Page 70 of Hunted in the Shadows
Breathing heavily, I craned my neck to find a cluster of ice growing around my hand, pinned to a board. The end of the bridge was frozen in place, crackling with splinters of frost.
Sylvia fluttered above me, her hands aimed at the ice as she grimaced. “Hurry,” she croaked. “I can’t hold it!”
I swung my other arm up. The ice chunk melted off my skin as Cliff caught my hand and hauled me onto the frozen bit of bridge. The moment we were on solid ground, Sylvia released the spell. The planks fell away, splashing into the water below.
We put distance between ourselves and the steep overhang. I sank to my knees. My lungs burned as I caught my breath, my gaze darting between Cliff and Gwen before finding Sylvia hovering above us. She looked so pale, so exhausted, it was a wonder she could stay on her wings.
“Sylv,” I said between heavy breaths. “You need to…” My insistence that she should rest died on my lips. She wouldn’t look at me. All at once, the pain from my Pit injuries surged back into focus, stabbing my shoulder, head, and hands. But worse was that I couldn’t shake the sound of her horrible, broken gasp as she’d accepted her fate at my hands.
Before I could puzzle out what to say, movement swayed the trees overhead, swiftly approaching us.
“Fuck!” Gwen hissed, shooting her head up in unison with Cliff. “One of those things followed us!”
Sure enough, the shadow broached land, moving with unnatural speed. The skittering of claws against bark sent a chill down my spine. The ahool was small—barely two feet high with a five-foot wingspan—but its bite was just as venomous as a mature adult. It prowled along the branch, watching warily—andhungrily.
Cliff raised his gun, but the uncertainty on his face wasn’t promising. He had to be low on ammo.
The car was visible at the top of the slope, its weathered green exterior like a beacon. Ahools were difficult to put down without fire, but we didn’t have to make it far. A few key shots would slow it down, give us the crucial seconds we needed.
Then I saw Gwen leaning against a tree, clutching her bruised knee, and remembered she couldn’t run. She still wielded a blade in her other hand, but that wouldn’t do much good if the ahool sank its teeth into her.
A nearby flutter of gossamer wings moved higher.
“Sylv.” I jerked my chin uphill, voice low to keep the ahool from startling. “Get back to the car.”
She ignored me, lifting her hands with her eyes set over our heads.No, no, no—
Sylvia conjured a serpentine line of frost, solidifying into a spear and shooting it into the rustling branches above us. The ahool shrieked as the jagged end clipped its side. Glittering frost settled like snowfall when the creature burst from the foliage overhead. It swung, diving for us. Cliff fired, lodging a shot in its left wing and its chest, forcing it to land.
Click.
His gun’s chamber was empty.
Blood seeped from the ahool’s injuries, but it kept moving toward us as though spurred by personal vengeance. Its glistening fangs were bared in a cry that carried the rotten stench of carrion. I jolted away from its approach, glancing over my shoulder toward Sylvia, certain she was going to drop out of the air with magic exhaustion at any second—
A targeted line of flames cut through the air like a blade.
Cliff and I staggered back as one, reacting instinctively to the intense heat. We were cleared of its radius, but the ahool howled in agony. It curled in on itself, spasming in the consuming fire. Shrieks turned into whimpers. Finally, it collapsed in a smoldering heap.
The flames petered out.
Rhett lowered the flamethrower in his hands, stepping out from his vantage point between two nearby oaks.
“Well,” he said. “That was exciting, wasn’t it?”
Though it wouldn’t do us any good, Cliff raised his gun while I fought the urge to take my chances in shoving Rhett toward the broken bridge.
Gwen snapped, “Where the fuck did you come from?”
“I know my way around here better than most, lucky for you.” But Rhett didn’t look at her while he answered. He only had eyes for Sylvia, amazed like a kid in a candy store. He withdrew a pistol from his waistband and drew back the hammer. Though he held it relaxed at his side, the threat settled heavily all the same. A smirk pulled up the corner of his mouth. “Now, what the hell should I make of this?”
To my dismay, Sylvia darted closer, putting herself between us and Rhett. She thrust out her palms and sent Rhett staggering back to dodge a blade of ice through his boot. It embedded itself into the soft earth. Icy mist pooled around her like she couldn’t keep it inside, but the spear was brittle and crumbled away. She was exhausted. Her magic wouldn’t hold much longer.
“Back away,” she snarled. “Now.”
“You’re looking a little winded, sweetheart. Not your everyday catch, are you?” Rhett lifted his gun, and though I doubted he could land a shot on such a small target, I started toward him with my weapon raised.
“Don’t!” I barked. “I told you, she’s mine.”
