Page 83 of Ecliptic

“Let me try to save them,” I whispered, my mouth bone-dry.

“Keira . . .” Rowen breathed, a slight hitch in his voice.

My stare remained unwavering. I refused to give in to the overwhelming odds. “There might still be a chance.”

Maddock turned to me, his eyes soft yet worried. “Keira, I don’t think?—”

“No!” I hissed, cutting him off. “I have to try. We need to lure one away so I can attempt to save it like I did with Alvar.”

Rowen’s jaw clenched, his eyes darting between the demons and me. His face was etched with concern, but he knew once my mind was made up, I wouldn’t back down. Finally, he gave a nod. “We’ll draw one out. Be ready.” Rowen pulled a rope out of his rucksack and quickly tied it to the hilt of his blade.

“We don’t know if the bitten are venomous and can turn others, but we have to assume they can,” I said in a calm whisper. “So remember, stay away from their teeth.”

“What about you?” Maddock asked worriedly, shifting his weight to stare me in the eye. A twig snapped and echoed through the air.

I winced.

Suddenly, three sets of demon eyes shot toward where we lay hidden in the brush. One black as night, the other two still eerily elven.

A savage snarl emanated in our direction, and in a sudden heart-stopping rush, they charged upon us.

30

My plan to get one of the bitten alone flew right out the window. The five of us charged out of the bushes, attempting to meet the astral demons head-on.

Rowen immediately went for the largest of the three, the true Voro-Kai.

Dyani and Minroe took on the second largest, working together like a well-oiled machine. They practiced together daily, learning the intricacies of each other’s fighting styles. And it showed.

My heart lurched at how close they were to the demon’s talons and boar-like tusks, but Maddock and I had our own demon to worry about. Rowen and Dyani were among the fiercest warriors in Luneth; I couldn’t afford to worry about them now, and they wouldn’t want me to. They would want my full attention on surviving.

“Don’t hurt him,” I shouted at Dyani and Minroe. “There might be a chance I can save him.”

The Voro-Kai slashed at Dyani’s midsection, and she leaped back. “No problem,” she yelled sarcastically, her eyes focused.

“Just keep him distracted,” I shouted back, determination burning within me as I sprinted toward the demon with hints of blue in its eyes.

Enrin! Leer’s friend.

I approached the turning warrior, my arms up in a surrendering plea. “Enrin,” I shouted, trying to reach his humanity. “Do you remember who you are?”

I desperately hoped the blue eyes would snap back to life, but he lunged at me with a deadly swipe.

“Find,” he hissed and swiped again.

My gut dropped. He had become a part of the hive mind.

I quickly unleashed my Light, trapping Enrin within my beam, but he was far stronger than the demons I had fought in the crevice. My arm trembled as I struggled to keep him steady. Suddenly, the creature’s massive leg kicked back and hit Maddock square in the stomach. “Madds!” I screamed as he flew back and landed on the ground with a painful thud.

Guilt assailed me. Asking everyone to avoid killing the demons put us all in danger of being hurt—or worse, bitten. I needed to hurry. I only had a moment to see Maddock trying to get back on his feet. “Don’t let him go,” he wheezed.

My gaze shot back to Enrin. He was pinned within my beam of Light, but I would have to touch him if I were going to heal him. My hand passed through my shimmering Light with ease, and my fingers wrapped around the fur-covered wrist of the Wyn warrior.

“Ours. Ours. Ours.”

I closed my eyes and searched for Enrin’s thread of life—any remnants of who he had been before, but despair rammed against me like a brick wall. It had been easy to find with Alvar, but now, the transformation was too far along.

I waded through the thick, black poison, but there was noblight to cleanse. The venom ran deeper into the blood, bone, and skin. It was fully integrated into the host.

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