Cloak of Night (Circle of Shadows #2) - Evelyn Skye Page 0,63
secure the harness around his belly. Another set of straps looped around his front legs. Then she tied each of their bags onto his sides, making sure to evenly distribute the weight.
“Does it feel all right?” she asked.
Wolf walked around the chestnut grove, testing out the harness as he moved. He wiggled his shoulders, shifting where the straps dug in.
“All good. Hop on.”
Fairy jumped up and lay a strap across her hips, pulling to tighten it. That had been another of Wolf’s ideas, to create belts like makeshift saddles, so his passengers wouldn’t plummet to their deaths. She leaned forward and hugged his neck, allowing herself the comfort of nestling into his fur.
He took off at a run and leaped into the air. They sailed up easily, as if he’d been doing this his entire life.
She supposed he had, at least in his previous one. Fairy wondered if he still regretted giving up his right to live in Celestae.
As Jade Forest and the Imperial City grew smaller below them, sadness ached in Fairy’s chest. This might be the last time she saw the place that had been her home for eighteen years. Even in the best of circumstances—where they succeeded in killing Prince Gin and stopped the impending war—she wouldn’t get to come back here for a while.
Then something dive-bombed at them, and Fairy shrieked.
Wolf dodged, but barely. “What in all hells was that?”
Fairy scanned the air. A massive buzzard flapped its wings, pivoting to come back at her and Wolf again. She cursed under her breath.
Wolf let loose a shock of electricity, throwing bolts of lightning toward the buzzard. It dove out of the way.
Something moved in the periphery of Fairy’s vision, below on the forest floor. She whipped her head around to look at it.
“Wolf, watch out! Someone’s down there!”
The ryuu shot flames at them. Wolf tried to dodge, but they grazed his fur. He howled in pain.
“Stars!” Fairy smothered the fire out with her cloak and poured some water from a canteen to cool the singed skin. Wolf sucked in air through his teeth.
More flames barreled toward them. But Wolf flew higher, and the fire arced back down to the ground.
“We’re out of range,” Fairy said in relief.
She spoke too soon. A figure materialized out of nothing and stood next to the fire ryuu. Fairy didn’t need to be close to know who it was.
“Spirit’s sister . . .”
Wolf growled. “I just saw Hana, too. How did she find us?”
“I don’t know,” Fairy said as they flew farther. “But it looks like we got out of there just in time. They were laying an ambush.”
“And they’ll send reinforcements soon,” Wolf said.
“Or now.” Fairy pointed at a flurry of black flying at them from Jade Forest.
Wolf put on speed. Unfortunately, the burst of power also set off brilliant sparks, and he streaked light through the sky like a comet.
“You’re too bright,” Fairy said, clinging to his fur as the frigid wind gusted in her face. “Douse your sparks, or we’ll never be able to lose them if they can see you like this.”
Them were hundreds of bats, flying in formation like a single enormous creature with sword-long fangs. Menagerie, the ryuu who controlled animals, must be commanding them.
Wolf quelled his sparks. But it probably wouldn’t matter anyway. The bats would use their sonar to track him, as long as they stayed close enough.
He accelerated to the right.
They followed.
He careened down, back into a different part of Jade Forest.
They didn’t lose his trail, even weaving in and out of the trees.
Wolf pulled back up into open air, breathing hard. “What do I do?”
“Speed of light,” Fairy said. “Get us out of here.”
“It’ll make you sick if I fly any faster than this.”
“Just do it!”
Too late. The buzzard swooped near them. Menagerie crouched on its back, a smug smile on his face.
“Watch out!” Fairy cried.
Menagerie pounced onto Wolf’s back. “Impressive magic you’ve got here,” he said. “Sure you don’t want to join the ryuu?”
Wolf snarled. “Never.”
Fairy twisted to fight Menagerie, but she was partially trapped by the harness that was ironically meant to keep her alive. She pulled out a stiletto blade with one hand and fumbled to undo the belt across her lap with the other.
“Do not unbuckle,” Wolf said. He jerked sideways midair to dump Menagerie off his back.
The ryuu let out a yell as he tumbled off. But he fell only about ten feet.
“How?” Fairy gawked at him, dangling beneath them but trailing everywhere they went.