To Seduce An Assassin (The Omaja Series Book 2)(98)

Yavi turned to run toward his brother, Jiandra close behind. Yajna balanced atop the driver’s seat on the cart and brandished his daggers as the Vyrkune surrounded the cart, jaws gaping wide with horrific grins, black eyes soulless and menacing. Two tall Vyrkune reached up to grasp Yajna’s legs to drag him to the ground. He slashed at their hands and kicked, managing to free himself, but then three more climbed over the first two creatures’ backs and grabbed Yajna’s boots. They dragged him down into the midst of their mob, and he sank out of sight as the monsters pinned him to the ground to devour him.

“Noooo!” Jiandra screamed, running into the mob, trying to fight her way toward the center.

Yavi followed, swinging his sword to slash at the creatures, felling them one by one until he’d hacked his way into the clearing where Yajna lay on his back. His armor was torn and eaten through all along his bloodied arms, legs, and torso, but he was still fighting them with all his strength, kicking and punching as best he could. Yavi’s throat constricted painfully at seeing his twin fighting for dear life. He turned to slay the two Vyrkune nearest him with the sword, and Jiandra shoved through the opening to reach Yajna, gripping the glowing Omaja in her fist. Some of the Vyrkune tried to pounce on her and were knocked back by her barrier of protection. She ignored them and gathered Yajna’s partially mutilated body in her arms, clinging to his torn chest.

Yavi felt several claws grasp his arms and haul him backwards, away from his brother and Jiandra. He doggedly held onto the sword of the Zulfikars, gripping the hilt in his fist to keep them from knocking it out of his hand. Teeth sank into his right shoulder, hard, and then more teeth into his left bicep. He swung around, trying to slice at them with the greatsword, but another creature bit into his right forearm, severing the tendons, and the sword fell heavily to the frozen earth at his feet.

Yavi let out a hoarse cry as he wrenched free from the creatures and dove for the sword, but Uman stepped forward and kicked it out of his reach. Several of the Vyrkune pounced on Yavi then, biting into his legs and flanks, ripping at his leather armor with their claws to pull it away from his stinging flesh so they could eat.

Yavi looked up at the sky as they pulled him to the ground, and thought of Graciella.

He thought of her beautiful, pleading face, begging him to take her with him, and of himself promising—swearing—he would return victorious.

Those thoughts gave him the courage and strength to cry out to Tejeshwar, and he did, with a desperate plea in Nandalan.

“Stop!” Uman’s voice barked from overhead.

The Vyrkune paused, glancing back at their king.

Uman said, “I want him alive for a moment.”

Yavi could smell and taste his own blood. It was clogging his airway, and he could barely breathe, his torn chest wheezing painfully. He was going into shock, and his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would explode.

The Vyrkune backed away from his twitching body a bit as Uman came closer to inspect. “Bring the brother over here,” he ordered.

There was movement behind Yavi’s head. He heard Jiandra’s panicked sob as she and Yajna moved into the circle and saw him lying there, his torso and limbs a mangled mess. Several Vyrkune were holding onto Yajna, but Jiandra’s arms were also wound tightly around her husband’s waist. His wounds were gone, his armor hanging in tattered shreds. Yavi arched his back painfully and struggled to sit up, but to no avail.

Yajna tried to peel Jiandra away from his torso. “Heal my brother!”

“No!” she protested desperately. “If I let go of you, they will eat you instead!”

Uman stooped beside Yavi’s head and dipped a finger in the blood that seeped from a bite wound in Yavi cheek, then licked it. He laughed, a gravelly, cruel sound. “Which twin will it be, Yajna? Will you watch me devour your brother alive, or sacrifice yourself so your wife can heal him?”

Yajna lunged toward Uman, dragging Jiandra and the Vyrkune with him, but Uman’s lackeys jerked him back.

“Yajna, no!” Jiandra sobbed, holding onto him for dear life.

Yavi struggled to speak, his throat clogged with blood. “Brother…run…go…”

There was a commotion at the gate. The sound of horses’ hooves approaching, and then a blood-curdling scream.

Graciella.

Yavi squeezed his eyes shut. His worst nightmare had come true.

§

Graciella leapt down from the back of Terak’s horse, rushing blindly toward Yavi, pushing through the horde of Vyrkune.

“Don’t touch her!” Uman ordered loudly, and the creatures moved aside to let her through.

When she reached Yavi she fell to her knees at his side, sobbing. His armor was lying in tatters on the ground around his bleeding, mutilated body, his chest heaving in an effort to breathe. His pained silver eyes focused on her face.

“Sheir-zin…” he managed, reaching toward her.

She grasped his hand and pressed her forehead to it, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Yajna—take the women…run,” Yavi choked, gagging on his own blood.

Yajna shouted something in Nandalan to the monks who had escorted Graciella, and they leapt to the ground, drawing scimitars. They attacked the outer edge of the Vyrkune horde surrounding Yavi. While they and Uman were distracted, Yajna pulled Jiandra behind his back and lunged for the sword of the Zulfikars that was lying nearby.