Page 82 of Red Ruin

“I’ll track them down.” I tune my energy, trying to pick up pulses of Sentinel distress in the chaos of the field.

I take a half step forward.

“No.” Remy ropes me back with shadows and cages me in his arms.

Seriously?

“I didn’t say I was going alone.” I reassure his silks until they relax. “Keep your barrier around the Guides and help me clear a path.”

I grab a spear from a dead kobold and head west, toward the thickest fighting and the widest break in our wall.

Three stray kobolds spot me creeping. Hissing, they rush at me with swords and shields. Their race has lizard legs with webbed feet but all the muscles and sprinting power of wolves.

I wince as I ready my grip on the spear.

My arms are wrecked.

It’s been a day.

Before the kobolds enter my range, shadows spike from the ground. In one smooth motion, they bind and stab the enemies, then neatly disappear.

The kobolds drop in pieces.

“The path is clear.” Remy drapes himself over my shoulders, burying his face in my hair.

I let him take one deep breath before shaking him off. “Focus.”

“I am.” Remy’s eyes shift constantly between red and black. The vampire comes and goes, but he always watches me instead of the field.

I can’t trust him on his own yet.

“This way.” I hurry toward a disordered pulse of Sentinel power—someone is slipping dangerously close to a full rampage.

Remy’s shadows assassinate the enemies in our way. I guide his energy as we move, making slow progress on his knots.

It would be nice if all battles were this easy.

As if he can sense my stupid wish, the kobold lord bellows. The squad that has him surrounded blasts him with powers from ice blades to earthquakes, but his defenses are too strong to fall from one attack.

Meanwhile, the Farguard’s supposed top attacker ping-pongs between kobold mages, killing them one-by-one with knives instead of hellfire and broadcasting psychic glee.

Fantastic.

Vhex lasted five whole minutes before going out of pocket. Now he’s playing around, leaving the elephant-sized warlord to tear into our front line.

“Remy. You?—”

My second Sentinel is already gone.

“Go take care of the boss,” I mutter to empty air.

Shadows already gather around the kobold warlord. It shouldn’t take Remy long to win. But if Vhex could stay rational after his first fireball, he could’ve been back to my side in thirty seconds.

I have to work harder.

The S-Classes need to be able to fight without instantly losing the plot.

Back to moving on my own.

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