Page 11 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
All around me sick Nobles stumbled and crawled, trying to put as much distance between themselves as the demon as possible. This would be their fate too, but not yet.
More screams erupted from further down the row as the word spread that a Noble had turned too early. Pounding footsteps headed toward me, and a heavy hand landed on my shoulder, pushing me back.
Shava.
She had a long whip in her hand and a look of vengeance in her eyes. Zephyr was right behind her, swinging an extensive length of chain around his wrist. The cowering Nobles flinched away from them as though they were death personified.
Which I guess they were, in a way.
They didn’t pause in horror or startle at the sight of Oleria’s mangled corpse. Single-mindedly focused, they moved in on the demon. Shava cracked her whip over its chest, sending it stumbling to the ground and roaring in pain. The moment it fell, Zephyr moved in, wrapping it in chains while Shava kept its fangs and claws in check with her whip.
In short order, the creature was trussed up before me, dark blood bleeding out onto the stones.
“Fuck, he had three days left,” Shava panted, shooting a frightened glance at Zephyr, who frowned deeply.
“He must have lied about when his symptoms started then,” he shot back in a way that implied the subject was closed.
Shava’s jaw dropped. “They can’t all be lying about—”
“Get rid of the body. The kids shouldn’t see it.”
Zephyr turned on his heel and yanked the demon after him like it was a particularly disobedient dog.
A dog that had just torn my friend apart.
“Mari, step away. Come with me to send this demon where it belongs,” Zephyr ordered.
I stepped away from Shava and Oleria automatically, but only because I didn’t want to throw up what precious food I’d just eaten by staying any longer. I couldn’t separate the snarling creature in front of me from the sick Noble he’d likely just been. It was strange to see the shift in Zephyr. Hadn’t he just been going on about saving everyone he could? Now he eyed the demon like an insect that was about to be squashed under his foot.
“Stupid, bloody—”
“You didn’t expect him to change so quickly?” I asked and I thought Zephyr ignored me as he grunted and pulled. I grabbed the other end of the demon’s chain and tugged along with him, and our pace doubled. We headed toward Zephyr’s tent and the massive stone wall.
“I’m going to open the door. It goes without saying that you can’t tell anyone how I do it. Not that it matters. Only someone with royal blood can open it. You got him?”
I glared and tugged hard on the demon’s chains, forcing it to trip over itself and slam head first into the cold stone, jarring it under my feet.. I felt badly because it was a person once, but I didn’t feeltoobadly. I’d just found Oleria only to lose her again. This was a thing now. Not a person. Not a person ever again.
Zephyr used the timing of the demon’s fall to quickly turn and press both of his palms against the wall. A deep rumbling filled the tunnels, and the door separated in the middle just enough to accommodate the width of a person.
A trim person.
I didn’t think I was claustrophobic, but staring into that tiny opening stretching out into a vast darkness made my stomach churn with unease.
“Push him through first. Keep him moving with this until I close the wall.”
Zephyr pushed a long dagger hilt first into my hands—a dagger long enough to be considered a short sword. I stared at the blade and turned it, the flash of steel catching the light of the torches on the wall.
Could I use this on another living being?
A snarl came from the chains as the creature lunged at me. Without thinking, I swiped the sword at it, and it whined piteously as I caught it on the shoulder. Zephyr pushed the demon hard into the tunnel and gestured for me to follow. So, the answer was yes. I could definitely use it.
I held the dagger out like a beacon and kept the demon moving forward. The ground lurched and groaned once more as Zephyr closed the wall, sealing us in complete darkness. I tried and failed to quell the sudden wave of panic that surged through my veins.
“It’s all right; the tunnel only goes to one place. Here, I’ll switch with you.”
I happily handed the dagger back over as he took my place behind the demon. The walls felt like they were pushing inward, but it had to be a figment of my imagination. Stone walls couldn’t move. Still, scared and unsure, I balled my fist in the back of Zephyr’s tunic, unable to handle separating from him for a second. His presence grounded me and kept me calm enough to keep moving forward.
Not that I could go back since he had closed the door behind us.
