Strong hands grabbed me and whisked me out of the way right before the ogre crashed down on his back. He lay still.
My heart thundered inside my chest, filling my ears. It took a good minute for the pounding to clear. I turned to Ryo and thanked him.
“Nice save,” Devdan said, striding up to us. He stuck his hand out and shook Ryo’s.
I blinked several times, focused on their interlocked fingers. The whole situation felt surreal.
Devdan studied Ryo as he shook his hand. “You’re Aerith’s brother-in-law from Dahlquist, aren’t you?”
“Ryo. And I remember you—Mel’s friend.”
Devdan stopped shaking hands and appeared to now be squeezing. Ryo held his ground, holding on just as tightly.
Earth shaking footsteps and ear-splitting bellows grew ever nearer.
“Uh, guys? Now it really is time to go,” I said.
Devdan released Ryo’s hand and gave him a curt nod.
“Fall back,” Ryo told his guards.
Our group jogged away from the dead ogre, zigzagging our way around abandoned cottages. We didn’t slow our pace until we’d put a good couple of miles between ourselves and the horde. We were all on edge, listening for their bellows behind us.
“Is the rest of your team okay?” I asked Devdan.
He rolled his shoulders and darted a gaze behind him before returning his attention to me.
“We split up to evacuate homes. They all know to meet back at base camp if we get separated.”
I spun around to see if there were any ogres in pursuit, but the road behind us remained clear of thundering gray feet.
“So far the ogres have behaved in a single-minded manner,” Devdan noted. “They smash up an entire area then go back to lazing around on the edge of the forest.”
Where his home had been.
“Your cottage?” I asked, my chest tightening.
“Flattened like a pancake,” Devdan said, glaring into the distance.
“Dev, I’m so sorry,” I spoke softly.
Ryo and his guards walked ahead, giving us privacy. We hadn’t seen the other two Fae guards or the granny and her hysterical daughter. They’d gotten a head start and should be on their way to the shelter the woman spoke of.
I was no longer interested in portaling back to camp, not when I had Devdan temporarily to myself. Having eyes on the ground was better anyway, in case there were any more invalids needing assistance relocating. I scanned the cottages as we passed by.
“How come you never tried to communicate with me after I left for Faerie?” I demanded. “I came back that first Saturday hoping to see you, but you weren’t there. No note. No nothing.”
Devdan looked at me and sighed heavily.
“Mel, I came back the very next day. The cook showed me the note you left. It wasn’t even addressed to me.” Devdan raked a hand through his hair. “Six words, Mel. That’s all you left me. Gone to Faerie. Be back soon.”
“Seven. I signed my name.”
Devdan’s lips pinched together.
I guess that was the wrong response.
“So, that’s it?” I asked. “You’re never going to forgive me?”
Devdan sighed again. “I don’t want to argue anymore,” he said. “You did what you needed to do.”
Damn straight I did. I ought to win the Best Sister in All the Realms Award. Guess I wasn’t up for Best Girlfriend, though.
Silence encircled us like a deep moat. I could barely swallow past the lump in my throat.
Ryo fell back to join us. “This means six ogres now remain, doesn’t it?” he asked.
I flashed him a grateful smile for coming to my rescue yet again. I’d happily discuss the eradication of ogres over complicated emotions any day.
“Yep, third one down,” Devdan said, sounding friendlier than he had to me seconds ago. “First kill without casualties. You and your guards are very fast.”
“Do you think we could single out more of them or ensnare them in traps?” Ryo asked, wetting his lips with his tongue.
“It would certainly help,” Devdan said. “We have a team digging a pit. If we could lure them in, it would make finishing them off a heck of a lot easier.”
“Good idea.”
Devdan shrugged and said, “Too bad the ground is half frozen.”
“I could help with that,” I said.
“So, do you think we could trap them?” Ryo asked. “That might speed up the process and allow us to set out obstacles between the ogres and the rest of the town.”
“Hmm,” Devdan said, rubbing at the stubble on his chin.
“Or get them drunk and stupid on sweetberry wine,” I interjected.
How many barrels would that take? They’d probably just smash them, anyway.
Ryo and Devdan ignored my suggestion, speaking over me about possible snares, from steel traps to lassos and nets.
Despite everything, I felt a bounce return to my step. Even with the enchantment, we’d taken down an ogre. I couldn’t wait to remove a gray stone from Keerla’s map. That would be a thousand times more satisfying than moving pieces around a campaigne board.
Three ogres down. Six more to go.
So, maybe Keerla wasn’t as happy with us as I’d thought she would be. When we told her the good news inside her tent, she let out a theatrical groan.
“Mel, what part of do not engage did you not understand?” Before I could answer, she said, “Never mind.”
She stood on one side of the table with Almon and Conall. Ryo, Devdan, and I stood on the other with Sana between both groups, inching her way closer to Devdan.
“They saved an elderly female,” Devdan reminded Keerla.
She nodded. “I am happy to hear another ogre is down,” she said, allowing a small smile to appear over her lips.
“If we could separate them, my guards and I could take them out one by one,” Ryo said. Shoulders back, chin high, he spread apart the stones on the map.
Although he said he had no interest in ruling, in that moment he reminded me of a king. Confident. Benevolent. Fearless.
“Maybe if I started a fire, it would send them bumbling in different directions,” I said, wanting to get in on the action.
“I probably have enough power to freeze at least one,” Sana said. She leaned closer to Devdan as she spoke, twirling the bit of hair at the end of one of her braids.
“Are there any more of you with ice magic?” Ryo asked.
Sana stopped playing with her braid and lifted her chest. “We are very rare. I am the only one in Pinemist.”
I ground my teeth. “The only one with ice magic,” I corrected. “And yes, those of us with elemental powers are a rarity.”
Sana pursed her lips.
“Commander!” A green-cloaked male with long brown hair ran into the tent. “The ogres are headed in the direction of the shelter.”
Keerla stepped away from the table. A strong, lean, towering elf, she exuded confidence at every moment. Keerla was as beautiful as she was fierce, with her silky brown hair that always looked polished to a shine. Her face and eyes had the healthy glow of an elf who spent a lot of time outdoors, active.
“It appears we have no choice but to engage,” Keerla announced. “We will do everything we can to separate them.” She turned to the green-cloaked male. “Take a team to the shelter, and begin evacuating refugees to the north end of town. Knock on doors and insist residents take as many elves as they can fit inside their homes.”
The male nodded then ran out of the tent.
Keerla faced the rest of us and squared her shoulders. “The time for planning is over. Now we attack and kill by any means necessary.”
It was my kind of pep talk: short and to the point. If I wasn’t raring to go, I would have been tempted to take a moment to applaud.
Once more, we had to set out on foot since Ryo and his guards had never been to the shelter.
“Six ogres. We don’t stand a chance,” I heard Almon mutt
er to Conall.
“Hey, we’re going to kick ogre ass,” I snapped at him. “You should have seen us kill the last one, isn’t that right, boys?”
The Fae guards didn’t answer, but I saw their smiles. I bet they’d never had that kind of action back in Dahlquist.
Ryo and I walked ahead of them, catching up to Keerla, Devdan, and Sana.
“Do you have any rope?” Ryo asked. “I have an idea.”
Devdan fell back a step and cocked his head to one side. “We gathered a bunch in one of the tents, actually. We were hoping to use it to set some traps. What did you have in mind?”
Ryo smiled in answer then turned to his guards. “We’ll carry everything you’ve got.”
Devdan, Ryo, and the guards turned around to head back to base camp. The rest of the party continued on. I jogged up the hill to join my males. Devdan and Ryo were shoulder to shoulder speaking animatedly. I ran over and pushed my way between them. “Hey, so what’s the plan?” I asked. When Ryo shared his idea, I grinned from ear to ear. “Brilliant!”
Devdan nodded and said, “Let’s hope it works.”
“It has to,” I said.
The guards brought all of the rope out of the tent—thick coils I helped carry. Despite the added weight in our hands, we hurried our steps to catch up to the rest of the group. The rope didn’t slow the Fae down at all, but they kept pace with Devdan and me.
We didn’t banter as we walked. Our plan had to work. As Keerla had said, now was our moment. We didn’t have any other choice but to defend our home and people. We had to come out victorious. That meant six ogres had to die.
We hustled down neighborhood lanes. The homes nearest to market were attractive midsized homes, not the large estates where Jhaeros lived. I didn’t notice any movement behind windows, as though the elves in this area had already hightailed it out of Pinemist.
We reached a flurry of activity at the shelter. Elves were evacuating a small auditorium where town meetings and performances were usually held. They moved as quickly as their legs would take them, keeping quiet as they did.
It twisted my guts to see elven families displaced yet again, fleeing for their lives.
Keerla stood near the entrance, speaking to a male in battle gear. Devdan, Ryo, and I joined them.
“Stay here until every last elf is out of harm’s way,” she was saying as we came over.
The male nodded and disappeared inside the auditorium.
“Well, we beat them here, which is a good thing,” Keerla said. “Now we’ll head them off.” She glanced at the rope in our hands and forced a smile. “Let’s bring them down and end this once and for all.”
Five more elves were ordered to stay behind and oversee evacuation, but I could see what a hard decision it was for Keerla. We needed every able-bodied elf we could muster to fight the ogres.
It was do or die.
As we marched southward, I found encouragement in our numbers. Keerla had a decent army of roughly thirty-five elves. If an enchantment hadn’t been placed on the ogres, her troops would have had no problem firing arrows at the ogres until the creatures went down one by one.
“Six ogres and eleven of us,” Ryo said to his guards. “Two per ogre with the exception of one. Partner up. I will take the sixth on my own.”
“I will help you,” Devdan said.
I was glad to see him staying with our group rather than migrating over to Keerla, Sana, Almon, and Conall.
“And me,” I cut in. “I’m very good at distraction, you know.”
“I know,” Devdan and Ryo said at the same time.
I shrugged, a smile on my lips.
The Fae guards grouped into pairs and coiled their bits of rope, readying them to be unwound quickly. Devdan and Ryo walked close together and did the same.
“Need more?” I asked, squeezing the rope I carried.
“This should be enough,” Ryo said.
The sound of crashing could be heard ahead. My heart immediately sped up as the crumbling sound of a demolished home filled our pointed ears.
We were able to see the ogres before running into them—they were so tall and loud. All six were out, clustered close. They weren’t sticking around to finish off one area as they had reportedly done before, but they didn’t look to be in a hurry either, taking their time smashing houses here and there as they went.
Keerla lifted her arms, and we all halted.
Above the pounding of my heart, I heard more crashing and felt the ground shake. I would have swallowed if my throat hadn’t gone dry.
During the march, I’d visualized everything the way I wanted it to go. Zip. Zip. Stab. Stab. Ogres killed.
Standing here in the present, facing those giants, was the real deal. We might not all make it out of this alive.
Oh yes, we would, I reminded myself.
No mercy.
No casualties.
“Mel,” Devdan said softly, his shoulder pressed against mine.
“I’ll be careful,” I whispered. I kept my gaze trained forward. “Promise you’ll do the same.”
“I promise, but I want a kiss at the end of all this.”
Flowers bloomed in my belly despite the battle we were about to face. I spun around and planted a kiss on Devdan’s cheek then stepped over to Ryo and pressed one to his cheek as well.
“For luck,” I told them. “Make it out alive and I’ll give you each one on the lips. Special circumstances, celebratory smooches.”
If it incentivized the males, I was all for it. I couldn’t lose either of them.
Devdan looked at Ryo and glowered, but before he could protest, one of the ogres moved ahead of his big, ugly gang and stumbled upon us.
Keerla and her guards drew their swords. While the motion distracted the gray lump momentarily, Ryo nodded at his guards. The first two in line each took one end of their rope in hand then raced forward. In a blur of motion, they ran around the ogre’s feet, binding his ankles together.
The ogre looked down in confusion and grunted. When he tried to lift a foot, he caught on the rope and fell.
“Timber,” Devdan said beside me.
Boom! The ogre hit the ground and roared.
Five thick gray heads snapped up from the rooftops and hollered. Their companion thrashed on the ground, bellowing as Keerla and her guards descended on him with their swords. He lashed out with his arms, but on the ground, he was at the first group’s mercy.
My body felt as though it pitched from side to side as the ground shook, and five more ogres came at us all at once.
The Fae guards ran at them in teams of two, going for the ankles the way the first team had. Another ogre came tumbling down as quickly as the first. The other four stomped and kicked out, making it a struggle to bind their ankles.
Pitberries!
Devdan and Ryo each fisted the end piece of the rope they shared and started toward the sixth ogre. The gray giants usually maintained the same dazed expression, but I swore this one narrowed his beady eyes. He watched Devdan and Ryo much too closely, waiting patiently as though he intended to stomp on them once they were close enough.
I ran to the side of the ogre and yelled, “Hey, you ugly lump. Anyone ever tell you how much you reek? There are these things called lakes and soap. You should try them. The soap’s for bathing, by the way, not eating.”
The ogre barely glanced at me, keeping his attention on Devdan and Ryo as they attempted to move behind him and rush him from the rear. The ogre spun around and lifted a leg. Devdan and Ryo jumped back.
Fire it was.
Pulling out my trick from earlier, I set the ogre’s loincloth ablaze. He screeched and looked down, thick palms slapping at his crotch. Ryo didn’t waste the opportunity. He lunged at the ogre in warp speed while Devdan held his end of the rope. Ryo circled around the ogre five times before the rope ran out. Devdan raced forward with his end to tie it with Ryo’s.
A gray fist came down like a hammerhead as Devdan neared. I threw my h
ands forward and sent flames at it, but the heavy fist was already in motion.
“Dev!” I screamed.
He looked up and dove away just in time. In doing so, he had to let go of his end of the rope. “The rope is not secured,” he yelled.
Ryo dove for Devdan’s end of the rope. I raced forward, waiting to draw my sword at the last second. First, I needed my arms to pump and reach the ogre fast enough. The giant had become maddeningly patient, standing steadily in place rather than trying to move forward or back.
I heard the crash of another ogre hit the ground nearby, roaring his displeasure. What was that? Three out of six? I really didn’t want to be the last group to bring down an ogre.
As Ryo knotted the rope ends around the giant’s ankles, the ogre stretched his arm down, fingers spread as though he meant to scoop Ryo up.
I ran at him, drawing my blade, and sliced off three fingers as they came within a foot of Ryo’s head.
The thick fingers plopped over the ground. The ogre shrieked and jerked forward, caught in the rope. Gravity took care of the rest. Unfortunately, Ryo and I were in gravity’s way. Eyes widening, Ryo grabbed my free arm and whisked me off. My legs could barely keep up with Ryo’s momentum. We were still zipping to the side as the ogre crashed to earth and sent a tremor through the ground beneath our boots.
My breath came out ragged.
Ryo put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded and stared past his shoulder at the downed ogre, thrashing out with his arms.
We had a job to finish.
Five of Keerla’s warriors joined us as we descended on the seven-fingered ogre.
The dirt seemed to lift off the ground as another ogre was brought down. Only one remained standing. They all bellowed and roared. I felt like I would go deaf from the sound.
The fingers on our ogre’s good hand were like pinchers grasping for us. A couple of Keerla’s warriors slashed at its legs, but we needed to get to its head and put the thing out of its misery. An opportunity opened up when the ogre reached with both arms toward the warriors.
Ryo zipped over to the ogre’s neck and plunged his sword into the giant’s jugular. Blood spurted out, and the ogre went slack.
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