I recognized them immediately.
Hunters.
Chapter 29
My stomach lurched as I darted under a low-hanging, thickly leafed branch. I remained under the limb, hoping they hadn’t seen me, and quickly counted. Five of them. Gods. I stayed completely still as they drifted forward in a vee formation.
What were they doing in the Shadowlands?
Ash had insinuated that they’d been in the mortal realm looking for him. Were they searching for him again? Obviously, they’d found him, but why would they be here?
I made sure I made no sound as I unsheathed the shadowstone dagger. I didn’t want to draw their attention since I never wanted to see their mouths split open ever again.
Reminding myself that Ash had struck against them first, there was a good chance they would keep going even if they had seen me. Not even daring to take a too-deep breath, I watched them move closer. Keep going. Just keep on creepily walking—
The closest Hunter’s head snapped in my direction. The others stopped in unison and turned toward me.
“Shit,” I whispered, straightening. The Hunter who stopped first tilted its head. “Hi…?”
The other four cocked their heads.
“I’m just out for a…stroll,” I continued, grip tightening on the branch. “That’s all. You do whatever it is that you all are doing and—”
The first Hunter stepped forward, reaching for the hilt of the sword strapped across his back. Dammit.
I yanked the limb back and then let go. The branch snapped forward, smacking the Hunter in the face. Staggering back, the creature let out a muffled grunt. I didn’t waste a second. Not after knowing what could come out of the thing’s mouth. I recalled Ash’s instructions. Head or heart. I went for the heart because I didn’t want to be anywhere near that mouth. I darted out from under the branches. Or tried to. My foot snagged on something—an exposed root or rock.
“Dammit!” I stumbled, losing my balance. Throwing out my hand, I planted my palm against the Hunter’s chest to steady myself. His skin felt cold and bloodless, like modeling clay. I shuddered. My touch seemed to affect the creature. His eyes flared wide, and a muffled moan reverberated from him. The others made that same sound as I slammed the dagger deep into the Hunter’s chest. It jerked, making no sound this time. Yanking the dagger free, I turned to the others as the first began to shrivel, collapsing into a fine layer of dust that smelled of stale lilacs.
Four more Hunters. The odds didn’t look great, but I didn’t let panic take hold as I thrust the dagger into the next Hunter’s chest. I whipped around, muscles tensing. None of the creatures reached for their swords now, but they did come at me, and a wild feeling swept through me as adrenaline surged, welcoming the fight. The expenditure of energy. Maybe even the killing. I didn’t know.
But I smiled. “Come on.”
Two advanced, and I shot between them. Twisting, I kicked out, catching one in the chest. The Hunter stumbled as I turned, shoving the dagger into its chest. A cold hand clamped down on my arm. Cringing at the feel of it, I spun sharply, stepping into the Hunter. Its surprisingly sharp fingernails cut into the skin of my arm, drawing blood. I hissed through the sting and slammed my elbow into its chin, knocking its head back. The creature let go, and I stabbed it through the chest extra hard.
As it exploded, I spared my arm a quick glance. Small welts rose from where it had scratched me, beading tiny drops of blood.
“Bastard,” I spat.
A muffled shout spun me around in time to see something grab the Hunter by the legs, dragging it into the ground.
I staggered back, staring at where the Hunter had disappeared into the disturbed gray soil. What had just happened? What in the—?
Chunks of gray exploded from the ground, showering the air. Several streaming geysers all at once, spewing dirt and grass. I threw up a hand as tiny rocks pelted my cheeks. Just as I lowered my arm, another section of the ground erupted, directly in front of me.
And what launched out of that hole would fuel nightmares to last a lifetime.
Jumping back, I stared at what definitely wasn’t a Hunter. It looked like it had been mortal once as it crouched on the edge of the jagged fissure, staring up at me. Had been being the keywords. Its skin was washed-out, a chalky gray color except for the dark, almost-black smudges under its eyes. The cheeks were sunken, its lips bleached of all color. The once-white robes it wore were dusty and ragged, torn and hanging off bony shoulders and hips, revealing patches of bloodless skin underneath.
Was this a Shade?
If so, Davina and Ash had failed to mention that they were in the godsdamn ground.
Carefully backing up, I tightened my grip on the dagger as more of these things appeared, climbing out of the ground so unbelievably fast. Too fast for something that looked really, really dead. I saw four of them, and they all were crouched, staring up at me as their nostrils flared. They…sniffed the air. A low, guttural moan came from one of them. My gaze shifted as I continued putting more space between us. It was a woman. Patches of dark, stringy hair hung from her skull. She rose.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warned, and the woman stopped. My heart thumped heavily. If these were Shades, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to kill them. No one had mentioned what wrangling them up actually entailed.
She stared at me—all of them stared at me, no longer smelling the air. The grating, raspy sound came again from another, increasing into a high-pitched whine. Tiny bumps rose all over my skin. It sounded…hungry.
Her mouth dropped open, lips peeling back over fangs. No one had mentioned fangs either when they’d said that the Shades could be bitey. Why in the hell did they have fangs? Why had Andreia developed them in death? Did that happen to godlings?
And why in the whole wide world of fucks was I even thinking about any of that right now?
The moaning sound ended in a hiss, and that was right about the time I decided that this was not a fight I wanted to be involved in. I started to turn, only realizing then how far from the palace I’d traveled.
Ash would be angry.
But that wasn’t my most immediate problem or concern. The creature charged forward, hands curled like claws, mouth stretched wide.
There was no time to run.
Stepping into her attack, I thrust the dagger into her chest. The recessed area gave way to the blade, and a dark, shimmery red substance that smelled of rot and decay splashed my hand. Blood. It was shimmering blood. Her legs crumpled. I gasped under the sudden dead weight of her body. Unprepared, I almost went down with her, barely managing to yank the blade free and keep my footing. She remained where she’d fallen, legs twisted under her body, mouth hanging open and eyes fixed upon nothing. I waited, but she didn’t break apart into dust like the Hunters.
My head jerked up as another hissed, and my blood turned to ice. Four more of these things had appeared among the trees, coming from openings in the ground I hadn’t even realized were there.
Ash would be very, very angry.
One ran forward, fangs bared as it swiped at me. I ducked under its arm and kicked out, catching it in the leg. A bone cracked, turning my stomach. I hadn’t kicked that hard, but the lower part of the leg was broken, and it still came at me, dragging the misshapen leg behind it. I shot forward, shoving the dagger deep into its chest. The creature started to fall—