The next howl was so close I almost felt its vibrations.
Time to run.
I cut east, leading them away from base. This was new terrain, but my mental map was on, taking in all the details and storing them away for later use. Shit, a flag. Damn it, no time to stop and grab it. It was high up again. I’d double back and get it later. The Lupin were at my back—their paws scraping earth as they ran, eager to cut me down. Another howl, and I took a sharp left, leading them farther off course. And then a new sound rose up into the air—the sound of a horn, low, ominous, and loud.
Shit. It was close by. Who the fuck was that? More Lupin? Or was it the Sanguinata? My body was suddenly sheathed in perspiration, part exertion, part fear, because at my back were the howls, and in front of me was the horn.
What to do?
Acting on instinct, I leapt up into the nearest tree, right to the top where the canopy was thick and would hide me. If they sniffed me out, I was fucked. But the howls and the horn were set on a collision course, and, hopefully, the horn was Sanguinata and they’d end up fighting amongst themselves. I crouched, clung, and waited. Less than a minute passed, and the Lupin crashed into sight on the forest floor. There were three of them, which left three unaccounted for because Ryker had said the houses had teams of six.
The horn sounded again, and the Lupin skidded to a halt a meter away from my tree. They were huge, buff guys, but way too hairy for my tastes. Their arms hung a little too long, and their haunches rippled with power. They were also naked, their bits on display for all to see. Big bits.
The one closest to the tree growled, “What the fuck is that?”
“Fucking Sanguinata playing tricks, no doubt,” one of his companions said.
“Let ’em come, pasty motherfuckers,” the third member of the trio said. “We took them down last year, we can take ’em down again.”
He was the smallest, in more ways than one, but his swagger was the largest. Compensating much?
The horn was super close now, and then there was something else. The sound of hooves. It sounded like … horses.
The Lupin backed up a step, suddenly wary, and the temperature dropped, leaving my breath a mist in front of my face. This was not the Sanguinata; this was something else. They rode onto the dirt track straight at the Lupin—black mist and crimson fabric. Laughter rose up to meet me—triumphant and hungry—and then the screams began.
My hands were frozen claws digging into the tree as my eyes tried to make sense of what I was seeing—riders on horseback moving fluidly. They were ethereal one moment and flesh the next. The Lupin fought, but their claws slipped through shadows, which immediately solidified to a whip or a sword that cut into their hairy hides.
Fresh ground.
Fresh meat.
Fresh hunt.
Their words echoed in my mind, and then a shadow stopped and looked up—looked right at me with its abyss eyes. My lungs stopped working, my brain froze. It saw me. It had me. There was nothing else but this connection as it slowly cocked its head as if considering, as if musing whether to climb up and rip me from my perch. And then it turned away, melding into the mass as they began to ride again. They ran west, thank goodness, away from our base.
The Lupin lay in tatters, their bodies ripped open with weapons they couldn’t counter.
I needed to get down. I needed to get back to base, back to Bane and Ryker. I needed to warn them, but the thought of leaving the sanctuary of the tree made my chest tighten in panic and turned my bowels liquid. Move, Harker. Bloody move.
Bloody.
So much blood.
Inch by inch, heart in my mouth, coppery tang on my tongue, I climbed down the trunk. My feet kissed the ground, and I ran.
Chapter 17
“Tell me what you saw again,” Bane said. “Take it slow.”
I recounted my tale for the third time, and, yes, it sounded just as ridiculous this time around. “There’s something out there. Something that isn’t Sanguinata or Lupin. Bane, we need to get out of here. It isn’t safe.”
His mouth twisted wryly. “Being here was never a safe option.”
“Yes, but at least we knew our enemy. We had a fighting chance. There is no fighting these things. Not if you can’t touch them.”
Ryker paced the cabin. “The other Lupin will come looking for their teammates, and when they find them dead, they’ll be pissed. They’ll scour every inch of the forest, and they will find our base.”
He was ignoring the most important fact. “That’s the least of our worries. What if the shadow riders find us first? Look, this isn’t about flags and dodging the houses anymore. A fourth player has entered the game, and we need to warn the others.”
“You want to actively go looking for the Lupin and Sanguinata?” Bane asked.
“The plan was to find the flags and stay alive,” Ryker said.
What was wrong with them? Why weren’t they taking this threat seriously? “Are you listening to me? There is something out there that should not be here. Something powerful and dangerous and …” They were walking away, talking amongst themselves and completely ignoring me.
I slammed my hands on the table and stood. “What the fuck is wrong with both of you?”
Bane and Ryker turned to me in surprise.
“Harker, calm down,” Ryker said. “Whatever is out there, we can handle it. We’ve been doing this for a long time. Trust us.”
“You can handle shadow riders who you can’t actually touch?”
He was staring at me blankly again.
Something was wrong; it was as if my words were going through a filter and the urgency and danger was being stripped from them.
Bane placed a bowl of soup in front of me. “You did good today, Harker. We got our first flag, and tomorrow we’ll get more. We’ll hit the south side of the forest. There are some ruins we can explore.”
They walked off, chatting amongst themselves again. Yep, there was something terribly wrong. For some reason, they just weren’t grasping the urgency of the situation. In fact, the more time that passed, the less concerned they were.
Was I being overly cautious? Had I really seen what I thought I’d seen?
The memory of the terror was still vivid. I’d have to convince them, but it was becoming obvious the only way to do that would be to show them what we were up against, and that thought chilled me to the bone.
***
“Are you warm enough?” Ryker asked.
“Yeah. Toasty. You guys are like portable heaters.”
On the other side of me, Bane chuckled. “Most neph tend to run hot.”
“Most except me.”
Ryker was facing me but Bane had his back to me. We’d lined up our sleeping bags against the wall.
Was it weird being sandwiched between them? Yep. Was I going to try and change the sleeping arrangements? Nope. I liked being warm. And this was super cozy. The sleeping bags took the edge off lying on the floor, and with Ryker and Bane’s solid walls of muscle on either side of me, it was like being in a safe cocoon.
I nestled down into my bag. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“More flags,” Bane said. “I have a hunch the ruins will have one, maybe two. I doubt the Lupin or the Sanguinata have made it that far.”
“How far is it?”
“Half a mile.”
“And what if we come across the shadow riders?”
Bane was silent for a long beat. “Who?”
Was he kidding me right now? “The shadow riders I told you about.”
He rolled over to face me. “Serenity, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He was deadly serious. I rolled onto my back to look up into Ryker’s face, which was just as confused as Bane’s. They didn’t remember or had mystically been forced to forget. But why could I still remember what I’d seen?
I smiled, but my lips quivered. “It’s fine. I’m tired. Let’s just get some shut-eye.”
I ducked under the covers, heart pounding.
What the fuck was going on?
***
I woke up pressed up against Bane’s chest with Ryker pushed up against my back, his hand resting on my hip. Two sets of morning glory said hey. Yep, pretty awkward. Bane opened his eyes and just stared at me. His pupils were huge, sucking me in, and the heat of his hardness was suddenly a searing brand across my thigh. My hand was resting on his chest, and the only evidence that he was affected by our intimate position was a slight acceleration in his heartbeat. He didn’t move away immediately, he didn’t even apologize, but then why was I surprised? Bane didn’t do apologies.
But Ryker did.
“Shit,” Ryker muttered before backing away from me as if he’d been burned. “Fuck. Harker. I’m sorry.”
Bane snorted and rolled away, taking his heat with him. “Relax, Ryker. She knows you didn’t mean it.”
But Ryker wouldn’t look at me and what I could see of his face was tinged pink.
Wait. What had Bane said? She knows you didn’t mean it, not we didn’t mean it.
I glanced across at him, and he turned away on a slow blink. My pulse throbbed heavily in my throat. The neph was dangerous and unpredictable, and it both thrilled and frightened me.
Bane pulled on his boots and rolled up his sleeping bag. “Get up, get dressed. Let’s go hunt some fucking flags and win this thing.”
The ruins were an overgrown mess. Stone was netted with ivy, and weeds sprouted everywhere between. The plant life seemed to be in competition to see who could claim more of the structure. This place had been a mansion once, but what was it doing in the midst of the forest? The tree line was close, barely leaving enough room for any kind of grounds, and there was no official path to this place.
“What is a mansion doing smack bang in the middle of the forest?” Ryker asked.
Bane’s mouth lifted. “It was beautiful once. A hideaway for the reclusive.” He sighed. “It’s simply a cavern of memories now.”
The nostalgia in his tone tugged at my curiosity, but the shiver of apprehension that had been with me since we’d left the cabin was stronger.
“Let’s just find the flags and get out of here.”
We crunched closer, emerging out of the tree line into the moonlit space where the dilapidated mansion stood, eyeless and morose.
Figures spilled from the left and the right. Four of them. Sanguinata.
“Looking for these?” a tall figure to the left said. He held up two flags. They gleamed dully.
“Shit,” Ryker said.
Bane’s chest rumbled. “Thank you for retrieving them for us.”
Ryker slid his axe from its sheath at his back.
The Sanguinata fanned out.
“Is this the little neph with the grand designs?” another Sanguinata asked.
“The very same,” his companion replied. “And you know what Dorian wants, don’t you?”
“Yes, to save her till last.”
“Fresh meat makes for a better transition.”
They were talking about Dorian turning me. Yeah, like that was gonna happen.
My daggers materialized in my hands, and I raised them. “Well, what are you waiting for, boys? Come and get me.”
“Where the fuck did her daggers come from?” the fourth Sanguinata asked his companions.
But Bane, Ryker, and I were advancing. It was time to rumble.
Rumble … The ground was shaking, accompanied by the sound of hooves. The blast of a horn followed.
The Sanguinata’s heads whipped around to the left, toward the sound.
“What the fuck are the Lupin playing at?” the one I’d identified as their leader asked.
I lowered the blades. “Not the Lupin. It’s the shadow riders.”
Bane made an exasperated sound. “Harker, what the fuck are you talking about?”
I backed up. “You need to run. All of us need to run. Now.”
The clearing exploded with sound and shadow as the riders swarmed in.
“Oh, God.” Ryker grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the tree line, but Bane stood silent and frozen, his gaze fixed on the mass as it attacked the Sanguinata.
Like the Lupin, there was no way for them to counter the attack, and their screams were horrific as they were torn asunder.
Bane took one step back, then another, before spinning on his heel. “Run!”
The three of us and the Sanguinata leader made a break for it. I took the lead, angling away from the cabin. The Sanguinata was fast, running abreast of me. Shit, he was almost as fast as me. If it had been them I’d come across yesterday, and not the Lupin, they may actually have caught me.
We ducked low-hanging branches and leapt over roots. The unmistakable sound of rushing water warned us about the river before we barreled onto the bank.
“I don’t think they’re behind us,” Ryker said.
The Sanguinata glanced back into the trees. “What the heck was that?”
I caught my breath. “I saw them yesterday. They killed three Lupin.”
“And you didn’t think to warn us?” Bane snapped at me. “You do realize this isn’t part of the game, right?”
My demon cursed, and I placed my hands on my hips and glared at Bane. “I did tell you. I told you both. I told you three times and then you forgot.”
Bane blinked down at me. “What?”
“You heard me, or have you forgotten what I just said already?”
Ryker stepped forward. “It has to be some kind of magic. Some power we don’t understand.”
“Come with me,” the Sanguinata said.
“Are you out of your freaking mind?” Ryker said. “Why the heck would we go anywhere with you?”
“Fine, then stay out here and die. I, for one, believe the only chance of survival against these creatures is if we work together. Already, we are down three Lupin and three Sanguinata. Our numbers are dwindling, and those gates will not open for another thirty-six hours. Plenty of time for these shadow riders to hunt us down.”
We needed to work together and come up with some kind of plan. “I’m in.”
“Serenity?” Ryker warned.
“No, she’s right,” Bane said. “The game no longer matters. What matters is outwitting this new opponent, and I’m afraid it may take all of us working together to do it.”
We needed to get going. “We have to warn the rest of the Lupin.”
The Sanguinata’s throat bobbed nervously, but he nodded. “Agreed.”
“And how will we get them to remember what we tell them?” I pointed out. “Unless they see if for themselves, they’ll forget.”
The Sanguinata tapped his head. “It’s up here. I can show them.”
What did he mean? “How does that work?”
“Sanguinata can both read and project their memories.”
Of course. Dorian had mentioned being able to read another sanguinata’s thoughts the first time I’d met him.
Bane headed toward the river. “Their base is this way.”
With a glance back the way we’d come, I quickly followed.
Chapter 18
The cabin was huge, sturdy, and looked well-maintained.
I nudged Bane. “Why couldn’t we have found a base this nice?”
He snorted. “Because it’s in a shit location. Look at it. It’s exposed for anyone to find.” He strode forward.
The Sanguinata hung back, scanning the clearing warily. “I wouldn’t be so quick to—”
Bane let out a surprised bellow as he was whisked off his feet and up into the air. He swung suspended from a rope for a second and then curled his body up, grabbed the thick cord wrapped around his ankle, and began sawing at it with his penknife.
My daggers were out in preparation, although I seriously hoped they wouldn’t need to taste blood. Bane dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch, just as a neph sauntered out of the cabin. He was too non-hairy to be Lupin but large enough to qualify, b
ecause, yep, he was naked.
He stood on the porch, arms crossed. “Well, what have we got here? A Sanguinata and our special guests come for a visit? I knew it. When Dorian petition Jarrod to allow three members of the Protectorate to join the games on some pathetic pretext, I told the boss not to listen. Like any neph would join these games to save a handful of humans. And my suspicions have been confirmed.” He speared the Sanguinata with a derisive sneer. “You wanted extra hands. You killed our men. You do realize you won’t be leaving alive, don’t you?”
I held up my hands, free of the daggers now, catching his attention with the movement. “We didn’t kill your men. But we know what did, and it’s out there, right now. Hunting.”
He arched a brow. “There is nothing out there but wilderness and ruin.”
“You’re wrong,” the Sanguinata said. “I saw it with my own eyes. It just killed three of my men.”
A shadow of doubt crossed the Lupin’s face. “I’m listening.”
I filled him in on what we’d seen—on the shadowy riders that couldn’t be cut down, and the manner in which they had appeared and vanished so suddenly. And then the Sanguinata stepped forward and closed his eyes. The clearing shimmered and the crazy horseback riders materialized. The memory was vivid and horrific and when it was over the Sanguinata sagged, and clutched his head.
A figure stepped out of the trees to our far left. “Bullshit. Please tell me you aren’t buying this shit, Gregory. He could have manipulated that memory.”
Great. Another nude, seriously hung neph. At least this one was in hairy mode. Wait, he’d probably been hiding out waiting for the signal to attack us. So, where was the other one? I slid a glance to the right, and, sure enough, a pair of silver eyes peeked back at me from the shadows.
“It’s the truth,” Bane said. “You know me. You know who I am and what I stand for, and if you listen to your instincts, you’ll know we’re telling the truth. You don’t really believe that we’re working with the fangs any more than you think we just walked up to your base with the intention of attacking you.”
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