Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1) ✔

Chapter 23: Bad Moon Rising

Mercenaries attacked from all sides. Howling affected them. They were still quick and precise, but the uninterested glint was gone from their eyes, replaced by slight unease. Fear.

Danilo tried to push them away, but with his right hand injured, he couldn't do much. Rixen still jumped between them, disappearing and reappearing from the shadows. In a confined space between the trees, his movements were almost impossible to predict.

This was his territory. Dark places, full of shadows where he could hide. There was no fear in his veins, only energy, excitement. His emotions affected me, gave me enough strength to shush my own fears and at least try to be proactive.

Nickeltinker came down from the tree and ducked. His slight built allowed him to pass undetected. His small, sharp dagger cut through their ankles.

Torvald was by far the most murderous one. There was something about him, something in his eyes, something dark and cruel and malevolent. He sliced his enemies in half with ease. But he didn't merely kill them, he played with them.

He cut of one man's arm and let him walk around like that, blood spraying from the cut limb. The sounds he made were terrifying, impossible to listen to. But I couldn't look away.

Not from Torvald. Not as he laughed while people around him fell down dead.

And even though I was afraid of the mercenaries, I was more afraid of the brute that's been with me on this journey. He enjoyed his killings thoroughly. And the more they came for him, the stronger he became.

Like he fed on the death and pain.

I averted my gaze, too afraid of what I'd find if I kept looking. My eyes landed on Ace while he crawled towards me, avoiding the swords and axes.

"What in the three hells are you doing?" I hissed, ready to punch an ancient, powerful mage in the face.

Amelia, the spider, let out a weird little scream, like she shared my thoughts. I was never going to get used to that.

"They don't know who we are." Ace hissed in return. "And it has to stay that way. If I reveal my power, they will never leave us alone."

"Not if you kill them all." I suggested.

"Quiet, princess, you don't know what you're talking about." Ace sneered and crawled all the way to my hiding spot. "I assume your cultists paid them to collect victims."

"They're not my cultists." I frowned. "And how would you even know that?"

I took a moment to assess the situation. Danilo was getting tired, he barely handled his sword. Sweat and blood covered his forehead and he grunted in pain every time he moved.

"Their leader bears the Three Gifts of Erenna, witch of the underworld. You can smell the distinct stink of magic in the air." Ace said, the green waves in his eyes building up and crashing down, revealing his true emotions.

He enjoyed this. A part of him revelled in the fight, even though he wasn't directly participating.

"What are the gifts?" I asked, focusing on his words instead of his interesting character.

"He can walk amongst the dead, command them to do his bidding and snatch souls on their way to the underworld." Ace explained.

"Excuse me, what?" My eyes widened.

Ace looked at me judgingly, "You truly don't know anything, do you?"

"I know you're currently useless."

"Listen to me, once the wolves come, you're going to have to run as fast as you can." Ace said. "Our only chance is to outrun these men and get them off our trail. If they realise who we are, they are going to follow us forever."