Page 130 of Graevale
“Come on!” she said, grabbing his hand and praying for a clear run as she sprinted out into the square towards William. She didn’t get three feet, however, before Bear stumbled to a gasping halt when Gerald swung his arm back and then forward, his whip-tattoos lashing across William’s chest, causing blood to spray from the deep,deepwound that tore open in his flesh.
Alex’s stomach roiled and Bear screamed his dad’s name again—a scream that there was no way William could have heard, and yet, his pained eyes swung across the fighting races to land on his son.
All the love William had for Bear, for his family, shone in his gaze as he mouthed the same three words he’d said into Bear’s ear just a week ago.
… And then Gerald’s tattoos whipped forward again, scouring across William’s neck this time, the wound just as deep as the first.
Too deep.
And the light in William’s eyes disappeared… along with his final breath.
“DAD!”
This time Alex didn’t have to hold Bear back, because as Calista lowered William’s body to the ground before disappearing into the masses with Gerald, Bear collapsed at her feet, unable to hold his own weight.
“Bear,” Alex whispered, the word sounding as choked as she felt. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around his quaking body, unable to summon the right words, the right actions.
What they’d just witnessed—What they’d just seen—
Bear’s dad… Hisdad…
He was dead.
William was dead.
But while Alex wanted to collapse beside her friend and lose herself in the tears now blurring her vision, her survival instincts told her that if she and Bear didn’t move, then they would be the next to die.
Together they’d only travelled a few feet from the alleyway, so they were still partially sheltered, but they wouldn’t be for long. Bear was in shock—she needed to get him away from the battle. And she couldn’t risk waiting to see how long it would take Caspar Lennox to return.
Shoving aside her own grief, Alex cast her gaze outwards, searching for the means to get him to safety. Her eyes landed on Soraya who was still fighting with Niyx on the other side of the dark battleground. Noting the size of her Shadow Wolf, Alex hoped like crazy that Soraya had grown enough for what she needed.
Yelling out her name, the wolf appeared panting at Alex’s side in a flash of light and dark. As she did so, three more Meyarins swooped in and lunged towards Alex and the still-immobile Bear. While Alex struggled to keep them from reaching her friend, she cried, “Get him out of here!”
Intelligent amber eyes met Alex’s as keen understanding flowed through whatever connection she had with the wolf. And then Soraya bounded past Alex and, in a blur of lightning and shadow, Bear was swept up by the massive creature, the two of them vanishing from sight.
Alex was too focused on her newest opponents to feel any kind of relief—or disappointment that she was now alone again—and once she disabled them, she ran straight back out into the square. Pushing aside her heartache, she attacked left and right, struggling through the crowd in her attempt to return to Niyx’s side, knowing they were stronger and safer together. Part of her wondered if she should have left with Bear, if she should have retreated to be with her friends. But she knew she was still needed here. D.C. was right—this was everyone’s fight. And after William…
Alex wouldn’t leave. Not if there was the slightest chance she could still make a difference.
Halfway across the square, and therefore half the remaining distance from Niyx, Alex was brought to a halt when she became pressed between shifting movements from Shadow Walkers, Dayriders and Meyarins alike. Fighting dizziness as they whirled around her with their quick bursts of shadows, flashes of light and blurs of theValispath, a noise caused her body to lock and her head to turn—a noise that sent chills down her spine.
That noise was Aven laughing.
Straining to free herself from the masses, Alex could do nothing but stab with her sword and watch with dread as Calista stepped up the darkened stone staircase towards Aven, levitating a person through the air behind her.
Alex recoiled in horror when she realised who it was.
Lady Mystique.
The old woman wasn’t struggling. She was looking calmly at Aven, her face radiating peace.
That expression didn’t leave her; not when Aven unsheathed an inky black sword from his belt… and not when he thrust the blade through her midsection until it pierced clean out the other side.
“No!” Alex cried, watching Lady Mystique’s mouth open in a silent gasp as she sunk to the ground, the sword sliding free as she landed on her knees.
Even in the face of Aven’s triumphant expression, the ancient woman’s peace didn’t falter. He said something to her, something too low for Alex to hear over the sounds of A’enara still clashing against the weapons of those not pausing to watch the hideousness of what Aven had just done.
Lady Mystique replied to Aven, and whatever she said caused his features to darken before he viciously ran her through again, and then a third time.
