Page 78 of The Bones of the Cursed

A ghoul lurches out of the well behind us, clacking its teeth with a guttural growl. Elion whirls and slices the ghoul across the throat, spraying black blood everywhere. I pounce onto the ghoul, shoving the dagger so far into his neck that it goes clean-through, hitting the ground below. I twist the knife, and with Elion’s help we manage to decapitate the vile thing. I’ve seen Malakai and Kailu fight them often enough to know decapitation is the only way to kill them.

I’m sweating despite the chill thrumming through my body, blood dripping down my skin. My trousers and tunic are filthy: blood, mud, sewage. Shoving my soaked hair out of my face to peruse the field, my hope starts to deflate. I don’t see anybody who looks as if they’re the brains of this particular hive.

One of the King’s Guard catches my attention, though, during a brief parting of clashing bodies: Hendrix. The soldiers from the junction fight with him.

With one final smile at me, Elion takes off in one direction, presumably to help his brothers in arms. I race to Hendrix, who’s struggling to stand against the onslaught of brainwashed soldiers in the middle of the small field, drawing dangerously close to the cliffside where the edge of the meadow shoots straight down into a ravine. He kicks a ghoul’s body off his sword right as I reach him, and upon seeing me, he hauls a sword out of the hand of a corpse and holds it out. I catch it, whirling to fight beside him and swinging in the same instant, slashing thehuman straight across the abdomen.

With a cry he collapses, clutching the wound as if that would stop his intestines from falling out. I’ve been through battle before; I know how to make a killing blow. I have a second of guilt, knowing that this human had a family and was forcibly taken from them, but I also know that it’s either him or me.

There’s no way to save us both.

I narrowly avoid a bite from a rabid ghoul and have to quickly duck to avoid another. Hendrix and I work in tandem, bringing each enemy to its knees as efficiently as possible. By the time the last in the group falls, I’m panting and exhausted, my skin somehow cold and hot at once, my muscles buzzing. I can only imagine how Elion feels after weeks of torture at Iclas’s hand.

The thought makes me whirl until I find him taking down more ghouls alongside other soldiers. Malakai and Siveral face off with the remaining brainwashed humans. Kailu decimates the last of the Fae stuck under Iclas’s control. Only then do I realize we’ve all moved a good distance from the well, too busy cleaving through ghouls in the meadow. It leaves the portal unguarded.

A storm of screeches draws my gaze back to the well and my stomach drops. A never-ending onslaught of ghouls crawls out of it.

“Fuck me,” Hendrix says, shoving sweaty, bloody hair out of his face, but clutches his sword and leads the charge.

For every one we manage to kill, two more replace it. The sun begins setting, leaving the blood-soaked battlefield even more macabre than before. As we focus on the ghouls crawling from the portal, more sneak up behind us. They’re slowly surrounding us, pushing us closer and closer to the well.

Panic sluices through me. We’re being herded like cattle back to the portal. Back to Iclas. I should have known we couldn’t escape so easily. Iclas believes I’m the key to the prophecy. Hewill do anything to get me.

An ear-splitting growl shakes the earth and makes everyone pause, even the ghouls. Panting for breath, I glance over at the bridge, the one I thought looked ethereal, like something out of a fairytale only this morning. Now it holds a living nightmare. An enormous wolf the color of an ink blot stands at the opposite end, blocking any chance of escape. It has to be at least six feet tall, muscular and broad. Bile burns my throat. The wolf has a human clenched between his jaws. It drops the body, its head almost completely severed.

Not one single person in the meadow, Fae, ghoul, or otherwise, moves. That alone tells me this creature is not one of Iclas’s. It also tells me the leader of this particular group is still alive in order to tame the ghouls in their bloodthirsty state. Without moving, I scan the battlefield.

That’s when I spot him.

A large male Fae stands hidden in the mist created by the waterfall, partaking in the battle but not in the midst of it. I can’t see who it is clearly from here, but that has to be their queen bee.

Hendrix’s breath stutters. “I don’t believe it. I’ve never seen one in person before.”

I’m unwilling to let that Fae out of my sight, so I simply ask, “What is it?”

“An Amorak.”

The name is familiar, though it takes me a moment to remember why: Kailu and I had been butting heads shortly after I followed him to find Elion, and he made a comment about how he told Captain Thelos that they should just let an Amorak eat me. At the time, I chalked it up to legend since no one has ever seen one. Then again, I suppose those who do don’t survive.

“Why do you think it’s here?” I ask. “I was told they hunt people traveling at night. People who arealone.”

“I would guess he scented all the blood. Even with his normalhunting instincts, no creature could resist. It’s going to become a feeding frenzy soon. Creatures like that rarely enter the Golden Vale. For it to be here means it’s either starving, or something drew it here. Or both.”

I swallow hard, watching the mystery figure at the edge of the field move closer to where we stand, surrounded by ghouls. When the figure moves, so do the ghouls that were creating a barrier between us and the Amorak. The movements are slow and precise as they move to the backside of the well. The fading light from the sun casts a glow over his face.

Orion.

I would be less angry if it seemed he had been kidnapped and forced to do Iclas’s bidding, but it’s plain to see he is here of his own volition. His eyes lock onto mine. I would attempt to fight him, but I’m scared any erratic movement will set the Amorak off. Orion has the audacity to smirk at me and wave before sprinting at his annoying Fae speed, throwing himself through the portal.

The abrupt movement from that bastard sets off the Amorak, who lets out a feral snarl as he sprints across the narrow bridge. Everyone moves at once, the remaining ghouls retreating back into the well as the rest of us prepare to fight.

Malakai and Kailu.

Oh Gods, where are they? I search frantically, finally catching sight of Mal near the middle of the field, blood dripping down his head. I see Kailu, holding his sword in the opposite hand, his other arm hanging loose by his side. I glance at Elion, who’s barely holding himself up.

Fear like I have never felt before races through my veins. These are my people. My family. I’ve already lost too much; I refuse to let anyone else die.

The Amorak charges into the meadow, snatching up the unfortunate human soldiers of the Guard who couldn’t retreatfast enough. Humans don’t stand a chance against this creature. Hell, I’m not sure if the Fae would, either.

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