Page 11 of Echoes of the Raven
“This way,” the Romani hisses.
And then we’re running, El Gran Místico pulling me along, nearly dragging me, and it’s all I can do to keep up. When my legs finally giveout, and I fall to my knees, Gaspar picks me up, throws me over his shoulder, and keeps going.
I bounce up and down as he runs forward, my ribs aching as they hit his shoulder. He is surprisingly fast, a quarter fae if I remember correctly—his talk about not being a young lad anymore merely a jest.
I pick my head up and look back. That veilfallen is still after us, and he’s getting closer. A full fae, I’m sure, quite faster than Gaspar, and not encumbered by an awkward load.
Suddenly, the dank walls that have surrounded me for days fall away. A cool breeze stirs my hair.
Gaspar sprints ahead, leading us past a row of trees before veering sharply to the right. The veilfallen isn’t fooled though. He stays hot on our heels, closing in with each passing second.
“Set me down,” I say. “We need to fight him.”
But Gaspar keeps going, runs around a freestanding, broken wall, and screams, “I got her!”
Something slams against my back, driving the air from my lungs. Gaspar topples forward, and we go tumbling over the ground. I roll over him. He rolls over me, and we keep going. When we finally stop, the veilfallen male is also there, the one responsible for sending us sprawling. In one swift move, he springs to his feet and looms threateningly over us, a dagger raised.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls.
The male is as wide as a barrel. He is bald, which makes his ears appear even pointier.
Someone else stands behind the veilfallen. Carefully, he takes a step forward, raising a weapon over the veilfallen’s head.
Gaspar lifts his hands and begins to speak louder than necessary, likely to drown out any sounds from what I presume is his companion. “All right, all right, we surrend—”
The veilfallen senses the other man’s presence and begins to turn.
Thwack!
The weapon strikes our pursuer across the side of the face and knocks him to the ground. We watch the veilfallen try to stand, but our defender swings again and slams what turns out to be a wooden staff against the back of the veilfallen’s head, knocking him senseless at last.
I stare up at our champion with gratitude, and as a ray of moonlight cuts through the canopy above, I realize who he is.
“Jago!” I don’t know where the energy comes from, but I jump to my feet and wrap my arms around his neck. I pull away and hold his face between my hands. “Are you real?”
He frowns. “Of course, I’m real. But let’s go before more veilfallen come.” He offers a hand to Gaspar. “Are you all right, man?”
Gaspar takes the offered hand and nods.
Between the two of them, they practically carry me away, cutting through dense trees. My feet barely touch the ground, and I feel as if I’m floating. My head lolls, and my eyelids droop with exhaustion. The forest blurs, and I realize it’s all been another hallucination. I’m just a ghost in Calierin’s dreamscape.
I’m barely aware of being lifted and placed back on my filthy cot. Jago speaks in a tender voice and wipes my forehead with a wet cloth.
“You’re all right, Val. Everything is all right.”
6
RÍFÍOR
“Thank all the gods and saints we found her!”
Jago Plumanegra (Casa Plumanegra) - Third in line to the Plumanegra throne - 21 AV
Itraverse many labyrinthine passages to get back to the alcove where we keep Valeria. She is hidden well within the bowels of the catacombs, a place few can find even if they’re familiar with the tunnels.
As I get closer, I’m still trying to decide how to tell her everything when I perceive something is wrong. The metallic scent of blood hangs in the air as well as the musk of a male I don’t recognize.
Hurrying forward under the warm light of the torches, I reach the entrance to the alcove and find the guard on duty sprawled on the floor. I jump over him and run straight into the holding cell to find that Valeria is gone. The ropes that held her are cut loose.
