Page 89 of Cloak of Night
“There are only four of us,” Broomstick pointed out, “and way too many of them. How is this even going to be possible?”
But then Sora thought of Beetle again—how he wasn’t really himself anymore—and clarity hit her. “We defeat them by remembering they’re not alive.”
Daemon, Fairy, and Broomstick looked at Sora as if she’d lost her mind.
“How is that different from knowing that they’re dead?” Fairy asked.
“I know it sounds the same,” Sora said, “but what I mean is, if we think of them as actual creatures, we make the mistake of focusing on killing them. They aren’t alive, though. They’re just bones being controlled by two ryuu—Skullcrusher and Skeleton.”
“So we should find those two,” Daemon said, catching on.
“Right,” Sora said. “If we eliminate Skullcrusher and Skeleton, the entire army and navy of dead will fall like marionettes who’ve lost their puppeteers.”
Fairy scrunched up her nose as she thought about this. “Yeah, but what do we do about the marionettesbeforetheir strings are cut?”
Broomstick flexed his fingers and started to smile. “Even the undead can’t fight if they don’t have bodies.”
“You’re going to blow them up? Can I help?” Fairy’s eyes brightened.
“Absolutely. Wolf can fly with Spirit to look for the two ryuu controlling everything. In the meantime, you blast apart the warriors on land, and I’ll blow up the ships in the sea. If we can’t stop Skullcrusher and Skeleton, we’ll makesure they have nothing to use their magic on.”
“Whoa,” Daemon said. “I think that’s a great plan, but Sora shouldn’t be out there.”
“What? Why not?” Sora asked.
“Because if you die, you’re doomed,” he said. “You should stay here and keep safe.”
“I’m not going to hide while you all fight.”
“The general of an army sends troops into battle,” Daemon argued. “She doesn’t dive into the fight herself.”
Sora crossed her arms. “I don’t know what generals you’ve been studying, but that’s not the kind of leader I want to be. Besides, I’m a taiga. And that means I do what needs to be done to protect our kingdom, even if it means my own death and damnation. I think you all understand that.”
There was silence for a moment, but she could read the thoughts on their faces. Fairy had disguised herself as the empress and walked straight into what she knew was an assassination attempt. Broomstick had barged into a god’s lair to help steal his treasure. And Daemon had stood by Sora’s side from the very beginning, risking everything to go undercover on the Dragon Prince’s ship, to save Sora from the grips of genka, and train with his newfound powers to beat back the biggest threat Kichona had ever seen.
All three of them understood what it meant to be a taiga.
“We’re agreed, then?” Sora asked.
They all nodded, even Daemon.
“Good.” She stacked her fists over her heart. “Then I think the League of Rogues has a plan.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Let’s go,” Sora said.
Daemon shifted into his wolf form. She climbed onto his back and held out her hand for Fairy.
He tensed when Fairy touched his fur, but it was a little less obvious than earlier. Maybe Daemon was starting to make peace with the way things had ended between them? Sora could only hope. She needed the League of Rogues as strong as possible.
When all three of them were on board, Daemon took a running start and hurtled into the sky. He kept his sparks muted so they could approach Dera Falls surreptitiously, but it didn’t douse the thrill of soaring through the cold night air. Sora smiled as they picked up altitude, the wind gusting through her hair.
Her nerves came back, though, as they neared the eastern side of the island.
“I’ll land just past the waterfall,” Daemon said.
“No need,” Broomstick said. “Dip down briefly, and Fairy and I can jump off.”
