Page 48 of Darkness I Become
Across the road, an enormous man dressed in furs, sporting a distinct-looking half mask, gave a furious warrior cry and brought his club down hard on Raph, who fell like a sack of potatoes. He locked eyes with Asha, hanging helplessly, and her heart stopped as a small smile spread across his features. He started to run in her direction. As he drew closer, she saw that what she’d assumed was a mask was actually the top half of a human skull.
“Cade!” she screamed as loud as she could, but she knew he was too far away to make it to her before Skullface did.
She did the only thing she could think of: she threw her weight as hard as she could in the opposite direction. Her head spinning, her ankle aching, she swung as hard as she could, effectively catapulting herself directly at Skullface. As the net swung back the way she’d come, she braced herself. She collided hard with the big man, knocking him off his feet. Pain exploded in her body.
A half-second later, a gunshot sprayed Skullface’s brains on the road, spattering her with blood. A scream of shock escaped her lungs, but relief surged through her at the sudden appearance of Cade and Dom. Cade lowered his rifle and reached for the knife he held between his teeth. He moved behind her, and Dom covered him as he began to saw at the net.
“It’s alright, darling,” Cade said as the first rope came free. “I have you.”
Rings kind of hollow when there’s a bunch of cannibals about to feast on your flesh.
Cade made quick work of the net. He freed her, but she was still suspended, upside down. The rope around her ankle was too high. Dom fired on several cannibals who rushed them. An arrow whooshedpast Cade’s ear as he struggled to reach Asha’s ankle rope, and he cursed loudly.
On the opposite side of the road, Asha spotted Davy surrounded by three cannibals. The rookie was struggling to reload his rifle as they descended on him. As if by instinct, Asha reached for her pistol, aimed haphazardly, and fired on them. Upside down, her aim was atrocious, but it didn’t matter. The cannibals dispersed in alarm, buying Davy precious seconds. He managed to reload and return fire.
A second later, the rope gave way, and Asha squeaked as she fell from the tree. Cade caught her, righting her in his arms as quickly as he could. Thankfully, the Blackguard had largely regained control of the situation, and the road was littered with cannibal corpses. The few that remained were retreating into the woods, snarling and spitting. They knew when they were beaten.
Cade barked an order for everyone to assemble and carried Asha toward the middle of the road. They briefly regrouped. Leo moved through the squad, treating minor injuries, and they all took a breather. When he reached Asha, Cade carefully lowered her to the ground. She winced as Leo assessed her ankle, which was swollen and purple.
“Minor sprain,” he said matter-of-factly. He wrapped it tightly with bandages to hold it as still as possible, but it hurt like hell to put weight on it.
Still, they had a settlement to get to. They all agreed that remaining in this area after dark was a bad idea, so they set out once more to reach Silver Creek before nightfall.
“You did incredibly well,” Cade said to Asha as they set out again.
“By ending up caught in a net?” she replied skeptically, through teeth gritted with pain. “I don’t think that’s what you taught me in training.”
“Maybe not,” he conceded, “but Ididteach you to think on your feet and defend yourself vigorously, and you did. You didn’t freeze.”
“You saved my life,” Davy piped up from just behind them. “Would’ve been a goner if you hadn’t fired on those guys when you did. To do it in that situation makes it more impressive.”
Asha flushed. Pride was an unfamiliar feeling for her, but their praise warmed her heart. She had a purpose now, and it felt strangely good. Better than she’d expected.
“See, even the rookie thinks so,” Cade teased, and the corners of her mouth lifted. “Speaking of…take this, rookie.”
He handed his pack to Davy, who scowled at him. Cade ignored him, however, and Asha squeaked as he scooped her back up into his arms again.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he resumed moving forward, carrying her with one arm at her back and the other under her knees.
He smiled. “You looked like your ankle was hurting you. It can’t be good to keep walking on it.”
Before this trip, she would’ve objected. She would’ve been suspicious of his help, and loath to accept it. But she trusted now that his desire to help her was genuine. He cared about her. There really was nothing more to it than that…and yet it was everything.
Besides, her ankle really was hurting.
“This doesn’t mean I like you any better, you know,” Asha said, but she couldn’t help smiling.
“Of course not,” Cade replied, amused. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s nothing that keeps me honest quite like being bullied by a beautiful woman.”
She couldn’t help snorting. They fell into silence as they kept walking. Eventually, Asha felt her eyes fluttering shut despite her best efforts. The letdown from adrenaline was no joke. She wondered how Cade handled it and decided he must be used to it after years of practice.
“You can lean on me, darling,” he murmured, evidently noting her fatigue. “If you want to.”
The words felt like they contained a double meaning, but for once, instead of questioning them, Asha simply lay her head against his shoulder and shut her eyes.
“Thank you, soldier.”
Chapter 16
