Thirty-two – 08

Silver-white light flared around them as Thom, Seamus, and Phelan crossed the warding lines, shivers of power in the shape of tiny forks of white lightning playing across their skin. Phelan sucked in a breath, shaking free of both Seamus and Thom and leaning a little more heavily against his staff. His leg still felt like it was coated in ice and his shoulders weren’t much better off, but he didn’t have much time to consider either as he twisted, staring at the massing Grays.

“They’re bottlenecking,” he said to Seamus. “The Hunt won’t be very effective if they stay mounted.”

“They won’t,” Seamus murmured, gaze drifting to the right.

“Holy shit,” J.T. muttered.

The first of the dark-cloaked Huntsmen flung himself from the saddle, drawing an iron-dark blade from the scabbard across his back in a single smooth motion. He crashed boots-first into a group of Grays, yelling something in a tongue nearly as old as Phelan, Thordin, and Seamus. Another drew back the bowstring on a lacquered recurve bow, a silver-tipped arrow streaking through the night toward one of the diminutive figures throwing itself at the warding lines.

Phelan’s throat tightened as he planted his staff against the ground, driving its tip through the snow to the ground beneath. The earth still shuddered beneath them even as horses came to a stop and the Wild Hunt swarmed from their mounts toward the enemy, hacking and shouting, battle hymns on the lips of some. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to breathe slow and deep, forcing his senses through the staff, down into the earth.

Thom touched his shoulder. “Phelan?”

“Sensing,” Phelan murmured. The wards should hold—he could sense the power Marin had dumped into them. They’d hold, at least for now. “Where’s your wife?”

“Sent her back with Neve to wake Cameron and the rest. What’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you when I know,” Phelan said. He could almost feel it, almost touch it, something dark and cold and deep sensing the same way he was—

A great, yawning maw of darkness opened and swallowed him whole.

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