seem to be fighting the heavy smoke and losing. The crowd is heading for the woods; men and women are corralling their families. Everyone is leaving their homes and everything they possess behind.
A man on a horse rushes by, yet in the next second, the horse and man are flying in the air. The horse screams as it hits the ground. It jerks upright, eyes rolling crazily, and dashes off. The man is nowhere in sight, and then he hits the ground, a bloody mass of flesh and bones. We all involuntarily step back.
From out of the smoke and fire, a soldier wearing a ripped and dirty uniform, and with blood congealing on his face, appears with a small band of men. It’s Granel, Navar’s lieutenant, a man I thought I’d never see again after I killed Navar.
When he sees me, his sword snaps in my direction at the same time I swing mine toward him. “Come to watch the slaughter?” he sneers.
He’s got to be kidding. With all the killing he’s done, he deserves whatever happens to him, but I don’t have anything against these people.
A sharp scream has us all looking around. In the middle of the street, a boy a few years younger than me dangles in the air, suspended by one of the inky streaks. Before I can take a step forward, a ball of fire spits out, engulfing the boy’s body. He’s then tossed away, burning and shuddering along the ground like a black snake firework.
My skin flickers with heat at the sight.
“We’re surrounded, and there’s no fighting them.” Granel’s voice shakes with anger and a touch of awe.
“We must leave,” Lucinda says, her body tense, her hands clutching Leo’s arm. “We cannot win this fight. This magic is too powerful.”
My stomach twists, knowing she’s right. I give Leo the sword Wyatt didn’t want. “I’ll divert them. Get everyone out of here.”
Without waiting, I rush forward, ignoring Bodog’s calls for me to come back. I can’t. Someone has to stop these things. The black streak wavers in front of me, its shadow of a face taunting me the closer I get. I speed up, jump, and in midleap, I draw my sword. The blade bursts into flame. I bring the sharp edge down with all my might and slash through the face.
I land, swoop around, and continue to cut and sever the streak to ribbons. When I’m done, there isn’t a trace of the murdering darkness, only wisps of inky shadows dispersing along the ground.
I draw near the boy, but he’s beyond saving. To be honest, destroying the black streak wasn’t nearly as hard as killing the lake serpents, so why was Granel running scared? Why let that thing kill a defenseless kid?
Though I told them to leave, no one did. I turn to the group, power humming through my veins. Their obvious horror dulls my anger. Why are they looking at me that way? No, not at me. I turn around in time to see the wisps along the ground merge back into the inky streak. It opens its mouth and a sound like cracking glass splits the air, knocking me off my feet, splitting the cobblestones, and shattering nearby windows.
Lucinda shouts at everyone to run, and then she’s suddenly by my side, dragging me up and away. We’re surrounded, around us and above us. The inkiness is so dark, I lose my bearings. Only the pressure of Lucinda’s back to mine keeps me grounded. The darkness closes down on us, squeezing us to our knees.
With a growl, Lucinda turns, sweeps her arms around me, and we instantly transport to a position behind my friends and ahead of Granel and his men. I blink at the sudden brightness, and with Lucinda’s help, climb to my feet. We run like a herd of deer being chased by wolves. The forest is a few hundred yards ahead of us. The black streaks follow, striking at Granel and his men, licking strips of flesh from their bones.
An explosion goes off to our right, and I see the inky slashes whirl away. “I have an idea,” I yell, though what I have planned is potentially dangerous.
Lucinda doesn’t question me. She lets go and races ahead toward Leo. That’s the good thing about her. She doesn’t care what I do. Her main concern is Leo. She knows that helping me pleases him. But when it comes down to me or Leo, she’ll pick him every time. In reality, she couldn’t care less if I live or die. It gives me freedom to do what I have to do.