Zera wheeled, letting the beast writhe in the throes of death, and faced the rest of the Alon’mahk’lar. Where they hesitated, she attacked.
Leitos stood frozen in place, jaw hanging loose as Zera flew into their midst. Her blade hewed bone, savaged flesh. Teeth and fangs slammed together on empty air and pained howls. The smell of blood curdled Leitos’s insides. The agonized cries of dying abominations washed over him, brought back the day Adham had sacrificed himself. The same clamor had risen up then, the same scents-
Leitos to fell to his knees on the sandy street, retching. He raised a shaky hand to swipe away the burning drool from his lips, but the hand never reached them. While Zera was engaged, another Alon’mahk’lar had circled around, seeking easier meat. Leitos moaned, an unconscious plea for mercy that he knew would never be granted.
The Alon’mahk’lar crept forward, a giant spider mingled with a scorpion. It rattled when it moved, a chitinous sound that set his teeth on edge. It advanced on ten legs, the swaying knees of which rose above its horned and plated back. Each leg ended at a single claw that scored deep grooves in the sandstone cobbles.
Leitos lurched to his feet, the knife in his blood-slicked hand poised to stab. Spindly legs clattering, the Alon’mahk’lar darted half the distance between them. Nearer it came, gaining two paces for each one he backed away. Nearer … nearer … nearer, until he heard a hissing whisper issue from its masticating jaws. Leitos’s thoughts ground to a halt, as words in the human tongue reached his ears.
… hold little one … hold … hold still … lie down … down … sleep … rest child rest … submit … sweet flesh … feast … feed … devour bleed … bleed … oh sweet sleep …
The sibilant chant crept over his pebbled skin, sank beneath, wormed through him, froze his muscles and bones. He wanted to lie down, to offer himself up-
No! a voice shouted within him, pleading, futilely resisting … fading … fading.
… still the heart… sleep child sleep … no pain … sweet blood … savor the meat … devour the soul … sweet nectar … sleep … slumber … rest … sweet perishing … sweet death … be still be … be quiet …
Leitos sank to his knees, eyes watering as that singsong whispering pierced his mind. The knife fell from his numb fingers. The lullaby filled him, a soft, comforting, eager muttering.
…sleep … yes … rest … yes yes … lie down … yes yes yes … slumber … rest … peace … sleepslumbersleepslumberdie …”
Caught now in a placid dream, Leitos watched motionlessly as the creature’s jaws slid within a foot of his nose. Thick, pale foam spilled from its mouth. Sleep, he thought dazedly, rest.…
He slumped to one side, his body as limp as dewy grass. He no longer saw the beast before him, but rather a vision of a green field dotted with flowers. So beautiful, he thought drowsily. The sunlight was golden warmth on his face, so peaceful….
Sleep … forever … slumber … evermore….
A blow shattered the vision. For a moment he was trapped between the world he knew and the one he had seen. A thousand silvery-hot spikes lanced through his eyes, his skull, his very being. Even as the last syllables of that dread voice rolled over and through him, he found himself wallowing on the ground, choking on a mouthful of gritty dust.
“Get up!” Zera ordered. She stood over the Alon’mahk’lar. It whispered no longer, and lay in pieces, oozing black blood. Somewhere nearby, hidden within the night’s oppressive murk, monstrous voices spewed condemnation.
Gagging on the dust coating his tongue, Leitos caught up his knife and scrambled unsteadily to his feet. Muddled, he stood in place, muscles shaking with the need to escape, but unable to choose a route.
Fingers clamped around the back of his neck and shoved him forward. In a shambling imitation of running, Leitos threw one foot in front of the other. Somewhere behind him, Zera bellowed in fury. Leitos ran on, gaining speed.
You cannot leave her!
With every step, his self-loathing grew, and finally he slowed, unsure how he could help, except to serve as a distraction to the beasts that harried Zera.
Suddenly she flew out of the night, hair wild, green eyes flashing. And she was grinning. A merciless smirk that had nothing to do with humor, only lethal joy. “Keep on!” she ordered, and he obeyed.
Chapter 16
With the Alon’mahk’lar hard on their heels, Leitos and Zera fled. The dead city flashed by, and the break in the warding wall fell far behind. Alon’mahk’lar spilled from decrepit buildings, drawn like hounds to the hunt. Zera guided them through alleys, buildings, and down streets, keeping them one step ahead of their enemies.
Zera ducked into a doorway without warning. Leitos kept on a half dozen paces, skidded to a halt, and raced back through the opening. Zera caught him as he flew past and dragged him down, her hand clamped over his lips. “Hold,” she breathed.
The demonic baying filled the night, coming closer. Leitos struggled not to jerk out of her grasp, the need to flee warring with her instruction.
“Their blood is hot for the hunt,” she whispered, sounding too excited by half. “That will make them careless. They will trample our scent amid their own and lose the trail. Watch. Wait.”
As the last word passed her lips, a pack of Alon’mahk’lar surged past the open doorway, a heaving swarm of misshapen flesh, grunting and squealing to each other in their accursed tongue. Another pack trailed the first, then another. Just as Zera had predicted, not one beast slowed, or so much as glanced their way.
When the sounds of the pursuit moved off, Zera said, “Now we sneak.”
Leitos shook away the mesmerizing effect of her stare, and glanced down the lightless corridor. They were trapped, as far as he could tell, and he said so.
“The buildings in old cities press together like boils on a leper’s backside,” she answered.
Despite his reservations, Leitos followed her deeper into the building, one hand on her shoulder, the other clutching his knife. His cut fingers stung, a dull throbbing he easily ignored. Besides the soft grating noise of his footsteps, the only other sounds came from the searching Alon’mahk’lar, which seemed to have finally realized their prey had evaded them.
How long can that last … how long before they double back and pick up the scent? Despite Zera’s reassurance, he knew that once the enemy found their tracks, the building would become a snare, allowing the Alon’mahk’lar to stalk them at leisure.
Zera led them to a narrow stairwell, and took it up to the next level. Leitos came after, halting behind her on a landing. She exposed the firemoss globe, letting its light shine over their surroundings. Fire had gutted the structure, and the charred floorboards had burned through in many places, dry-rotted in others.
Zera hugged the wall, testing the floor with each step before resting her full weight upon the boards. Leitos was careful to step where she had, cringing every time a board creaked and sagged. He easily imagined himself crashing through and plummeting to the lower level. He swallowed dryly and forced himself to continue.