The Darkness That Hunts
Chapter 30

I jerk upright with astartled gasp. Dace scrambles to his feet, hands on his chakram and searchingfor danger. My heart hammers against bone; heat warms my cheeks. Kam was aboutto kiss me, and I freaked out. Way to notbe awkward, Shari.

I suspect “freaking you out” was his intention. He counted on yourinexperience to snap you out of the trance. Vayu’s presence, like a downycloud that provides shade on a hot afternoon, envelopes me once more and atension I didn’t realize I’d felt loosens. Despite Vayu’s dry teasing, part ofme felt bereft without him.

The deva’s smug smile stretches just between my eyebrows. I pictureeven, too-white teeth bared in a cocksure grin. It is only natural to miss Greatness, after all.

Ugh. Definitely didn’t missthat arrogance.

Vayu’s chuckle corkscrewsdown my spine.

Dace settles back into hiswatchful position and his gaze scours the expanse beyond our tiny bubble oflight. I had hoped that with Apaosha gone, the taint of the surrounding darknesswould lessen but it remains just as ominous as before. The air retains its sourodor and clammy feel but the stalking othernessthat signified the demon’s presence has lifted.

I glance around the ruins ofthe obelisk. Kam, head pillowed in my lap, and Zakk, drooling on his pack, arestill out cold. No sign of Naja. “How long was I gone?”

“You only closed your eyesfor a couple minutes and then you started gasping like you were drowning.”

“It felt like hours.” I traceKamiron’s brow with gentle fingers. His color has returned and his chest risesand falls in deep, even breaths. “He broke the tether.”

“I felt it. Discord.”

“What do you think itmeans?”

“Dunno, but whatever it is,it ain’t good.”

“It’s a natural response tobreaking the link between Ater and Earth,” answers a smoky, female voice.

My breath catches; Pele,Dace’s deva. I had forgotten they canhear and speak to us thanks to Zakk.

“If it’s natural, why did itfeel like we’d just done something disastrous?”

At the elements hesitation,a troublesome doubt creeps into my heart; I bury it before Vayu notices.

“It may feel that way,”Ymoja acknowledges, her words careful and deliberate. “But it is necessary.”

I sense her sincerity and myintuition assures me she would never lie--outright. My Mama used to say theDevil don’t need to lie if He can misdirect. If that’s true, then what are the devas desperate to conceal? Thatquestion leads me to others: What do any of us really know about the devas and what they want? Can we eventrust them?

I suspect the answer isn’tas altruistic as they’d have us believe.

Dace inhales once, sharp andswift. Snatching up my longbow and clutching it like a club, I try to followhis unblinking stare but I might as well be trying to peer through velvetcurtains. Several tense seconds pass before Dace exhales and the controlledblue-white flame lining his chakram dissipates.

“Naja’s back.” Dace flopsagainst the rubble of the obelisk. Fatigue turns his impish features skeletal.“Here’s hoping our Little-Engine-That-Could found a way out.”

Bursting from the opaquesurroundings like a catapulted arrow, Naja circles Dace twice and then percheson my knee. Her talons dig into my filthy breeches and I wince. She adjustsherself and takes stock of our surroundings--ruby eyes lingering on Zakk’sunconscious body--before nuzzling Kamiron’s chin.

Kam’s lids lift and gray iriseslock on me in drowsy content. “Morning.”

I offer a faint smile. “Ithink the last time we woke up like this, I was supposed to wolf out and eatyour face. We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.”

Kamiron’s mouth quirks, butthen his eyes narrow. He rolls to his feet and reclaims his sledgehammer. Naja springstowards Zakk, hovering above him and looking every inch the protective dragonguarding her clutch. Her tail lashes about in agitated loops while she surveysthe smothering dark.

“Glad to see you vertical,man.” At Kam’s continued silence, Dace’s voice quavers with exhaustion and the firststirrings of apprehension. “Chameleon?”

“Get up. I hear something.”

That gets our attention.Dace and I scramble up and I’m surprised that my legs begrudgingly support me.Zakk, of course, remains dead to the world.

It takes several swallowsfor my voice to work. “Hear as in . . .?”

“Something bad is coming.Several somethings. We need to go. Now.”

The necromancers must have eitherovercome their hesitation to cross Apaosha or they sensed the discord broughton by the demon’s death. I somehow guess it’s the latter, consideringnecromancers deal in the business of death. The fine hairs along my arm riseand suddenly hanging out in the only circle of light for miles doesn’t seemlike such a brilliant, life-preserving idea.

We might as well wave flagsthat advertise, “All-you-can-eat buffet, right here!”

Tucking my longbow under myarmpit, I shovel loose items into our packs while Kamiron and Dace reach forZakk. Naja disappears into the darkness and immediately returns. She does thistwice more before I get it.

“She’s trying to lead us tothe way out.” I strap on my pack and toss the other three to Kamiron and Dace.I tuck my longbow into my belt loop, careful to keep it from jostling my tailbone.It’s awkward, but it’ll have to do. I snatch up Zakk’s naginata and motion for the guys to go ahead of me. Burdened asthey are by both Zakk, and their things, I’ll be the first and only line ofdefense. I test the weight of the polearm.Though it towers above me, its balance is impeccable and it responds fluidly tomy movements. The knot of tension in my belly uncoils. I’ll be able to use it,at least.

“No rest for the weary, huh?”Dace grumbles, hoisting up Zakk. He and Kam stagger under his dead weight. “Whowould have thought such a skinny guy could be so heavy?”

Somewhere behind us (hopefullyfar, far behind) a bellow like that of a bear breaks the quiet. Another,equally terrifying snarl, answers it. The liches are hunting us. Suddenly Zakk’snaginata feels inadequate againstbarbed whips that can demolish stone.

“My brother Vayu willscatter your scent while Gaian and Pele make sure the necromancers cannot so easilypursue,” Ymoja shares as we abandon the bubble of light engulfing the ruins ofApaosha’s obelisk. “But you must hurry.”

Our pace turns into anawkward trot-shuffle. Vayu, about thetether Kam destroyed . . .

There will be others, he interrupts and he soundsboth impatient and defensive. And yourmission will only become more difficult from here on out. TheDarkness-That-Hunts will not sit idly by while you disrupt his plans. Insteadof worrying about the effects of breaking a tether, I suggest you concentrateon eluding your pursuers and uncovering your next destination.

I tighten my grip on Zakk’s naginata and focus on the feel of thewood against my palm. Again, misdirection . . . but Vayu’s suggestion isn’tunwarranted. There are more pressing matters. They’ll be time to unravel thetruth later. If we live.

Muggy heat pools the sweatto my lower back and the blisters formed by my feet rubbing against my leatherboots are an exercise in slow torture. Still, I force myself to stumble throughgloom that sinks into my skin with smoky talons. Only the dim flicker of Dace’schakram illuminates the path ahead. The sound of Kam’s jagged breathing, the clomp-clomp of Zakk’s naginata against the malleable floor,and the stiff press of my longbow digging against my spine anchor me toreality. The fear-filled beats of my heart as it rams against my ribcage dragsme down into myself. I search until I discover the feeble throb that indicatesa tether is somewhere far, far away. Submerged amidst the darkness, blood, andmonsters of Ater.

No rest for the wearyindeed.

The End