Page 19 of Echoes of the Raven
The tunnel is clogged with people. Someone fights ahead, the clash of steel against steel making it obvious. There is no way to push past and help. There are two exits. We’ve tried both. They are blocked by guards.
I make my way to the front, pushing people aside. They squeeze against the walls to let me pass. Once there, I find one of the veilfallen stabbing an opponent. The guard falls to his knees, and another takes his place. Behind the new guard, there is another, and behind that one, another—more and more as far as the dim light permits me to see.
Here, at last, the humans’ sheer numbers will overpower us. We have always been too few to make a difference. It has always been our disadvantage, and today it will be our demise.
The new guard stabs the male in front of me in the stomach. I take the front and make quick work of the human, and then the next and the next and the next. But there is always one more, yet I fight them, unsteady on my feet as I step on the fallen, slipping in theirblood and gore.
It doesn’t take me long to recognize my efforts are futile. There could be hundreds of Castellina’s guards queued up for miles, ready to enter the tunnels. We might dispatch a fair number of them before we tire, but tire we will, and then we’ll be nothing but vulnerable prey.
“Retreat,” I order those behind him, even though I know there is nowhere to go. We can hide in the bowels of this godsforsaken place, but our meager supplies would run out quickly, and then we would have no other choice but to fight. We must move back, regroup, and come up with a plan that gives us hope.
Calierin’s voice rages behind me. “Let me pass. I will blast them to their miserable hell.”
“No!” I shout as I slash a man’s throat and his blood sprays in every direction, hitting the walls and slicking my grip on the blade. “Hold back, Calierin. You will bury us all.”
This place is in shambles. A blast of her magic will bring the earth down on our heads.
“We have to do something,” she yells.
“Retreat!” I order again.
I repeat the message to the male behind me as I force my current opponent to take a few steps back with a quick succession of blows. “Everyone, head to the nexus. Now!” We all know this location. It is the largest alcove, which we use for gatherings.
The line of veilfallen behind me starts moving back. It goes slowly at first, and then more quickly until the path is clear.
With a growl, I lunge forward and stab with all my strength. I skewer the first and second man, and leaving my sword in place, I run back at full pelt, knocking down torches as I go, plunging the path behind me in darkness.
Many twists and turns lead me to my destination. The humans won’t find us easily. There, we will think of something, figuring out a way to best them.
A group of twenty-five veilfallen surrounds me as I squeeze into the cramped alcove. One lonely torch illuminates their faces, sharpening their features. Calierin and Kadewyn are among them. They all look at me, expectant.
My thoughts trip over each other, all of them futile.
“What now?” Calierin demands in a tone that suggests she anticipates nothing but failure from me.
“We cannot die here,” Saoirse says. She’s a druidess, trained in the ancient arts of herbalism. She reluctantly became a veilfallen after losing her mate in a tragic mugging perpetrated by two drunken humans.
Calierin thumps her back. “We won’t. Our amazing leader will come up with a solution, won’t you, Rífíor?”
“This is not the time,” I growl.
“Thisisthe only fucking time,” she spits, her tone contradicting her earlier statement, suggesting shedoesthink we will die here, and this is the only chance she has left to air her grievances.
I glare in warning, but it is no use. She points a finger at my face and yells, “This is all your fault.”
Calmly, I take a step forward and face her, my nose only an inch from hers. She’s as tall as me. “Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you.”
Her violet gaze holds mine longer than most would, but in the end, she looks down and does as ordered.
“Now, think,” I instruct her, “is there a way you can use your magic that doesn’t involve the earth collapsing on our heads?”
She offers nothing. Calierin is powerful and has good control of her magic, but other than stabbing one guard at a time the same way I did, there seems to be little else she may be able to do.
“That is what I thought,” I say, then turn, face the others, and explain our situation in case they have not wrapped their heads around it. “We are outnumbered. I am sure there is a host of guards outside filing in asquickly as we can dispatch them. We cannot fight our way out of here. For everyone we cut down, another takes its place.”
I scrutinize their expressions, seeking traces of hubris. Each veilfallen present boasts the strength of ten guards, a common boast that has led many fae warriors astray since, too often, they overlook reality: they are not worth twenty, thirty, or forty guardias. The sheer numbers of the Castellan forces will always outnumber us as long as the veil remains closed. Yet, the somberness in their faces suggests that this time, they understand hubris will not help them.
“Hiding is not an option either,” I continue. “Even if the humans decide not to bury us alive themselves, we do not have enough supplies to last more than a few days. So, everyone, think! We need ideas.”
