A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(40)

“They might be lurking in the grass nearby,” said Yaron. “They won’t come any closer. Like most creatures out there, they don’t fare well with fire.”

“My point is,” Mal continued, “it’s either obey or die with these creeps. It’s bad enough we have sworn fealty to them. Let’s keep our garrison alive and fight for Sverik another day. His father’s planning another assault with Goren anyway. They’re looking further north now. They might take us with them.”

“So we can spill our blood while the Destroyers prance around on their winged horses throwing their poisonous spears?” Yaron was clearly displeased with the entire situation.

“What would you rather do then, Yaron?” Capheus snapped. “Curl up and die? They won’t let you. They’ll lock you up and torture you and chip away at your very soul until you beg them to kill you. That’s worse than death, my friend. Snap out of it. We obey or we suffer the same fate as Sverik. At least we can still bear arms.”

“I’m not sure death by Destroyer is any better,” Yaron replied. “I heard the poison is so vicious, it takes a long time for it to kill you. It kills your muscles, but you still feel everything as the toxin burns through your body. They say it’s beyond agonizing.”

“Kristos and Bijarki must have suffered for hours before the poison finally killed them,” Mal added. “I heard from one of the Destroyers who went after them that they got them both. Poked them full of spears to send a message.”

“I heard Bijarki’s still alive,” Capheus said. “They saw him moving through the jungles up north.”

The other incubi looked at him, surprise raising their eyebrows in unison. Mal’s black stone stopped halfway down the blade.

“Where’d you hear that?” Mal frowned.

“One of Goren’s aides. He said they spotted Bijarki around that succubi camp twice. You know, the one they burned down the other day.”

Mal shook his head, staring at the fire.

“One by one, the resistance keeps falling,” he said slowly. “We keep saying we’ll live to fight another day, but it doesn’t look like that day is coming. If anything, it’s rapidly fading away.”

“Well, it’s not like there’s much skill left in the wild anyway,” Yaron smirked. “Almost all of the incubi have sworn fealty, and it’s not like the succubi are capable of taking on even one Destroyer, not to mention a whole garrison complete with Sluaghs.”

I heard Hansa hiss from behind him.

He quickly looked over his shoulder. I suddenly had a feeling that he was about to say something to set her off, so I squeezed Draven’s hand.

“Yeah, don’t rely on the females to save the day,” Capheus grinned.

“I heard they wiped them all out. Didn’t stand a chance, that Red Tribe,” Yaron chuckled. “A bunch of succubi who were too proud and lazy to live with the males of our species, and look at them. Centuries spent pretending they know how to fight to end up with spears and arrows in them. Pathetic!”

Draven seemed to read my mind. He jerked my hand, and we both moved swiftly toward the source of the second hiss, this one longer and more menacing. I wanted to catch Hansa before she did something that would reveal our presence there, but I wasn’t sure how to find her in time.

The incubi were all chuckling around the fire, and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before their heads would start falling off.

I took a gamble and used my True Sight to look around me. Much to my relief and surprise, I saw a shimmering silhouette prowling behind Yaron, which I instantly recognized as Hansa. She was moving in for the kill, quiet and liquid in her movement.

I lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She tried to resist but gave in. We slowly moved away from the camp, leaving the incubi behind still looking around for snakes.

As soon as we were far enough to speak again, I let go of Hansa’s arm. She groaned, and I heard her sheathe her sword.

“Hansa, your short temper might get us killed,” Draven reprimanded her, his hand still clutching mine.

“I am sorry, Druid. Anger got the best of me,” she mumbled. “They were talking trash about my tribe, my sisters. I saw red.”

“Your irregular hissing gave you away,” I replied. “I can’t blame you, though. I can only imagine how his words must make you feel.”

A moment passed before she spoke again.

Crickets chirped in the background.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“I used my True Sight,” I said. “It turns out swamp witches’ magic isn’t fully impervious to my sentry abilities. I can’t see you clearly, but I can make out the silhouette, as if I can spot the light reflections when you move.”

“That’s an interesting development,” Draven mused. “Nevertheless, worth studying further when we get the chance. We’re using spells we know nothing about right now, but once all this blows over, I’ll want to go through each of them thoroughly.”

“Planning on teaching swamp witch magic, Druid?” Hansa asked jokingly.

“Not necessarily, but it’s an art that should not die. It will only be a matter of deciding who would be entitled to receive such powerful knowledge.”

A throng of sharp hisses pierced the natural silence as dozens of Destroyers flew overhead. We stilled, and my heart froze in my chest. Shivers ran down my spine. Their winged horses neighed as they cut through the night sky, foaming at the mouth and flapping their wings against the warm summer air.