Webb's a dead guy with no memory of his life, and that's how he likes it. He'd sworn he'd protect After, the city of the dead, from monsters, but the monsters have all been killed off. Now he has only one thing left to do: go through the Gate and fi...
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I snapped back to clarity just as Ryder barreled into the mace-wielding bounty hunter like a linebacker, throwing the other ghost off his feet. The bandit ripped his knife from the hunter's chest with a snarl. Then he turned back to me.
His eyes wept blood just like the many eyes of the beasts that skulked through the storm.
I gripped my sword again, ready to leap back into the fray.
But the hunters were all gone.
The rain slowed to a trickle, then stopped altogether.
I to keep from flinching at the sound of bursting slugs in the distance.
Ryder sank to his knees, gasping in pain beside the incapacitated hunter he'd tackled. I ran to him.
We were both absolutely drenched in beast blood, but black ink spewed from the bandit's middle. I swallowed. That wasn't beast blood.
"Jesus Christ," I hissed through my teeth. My hands joined his as we tried to staunch his bleeding. While I had been lost in my own mind, Ryder had gotten hurt. Bad.
He swatted me away. "I'm fine," he insisted, despite the way his stained eyes watered and his breathing labored. He winced and turned his broken body away from me, as if trying to hide his wound.
"Don't move, you idiot! Stay still and you'll heal faster!"
He forced a wry grin. "Don't you worry your pretty face over me, blondie."
"Okay, yeah. You've definitely lost a lot of blood already."
Ryder doubled over and hissed in agony. He glared at the final hunter—the man with the mace who lay gurgling in the sand, clawing at his slit throat. Bloody foam oozed from the hunter's mouth.
My skin chilled.
I skulked over to him, dragging my sword in the sand at my side.
Again, I was back in that hallway. Back in After.
The king's right hand had left me alone, broken into pieces. I wasn't even worth the energy to finish off.
While ice spiraled across the floor and up the walls, everything brightened.
Through the blown-out window at the end of the hall, I watched After's sun rise for the first time in centuries.
And I smiled to myself.
A shiver brought me back to reality.
The hunter continued to gasp at my feet.
Something trickled down my face. I thought it was raining again, but when I touched a finger to my cheek, it came away clear. I wiped the tear away.
I lifted my sword to end the suffering hunter's afterlife—to quicken his exit.
My hand shook.
Then it lowered.
An approaching horse knickered. I spun away from the hunter in the sand and sighed in relief at the sight of Jake steering Cross toward me with a happy Nugget panting in his lap. Thankfully, all three were spotless of any blood. I lowered my sword and hobbled over to greet him.
"You're both okay!" the boy exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear down at me.
I frowned at that. I turned to Ryder.
...Who was now standing and completely healed. The thief nonchalantly brushed sand from his vest with a shrug. His eyes, though still stained, had returned to their usual hazel color.
The bounty hunter was gone, most likely completely evaporated. I gaped at the rugged, blood-covered ghost. "How did you—?" I began. "You were just nearly cut in half!"
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