Page 32 of Winter's Echo
I smiled, gently shaking his hand off. “It’s what you’re paying me for.”
I looked behind me again. “Would be nice to have Baxley and his bow right about now.”
I faced forward. “Right, let’s hope the gods are on our side today.”
They weren’t.
Chapter 8
We had barely walkedforty feet before the snow drift exploded in a cloud of teeth and fury.
Snow blasted upward in a violent spray, and something huge tore free from beneath it, a mass of white and gray and snapping jaws.
Shit.
I didn’t hesitate. I turned and ran to the back of the line, where the horses were, as the soldiers surged forward.
“Down!” someone shouted.
I turned back just in time to see that it was too late. A soldier disappeared in the maw of one of the Hulgrim.
The second one rose behind it.
Shades. There were two.
They towered over the men — massive, hunched things with long, matted white fur clotted with ice and old blood. Their limbs were too long, too heavy, ending in claws that tore through snow and ice like it wasn’t there.
Their eyes were solid black, and I forced myself not to look too long. Their eyes may be black, but they were too human, and too aware.
I could fight. My brothers had taught me enough to survive, and I’d picked up more along the way. But I’d faced these monsters before. And I knew exactly how this ended for someone like me to get too close.
My magic wouldn’t help me here. The thought came sharp and fast, and even if I could, I would never let them see it.
I held the reins of the horses, edging them back, not away, just enough to keep them calm. Because if those beasts got spooked, I wouldn’t be able to calm them on my own.
In front of me, the soldiers fought, and steel met flesh. The sound felt wrong. Too thick, too wet, and too slow to deter the huge beasts.
The soldiers surged forward, shouting, forming a loose line as they tried to contain the first creature. Blades struck, glanced, and sank shallowly into fur that concealed more than it revealed.
One man was thrown. Another went down screaming, clutching his leg as blood spread fast across the snow.
The second creature moved differently. I watched it as it moved around its companion, and I instantly knew we were all fucked if we didn’t take this one down.
From the way it moved, I knew this one was faster… and smarter.
It didn’t charge into the fight. It circled, watching and waiting for an opening. Had the soldiers seen it? Did they realize it was baiting them? My heart was in my mouth.
“Keep them apart!” Captain Marson’s voice cut through the chaos.
He had good instincts, but his odds right now were bad. Epically bad.
The nearest horse reared, eyes rolling white, nostrils flaring.
“Easy!” I snapped, grabbing the reins and hauling him down before he could bolt. The wagon behind him jerked violently as he fought the harness.
“No, you don’t,” I muttered, bracing my weight. “You run, they’ll think it’s a hunt, and we all die.” He fought me for a second longer, then stilled just enough. “Thank you,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure who I was thanking.
Behind me, a roar tore through the air. It wasn’t human, and I was almost afraid to look.
