The Girl With Red Hair (The Last War Saga Book 1) (24 page)

“Yes it does,” he agreed.

He stopped and carefully picked a particularly perfect rose with petals of pink and red. With skilled hands, he broke off the thorns and slid the flower into Adelaide’s hair, just above her elven ear.

“Now you can smell just as nice,” he said.

She only stared back, still avoiding eye contact. Then she frowned.

“I’m sorry,” Alexander gushed, realizing his offense. “I didn’t mean that you smelled bad or anything. Because you don’t. I just…”

Her frown vanished and her eyes went wide, still looking somewhere else. Panic seized Alexander’s heart and forced the blood from it in a single pulse. He turned to follow her gaze. Nothing but roses greeted his eyes. To his right, far ahead, he could hear Tannyl and Lilacoris, still walking together in private conversation. Sachihiro and Jaydan approached. He could hear Erlen in the middle of an animated story. But nothing else.

He turned back to Adelaide. Her eyes were still wide and her hands were shaking.

“Addy, hon, are you all right?”

“I can see them,” she said.

Alexander surveyed the roses again. “What do you see?”

Her eyes shifted and locked on his. It sent a chill down to his toes. “The s
hadowed ones
,” she said.

“Come on,
ladies
,” Sachihiro said, having caught up. “Stop sniffing the roses and keep moving. Jaydan here needs his nap. He’s getting cranky.”

“Oh, shove it, Sach,” Jaydan said, but there was no heart in it.

Alexander held up a hand to silence the pair. “Something’s not right,” he said.

“Yeah, first it was day with no night and now it’s night with no day,” Sachihiro said, crossing his thick arms. “Not to mention shadow dragons, Spawn, whatever they are, and a murderous bitch in a black dress.”

“Alexander,” Adelaide said slowly.

“Yeah?”

“We need to run now.”

Dark shapes exploded from the roses on both sides of the wide path. Teeth snapped and claws cut the air, driving for the group of battered travelers. In the gloom, it was impossible to know how many, and Alexander could see only teeth and burning eyes. The beauty of the roses vanished and they were left facing only thorns.

“Great idea, kid,” Sachihiro said as he broke into a run, dragging Jaydan alongside him, hopping to keep up. Alexander scooped Adelaide up in mid stride and bolted as well.

“Tannyl! Lilacoris!” he bellowed to the night.

He didn’t hear a response, and hoped they were far enough ahead to be safe. He dared a quick glance over his shoulder. The path behind them was gone. The creatures spilled out of the roses at the spot they had just left and gave chase as a single entity. He swung his head back around, squeezed Adelaide tight against his chest, and ran harder. The way ahead seemed clear. Sachihiro and Jaydan were just ahead, but it didn’t look like Jaydan would be able to keep the pace for long.

Alexander’s foot caught something and his body hurtled forward. His arms went out, sending Adelaide into a rough roll. For a moment, he flashed back to the peak of the citadel, falling to jagged stone. He hit the ground with his face and the memory vanished. The taste of grass and soil filled his mouth, but his hands were already pawing at the path. He had to protect her.

“Addy!” he shouted, coming to his hands and knees.

She lay on the ground a dozen steps away. She was staring past him, eyes wide, mouth screaming something he couldn’t hear. Sachihiro and Jaydan stopped and turned, but he waved at them as he turned to face the enemy. “Grab Addy and keep going,” he shouted.

The creatures were nearly upon him. He freed his glaive from his back and stood, waiting. His eyes narrowed, picking out the individuals in the swarm. Able to discern each creature took away some of Alexander’s fear. Or perhaps it was the desperation with which he sought to guard Adelaide and the others. In the moment before they collided he heard her yelling his name. He hoped that Sachihiro and Jaydan had gotten to her. He hoped they would cover her eyes.

Two creatures closed the remaining stride between them and launched into the air. Alexander moved to meet them, glaive coming up in a flash of steel. He twisted, spun, and struck. He felt the impact as he cut them in two. He had completed the stroke and was running at the others before the transected bodies hit the ground behind him. He had never moved so quickly. He hadn’t even known he’d struck.

He plunged into the mass of writhing black and was surrounded in an instant. Golden light flared from somewhere, casting them in an ethereal glow. It banished the tendrils of black mist, revealing the twisted gray forms for what they were. Skin pulled tight over stunted skeletons, eyes hollow, and jaws hanging wide. He felled three more and was twisting at a fourth before his mind caught up. The light was emanating from his glaive, transforming it into a bladed torch. He sensed movement at his back and sent a creature sprawling with a staunch kick, not needing to look to know it had landed solidly. His glaive cut a quick
X
into a creature, the golden image seared in his vision for a moment.

He was stronger and faster than all of them. The mass hesitated for a moment. Alexander shifted the glaive to one hand and held it at his side, an extension of his arm. Energy pulsed from the blade as well as from the corners of his vision. They were exposed and vulnerable to his sight. He goaded them with his free hand, but didn’t wait for a response. He charged at the nearest group, thrusting into the chest of one and quickly kneeling to sever the legs of another. He shot upward, catching a snarling jaw with his fist. Its neck snapped audibly and the creature was dead before it landed.

His blade was a searing flame among the shadows and his mind saw everything his eyes could not. He became a tempest, spinning in tight loops, faster and faster, until the golden blade was a blur and the sounds of death became a distant hum. Something told him it had only lasted a few brief moments. It told him it was over, and he finished in a half crouch, his fury waning quickly. Carnage littered the ground all around him, the gray corpses quietly smoldering.

“Damn, Alexander,” Sachihiro said from nearby.

Adelaide seized him around the neck, squeezing tightly. He allowed the embrace, but then stood, surveying the night.

“More are coming,” he said, though he didn’t understand how he knew. “Let’s go.”

No one argued, and they fled as fast as Jaydan could move. Alexander carried Adelaide despite her protesting. He ignored her tiny fists. It was his duty to protect her. No matter the cost.

Tannyl and Lilacoris were waiting at the edge of the garden. Two creatures lay dead at their feet. “Everyone all right?” Lilacoris asked.

“Fine, but we need to keep going,” Alexander said firmly. “I can feel—”

His mind saw it before his eyes did. But it didn’t take long for everyone to notice the mountain of flesh that entered the space between the garden and the rocky edge of Paladrix. Even at a distance, Alexander knew it was nearly twice his height and was heavy with corded muscle. The giant roared in their direction, bellowing a primal challenge.

“Krigtor,” Lilacoris said with reverence.

“You know that thing?” Sachihiro asked, drawing his sword.

Tannyl cursed. “I knew I recognize him before,” he said. “Krigtor the Most Tall. I knew his father, Brantor.”

Lilacoris nodded. “He rules the Artic Realm.”

“Oh, so he’s on our side?” Sachihiro asked hopefully.

“No,” Alexander and Tannyl said in unison.

The elf nocked an arrow and drew it back, aiming at the giant. “I’m sorry, Lilacoris, but the Krigtor you knew is dead.”

“I know,” she said softly.

Jaydan shifted and pointed behind the group. “Uh, I think we’re about to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

Alexander didn’t need to turn to know what was coming. He could hear the shrieks and knew their numbers had grown.

“Looks like some of them bigger ones are coming too,” Sachihiro said. “Shades.”

There were four of them, Alexander knew, but didn’t say it aloud. It wouldn’t change anything.

“My ship is just past there,” Lilacoris said, pointing directly at Krigtor. The giant stomped a heavy foot but remained in place, waiting.

A pair of sails peeked over the stony edge of the floating city. It couldn’t have been more than a few hundred feet away.

“Warded?” Tannyl asked.

Lilacoris smiled. “Of course.”

“Then we just need to get aboard,” the elf said. “I’ll grab Krigtor’s attention. Everyone else get to the ship.”

Alexander set Adelaide down and stepped to Tannyl’s side. “You run.”

Tannyl looked Alexander up and down. “No. Krigtor and I have some unfinished business. Take the others. I’ll catch up.”

“Alexander,” Adelaide said, her voice sounding small and weak.

He turned to face her. She was looking back down the path. Only a hundred feet stood between the horde and them. She turned back, eyes shining with tears.

Alexander nodded and returned his glaive to the clasp at his back. “All right. We’ll go on your word, Tannyl.”

“
Now
,” Tannyl said, releasing an arrow. He drew another and was running to meet the giant before his first arrow landed.

They ran as one, circling around Krigtor as Tannyl flew at the giant. Alexander was focused on reaching the ship, but couldn’t help but admire the elf. The first arrow struck the giant in the chest, grabbing its attention. The second hit him in the throat. Tannyl was upon him a moment later, arrows in both hands moving faster than any eyes could see.

The edge of Paladrix was an abrupt cliffside, giving way to a descending flight of stairs and small wooden dock. A lone ship bobbed in the air. It was enormous. The deck crawled with dozens of figures hastily preparing the vessel.

Lilacoris shouted commands as soon as their feet hit the deck of the ship. Shrieks echoed from the higher ground, but Alexander could not see any of the battle. Tannyl should have been right behind them, but he wasn’t. Even if he could slay the giant, the horde of shadows would end him.

Adelaide clutched at his leg and he knew she was feeling the same apprehension. He glanced at Sachihiro and Jaydan. The Healer was sitting on the deck, breathing hard, but his eyes were on the cliffside just as Sachihiro’s were. Even Erlen looked worried, clinging to Sachihiro’s hair.

Suddenly, the deck shifted below his feet, knocking Alexander off balance. The dock slid away from them. They were moving.

“Lilacoris!” he shouted, looking for the Dryad.

“We can’t leave Tannyl,” Sachihiro said.

“It looks like we are,” Jaydan replied, struggling to his feet.

They stood as a tight group, eyes searching for some hint of the stubborn elven Hunter. The ship cleared the end of the dock and turned sharply to the left, at an angle parallel with the coast. They all turned with it in silence, eyes never wavering. And then a head of mousy brown hair appeared along the high edge. Tannyl ran alongside the edge of the cliff, traveling in tandem with the ship.

Lilacoris’s voice rang out from somewhere near the bow and the ship veered nearer the shore. Tannyl continued to run, but Alexander could see he would soon run out of land. Adelaide tightened her grip, digging her fingers into his leg.

“He’ll make it,” Sachihiro said. “That elf’ll never die.”

Tannyl ran as far as he could, reaching the edge just as the ship sailed near. At least forty feet of empty air hung between the cliff and the ship, and the vessel was still further below. Tannyl flung his body into the air and Alexander heard everyone hold their breaths. The elf seemed to hang in place, arms outstretched and eyes wild. He struck the center sail and disappeared from view. Alexander heard the sound of tearing cloth and suddenly Tannyl dropped to the deck in front of them, an arrow in each hand. The sail fluttered, two long cuts down its middle.

They all piled on the kneeling elf. He shouted and squirmed, but five sets of arms held him tight.

“Ah, enough,” Tannyl spat, finally extricating himself from the mass hug. He stowed his arrows and made a show of brushing himself off.

“We’re just glad you’re all right,” Alexander said, surprising himself.

Tannyl grunted and looked skyward, examining the torn sail. “Damn,” he said. “I’m going to pay for that.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

ADELAIDE CLOSED HER eyes and inhaled as the cloud washed over her. It was cold and wet and made her skin tickle all over. And it made her feel clean, like the wisps of white were strips of linen scrubbing away all the dirt and grime. She’d have to wear her dress the next time the ship passed through a cloud. Maybe it would be cleaned as well. She dismissed the idea, looking down at her plain pants and plain shirt. Alexander would have to stop treating her like a child if she wore more practical clothing. She had even brought out the tall leather boots, though they had yet to cover her feet. The clouds couldn’t tickle her toes if she wore them.

She liked Alexander. He was tall and he was nice. But he also worried too much. He treated her like a child. She wasn’t afraid. She could protect herself. And she could run in a dress if she wanted to. And she didn’t need to wear shoes. She felt her face twist into a frown and consciously relaxed it. Alexander wasn’t watching her now. She smiled to herself, imagining the fit he would throw if he could see her now, legs and arms sticking through the railing, touching nothing but open air. So close to certain doom.