your life in their hands, do what they tell you, and they’ll bring us out.”
“S’am will pull a win out of her ass, don’t you worry,” Rachie said. “She’s gone through some serious shit, and made it out. The woman is a miracle worker.”
“We’ll watch your back,” Gracas said, all bravado.
“They’ll watch ours, actually,” Xavier said. “They’re the archers. They have a longer reach.”
“But…you know…”
Movement around their circle interrupted Gracas’ struggle for the right words. Shapes darted, graceful and silent, skirting by their number. A long shape in a hand announced the brandishing of steel.
“What’s happening?” Xavier said, standing.
One of the shapes slowed in its jog. A woman—possibly Mela—said, “All of you get into the trees. Stick together. Our perimeter has been breached.”
“How many?” Leilius asked, but Mela was already moving away.
Marc felt a jolt of adrenaline. Before he even made the decision, he had a knife in his hand and was clutching Ruisa’s shoulder. She shrugged him off before Xavier’s hand covered Marc’s shoulder and started pushing.
“With me, everyone,” Xavier said.
The circle collapsed toward Xavier like paper crumpling.
“What do we do?” Gracas asked Xavier when they slithered around two tree trunks and stopped in the undergrowth.
“Get the more experienced people on the outside of this group,” Xavier said in a hush. “We have no idea how many there are. The mental people can feel the intruders, but that doesn’t mean they can get to all of them in time. Especially if they are fighting with Inkna.”
Marc shoved someone out of the way and stepped forward, his grip too tight on his knife. Trying not to fall into shallow breathing that would make him eventually black out, he focused on the sounds surrounding them, currently drowned out with talking.
“There can’t be that many,” Gracas said. “Or they would be louder, right? This can’t be an attack.”
“It can if they are like the Hunter’s men,” a woman said. “Those guys didn’t say much. They just killed.”
“In the middle of the night?” Rachie said in disbelief.
“Maybe we should shut up so they don’t realize we’re here.” Marc’s words scratched against his too-tight throat. A bead of sweat ran down his temple.
The chatter died away, leaving the utter silence of a nearly black night. Marc widened his eyes, trying to take in more light to see through the black. It was a fruitless effort. The press of silence suffocated him and made it hard to breathe. His hand shook a little; he was more afraid of the unknown than of a shape running at him.
A shout sounded to the distant right, followed by an agonized scream.
Marc flinched and pressed into those around him. The group moved and shifted as the scream rattled off into silence. Into death.
Silence drifted back in like a fog. Ragged breathing sounded behind him. Someone was about to hyperventilate in panic.
Marc slowly worked backward, careful not to make any sound. He picked up his feet slowly, letting them hover in the air before gingerly setting them down. His heart hammered against his ribs and a pulsing rush blared in his ears.
Someone moved out of the way, but didn’t ask him what he was doing. He felt another body shift before he was standing next to a woman with a heaving chest. Her hands held a shaking bow in front of her, terror clearly drowning out her thought. She was very dangerous at that moment.
Marc let the calm of his profession settle over him. She needed help, and it was his job to give it.
“Hey,” he whispered. “I’m going to put my hand on your arm. Are you ready?”
He wouldn’t have been able to see her nod even if she gave it. The outline of her head was lost to the darkness of the trunk behind her.
“I’m reaching over,” Marc said, his words almost coming out like a melodic hum. He’d learned that from Rohnan. “I will touch you now.”
Her flinch almost made him jerk away, violent as it was. She clutched her bow harder into her chest, crushing his hand.
“We have you surrounded,” Marc said in that same melodic voice. “The Shadow and Shumas are out there, tracking these people down. And if all else fails, those cats are out there, hunting. You are safe with us. Just stick with us, and you’ll be fine.”
He desperately wanted to believe the words he was saying.
The ragged breathing slowed a fraction. Her arms relaxed just a little.
“Now, I want you to drop that bow—just for now.” He winced as the wood