Page 84 of Red Demon
Before a soldier could put his helmet back on, Faruhar’s blade pierced under his chin through to his brain. She grabbed and speared a soldier in front of her chest, giving the dead the arrow meant for her. Faruhar kept killing, silent and precise. When Mahakal and the remaining soldiers tried to circle her, she leapt for the trees, scaling the bark with flashing swords, and knives built into the inner side of her boots. An arrow glanced off her armor. She pulled another from her leg, stashing it in a quiver before turning out of view.
Mahakal snaked away from me with a roar, throwing down his crossbow and unleashing his own blade, Istaran sheathed at his belt.
Desperate, I scanned for my brother in the darkness. “Ash!”
“Command, we—” Another man down as she dropped beside him from above, slicing.
Her movements were a blur as she danced through their ranks, her blades piercing each narrow mark.
Mahakal swore into his comm, losing her behind a tree.
“Jesse!” Asher’s voice rang out, and then he was beside me.
She turned at my name, angling her head in a question. A crossbow bolt hit her in the shoulder just as she’d speared a screaming woman to a tree. She ducked away.
Then, she charged Ash.
Terror flooded my veins as my brother raised his blade to meet her. “Not him, Far!”
The Red Demon, mid-strike, whipped toward me, her crimson hair flying like a banner of war. Our eyes met, a flash too quick to be certain of in the dark, but voids, I hoped it was recognition. She sliced men to either side, backing away from Asher.
Asher’s chest heaved, staring wide-eyed at me. “Far?” He looked between me and the Red Demon, lost.
“Cut me loose, Ash,” I said.
He did.
Bodies lay in heaps around us, and whoever remained alive stayed low. I grabbed a crossbow from one of the fallen, keeping close beside Asher.
I saw two soldiers creeping on the edge of the ridge with crossbows, trying to get behind her. She had no helmet, and her worn armor wasn’t worth much at this range. My heart pounded.
Mahakal gashed at Faruhar, his sharp blade tearing into a tree. I studied Istaran, dark on his belt.
“Fight me, you fucking mutt!” he roared at her.
“You.” I saw pure hate in her as she circled him. “I know what you did to my mother.”
His laugh echoed through the forest. Mahakal drew his own blade as she sliced, catching his belt. Istaran fell to the ground.
I’d never seen Mahakal fight, but I had heard the rumors. None of them did him justice. Even with my nightvision, I could barely track his movement. The remaining soldiers on the ridge aimed their crossbows, ready for their shot, but the two forms blurred together between clanging steel.
I dove for Istaran, the blade glowing blue as soon as I touched the grip. I caught Asher’s gaze, silent but so alive, screaming at me with his eyes.
Mahakal landed a blow on Faruhar, a deep slash under her arm. She cried out, her thick blood leaving her in pulses. She froze; that earned her a crossbow to the leg. Another flew as she groaned into another sequence of attacks, glancing off Mahakal’s armor. She was slowing. He was not.
I reminded myself of the names in her journal I didn’t know. I reminded myself Mal seemed to get better before she killed him. They weren’t all ruren-sa; she told me herself.
Havoc. That was the third time she saved my life.
“Your mother was much more fun,” Mahakal shouted. “More fear, less fire, but we’ll work on that.”
“You fucking bastard!” Jagged pain laced her voice as she charged.
“She screamed for me.” Mahakal laughed as he deflected, sending her reeling. “I loved her scream. Did she scream when you killed her? Can you make the same sound for me?”
She roared at him, throwing a sloppy attack with her injured arm that the other limb couldn’t compensate for. Mahakal sliced her up the leg as she stumbled.
My heart pounded. The air was thick with the iron tang of blood. I stood there, frozen, but not in confusion. The path was clear, the wrong thing took convincing. I waited for my opening.
