And I was pretty certain I’d lost a comb along the way.
This all sucked.
What sucked way worse was that I knew we were all dead.
This was because we were surrounded. I couldn’t miss it even as I battled on, breathing heavy, my heart thumping in my chest, my blood roaring in my ears. I heard Loretta’s terrified pants and Meeta’s grunts of effort.
We were surrounded.
They were pressing us in.
I felt Loretta’s back hit mine. Then Meeta’s.
If just one of them got a good swipe in, they could take all three of us out.
We were done for.
I was going to die with two fabulous women who somehow had come to my aid and who I wished I had a lot more time to get to know.
I wasn’t ever going to see Élan dressed for her first gale.
I wasn’t going to see Christophe become a soldier.
I was never going to feel Apollo’s hands on me again. His mouth. See his smile. Take in all the beauty that was him.
I was going to die in the cold and snow of a parallel universe having tasted a beautiful life I knew I’d grown to love but had not allowed myself to trust. Tasted it for a brief snatch of time and then it was going to be whisked away.
“You guys are the freaking greatest!” I shouted, grunting as I lunged forward and got one in the gut.
He fell back.
Another took his place.
“I die with you in my heart, Miss Maddie and Meeta,” Loretta yelled, Meeta’s name ending in a pained yelp and I knew one clipped her.
“We do not die tonight!” Meeta screeched, her voice so shrill, it was like she was trying to make that be by putting everything she was into her words.
I admired her grit.
But she was heartbreakingly wrong.
One of the things did an overhead slice and I caught it with my short blade sideways, but the strength of the slice took me down to my knee. My arms over my head, struggling to hold my attacker’s blade, the rest of me was ripe for the pickin’s.
But if I let go, he’d slice me in half.
I let out an ear-piercing scream of frustration, terror and heartache and his sword disappeared.
He didn’t. He stood before me but he was looking over his shoulder.
I shot to standing and noted both Loretta and Meeta pressing to my back but I heard no grunts of exertion nor did I feel movement.
This was because all of the creatures were looking back.
I was about to start jabbing at random to create a hole in what looked like a six or seven creature-thick wall around us when all hell broke loose.
And by that I mean I heard barking, growling, yapping, snarling and suddenly a line of sight cleared and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Wolves.