Page 196 of Ash

She squeezed between the boulders to get a glimpse of the fighting on the other side. Snarling, snapping conflict, and the two Wyverns circled overhead. But her nose told her something else was going on. She sniffed, inhaling the smell of Dire and an unfamiliar, heavy, acrid scent.

When she ducked back and peered around the boulders to the empty grasses, the scents only grew stronger. And all the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

The grasses were not only lighting up. They weremovingas though something walked through them.

It was difficult to focus on the grass, almost like she was looking through a fogged window. But if she was right, therewassomething there. Why couldn’t she see it? She reached up to activate her comm and report to Tyrez. But it was gone. It must have been knocked away when she hit the dirt.

She closed her eyes and reached with her senses.

Immediately, she not only smelled them. She heard them too.

Blocker.They must have an alpha female powerful enough to convince Dani’s eyes that there was nothing there. Keeping rock between her and the phantom force, Dani ran alongside the fluorescing grasses. Where were they going? Her brain raced, trying to remember where this ridge ended.

Dammit.It ran straight to the foot of the mountains. Hidden as they were, the Dires could bypass the defending army and get straight to the main mountain itself. If the swath of color was any indication of numbers, they’d have no trouble forcing their way through a ground-level entrance.

And then, they’d be inside. Tyrez’s army was already outnumbered. No way they could fight a war on two fronts.

They would all die.

Her gut twisted. She needed to act fast. If she could locate the Blocker and take the woman out—the entire group would become visible.

Another blast of air passed over her. There was something flying around up there—another Wyvern? But if so, who was riding it? Both Rindek and Demeti were visible, flying over the main army. Maybe another Dire?

If it was only a Dire, they couldn’t throw energy. She’d have to watch out for the Wyvern, though. They looked like they could pack one hell of a punch.

If this group followed the pattern set by the main army, the Blocker would be toward the rear, leaving the fighting Dires at the front. And she’d most likely be riding one of those massive beasts.

Her best chance of locating the woman, was by using her nose. She wove her way through the boulders until she was near the front of where the grasses bent beneath the footsteps. Then she wedged herself into a crack, closed her eyes, and altered her nose to Dire.

When her smell finally sharpened, she reached up—and touched scales.

Dammit.Her heart accelerated. She was hoping for her Dire nose, but this would have to do.

She sniffed. The Dire odor was powerful, but the acrid smell she’d caught before was so strong she almost sneezed. That had to be the creature—it was unfamiliar to her.

If she could be sure of her transformation, she’d shift to Dire. At least then she’d have her teeth and claws on top of her Mover ability. But who knows what kind of twisted thing she’d become.

As she let her nose guide her eyes, she reached around her, subtly shifting loose stones, gauging what she had to work with.

There. If she looked closely, she could even see the difference in the grass—the rainbow pulses the big creatures created as they crushed stems beneath twenty-inch toes.

She found three rocks of suitable size—each nearly as heavy as herself—and visualized, roughly, how tall the creature was as she watched the foot stomps. And where the woman would be sitting on its back...

This would be one hell of a long shot. If she didn’t take this woman out on the first go—she’d have the entire lot on top of her, and not be able to see a single one as they cut her to ribbons.

She gritted her teeth. As hard and fast as she could, Dani flung the first rock. It whistled through the air and smacked hard into solid flesh. Something bellowed.

Dani already had the second and third ones in motion, striking higher. Someone screamed. A distinctly human sound, cut off in midshriek.

The sudden appearance of the strike force was shocking, even though she'd known they were there. One second, only the fluorescing grasses. The next, a large group of vicious Dires pacing through them.

In their midst reared the creature, its shoulder streaming blood. But no sign of either the woman on its back, or the Dire directing it. The reins flew free as it bucked and stampeded through the group.

For a few precious seconds, the Dires were distracted, dodging the enormous beast as it bolted through them. Dani didn’t waste the opportunity. She spun and blasted a path straight through the loose stones, sending them flying at the strike force. But it wasn’t her prime goal. She strained to rip rock free from the ground, to clear a direct sight line through the rock ridge, and to the battle beyond.

She had to shatter stone to do it. It was beyond anything she’d ever attempted before, and it stretched her talent to the breaking point. And then beyond.

Her world lit on fire, but it wasn’t from moving the stone.

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