Page 110 of Somber Prince

Dark spots emerged from the storm behind us, taking the shapes of riders on horseback. Unlike our camels who refused to move, their horses kept going through the storm, fighting the wind.

Melanie glanced back over her shoulder and paled at the sight of the riders.

“These must be the guards from Teneris. Run!” She scrambled faster up the hill.

“Come, Elaine.” I waved at my friend to hurry up.

There was still a good distance between us and the riders. We could make it to the portal before they’d gained on us.

But then, the front riders suddenly dissolved into shadows, momentarily blending with the sand in the wind. The shadows reappeared right behind us, solidifying into people again.

These weren’t Rha’s warriors, I realized with horror. Their ragged, tattered clothes looked nothing like the uniforms of Teneris.

A man was gaining on Elaine, promptly climbing the hill behind her. His skirt frayed to rags along the hem. A worn animal hide protected his head and shoulders from the sun. I shuddered at his savage appearance and the feral scowl on his face.

“Elaine, run!” I screamed.

She lurched after me but tripped in her hurry. The wind blew her hair across her face. Shoving it away, she knocked her glasses off. They dropped to the ground.

“Leave them!” Melanie yelled.

But I knew Elaine was as blind as a bat without her glasses. She needed them in any world we’d go to. Sliding in the sand and patches of pale grass, I headed down the hill to help her.

Elaine raked her fingers through the sand in search of her glasses as her pursuer closed in on her. She found the glasses the moment he grabbed her.

“No! Elaine.” I lunged at them and gripped her sweater. “Leave her!”

Baring his fangs, the man tossed Elaine over his shoulder. Her sweater slipped from my fingers.

His chest armor flashed in front of me as he turned. It was made from plain leather discs linked together with small silver rings. The thick stem of a cluster of yellow flowers was threaded through the metal links. The succulent petals of the flowers burst with nectar, looking like drops of golden honey.

Dread chilled my spine, paralyzing my limbs.

The hag’s raspy voice echoed in my ears, “Beware of the golden hyacinth and of those who wear it.”

The man ran down the hill, taking my kicking and screaming friend away.

“Elaine!” I made a move to go after them when Melanie grabbed my arm.

“Let’s go, Dawn.”

“They’ve got Elaine!” I yelled in anguish.

More shadows appeared among the humans who tried to make their way to the portal on top of the hill. Screams pierced the howls of the storm as the shadow fae started snatching humans, then dragging them back to their horses.

“We’ve got to go.” Melanie tugged me up the hill. “We can’t help anyone. We need to save ourselves.”

“Did you know about this?” I screamed. “Did you plan for this to happen?”

“What? No!” She looked so appalled, it convinced me she was innocent. “I’ve no idea who these dirty punks are. But we can’t wait. The Guardians can’t hold the portal open forever. We need to move.”

More horsemen appeared at the foot of the hill. I’d lost track of the one who had Elaine. He seemed to have dissolved into the storm, taking my friend with him.

“Melanie, we can’t leave her.”

“But we can’t save her, either. Or we’ll end up captured too. This is our one and only chance, Dawn. Come on.”

Some of the horsemen headed toward the Joy Guardians who held the pole with the hexagon. One rider threw an axe, and it sank into the chest of a Guardian, right against his heart.

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