Page 74 of The Cradle of Ice
Graylin turned and followed where he pointed. Across the plaza, two small shapes stumbled into view. Nyx and Daal. They leaned on each other and waded into the carnage. A bat swept at them. Nyx thrust a hand high and sent it cartwheeling away. Still, she stumbled, weakening. Daal carried her under one arm, a steel trident high in the other.
They would not make it far on their own.
Jace cupped his mouth. “Nyx! Over here!”
His yell was deafened by a cannon blast from the Sparrowhawk, where someone was still fighting out on the water.
By now, Meryk and Floraan had spotted their son, too. Their relief was tempered by fear, and not just for Daal.
“Where’s Henna?” Floraan whispered, clutching hard to her husband.
Graylin firmed his grip on Heartsthorn, clearheaded enough to know what he had to do. Without a word, he dashed up the stairs and out into the plaza. After only a few steps, that sharp-edged barrage ate into his skull. Wincing against it, refusing to relent, he ran onward. He reached his target—not Nyx, but a fallen guardsman.
Graylin slid on his knees through the bloody sand. He dropped his sword and clawed the helm from the dead man’s head. He struggled to don it, his limbs shaking, his vision blurring. He finally yanked it into place. Scrabbling, he palmed the lodestone shells over his ears and pressed them there. The world immediately went muffled.
Still, the keening pierced the helm. It felt like needles digging into his scalp and skull, but it could go no deeper. Graylin hunched over his knees for two breaths to regain his senses.
He heard Jace yell. Graylin could not make out his words, only the urgency and terror. He looked over at Nyx and Daal. The pair had stopped near the center of the plaza, driven also to their knees.
Bats dove at them. Nyx’s one arm tremored high, trying to hold them at bay. Two landed in the sand, claws digging, balancing on their wingtips, ready to charge. Daal swept his spear with a flash of steel, trying to guard against both.
Graylin pushed to his feet, grabbed his sword, and sprinted toward them.
Daal stabbed at one of the bats, slicing through an ear, grazing a cut down its neck. The other bat, small and cunning, raced on wingtips and claws, charging low toward them.
Graylin’s heart knotted in his throat. He would not make it there in time. He skidded, snatched a bloody spear from the sand with his free hand, and whipped it toward the charging bat.
It struck a wing and tore through it. The blow was not enough to kill it, but it did drive it aside, twisting it around. Black eyes fixed upon its attacker, lips curling from poisoned fangs.
Graylin didn’t slow, rushing straight at it.
Still, more bats descended, landing all around. Others beat the air overhead, struggling to get to Nyx, blowing a whirlwind of stinging sand.
Carrying Heartsthorn low and wide, Graylin raced at the beast. As jaws snapped at him, he spun aside and swept his sword high. The blade cleaved through the monster’s throat, hewing through bone and sinew. Its head flew and bounced across the sand.
Graylin ducked under a flailing wing to reach Nyx and Daal. His arrival scattered the nearest attackers. They surely scented the fresh kill and were now wary of the newcomer.
Nyx stared wide-eyed at him.
Daal glanced over a shoulder, keeping his trident up.
Graylin pointed toward the shelter, where Jace stood in the doorway. “That way!”
Nyx shook her head, her face pale, running with sweat. She gasped, “Someone’s coming…”
Graylin didn’t understand. He searched around, sweeping his sword.
After the brief hesitation, the horde regathered its nerve. The black storm descended toward them.
Graylin clenched his jaws, ready to defend Nyx with his last breath. From Daal’s tight-lipped expression, he was determined to do the same.
Between them, Nyx struggled to her feet and stared toward the sea.
“She’s here…”
* * *
NYX WATCHED A sun rise out of the sea, its golden sheen spreading across the waves. Daal witnessed it, too, gasping in awe. She took his hand and felt the font of his energy stir inside him, responding to the song out there.
