29. Kami

29

Kami

I study Malkar, aware that of all my companions, he seems to be the most dangerous. And that's saying something.

Ries could drown us all and do it with a smile.

Crash would simply burn us to ash. I sense so much tangled emotion in the guy, but anger sits at the forefront, muddling his purpose.

I wonder if he'll ever be happy, and I'm surprised to even care.

Then there's Oz, who makes a formidable enemy. He's hardy and powerful and hasn't yet, that I've seen, given in to fear.

But Malkar hides something fiendish behind those ice-blue eyes.

The part of me that instinctively knows to flee from danger, to hide and protect myself, curls in caution when he looks at me.

While at the same time, that hazardous flare of attraction pulls me closer, wanting to see what he hides and learn all his secrets.

He glances at me and raises a brow.

I flush and turn away, but not before I see a flash of sharp white teeth when he grins.

I'm shivering, and not just from fear.

That cold snap that's settled over us has deepened. And though the others are putting on a brave face to ignore what's coming, I'm not.

Malkar stands and rubs his hands together. Next to him, Oz stalks back and forth, searching the wood line to our south. Or is that east? I can't tell in this magic playground.

I glance at the two guys sitting near me, but neither Ries nor Crash seems eager to join the others.

Crash answers my unasked question with a shrug. "I'm still tired. I might wait this one out. Let the white-haired freak deal with the cold."

Ries nods. "That sounds smart. If danger comes from the water, I'm in. Until then, I'll be here protecting Kami."

I wonder if I should feel flattered he's using me as an excuse to avoid a fight.

" Protecting her and not fucking her," Crash enunciates. "Meaning, keep your cock in your pants."

"Of course. I wouldn't want to upset a comrade by making him feel bad."

"How's that?"

"Well, you're clearly lacking, and we need you focused in case we need numbers to defeat the enemy. You should be fully functioning, not second-guessing yourself."

Crash flushes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Ries shrugs. "I mean, you've had chances to bed our delicious dryad, yet you refuse time and again. It's clear you're either shy or not very good at bedsport. And I'm guessing the latter."

Crash's mouth hangs open.

Danger cuts off my laughter. Any sense of mirth overtaken by dread.

Mist rolls out from the woods and over the lake, kissing the tips of my toes but not coming any closer.

Behind it, pushing a wave of magic, comes a wail that makes me want to burrow into a nearby tree and not come out until I can think past my sudden sadness.

I wipe my eyes, Ahza's death fresh as if it's just happened.

"Fuck. A banshee." Ries snorts with derision. "They're hot but so dramatic about everything."

I wipe more tears away and manage to see the floating apparition, a beautiful female fae who's semi-transparent. She's hovering over the lake, wearing a ragged gray dress that allows us to see her bones where her toxic wrath and misery have rotted her flesh away.

She's pale, a living version of encroaching resentment. Her voice is both beautiful and heart-wrenching. Weaker prey respond to it by going crazy with rage, tearing apart anyone close by before turning on themselves.

Banshees are hard to kill, so I've heard. I've only seen one once before, and she terrorized a village that Ahza and I managed to flee before a gaggle of ghouls swept through, eating her spoils.

Gods, I miss Ahza so much. Perhaps he's waiting for me to join him. Just a short skip into the lake. I could hold my breath, wait, die, and…

Crash shivers, his face drawn, apparently affected where Ries is not. "She's hurting my ears." He winces but doesn't cry.

Of course, he'd have to have a heart for it to break.

Curiously, I don't see Oz or Malkar looking worried .

I stare at the lake, can almost feel it calling out to me.

Ries drags me into his arms, curling his strong frame around me. And like that, my grief fades and I can think clearly. "Don't worry, Kami. She's not that strong."

The banshee must hear him because she screams louder in our direction and grows more substantial.

"I'll take the threat." Malkar points at her. "You. Come here. I'm not swimming out to meet you."

"She's not going to be easy to defeat without your magic," Oz says.

Malkar grimaces. "Thanks for giving that nugget away."

Oz chuckles. "Keeping things interesting."

Of course he just has to say that and jinx us.

Coming in behind the banshee is an elf. A large warrior with pointed ears decked with gold and jewels and garbed in black, likely belonging to one of Beyrthnel's Death Guild. I'm guessing this because he's also wearing a red scarf with the god's sigil in blazing white.

The elf isn't normal-sized like the sylphs and mages I'm used to. He's a lot like Rilitar, nearly as large as Oz and muscular. His skin is a rich brown like the earth beneath our feet, his pupils a blazing green centered in black orbs promising death.

The warrior withdraws two swords from his back scabbard, takes a good look at Oz, and returns them to his back. Instead, he withdraws a bow I hadn't noticed and grabs an arrow from his quiver.

One I also hadn't noticed.

Magical weapons, maybe? Because he turns and I don't see the swords on his back at all.

"A gold piece says the orc bites it," Crash mutters.

Ries nods to Oz. "Two gold pieces and you're on. He'll live long enough to defeat the elf. But after that, who knows? "

I gape at them both, horrified by their casual estimation of Oz's chances. They don't seem to care that he might die.

"Go help!" I wave my hands at our companions, smacking at Ries's arms. "Do something."

Oz glances at us over his shoulder and winks. "Three gold pieces says I kick his ass then beat the both of you for insulting me."

"Done," Crash and Ries say together.

"This isn't funny." I glare at all three of them.

Malkar starts laughing, and I wonder if the banshee has done something to him I hadn't noticed. She's been suspiciously quiet and still while the elf made his entrance.

The elf grins and says to the banshee, "Well, Miralla, perhaps today I will find a worthy opponent after all."

"Bring it, you fae bastard." Oz takes up a fighting stance, his huge fists balled and ready for action.

Malkar shouts something foreign at the banshee and points three fingers at her while chanting.

He waits.

We wait.

Nothing happens.

The banshee howls with amusement and rushes Malkar, dragging him off the ground into the air by one arm.

They disappear into the mist that follows into the sky.

The elf laughs and notches an arrow.

Oz frowns. "That's not very sporting."

"What sport is there in fighting a monster? I doubt you will understand your death until it's over." The elf sneers and shoots the arrow faster than I can track.

Ries, Crash, and I watch, frozen, as our companions meet their ends…