***
Rynne pressed herself tighter against the doorframe as another trio of bolts deflected off the stone wall. She counted to three before leaning out and firing a shot. It impacted an inch from the marksman’s face, blowing out a cloud of stone before he flipped back around out of sight.
“A lot less reckless than the previous group,” Van commented softly as he laid Selaste down inside the empty room next to them.
“Just wait until they realize I only have two shots left,” Rynne muttered before spinning around and firing again. This time she caught the man just as he leaned out, but the bolt glanced off his armor. She swore under her breath and tilted back into cover. “Make that one.”
“You guys have magic. Can’t you do something with it?”
“We’re krata, not magi,” she reminded tartly.
Van grimaced as he looked back at the unconscious woman. “You really could have picked a better time to take a nap.”
“I can get to them,” Tiel said, his face hard as he sat in a tight crouch like a coiled serpent. “If I time it right, it will probably give the two of you time to close in.”
“You’d still be outnumbered eight to one,” Rynne pointed out. “You’re good, but not that good.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “But it might buy you two the time you need.”
She shook her head adamantly. “No. Rook has already filled our quota of stupid sacrifices for the day. And I’d like to hope he has a real plan.”
“Keep hoping,” Van grunted. “At Tal Karoth he lead a small squad forward to buy the rest of us time to retreat. He ended up in a prison camp for twelve weeks before we mustered the forces to get him out.”
“He never told me that story.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly high on his list of pleasant memories.”
Rynne grimaced as another volley of bolts bounced off her cover. She brought herself to her feet to change her firing angle, then flipped out and let loose her last shot. This one was clean—it slid right through the visor of the man’s helmet, killing him instantly. Unfortunately another quickly shuffled in to take his place.
“Well, that’s it,” she said, dropping the weapon. “Now what?”
Van slid free his sword and stood next to her. “Let them come and fight in the doorway. If they’re stupid, maybe we can bottleneck them and cut our way through.”
“And hope they don’t just wait for reinforcements,” she added grimly. The compound had stopped shaking entirely, and she didn’t hear fighting from any other direction. She couldn’t imagine that many of the Kirshane had survived, and she tried not to think about what might be happening to Rook…
“Wait a minute,” Tiel warned, leaning out. “They’re backing off.”
“What?” Rynne gasped, leaning around the corner. It was true: the small squad was quickly retreating. They weren’t even firing to cover their escape. Within a few seconds they had turned around a corridor and disappeared altogether.
“It has to be a trick,” Van said, frowning as he peered around to see for himself.
“They don’t need tricks to take us out. Someone must have called them—” She stopped herself as the thought belatedly struck her. “Rook.”
“Must have convinced them that he’s the one they wanted,” Van agreed, shaking his head. “Now what happens when they find out he’s lying?”
Tiel glanced up to the taller man. “And what if he isn’t? What if he just gave them the soul of Edeh?”
“We can debate that later,” Rynne said, waving her hand impatiently. “Right now we have an opportunity to escape, and we’re going to take it. Come on, get her up.”
Van sheathed his blade and hoisted the woman back up into his arms. Tiel leapt out and led the way towards the still-smoking hole in the wall just down the hall. No one popped out to ambush them, and when they stepped out into the darkness of the Highland Forest, no army was sitting out there waiting for them. They were free…or so it seemed.
“I don’t believe it,” Van said, his eyes scouring the area.
It was hard to see anything even with the moonlight filtering in through the treetops, and Rynne quickly wove a spell to create a small, glowing ball of light next to them. It was normally a great way to become a target in the darkness, but right now she figured if anyone had wanted to stop them, they would have already done so.
They had traveled perhaps a half an hour into the forest when Selaste groaned in Van’s arms. He stopped and gently set her down on a bed of dirt and leaves.
“Hey,” Van said, touching the woman’s chin. “Can you hear me?”
Her eyes slowly opened and came into focus. They fastened on Rynne, and she took in a sharp breath.
“It’s all right,” Rynne soothed, leaning down. “We got you out of there. You’re safe.”
“No,” Selaste breathed, shaking her head. “No…”
Rynne tried to rub a hand across her forehead, but she flinched away. Her eyes were wide and her skin pale.
“You took a blow to the head,” Van told her. “Do you remember?”
The woman swallowed heavily and nearly choked on her own breath. Tears welled in her eyes and she frantically shook her head.
“I remember…everything.”
The Last Goddess Page 61