Page 185 of The Last One
Sudden movement draws my attention back to the battle. Another warrior stomps toward me, banging his fist against his breastplate.
If that’s where he wants it. I kick hard enough for him to stumble back, and then I kick him again. Once he’s on his knees, I grab the top of his head and his chin and twist it until he’s looking in the direction he shouldn’t. But he’s still breathing, and time is still ticking, and those horses carrying Olivia and my amulet are racing farther away from me. Before I can finish him off, a familiar shriek pulls my focus over to the inn’s porch, where a soldier rips the bow from Philia’s hands and strides away.
Her face bloody, Philia lunges to follow, but Separi pulls her out of the fray and back into the inn.
My eyes scan the landscape for the soldier who’s just taken Philia’s bow.There!By the horse troughs in front of the bakery. I march over to him and knock the back of his head with the pommel of my sword.
He drops the bow.
I snatch the weapon from the ground and call out, “Separi.” I toss the bow and watch it sail to the innkeeper.
Bam!
Something hard hits the back of my head. Stars fill my vision, and I stumble, regrouping quickly enough to swing Fury and slice the gap of unprotected flesh between a soldier’s knee and shin guards. I move on as Jadon swings and punches beside me, wielding Fury with my right hand and wind-whipping with my left. Despite the luclite armor, parts of me continue to numb as I use my wind as a weapon.
Another soldier creeps into my blind spot and swings his sword.
I duck, but not before the tip of his blade nicks my cheek. I suck at the air—the cut stings like a flame. My knees wobble. My vision narrows. I pull Warruin from my back scabbard, but the staff isn’t glowing lavender. I thrust the ouroboros at the soldier before me, but nothing happens. No time to figure out how it works, since the soldier is rushing toward me again. This time, I swing the staff, connecting it to the soldier’s face and sending him to his knees.
No use in keeping a weapon not fit for me.
I toss it over to the porch, where Separi is wiping down a cut on Philia’s cheek.
Jadon and I press on, cutting, slashing, back-to-back, just like we fought the emperor’s men in Maford, just like we fought the burnu in the glen.
More soldiers pour into Caburh.How many men did Wakebring? And where are they coming from?The sound of their clanking armor makes my head hurt. The fiery glint of shiny armor makes me squint.
I could possibly hit three thousand today, but I doubt it. Not with my knees, legs, arms, and back…all of me softening like butter with every move I make.
Jadon swings his sword, but his moves have lost their crisp confidence. His swings are now slurred.
I can’t keep fighting.“Help me.”
Neighing. Hooves clomping. Horses rear and come down on top of men. Dogs growl. Dogs bark. Soldiers shriek. Sparrows swoop through the smoke. Men scream as they catch their bloody eyeballs, unable to see crimson-stained beaks.
“We’re here, Lady.”
“Go west, Lady.”
“Hurry, Lady.”
My head aches so much that I can’t focus enough to push any wind through my fingers. “We need to get out of here!” I yell.
Jadon barely acknowledges me. He’s covered in blood—his and the blood of men piled at his feet. But he’s still standing.
Fatigue soaks into my bones.Don’t die here. Not in this place.Not—
Silence sweeps across this new battleground, making my skin prick with worry.
“Oh my…” Jadon’s eyes widen.
What’s caused him to—? I turn to face what he’s looking at. “Shit,” I whisper.
Cursuflies with their scales, feathers, white eyes, and crones’ hair fly over the streets of Caburh. If I didn’t have confirmation before, this is all I needed to prove that Elyn is behind this. That she’s found herself an ally in Wake, providing him an otherworldly army to finish us off.
I search the skies for Elyn. She has to be close.
One of the creatures buzzes over to me and stares me down with its white eyes. Before it unlocks its jaws, I thrust my sword into its heart, then hop back as hot-green blood bursts and spills onto the slippery road.
