“Kado!” Rayna’s voice broke his reverie.
The scene before him did not make sense.
The Laevuls had not moved from their position by the altar. They continued chanting, unaffected by Terayan’s death.
Rayna was free from her magical bonds.
Evidently, the Laevuls needed all their energy.
“Something’s happening,” Rayna said.
“But I killed him!” Kado protested as he helped her to her feet.
“The Laevuls!” She ran toward the chanting siblings, but their chanting reached a pinnacle.
The Laevuls collapsed on their own.
“What?” Rayna approached them and Kado followed. “They’re breathing, but—”
A resounding boom echoed through the chamber.
Kado and Rayna covered their ears.
Terayan’s corpse lay where Kado had left it, the Councilor’s lifeblood still pumping onto the floor.
But the blood did not pool.
It filled the grooves carved around where Terayan had died. As the crimson liquid ran through the design, it darkened to black.
“It’s magic.” Rayna swallowed.
The black blood flashed into golden fire, engulfing Terayan.
“We have to get out of here! We’ll be burned alive.” Kado took Rayna’s hand, dragging her toward the vault door.
“He wanted this.” Rayna’s voice shook. “He wanted you to kill him.”
Kado said nothing, putting all his focus in turning the door’s wheel.
As it began to ease open, the heat from the fire fell away.
With a gulp, he turned around.
Terayan stood, eyes closed.
The golden fire ran along his arms and legs, covering the runes on his forehead and chest, and burning around his head like a crown. The fire sank into his skin, leaving him unburnt.
His injuries disappeared. His clothes re-formed.
With a deep inhale, Terayan opened his eyes, revealing pure molten gold.
Chapter Forty-Two
Rayna’s mind fractured. Shards splintered in a hundred directions, both past and present.
Never before had she experienced magic so powerful—not even the Eye of Heaven compared.
All of her senses, wolf and seer, were overwhelmed. The scents of blood, death, and fire assaulted her.
Kado shouted in her ear.
Behind her, Channon pushed through the partially opened vault door, trying to break through to them.
Normally his presence could break her out of any state, but not this time. Memories and voices flooded her awareness in the space of a heartbeat.
She saw the demon with the changing face, and Hell’s guardian Arrabus fighting her father’s spirit. She remembered killing Rhael, the feel of his skin tearing beneath her blade.
Marielana spoke in her mind. “A god-binding spell.”
Then, the warning Marielana had given her before the battle with Rhael. “Water will run with wolf once more, but the fields with flow with blood and gore. From the chaos, one will rise, and all will serve the lord with golden eyes.”
She'd thought Marielana had meant Rhael.
But as Terayan opened his eyes, revealing pupils, iris, and sclera of unbroken gold, she understood.
Terayan was gone, his body was a vessel for something else.
Rayna named the God standing before them. “Razorn.”
The golden-eyed God that had visited her in a nightmare, though she hadn't known him then.
Now, there was no question. Every instinct, every nerve in her body hummed with the name.
The being inhabiting Terayan’s corpse looked toward her, blinking as if adjusting to changing light. He extended his hand, examining it, before extending it toward her.
“Rayna Myana.” The voice had changed. Gone was Terayan’s politician’s smoothness. Razorn spoke in a low, almost reverent tone that sent shivers down Rayna’s spine.
She had heard that voice before, at the Eye of Heaven and in a dream.
Channon’s hand closed on hers, dragging her out of the vault.
Kado followed, slamming the door behind him.
“Run!” Kado called.
Kellan, Mina, and Katrine rushed toward them.
Rayna noticed the broken bodies of several guards littered around the tunnel.
“What happened?” Kellan asked her.
She shook her head. “Run,” she repeated Kado’s command, before leading the way down the tunnel.
A creak signaled the vault door opening fully behind them. “Bring me the seer. Kill the rest.”
At first, Rayna assumed Razorn was commanding the Laevuls, but then something closed around her ankle. She fell.
One of the guards’ bodies had come to life.
As she wrestled with the corpse, blood from its punctured throat slicked the ground between them. She extended her claws, freeing herself long enough to look into its eyes.
They were solid black—Da’ Gammorn eyes.
She did not understand how it was possible, but instinct took over.
She grabbed Coer’s knife and rammed it into the dead guard’s chest.
Its breastplate deflected the blow.
She tore at the leather attachments, ripping the armor off with her teeth.
The creature pushed her over, knocking her head against the ground.
Bright spots of light exploded in her vision.
But it had been ordered to bring her back alive.
She had the advantage.
She thrust the knife again, this time piercing its heart.
The corpse collapsed on top of her.
Someone pushed it off her from above.
Channon helped her to her feet. “The dead, they’re all becoming Da’ Gammorn. Remember, go for the head or heart.” A fresh cut glistened above his left eye. “How do we get out of here?”
Katrine sniffed the air after she and Mina finished off another of the undead warriors. More clattered down the tunnel toward them.
“This way!” Katrine called. “I think I can trace our steps back to the Peddler’s Toe.” She took the lead, and the others followed at a mad dash.
They were faster than their pursuers, and for a moment, Rayna felt some relief.
She squeezed Channon’s hand.
Nothing made sense, but they were together. They might survive this yet.
But all Rayna’s optimism fled as they rounded a corner and more Da’ Gammorn blocked their path.
These were different than the guards—longer dead, dressed not in armor, but in peasants’ rags. The decaying scent she'd smelled in the tunnels earlier made sense now.
There had been bodies hidden here—bodies of missing peasants the Kyreans had no doubt blamed on the “wolf witch.”
How many such corpse-caches did Terayan have hidden around the city, ready to rise?
If they escaped the tunnels, the streets might already be flooded with the undead.
There was nothing for it but to fight.
She wielded Coer’s knife, her teeth and claws extended.
These opponents fell more easily than the others.
They had no armor, and wielded only bricks and farm tools.
Still, Rayna was exhausted as she and the others pushed on, following Katrine.
The sounds of running feet echoed through the tunnel. More and more Da’ Gammorn chased them down.
Rayna caught a whiff of blessed fresh air. They were nearing an exit.
She glanced around at the others, making sure they'd all made it as they sprinted toward the exit.
Channon, Kellan, Mina, Katrine, and Kado were all there—bruised and bloodied, but alive. Hope returned again as they reached the grate separating them from the outside.
Channon and Kellan pushed it off together, and they all spilled onto the streets.
It was nearly as dark on the cobbled streets of the Lower City as it had been in the tunnels.
Rayna leaned against Channon as they
both caught their breath.
“Those things will be after us,” Kado said. “We have to get to the harbor. A ship’s the only way out of here.”
“What happened in the crypt?” Mina asked. “Where are Terayan and the Laevuls?”
“Terayan’s dead. I killed him,” Kado said, his voice hollow and tinny.
“But he was standing in the middle of the crypt!” Channon protested.
“That wasn’t Terayan.” Rayna dropped Channon’s hold, taking in their surroundings. Warm light filled nearby taverns’ windows. A dog barked somewhere nearby.
“We have to get to the harbor,” Kado repeated.
The sound of footsteps grew louder from the tunnels, punctuating his words.
“To the harbor,” Mina said.
But as they set off down the streets, several shadows peeled off from alleys on either side of them.
They were surrounded, not by the dead, but by living Kyrean guards.
Gabriel Garrison appeared out of the darkness, still wearing his torn ball attire, and sporting a fresh bandage on his shoulder. “Thought you might try and escape this way.”
Kellan gave a guttural roar and surged toward Garrison, but Rayna held him back.
“Garrison, listen to me.” She swallowed the fear and revulsion that seized her heart when his gray eyes fell upon her. She had worse monsters with which to contend now. “Do you know what Terayan did? This Ascension—everyone in Halmstead is going to die. Everyone on Osterna might die if we don’t stop him.”
“I know all about the Scalthe and their rituals.” Garrison’s expression did not match the confidence of his words.
She had rattled him.
He did not know everything.
“We can’t waste time fighting each other—” Rayna began, but Kellan tore away from her hold, connecting his twin blades with Garrison’s sword.
“No, Kellan!” It was too late.
The fighting ignited again.
Rayna dodged one attacker, swiping her claws across the side of his jaw and neck. The man fell, convulsing.
Then, there were more bodies in the fight. The creatures from the tunnels caught up to them. Enemies, both living and dead, surrounded them on all sides.
The man she'd killed rose again, his eyes shimmering black pools. “Bring the seer. Kill the rest,” it repeated Razorn’s orders before turning away from Rayna and thrusting its sword into a Kyrean.
Garrison had somehow broken away from Kellan, though from the look of his badly bleeding head, it cost him an ear. “What’s going on?” he slurred as the undead warriors—in ever-increasing numbers—attacked his men as readily as they did the Peninsulars.
The remaining Kyreans panicked as their fallen comrades turned their blades on them. They ran, some of the undead following, leaving Garrison.
“Come back, you cowards!” Garrison shouted as he decapitated one of his former men.
The corpse folded to the ground, dead again.
As the only person the creatures had been ordered to bring back alive, Rayna pressed her advantage, helping her friends. She rammed Coer’s knife through the back of an undead peasant that had Kellan pinned. She helped him stand, and he tried once more to go after Garrison.
“Kellan!” Rayna begged. “Let them kill him. We have to run!”
Kellan gave a wolf-like snarl, but relented, as three separate undead Kyreans converged on their former captain.
Garrison ran down the alley, where he would be trapped. Garrison’s shouts and the clang of metal echoed from the darkened alley.
“Come on!” Mina called from where she'd broken away from the fight.
Rayna and the others sprinted after Mina, as Garrison’s shouting devolved into screams of pain.
No matter how much Rayna hated the man, she did not wish this fate on anyone.
The Da’ Gammorn peasants and guards followed, some breaking off to kill any unlucky passersby to increase their numbers.
Rayna and the others shouted warnings until their voices were hoarse, but it was no use.
By morning, no one in the city would be left alive.
Fires burned, likely deliberately set by Razorn’s thralls to force people onto the streets to be slaughtered.
It was all Rayna could do to keep moving, to stay with her friends as they ran for the lives through the burning, bleeding city.
At last, they reached the harbor.
Men and women rushed past them carrying buckets of seawater to help with the fires.
“No!” Rayna called after them. “Don’t go back there! You’ll die!”
“There are people trapped in the fires!” One of the women responded. “We have to help!”
“You don’t understand!” Rayna shouted.
“It’s no use, Wolfie,” Mina said.
Rayna embraced her, pressing her forehead against hers.
Mina was drenched in sweat and blood droplets mingled with her freckles.
“I found a boat!” Kado called from a dock nearby. “It’ll fit everyone, but it’s small enough for us to sail on our own.” Kado’s face fell as he finished. “Behind you!”
Rayna turned. A mob of newly-made Da’ Gammorn thundered down the street.
“Kado, Katrine!” she shouted. “Get on the boat. We'll be right there!”
“No, we—” Katrine began.
“Now!” Channon ordered before he shifted wolf and barreled into the closest enemy.
Rayna and Kellan joined the fray, fighting back-to-back.
Rayna shoved Coer’s knife into an opponent’s heart, but it stuck on its ribs as she tried to pull it out.
Another Da’ Gammorn came from her left. She swiped at it with her extended claws, but it did not slow.
As she prepared for impact, it stopped short, falling forward to reveal an eagle-tipped arrow.
Mina waved from the deck of the nearby boat. “Come on! We need to leave!” She sent her remaining arrows into the mob, emptying her quiver to provide cover.
Channon re-took his human form beside Rayna and Kellan. “Run!”
Rayna needed no other encouragement. She freed Coer’s knife and ran across the dock, not daring to see how close behind the undead horde was. She took Mina’s hand and leaped onto the deck.
She turned to help Channon and Kellan up, but they weren't there.
Her heart pounded in her ears. She searched the dock.
Channon fought with his back to the boat, holding off the worst of the mob.
Kellan stood between Channon and the ship’s deck, dispatching one final enemy.
“Channon! What are you doing?” Rayna shouted after him.
“Buying you time!” He shouted. “Don’t waste it!”
“No!” Rayna screamed, trying to run back to the dock.
Mina grabbed her. “Rayna! You have to stay here!”
Rayna struggled, not wanting to hurt Mina, but not willing to be stopped, either. She broke free of Mina’s hold, but before she could start back after Channon, Kellan ran back toward the fight.
“Kellan!” Rayna called after him.
“I’ll get him. Help Kado ready the ship!”
But Rayna could not look away.
Kellan joined Channon.
All rivalry and distrust fell away as they fought side-by-side.
The slew of defeated Da’ Gammorn piled before them, somewhat slowing the onslaught.
“We’re ready!” Kado called from behind her as he cast off a final rope. The boat began to drift away from the dock. “Get here, now!”
Kellan and Channon started toward the boat, but one of the Da’ Gammorn on the ground gripped Channon’s shin, dragging him down.
The undead peasant swung its hatchet toward Channon’s head.
“No!” Rayna screamed.
Kellan dove beside Channon, raising his right-hand blade to block the blow.
But the hatchet came down on the blade’s hilt.
Rayna’s stomach lurched.
Blood sprayed
from Kellan’s hand. His sword clattered beside Channon.
With a roar of pain and rage, Kellan thrust his other blade into the creature’s chest.
It fell dead as Kellan collapsed on the ground, clutching his blood-soaked hand.
Two fingers lay on the dock beside him.
Channon stumbled to his feet, forcing Kellan up beside them as they ran for the boat.
Channon helped Kellan into Rayna and Mina’s waiting arms as he climbed aboard.
The next wave of attackers hurried down the dock, but thanks to Kado and Katrine’s rowing and the wind already gathering in the sails, the ship was too far away for them to reach.
Rayna tore Kellan's shirt, wrapping the cloth around his mutilated hand.
He cried out in agony.
“I’m sorry, Kellan.” Tears blurred her vision. “It’ll be all right, I promise. We have to stop the bleeding.”
Channon reappeared from below-deck carrying a leather bag. “I found some supplies.” He knelt beside Kellan. “First things first.” Channon pulled a wineskin from the bag and helped Kellan drink.
Coughing, eyes streaming, Kellan managed a sip.
A voice boomed in Rayna's skull. Rayna Myana.
She fell back from the force of it, covering her ears.
“Rayna!” Mina shook her. “What's wrong?”
Rayna screwed her eyes shut, but in the darkness ,she saw a face with glowing, golden eyes.
I let you live. Do not forget that.
She screamed and the face faded, though she still felt Razorn's eyes burning into her.
Chapter Forty-Three
Kado steered the ship south. It helped to focus on familiar things: the salty breeze, the compass he read in the stars, and the feel of the wheel against his palms.
But every time Kellan cried out in pain below-deck, or Kado glimpsed his bloodied clothing, horrific reality reasserted itself.
The ocean was his solace, but he was not safe here anymore. After what he had witnessed, nowhere was safe.
Razorn—the monster in every children’s tale—was real. He was here.
And he was not alone.
Kado had seen the dead rise, and now nothing made sense anymore.
The hatch leading below swung open. Kado started at the noise.
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