Page 68 of The Dragon's Promise

“I’ll see what I can do,” I relented, throwing my hands up. “Don’t look so cheered, Gen. It’s not a promise. To be honest, I’d rather you stayed out here. Takkan says Father’s ministers are stirring up trouble and—”

Gen’s hawk cut me off with a screech, the only warning before a large stone flew out of the trees and hit the young sorcerer squarely in the nose.

Eyes bulging, he touched his nose and let out a groan. Then he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

“Gen!” I screamed.

Blood streaked down his face, vivid and garish, and his nose was an alarming shade of purple. Almost certainly broken.

I bent to stir him awake, but another rock came flying at my head.

“Sorceress!” Dozens of men and women poured out from behind the trees, wielding knives and fishing spears.

I pulled Gen to his feet, and Takkan threw him over his shoulder. We couldn’t stay.

As Takkan and I scrambled for safety, the villagers followed, and the spears they threw landed with startling accuracy.

“Bane of Sharima’en,” I muttered. “Here I was, worried about the demons.” I pushed Takkan ahead. “Take Gen to the camp.”

Stubborn Takkan didn’t listen. He grabbed my hand, practically towing me. The villagers were closing in.

Kiki hammered my cheeks with her wings. Do something!

“Like what?”

All I could do was run, praying the trees would continue to shield us until we reached the encampment by the breach.

Another spear flew past, piercing a branch over me. I ducked just before it knocked Hasho’s hat off my head. My hair tumbled loose.

“Get her!” shouted a woman among the villagers. “It’s the demon princess!”

Takkan was at my side in an instant, his sword raised. “His Majesty’s sentinels are on their way!” he said to the villagers. It was the first lie I’d ever heard him tell—Father’s men were nowhere to be seen, and they weren’t coming. “Go home—return to your townships!”

The woman who’d spoken earlier shoved her way to the front. Deep grooves were etched into her cheeks, and her white hair was tied into a simple bun. With her plain cotton robes and walking staff, she looked like a kindly grandmother. Yet there was something about the gray dirt smeared across her face that chilled me. “Step aside, sentinel. You dishonor your vows to Kiata by defending the traitor Shiori’anma.”

“I see no quarrel,” Takkan replied. “I swore to protect my country, my king, my princess.”

“The princess is the bloodsake. For the good of Kiata, she must die. The sorcerer too.” She pointed her staff at Gen’s unconscious form. “Their magic is why the demons have awoken. It is unnatural. Forbidden by the gods! Only their deaths can seal the mountains once more.”

Her fervor roused the villagers, who crowded in closer.

This old woman’s no village grandmother, Kiki observed warily. Do you think she could be a…a…

A priestess of the Holy Mountains? I nodded grimly in agreement. She’s not alone, I replied. From the mob I picked out at least three fellow cultists—all with the same ashen paste on their cheeks.

I fixed my attention on the villagers. “Don’t listen to her,” I said, extending my palms in a gesture of peace. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

“Nothing to fear?” the priestess cried, echoing my words with a sneer. “Evil afflicts these mountains, which were sealed for a thousand years—until she started meddling. Should Shiori’anma release her demon army, they will kill our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers—our children! Kiata’s men will be condemned to an endless battle, for how can we win against foes that cannot die? Tell me, how can we have nothing to fear?”

The crowd roared in agreement.

“Bring her to me!” the priestess shouted. “Only her death can rid us of this evil!”

It was the command the villagers had been waiting for. They charged forward, rushing Takkan to get to me.

“Run, Shiori!” Takkan shouted as he fended off attacks from every direction. He didn’t wish to hurt the villagers, a sentiment that was not mutual. “Run!”

I did the opposite of run. I plucked Hasho’s daggers off my belt and slammed the hilts on someone’s head. I was lunging for another attack when Kiki yanked my hair, narrowly saving me from an arrow tipped in fire.

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