Page 81 of The Lands Defying
I let out a small growl when it connects, pain flaring inside of me.
“We have a rabbit in the woods,” the guard says, coming for me again. “What are you doing out here, hmm?”
I push my blade hand outward, the clink of metal on metal sounding around us as I block his sword away from the side of my head.
“Who the fuck are you? Reveal yourself!” the guard demands, his dark eyes assessing me as he briefly looks over at Josh and the other guard.
I ignore him as he pushes forward on his blade and I push back, knocking him a few steps. He growls and comes at me, and I block him the best I can as I go on the defense.
Damn, he’s strong.
He swings his sword back and turns with it, swinging it down on me. I bring my blade up above my head to stop it, the strength behind it causing me to stumble back, shocked that the blade in my hand didn’t break.
He moves again, his sword stabbing straight towards my chest and I turn quickly. Hissing as it connects with my arm but managing to avoid it going through my chest. I move forward and grab his wrist when I dodge his lunge and I pull toward me.
Using the momentum, I bend forward, using my shoulder to propel him over my back. He lands on the floor with a thud, and I turn quickly, but his sword lashes out and gets me on the top of my thigh.
I waver a little, but then I’m stepping on his sword hand and pressing down with my good leg. Bringing my blade up quickly as I pant, I don’t waste any more time shoving it straight through his chest unaimed, just needing to subdue him as his other hand comes toward me.
He groans, moving to grab the blade but I take it out and then it’s in his heart. He goes limp beneath me, unseeing eyes wide as they stare at me, no essence leaving him.
I gasp heavily, taking my blade out of his body and look to see Josh coming toward me, a body laying still on the floor behind him.
“You good?” he asks, looking at my injuries. I nod. “Let’s move, I don’t know if there are others but I can’t sense them.”
“I can’t either, I think it was just these two. We need to get inside the building in case there are more.” I move forward, trying not to limp with the gash in my thigh and ignore the pain in my arm.
Josh follows close behind me, checking our backs.
I look across from me and see the rest of my pack making their way to the Elites as we emerge from the trees and head around the side of the building, aiming for the front. When we reach it, I spot Damian striking the last guard in the stomach, his face thunderous before he does it again and again, until the guard drops to the floor.
The others stand over four more dead guards, wiping their weapons on the bodies to clean the blood off.
I move to the double doors and turn the circle handle, twisting it to open, not bothering to wait for Darius as desperation runs through me with a heavy dose of dread.
Please be here, please be alive.
The blood rushes in my ears as complete silence reaches me as we step into the dark building illuminated by a single torch on the wall.
Josh stays at my back as the door slams behind us.
The room is practically bare, only a single table and a few chairs to be seen.
“No,” I whisper, devastation washing over me. I limp further into the room, going into an open doorway further to the left, but only finding bed rolls on the floor and nothing else. “Fuck.”
“Rhea,” Josh starts.
“They should have been here!” I run my hands through my hair, messing up my ponytail as I pull my mask down.
A harshcreak, and then heavy footsteps reach my ears before I’m spun around and facing a furious Darius. “Don’t ever fucking walk into a building blind like—”
A muffled scream rents the air, stilling us, and my heart.
We leave the room of bedrolls and look toward the back of the stone building—like the others are, seeing nothing, but we all heard it.
I swallow. “Where did that come from,” I whisper, shivering as cold seeps into my bones.
Another scream, and all of our heads turn to the stone floor at the very back. I take a tentative step forward, but I’m halted by a hard grip on my arm.
