Page 64 of Queen of the Night
All around us are snarls and sounds of battle. A burst of light comes from my left, and the deathstalker retreats farther, momentarily.Vera.Another quick glance shows that she’s still standing, but how much lucent can one woman offer to three men in a forest void of lucent? I fear she’ll end up dead if I continue pulling it at this rate, but she gives me a reassuring look and a nod, and I feel an even greater wave of lucent come toward me—more than I’ve ever felt. I don’t know how she’s doing it.
I look over my shoulder to search out my companions and find Darvy battling two figures. The third has fallen to the ground. He’s holding his own, but for how long? Rhosse takes a defensive stance as the deathstalker he battles prepares to jump. I know I could beat all of these enemies… if I had time. But we’re outnumbered, and I fear someone is going to end up dead.Jethonan’s weapon.
The next deathstalker eyes me, crouching low and aiming at my calves as it lunges forward as if intending to drag me to the ground. I jump back in a flash and slice its shoulder, triggering a shrieking growl that leaves my ears ringing as it backs away. I pull the vial from within my vest and yank the cork off with my teeth before dumping some in my hand, hoping it doesn’t burn a hole through my body or some such thing. It doesn’t, but you never know when it comes to Jethonan. I throw the powder at the deathstalker and take a step back as it implodes in a snarling mass of purple-and-black clouds. Jethonan will be more than pleased to know his creation worked this time. I sprint, pulling more lucent, hoping Vera can handle it without collapsing.
I catch sight of the last deathstalker charging toward Rhosse, head bent to impale him. Still running, I throw the powder in a cloud toward the deathstalker, and as with the last one, as soon as it makes contact, it disappears as if sucked into a black-and-purple portal. Gone.
Rhosse looks my way with surprise.
“Get Vera to the boat!” I call to him over my shoulder as I race to help Darvy with the last two enemies.
As I approach, I see the one that lies unmoving on the ground, gloam seeping from its dead form. Odd, but no time to consider it now.
I lift my sword to block a swing that aims to remove my head from my body. The blade cuts into my armor, uncomfortably close to my neck, but I ignore it and offensively stab at the one to my left. He grunts as if he’s a man—their menacing faces within their hoodsappearto be men, their strength is that ofmen, but I saw the way gloam seeped from the dead one’s body. These are no human men… at least, not any longer.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Rhosse and Vera working to slide the boat back into the river, but the gloam soldiers notice too. Darvy’s sword slams against the larger sword of the one he battles with with a ring that vibrates in the air around us, but the gloam soldier uses his position and size to shove Darvy back, giving him time to turn and run after Rhosse and Vera. Darvy falters against the jagged rocks beneath our feet with a curse. He quickly gains his footing and sprints after the gloam soldier.
“Rhosse!” Darvy shouts in warning, but Rhosse is already aware.
The distraction works in my favor, the attention of the gloam soldier I’m fighting split, and with a well-timed stab, he falls to my sword. I waste no time racing to the waiting boat, where Rhosse and Vera already wait, as Darvy holds off the last gloam soldier. I jump in, and it rocks dangerously in the water.
“Darvy, now!” I shout.
He quickly jumps over the edge of the boat, but with Rhosse’s large frame, struggles to find a seat and nearly falls out as it rocks and swiftly turns into the current when the rope is released. Rhosse grabs the back of Darvy’s jacket and pulls him back in, then shoves an oar into his hands, and they straighten the boat out quickly with strong, even strokes.
I glance over my shoulder to find the gloamy figure staring as the river carries us swiftly back toward the nymphs.
“We all know Ikar got the best seat,” Darvy complains, breath heaving, as he smashes in beside Rhosse with a scowl and mans the oar with expert precision, his and Rhosse’s shoulders hitting each other with the close quarters.
I’ll not disagree, but I don’t dare say it aloud.
The battle delayed us, but the suns are just past midday, and I’m pleased with the speed of our return—the river’s swift current works in our favor. The wind howls around us as if a demon watches our progress in anger, pulling strands of Vera’s hair loose from her braid and whipping them about my shoulder and face.
We all made it in one piece.
Relieved silence hovers for a while, but Rhosse and Darvy never slow down. The wind continues to lift my hair and cool the sweat of battle from my body, but I don’t let myself completely relax. We aren’t safe until we reach the nymphs.
I side-eye Vera, who’s pressed against my side. Rupi perches on her shoulder, beak jutting forward as if to hurry us along, her white fluff blown backward by wind with the speed of our travel. But Vera sits still, stiff as one of the glossy boards that make up this boat.
I shift, trying to get more comfortable on the hard seat with the side of the boat digging into my side. Vera’s lips remain pursed as our hips and shoulders press closer together until I’m settled.
She raises a brow. “Comfortable?”
I shift my shoulders once more for good measure. “Very.”
She scowls, and I look away to hide my smirk. The sound of oars slapping the water and the rush of the river around us is soon the only thing I hear. I consider the next part of the mission. In just a few short days, Vera and I will part ways, likely for good, and I’m to go in search of another woman to share my life and kingdom with. It’s a painful thought, one that triggers feelings I don’t care to dwell on. Instead, I focus on the moment. Vera’s small form pressed to mine, relaxing moment by moment as we continue forward. Other than a soft bump here and there that puts me on guard, we see no river monsters,and soon enough the canyon walls begin rising—an indication that we are close to the nymph border.
I can’t help but feel a twinge of relief. But it’s doused like a small flame dropped in a bucket of water when something knocks the edge of the boat so violently that, even tucked snuggly between my hips and the boat, Vera almost tumbles out with a scream. Rupi shoots into the air, flying in agitated circles around us. I jump to snatch Vera back, and she ends up half on my lap, breathing heavily, my arm tight around her waist. She remains there in shock for a moment, then two, before I reluctantly release her when she moves to return to her own seat.
“Behind us!” Darvy shouts.
I twist in my seat and glance back to see a glistening black creature rising from the depths of the river. It has a long v-shaped snout with interlocking teeth and eyes that rise just above the surface of the water, followed by a smooth black body which sprouts eight long appendages that twist and flail about like some sort of river demon. But my eyes focus ononething. The gloam soldier, or gloam master, as I suspect it is, standing atop the smooth back of the creature, swimming toward us in a wavelike motion.
I was pleased with our speed moments ago; now it’s not fast enough.
“Pick up the pace!” I shout as I watch the enemies behind us.
Rhosse and Darvy push themselves, and it feels as if we fly down the river, but the boat rocks again even more violently than before, and a rush of water flows over the side, drenching Vera and Rhosse. She spits river water from her mouth and wipes wet hair from her face without complaint, lucent still glowing in her hand.
