LOT'S MOUNTAIN

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: Æðelind

We keep pushing forward until we're just outside of Belle Lake. Looking around, I see the Old Bone Woman in front of us, and she's kicking ass with a sword. When she spins around and sees me, she lets out this cackle. A ton of sliced up monsters are piled at her feet.

She squints and yells, "Tommy Jumble-Bones and Tommy Bloody-Bones!"

All of a sudden the boogeymen that had Jamie and me let us go.

The Old Bone Woman frowns. That's not a good sign. I wish she'd lower her sword. It's pointed right at my head.

Is this how the Huntsman felt when he showed up here? After he'd lost everything.

But we're not here looking for a place to hide. And we've got to take as much power from the Glass Man as we can.

"We have to find the church," I say, taking a step toward her.

She eyes me, still not lowering her sword. "Us monsters done tried. Done tried since the fightin' started. And still trying."

There are a bunch of pops and cracks and flashes of light. Then I see Grim. He doesn't notice me and Jamie. He's talking real fast to the Old Bone Woman. "Their forces are gathering and moving here. Those of us left alive are falling back to the lake. Some are going to help the Mourner. He's stuck in some woods."

Please, let them get to him in time. Hell, while I'm at it ... Please, let all of us make it out of this alive.

"I've got a way to find that church," I say, louder than before. "And a way to take it down."

"I seen some of what you can do, Dylan Caid. But this, boy ..." she says, all solemn like she's getting ready to talk at my funeral. "There be more to it than that. Shard ain't been seen. And I'm bettin' there be a good jag of Cemetery Hounds that ain't been seen yet, either."

Shard's guarding the church. And it won't be alone.

We gotta make this fast. Glass monsters will be regrouping soon to tear out our throats.

From the look on her face, she's thinking the same thing I am. "Scouts done told us that we got a lot coming at us. Coming from all directions. We gonna need all we got. More than that."

I shake my head. "But if we take out the power in that church, that means the Glass Man has less power."

"Ain't one magic been able to find that church, boy."

"That's because I haven't tried," I say.

"Ain't you gettin' all biggety? " she says, with a laugh. She changes her grip on her sword and looks to the woods again. "Don't you go gettin' all big for your britches, Dylan Caid."

Some monsters, all on our side, shuffle past us. Some are bleeding. They're all falling back to Belle Lake. This'll be where they make a final stand against the Glass Man.

Shaking my head, I tell the Old Bone Woman, "If the Glass Man still has all the power in that church, then he'll kill all of us. You gotta see that. And you know what I can do."

"If you go to the church of Glass, then you'll need the Huntsman, boy. And we need him at the Lake." She rubs her hands together. Then she drums a finger against her lips. "But if the Glass Man got a slew of power in that church, he'll crush us anyway. You be right in that."

"I can find the church," I urge. "We both know we don't stand a chance if I don't."

There are more explosions to the north of us.