"No, no, no!" Aspen muttered. "Not Jack!"
"Run!" I ordered, forcing her through the quickly narrowing gap.
Wilder must've made it. Or Torian. Or someone, but the one corridor without mist was our only escape right now, and I knew it was the only way to keep her safe. It didn't matter who was on the other side, because the Hunt was behind us, and the sound of large things moving was getting both louder and closer - and fast.
"Rain, you need magic!" Aspen said.
"I have magic," I snapped, one hand on her back as I kept her from stopping. "I need you to be safe."
Because Torian was right. He'd been so pissed at me because his point was completely valid. Aspen always gave me all the magic she had. She couldn't imagine doing anything else, but it made her even more vulnerable. She, the girl with more power than I could wrap my mind around, waswastingit on me.
I was supposed to be the fucking Morrigan. I had to figure out how to deal with this shit on my own - or die trying. My job wasn't to have everyone else carry me. And yeah, maybe I was shit at this, but I'd never be anything but a mistake in their history unless I figured it the fuck out.
"Freeze the fog!" Torian yelled.
"Shit, I can do that," Aspen muttered before thrusting her hands out, making the mists grow brighter and then trickle down like glitter in the darkening twilight. "Rain, keep up!"
"I'm right behind you," I said, just as something burst from the trees beside us.
The greyness solidified into a horse and rider. The beast shouldered Aspen, knocking her to the ground and cutting me off. I watched her silver hair flare in all directions as she rolled, and panic slammed into my chest.
I couldn't breathe. I could barely think, but I also couldn't stop. Ducking around the back of the eerie mist-like mount, I scrambled to get to her, to push everything away, and to make this all fucking stop! Groaningwith my effort, I charged, slinging a hand out to shove the gigantic horse away.
Darkness exploded like a bomb, evaporating the mists immediately around us and spreading. Where the edges touched, the greyness faded, but my power weakened as it spread. The fog thinned, drifted, but was still there - except for a ten-foot circle right around me - and the beautiful pixie sprawled in the leaves and mud.
"Get up!" I begged. "Aspen!"
She crawled to her feet, then lashed out with her magic again. The fog glowed, iced over, and snowed down in microscopic crystals, but all that did was reveal the hunter on his horse and two more on foot behind him.
The rider smiled - then kicked the animal hard.
"No!" I roared, shoving my shadows up to make a wall.
The angle was off, but it still blocked us. The sound of the animal's hooves stuttered, changed, and then moved off to the side, so I pulled the shadows back, hoping I could use them again. Yet in the split second I was focused on that, the unmounted hunters charged.
"Rain!" Keir yelled. "Rain?"
"Here!" I replied, tucking Aspen behind me and backing up just as fast as I could.
A rainbow shot through the fog, slamming into me. I sucked in a breath, feeling the increase in my shadows, and then darkness erupted from the center of my chest. Part of it encased me. More latched on to Aspen, quickly changing into the blackest armor I'd ever seen. More shot out into the area around us.
"Rain!" Keir yelled again. "Steel stops them!"
"Shadow? Where's my fucking shadow?" I asked, scrambling back as the hunters were getting closer. "Aspen, I need light!"
Brightness flared. My shadow stood up, thrust my sword at me, and then turned to stand at my side just as the pair of hunters crashed into us.
I hacked, but the one before me blocked. Her hair flew out behind her, just as grey as her dead-looking eyes. Her sword was white, though. The sound of steel on whatever-that-shit-was rang out, followed by something else.
The tone was different, and possibly more intense. I dared a glance to see my shadow swinging a weapon of its own. It was a replica of mine, but ashadow! Shit, I'd never even considered that. The thing might have a mind of its own, but it wasmine. That meant it followed my lead, so it was time to do a little leading.
"Aspen, stay behind me," I ordered.
And then I fought with all I had. Iron hurt the fae. These things were fae, even if they no longer looked like the sort I knew. All I had to do was cut one, and it didn't matter if I was pretty about it. I just had to hack, slash, and bash.
In the distance, I could hear the sounds of chaos. The screeching from the school meant someone had managed to pull the Hunt alarm. Which explained the sound that had caught my attention. Those were battle cries - and they were coming closer.
They just weren'there.
