Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant #1)(116)

He was still detached from it, watching it as if it were happening to someone else.

The second, third, and fourth lines followed.

She screamed and screamed.

The fifth and sixth lines collapsed.

The Banshee shot upward and right. Her smoke wings vanished, and she plunged down.

Only four lines between him and the commander.

Bucky tore into the armored soldiers like a battering ram, ripping his way through. Hugh swung his sword, slicing skulls. Blood sword met metal and metal gave way.

A moment and Bucky and he were through, out in the open, the commander on his horse in front of them, charging at full speed.

“Kill the other horse,” he ordered.

The stallion screamed and broke into a desperate charge.

The world snapped into a crystal-clear focus. The colors turned vivid, the smells sharp. He saw everything, he was aware of everything, and he knew with one hundred percent certainty that when the two horses collided, the force of it would unseat them both. He knew exactly where they would land.

He stood in the stirrups and pulled his left leg back, riding on the side of the horse.

The two stallions smashed into each other, screaming. A fraction before they collided, he let go, letting the full force of the gallop fling him into the air, giving power to his swing.

Below him, the commander rolled to a crouch and spat fire, but the heated arc of flames was too slow.

Hugh landed sword first. The blood blade cleaved the commander from skull to breast bone. The two halves of the man smoked.

Hugh turned and ran.

He didn’t see the fire, but he heard it, roaring like an animal behind him. He chanced a single look back and saw a tornado of flames coming straight for him. The world became heat and fire. He wrapped his magic around himself, healing blisters as they formed. The concussive force smashed into him, as if Erawan had returned and kicked him with his colossal foot. Magic plowed into him and all went dark.

The light returned in a rush of agony. Hugh blinked at the twin stabs of pain. Broken legs. He must’ve been thrown by the blast and landed badly. He tried to move his arms and couldn’t. The bones and muscles functioned fine, but something was restraining him.

The light darkened as something blurry blocked it.

Hugh blinked until the blurry thing came into focus and stared at the vampire’s face.

The undead opened its mouth.

“Well, well,” it said in Nez’s voice. “Today is not a total loss.”

Fuck.





Elara stared at the door. Behind her, hundreds of people waited. If the mrogs got through, she would stop them.

So much time had passed. It had to be hours. It felt like hours.

Someone pounded on the door. “Open!” a familiar voice yelled.

Stoyan.

Elara grasped the bar. People moved to help her, and the door was pried open. Stoyan ran in, carrying Johanna, limp like a ragdoll. “Help her!”

Savannah put her ear on Johanna’s chest. “She doesn’t need help. She needs time.” She jerked her head and Nikolas ran up to take Johanna from Stoyan’s arms.

“What’s happened?” Dugas asked.

Stoyan stared at him, his eyes wild, his skin smeared with blood and dirt. “Hugh killed the commander. The guy exploded. The mrogs ran away and the soldiers walked off.”

“Walked off where?” Savannah demanded.

“Into the woods. We killed some that were left between us and the castle, but the rest of them are either standing around or wandering off into the brush. As long as you don’t go near them, they don’t attack.”

Elara grabbed Stoyan’s arm. “Where is Hugh?”

“Nez has him.”

Ice rolled over her. “How?”

“He was thrown by the blast,” Stoyan said. “The undead got to him before we could.”

Thoughts rushed through her, coming too fast. “Is Nez still out there?”

“No, he cleared out as soon as they captured the Preceptor.”

She’d been right. This battle was never about the castle. It was about Hugh.

Stoyan bared his teeth. “I need volunteers. We’ll get him back.”

“You won’t,” Dugas said. “Nez has only fielded a small part of his force. He still has most of his undead. There isn’t enough of you.”

“Your job is to protect us,” Savannah said. “With the Preceptor gone, whose orders are you supposed to follow?”

Stoyan clenched his fists.

“We follow his spouse,” Lamar said from the depths of the room.

“There you go,” Savannah said. “We need you here. The Preceptor is a lost cause. You can’t get him back.”

Lamar walked into the center of the room and bowed his head to Elara.

Stoyan swore.

“We were given specific orders,” Lamar said. “He told us that if he died, you inherited command.”

“He isn’t dead,” Stoyan snarled.

Lamar didn’t answer.

Stoyan clenched his fists again and bowed his head.

“I will speak for Bale,” the female berserker called out. “We obey the spouse. We won’t dishonor his last order.”

They were hers, Elara realized. She had the castle and the Iron Dogs. She didn’t have to share authority anymore. Hugh trusted her to take care of his people.