\u201cAgain?\u201d\u00a0 Thom finally blurted, breaking the silence. \u201cDid he just pull that stunt again<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he didn\u2019t, I\u2019ve got no idea where they went,\u201d Matt said from his perch.\u00a0 \u201cBecause they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sound of a gun\u2019s report echoed off the walls.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t stop firing!\u201d\u00a0 Paul shouted.\u00a0 \u201cBecause these bastards are still coming, general to lead or not!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDammit,\u201d I panted, fingers digging into Thom\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cGod fucking dammit<\/i>.\u00a0 Don\u2019t look a gift horse in the mouth.\u201d\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure if I was saying it to Thom or to myself.\u00a0 I straightened up and shook myself, cursing under my breath again as the world slowly spun around me, then righted itself again.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me your bow,\u201d Thom said.<\/p>\n
I shook my head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Give me a boost back up.\u00a0 I\u2019m a better shot than you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just fell off the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThom.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw firmed, a muscle twitching in the corner.\u00a0 I met his stare without flinching.\u00a0 He was the first to blink with a muttered obscenity and a shake of his head.<\/p>\n
Then he boosted me back up onto the top of the wall.<\/p>\n
The camazotzi<\/i> were definitely still coming, but the ranks were thinning as their numbers dropped.\u00a0 Perhaps two dozen were still moving\u2014still able to move, not trampled under the feet of their fellows or incapacitated by our wards.\u00a0 The gunfire and arrows we rained down on them from the walls was starting to have an effect, though.\u00a0 They were slowly starting to pull back.<\/p>\n
I counted two with the strange markings left.<\/p>\n
Just need to take them out.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2019ll cut and run.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cPaul!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d he snapped from his perch.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty meters to your left.\u00a0 Red markings on the wings.\u00a0 Take it down hard!\u201d<\/p>\n
I could almost feel his grin.\u00a0 \u201cWith pleasure!\u201d<\/p>\n
I took aim on my own target and filed in the same second I heard the sound of Paul\u2019s rifle.<\/p>\n
Two screams, two kills.<\/p>\n
The rout began then.<\/p>\n
With all semblance of leadership gone, the camazotzi<\/i> swarmed together, less an efficient killing pack than a rabble without direction.\u00a0 They coalesced into a pack, then spread out again, as if they were deciding whether to attack or run.\u00a0 A few struck off on their own, in clumps of twos and threes, and headed away from the walls, only to stop and turn back.<\/p>\n
Why don\u2019t they just bolt?<\/i><\/p>\n
A flicker of silver-gray drew my eye, out in the distance across the snow.\u00a0 A fog was rising out there.<\/p>\n
No.\u00a0 Not a fog.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHell,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat a time for Jay to be down or the count.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the distance, Death in one of her many guises lifted a hand to acknowledge me.\u00a0 A shiver shot down my spine and I nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have them pinned!\u201d\u00a0 I shouted to my friends as I met her faraway gaze.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t tell if it was the Morrigan or the other one we\u2019d met, not at this distance.\u00a0 \u201cPut them down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rory balanced on the top of the wall a few feet away from me, slowly rising to his feet and balancing there precariously.\u00a0 \u201cPyrotechnics?\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at him, swallowed hard, and nodded.<\/p>\n
He grinned and the flames lit his eyes a second before fire flowed from his fingers like water, splashing down onto the camazotzi<\/i> below.<\/p>\n
If I live a thousand years, I will never forget the sound of those screams.<\/p>\n
In the moment, I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 They were a threat and we needed to survive.\u00a0 They<\/i> were the aggressors.<\/p>\n
They were learning how high a price someone could pay for coming after us.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d started this, and we finished it.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, it was all over.<\/p>\n
At least for now.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAgain?\u201d\u00a0 Thom finally blurted, breaking the silence. \u201cDid he just pull that stunt again?\u201d \u201cIf he didn\u2019t, I\u2019ve got no idea where they went,\u201d Matt said from his perch.\u00a0 \u201cBecause they\u2019re gone.\u201d The sound of a gun\u2019s report echoed off … Continue reading