Page 242 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
I could almost taste it on the tip of my tongue.
But as the light pulsed further, my vision blurred.
One of my last arrows hit the stone instead of its target.
Still, I pushed onward.
They’d hidden and attacked in the darkness and they would pay for it.
I picked up arrows from the ash as I went, my quiver now empty.
Up ahead, more cloaked figures waited for us. But these weren’t the cockroaches which had cascaded down upon us.
They stood in the center of the passage, a barrier of shadows.
Their masks were tinted green and they each carried two swords, just like the one who’d attacked me.
“Careful, these ones are smarter,” I called out, even as one of them lunged for Ryker.
My arrow turned him to dust before he got the chance to hit my Commander. He stopped for the briefest moment, giving me a thankful nod, before he was out of view once more.
The warriors rushed forward, pushing them back. Vylkor’s roar pounded against the passage, as filled with anger and revenge as I felt.
But keeping the light alive cost me.
My bow swayed in my hands.
My body burned.
I didn’t know how much more I could take.
I rested on the thought that the warriors would win even if I fell–and I would not go down until the last of the fight left me.
With a last arrow, I ended the final creature clinging to the ceiling. He had been hiding in a nook, scared. His fear had tugged at my heart for the briefest moment–but I knew he wouldhave gladly fallen down on top of me and sliced my throat if I had my back turned.
Only the standing figures remained.
The warriors slashed through their ranks in a perfect formation, their roars shaking the passage. They broke off the line of figures into smaller groups, finishing them off.
Ryker continued onward.
I followed.
The cloud of ash became unbearable, grit sliding inside my lungs and clinging to my throat.
The pulses slowed, as did my heart.
Ryker’s groan resounded in the darkness.
I forgot all about the dark spots in my vision and the blaze in my veins, and rushed after him.
Just as I felt I couldn’t breathe anymore, the air split open. Crisp. Sweet. New.
In only three steps, I staggered from the darkness out into the light. Real light, given freely by the sun.
I jolted on the spot, blinking rapidly.
We’d done it.
