I hit the ground so hard that it knocked the wind out of me.\u00a0 I lay there for a moment, blinking mutely, lungs spasming and head ringing.<\/p>\n
Something nearby was screaming an awful, inhuman scream.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t figure out what it was for a minute until my brain started to function again.<\/p>\n
Phelan.\u00a0 Phelan just did something awful and wonderful and unexpected and it either saved us or doomed us.<\/i><\/p>\n
Thom yelled my name and I forced my bod to respond, slowly at first and then faster\u2014rolling onto my side, grasping for my bow, getting my feet back under me and rising unsteadily to my feet.<\/p>\n
The green light hadn\u2019t faded, I realized with startling abruptness.\u00a0 Phelan stood beyond the border of our wards, the line\u2014the normally invisible wall\u2014illuminated in green by his spell.\u00a0 His expression was a mask of concentration and pain, jaw tight and teeth gritted.<\/p>\n
One of the skinchangers had thrust a heavy-hafted spear through the protective wall of magic and right into Phelan\u2019s side.\u00a0 Though he and his fellows were trapped outside the confines of our wards, they had still managed to reach their quarry.<\/p>\n
I drew back on another arrow and fired.<\/p>\n
The head and shaft punched through the spear-wielding Hamrammr<\/i>\u2019s spine and it jerked once before it fell sideways, blue and green fire engulfing it as it fell.<\/p>\n
Bile rose again in my throat and I pitched forward to my hands and knees and puked up everything I\u2019d eaten that day and the night before.\u00a0 Darkness nibbled at the edges of my vision and I gasped for air.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t go down here, not like this\u2014this was insane.\u00a0 I was barely even hurt and the skinchangers were still coming.<\/p>\n
Hands closed around my shoulders and lifted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet her beyond the ward lines!\u201d\u00a0 Thom was shouting at someone.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve still got work to do out here!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll cover Thordin, just do it!\u201d\u00a0 Matt added, his voice no quieter and no less commanding than Thom\u2019s.\u00a0 It almost made me shiver.<\/p>\n
Thordin,<\/i> I thought dimly.\u00a0 What idiot thing was he trying to do, anyway?<\/i>\u00a0 He\u2019d thrown himself into the ravine.\u00a0 What was he up to?<\/p>\n
\u201cUp, Marin.\u201d Cameron\u2019s voice murmured in my ear.\u00a0 \u201cGet up and work with me here.\u201d\u00a0 My shoulder was wet.\u00a0 Was I bleeding, or was he?<\/p>\n
With his help, I stumbled to my feet, gasping as my thigh was suddenly aflame with pain.\u00a0 I\u2019d forgotten what the Hamrammr<\/i> had done to it.<\/p>\n
Forget it.\u00a0 Forget the pain.\u00a0 Not important right now.\u00a0 Worry about it later.\u00a0 Time later, not now.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a few steps,\u201d Cameron said as he pressed my bow back into my hand.\u00a0 \u201cJust a few steps.\u00a0 Just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
All I could see ahead of me was a wall of bright green light.\u00a0 Phelan was still holding on tight to his staff, but his face was pale as death and he wavered on his feet.\u00a0 Blood was soaking through his shirt where he\u2019d been stabbed, running down the side of his pant leg, oozing sullenly around the spear still stuck in his side.<\/p>\n
I swallowed and spat, shoving Cameron away as I stumbled a step toward the wards under my own power.\u00a0 \u201cTake care of my husband and my brother,\u201d I ordered, voice rough and rasping.\u00a0 \u201cLeave the rest to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lurched across the border, skin prickling with power and something else I couldn\u2019t quite identify as I crossed through the wall.\u00a0 Phelan was only a few steps away, his expression a rictus of pain and concentration.<\/p>\n
Something flickered in his eyes as he saw me coming toward him.\u00a0 He sucked in a breath, the green fading for a moment before flaring brighter again.\u00a0 \u201cNo, leann\u00e1n<\/i>,\u201d he said hoarsely.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch me.\u201d\u00a0 My hands closed over his on the staff.<\/p>\n
The world screamed<\/i> and I didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I hit the ground so hard that it knocked the wind out of me.\u00a0 I lay there for a moment, blinking mutely, lungs spasming and head ringing. Something nearby was screaming an awful, inhuman scream.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t figure out what … Continue reading