Page 36 of Broken Fate
“The entire manor is under attack, sir,” one of them said. “The north wing is burning, and the east has already been secured by Andracis. No word from the south.”
Kiel’s lips flattened into a thin line. “We head south,” he said.
“But they haven’t reached the eastern sector yet,” one of the other shifters protested.
Kiel shook his head. “That’s what they want us to believe. It’s a trap, I’m sure of it. We go south. Let’s go.”
I followed, hoping Kiel was right and that he knew what he was doing. Not knowing anything about tactics or strategy, I was little more than a follower. I couldn’t even wield a sword.
That’s something I’m going to fix as soon as there’s time. No more being a liability.
“There,” Kiel pointed as we approached a wall. He spun, pointing at the two shifters Clive had brought with him. “You two go left, hold. Andi, Clive, you’re right.”
I waited for him to give me orders, but he didn’t. I would stay with him then. The others would protect.
Protecting me. Because I can’t fight.
Grimacing against the harsh truth, I did what was expected of me. I cowered behind Kiel. It wasn’t hard. I was terrified to my core. But I didn’t like it. I wanted to be able to help. People were risking their lives, and all I could do was stand there and watch. It was a horrible feeling.
“Go!” Kiel shouted, wrenching me out of my woe-is-me moment.
The shifters didn’t bother with opening the door. They simply blew through it, ripping the panel from its hinges.
We ran out of the secret passage and into chaos. Smoke billowed out of the rooms to our left, while the hallway farther down showed it had already been consumed by flames. Shifter battled shifter, sword on sword, though at least one prowled the hallway on all fours, snatching at the wounded in their jaws, wolf teeth easily punching through the armor.
Guardsman saw our little knot of organized resistance and converged on us in a rush. But they fell back quickly, realizing we weren’t frazzled, tired, wounded defenders. One guard slipped and went down, and Clive punched his sword down through the armor hard enough to snap his blade.
Cursing, he dove for the weapon strapped to the side of the dead soldier, availing himself of the no-longer-needed blade. But that left him open. One of the other Arcadian loyalists stabbed him with a blade. Clive twisted, but the edge still glanced off his ribs.
Then Andi was there, and the attacker no longer had a hand. Her face was pulled back in a vicious snarl as she defended Clive with furious intensity, giving him time to get to his feet.
“Let’s go!” Kiel shouted, and we rushed the line of guards, battering them aside as we made our escape.
One of the other shifters fell as a spear took him through the neck, pinning him to the wall. His wingman spun, chopping the blade in half, then skewering the guard.
“No time!” Kiel hollered at me, picking me up as I waited for them. “We have to move.”
Another knot of soldiers appeared, but our onrushing attack caught them by surprise.
“Go!” Andi shouted as we were forced to split around the guards. “We’ll be fine!” she shouted as she and Clive backed down another hallway. “Get out of here!”
As one, we turned and ran, forcing the guards to pick. They spent precious seconds deciding, giving us time to escape. I saw Clive point out something to Andi, and then they were gone around a corner, out of sight.
“Pick up the pace,” Kiel growled.
I ran as fast as I could until we burst out of the doors and into the sunlight.
“Time to shift.”
My clothes came flying off, fur already appearing on my skin. My wolf whined nervously as the clanging of armor foretold the guards closing on us.
It’s going to be close.
The nervous yip in my mind showed my wolf agreed.
As soon as I was on all fours, I started to move, stumbling awkwardly for a few steps behind Kiel, putting more distance between us and the burning manor, even as my wolf came fully into her own.
Then we streaked away as smoke rose high in the air behind us. The guards emerged from within, but clad in their heavy armor, they had no chance of catching us. By the time they could strip out of it and give chase, we would have built an insurmountable lead.
