Chapter 80

CHAPTER EIGHTY

Ryker

I gritted my teeth against the jarring impact that caused the three arrows in my back to shift and grind against my ribs and shoulder. One had pierced all the way through, but the other two remained lodged inside me. The problem of the arrows would have to wait until we were somewhere safer.

A large hole in the road caused the broken shaft on the carriage to jerk into the air, scaring the horse next to it more. I eyed the broken shaft before shifting my attention to the remaining one. If it let go too, we were fucked.

The horses thundered down the road, rounded a bend, and continued onward. The rattle and clatter of the wheels, plus their hoofbeats, made it almost impossible to hear anything else.

Fog rolled in to obscure the road. It created a thick, white wall before us as it rose higher.

"You?" I asked Ellery.

She wasn't supposed to use any abilities that weren't publicly known, but she didn't always listen. "No."

That meant one of the guards possessed the ability. Shifting the reins into one hand, Ellery twisted her other before her.

I felt the pull of air currents as she grasped the wind, strengthened it, and spun it into a whirling vortex that sucked the fog from the air and pulled it away from the road. The wall of fog continued to obscure the forest, but the roadway was clear again.

When wind buffeted the sides of the carriage, I realized the guards were trying to use that ability against us. Though every part of me hurt, I drew on their wind, twisted my hand before me, and sent it spiraling back into the trees with enough force that it tore one of the trees from the ground.

Bracing myself for the pain, I rose to look over the top of the carriage. Three more guards remained behind us while two more emerged from the trees and raced down the road to join them.

We rounded another bend before coming to the open expanse of road where the giant had hidden. As soon as we passed his location, I started counting as the guards closed in on the vehicle.

They were almost to Ianto's hiding place when a net sprang across the road. A couple of the horses reared and spun, two crashed into the net, and the fifth veered into the trees.

The thickness of the woods hindered him, but he was still close enough that I didn't dare open a portal. I didn't know if I could close it before he followed us through.

Despite my injuries, I could still take him; I was more concerned he'd see where we'd gone, flee, and return with an army. We couldn't have them knowing our locations or realizing how deep into the woods we'd gone.

Ianto should already be slipping into the hole we'd dug for him. He'd bury himself beneath the earth and wait for the chaos to settle, so I didn't worry they'd find him.

They'd all take to the woods to get around the net and come after us, but I hoped we'd be gone by then. The remaining guards would have to ensure the rest of the money made it to the palace, and once night fell, none of them would remain in the Revenant Woods.

Once he learned what happened, Ivan would send an army to track us down. These woods would become more treacherous, but I doubted they'd find us.

Plus, they would most likely believe we'd return to one of the towns and not reside in this place. Ivan would never be able to fathom the possibility someone would choose to do so.

The guards also had no idea how many amsirah were involved in this robbery, which would help keep us protected. A handful of Tucker's followers had helped us get the carriage, and more remained in strategic locations throughout the trees to provide more assistance if necessary.

"The net's up," I told Ellery through my teeth.

"Are you okay?" she demanded again.

"Yes."

The arrows shifted and grated against bone with every bounce of the carriage, and my blood had cleaved my shirt to me. After we made it to the hidden road, I could deal with my injuries and open a portal without fearing someone would follow us.

We rounded another bend, and Ellery pulled on the right rein, directing the horses straight at a bramble of tangled bushes and thorns. Before we arrived, Ellery jerked the reins to the right, where there was a hidden space barely large enough for the horses and carriage to squeeze through.

The carriage wheels caught in some of the briars, but the horses easily tore them free as they raced onward. I leaned back around the carriage as the remaining guard burst free of the brambles and came after us.

He only made it twenty feet before another rope sprang across the road. This one caught the horse's front legs, and it fell forward, throwing the rider from the saddle as the horse rolled.

One of Tucker's followers bolted from the woods and cut the guard's head off before fleeing into the woods. I smiled grimly as I sat upright in the seat again.

"He's dead. We're alone."

One of the horses stumbled and nearly went down, but Ellery jerked up on the line, lifted its head, and helped keep it on its feet. We could open a portal now, but with where we'd planned to meet, there wasn't much room between the trees; if the horses continued at this reckless pace, the carriage and us would be shattered to pieces.

Ellery let the horses run free for another quarter of a mile before she started reining them in. The gradual easing back on the reins and her soothing words of comfort caused their ears to flick back and forth.

Eventually, her efforts and their exhaustion calmed the beasts enough that they slowed to a walk before halting. Their sides heaved, and white sweat coated their bodies as their nostrils flared with every breath, but they didn't move while Ellery tied their lines around the brake, pulled her hood free, and turned to me.

"Ryker!" she gasped as her eyes fell on the arrowhead protruding from my chest.

When she reached for me, I grasped her hands to stop her. "I'm fine. We have to move."

"You're soaked in blood!"

"It can wait until later. Open a portal."

Ellery hesitated, but when I released her hands, she lowered them and jumped from the carriage. With my teeth grinding together, I removed my hood as she walked in front of the horses to create a portal.

Every movement caused fire to lance through my body, and more blood spilled as the arrow shafts grated inside me, but I kept my expression blank while I hoisted myself down from the carriage. Once on solid ground, I pulled my sword free.

When a portal opened in front of her, she turned back to the carriage but stopped when she saw me. "What are you doing?"

"Go ahead; I'll follow you through."

"There's no one out there; get back in the carriage."

"Go."

"Ryker—"

" Go , Ellery."

"Stubborn fool," she muttered as she stalked toward the carriage. "You took your hood off; why would you do that if there was a risk?"

I didn't reply as she climbed back into the carriage, untied the lines, and tapped them against the horse's asses. At first, the exhausted animals didn't move, but they plodded forward when she tapped them again.

I walked behind her as she drove the carriage into the portal. None of Ivan's men remained, but there were other things in this forest that could follow us through, and I wasn't going to take the chance of an ambush coming from behind.