Page 65 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
Navin’s hand landed on my knee and slid up to the top of my thigh before squeezing it.
The oxen stopped, and I sighed, wishing we could have alittle more time to let Navin’s hand explore up my leg and down into the waistband of my trousers. But our life was nothing but a constant string of interruptions.
I grabbed the sword from under the bench seat and prepared to hack away at the vines and underbrush blocking the trail. But when I climbed off the wagon, I found there was nothing in our path.
I searched the darkness, sword aloft. “What is it?”
The oxen seemed firmly planted where they stood. I blinked, trying to hone my vision to make out shapes in the shadows. To our right was the dense forests of northeastern Damrienn and to our left was the rocky cliffside that dropped to the ocean far below. The moon glinted off the rolling sea, but I saw nothing along the cliff’s edge.
“Is everything okay?” Navin called.
I strained my ears, attuning to the nighttime sounds. “I don’t know.”
I heard a twig snap and then rustling leaves. Could be a deer, or maybe a bear, judging by how spooked the oxen were?
A black shadow shot out across the path and a set of luminous eyes reflected the moonlight back at me. My stomach dropped to my boots.
Shit.
“Wolves!” I screamed. “We’re under attack!”
The last word died on my lips as I shifted.
I shot forward, plowing into the first Wolf as howls rent the air. The Wolf yelped and dashed back into the forest before I could get a good look at him. My fight training took control as I assessed the attackers and terrain. I circled, searching the darkness. How many of them were there? Gods, I scented at least a dozen.
Fuck. A dozen? That wouldn’t be good.
I heard Navin scramble back into the wagon behind me, shouting and waking the other Songkeepers.
“Well, you wanted to practice your song on Wolves, Kian,”Navin barked as he and his brother emerged out the back of the wagon. “Now’s your chance.”
Another Wolf flashed past me, and I launched forward, bowling into it and sinking my teeth into its side.
A chorus of instruments—string and brass and wood—all rose up from behind me as I dug my teeth into the scruff of the Wolf underneath me, shaking my maw and tearing fur from flesh. The Wolf yowled as my mouth filled with the metallic tang of his blood.
The song rose in volume, echoing through the night. The pull of the magic was a familiar tug to me now. I had strengthened my resolve against it, but still, the power of so many Songkeepers pulled me under.
“Jump off the cliffs,” it sang to me.
I looked to the left, to the jagged cliffs that dove down, down, down to the sea. The smallest Wolf stood no chance, immediately bolting over the side while others dug their paws into the earth and tried to resist the command.
“Jump off the cliffs,” it urged me.
I started to rise on shaking legs before catching myself and shifting back to my human form. The relief was instant. I rose, returning to where my shredded clothes were on the path. But I wasn’t in search of modesty.
I was in search of my knives.
Another Wolf, then another, jumped over the side like bolting deer running straight into the jaws of a waiting lion.
But eventually some had the instinct to shift. Except when they did, I was there. Bringing my knives down on them, I didn’t give them a chance to get their whereabouts before I slit their throats. Blood sprayed the air, the night filled with violent song. Unfortunately there were too many Wolves, and even with the powerful song, it was clear I was soon going to be overrun. Navin’s song broke from the others. He dropped his lastar to the ground and ran out to join me in the fray.
Shadowed bodies converged on us as we tried to battle thembackward. I swiped one’s side as a fist collided with my jaw. I staggered back, my leg sweeping out. There were too many of them. Someone in the group must’ve spoken into their minds, must’ve warned them to shift. The sharp trill of Navin’s whistle cut above the chaos, desperately calling for Haestas, but as a press of bodies towered over me, I heard Navin cry out in pain.
I screamed as a bare foot stomped hard on my chest, knocking the air out of me. Blinding pain shot through me as my rib cracked and ligaments snapped. If I shifted to heal, I’d be overcome with the Songkeepers’ commands. I curled onto my side, trying to find a less vulnerable position from the ceaseless onslaught of blows.
Get up. Get up. Get up!
Arrows whizzed by me and I knew Asha had moved from her lute to her bow and arrow. My attackers paused at the deluge of arrows. I managed to get one arm under me, unable to breathe with the crushing pain lancing through my sternum. Then I heard Asha’s high-pitched scream, and the arrows stopped flying.
