We finally leave Kayn behind, for what I hope is the last time.
CHAPTER28
CASSANDRA
There are more demons after us than I thought possible. Zaki leads me down the side of the road to a small overhang into a barren valley. He jumps first, then motions for me to follow. I do that, jumping down as I clench my teeth together. Zaki catches me, then pulls his knives out again. I want to ask him to give me one, but I don’t think I stand a chance.
I’m an escaped soul with no powers but my ability to bluff in a country of demons. They’re faster, stronger, and in a hurry to catch us after what we’ve done.
“Can they sense us?” I shoot at Zaki, my gaze darting up and down for any sign of our chasers.
“No,” he replies, landing a hand on the small of my back and urging me on. “But there’s nowhere to hide out here. We’ll have to face them.”
“How?”
He points toward a cliff on the other side of the valley, a beaten path climbing the side of it. It’s a sharp incline, narrow and fenced in by tall rocks. “We have to reach higher ground again. They’re coming from behind. I will stand there and fight.”
I shoot him a doubtful glance. “What about me?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “From up there, you’ll follow the path to the gates. Here.” He offers me one of the blades, then pulls a third one from his pocket dimension. “In case someone slips past me. Don’t stop and don’t hesitate. Stab anyone who tries to stop you.” He says this without looking at me, and that absence of eye contact makes me want to screech.
“This plan is awful.”
“I’m all ears if you have another one.”
I shake my head, following him down the ravine. My mind is blank. I don’t know what to do. When Zaki said he’d take me home, I thought things would go smoother than this. Definitely didn’t count on being chased by both reapers and demons. We should run and keep running until we reach the gates, but the demons behind us are too close. I glance over my shoulder at the woods we left behind and catch movement between the trees. A second later, a group of demons bursts into the valley, cruel smirks on their faces.
Together, we climb the path around the cliff. It’s narrow enough that the people following us will have to do a single line. Zaki is more of a strategist than I took him for. Footsteps thunder closer as my heart threatens to spill past my lips. I rush between overhanging rocks, the path narrowing so much Zaki has to turn sideways to pass. The second he does, he whirls around, raising his knives in wait.
I stumble to a stop, whirling around in time to catch the first demons spilling into the path. Time slows down as I part my lips, catching my breath in surprise. They were much closer than I expected, and more numerous, too. My fingers tighten around the long knife as Zaki raises his blades.
The first couple of demons who see him drop their mouths in surprise. It’s that second of doubt that gives Zaki the advantage. He swings his twin blades in circles around him, showing off his skill, before slicing across the chests of two demons. Dark blood sprays out of the wounds, and I gasp. The demons drop to their knees, as surprised as I am.
Is this really happening? Is Zaki turning on his kind because of me? No, not because of me. Because he wants to leave so much. It has to be it.
Surprise has caught the first couple of demons, but that’s a mistake the others don’t make. With a warning cry, the next demons are ready, swords and spears and knives in hand, glares twisting their faces as they jump on Zaki. There are too many, and they don’t stop coming. Five, then ten demons gather there, trying to make it through the narrow path, shoving at each other, aiming at Zaki. The fact he’s the prince seems to urge them on instead of stopping them.
There’s an obvious and deep rage for Zaki here, maybe because of him stabbing the first two demons, maybe because of previous problems. It’s also obvious how no one can keep up with him. Zaki’s fluid moves almost don’t look like he’s killing his kin. His blades slash up and down and in circles while he moves, never stopping, never faltering. Zaki is both fast and elegant, clearly trained and skilled. Demons drop like flies around him, gashes across their chests and guts, blood spilling between their fingers. The first ten demons fall away like nothing. The next stumble back, gawking in fear.
“Together!” one of them cries out. “Attack him together!”
The demons change to joint attacks. For a moment, Zaki seems overwhelmed, but not for long. A couple of demons try to sneak behind him, but Zaki has his back to me, keeping me safe. There’s no way I won’t do the same for him. I pounce, knowing I don’t stand a chance against this many enemies without my powers. Raising the blade in my hands, I stab a demon in the shoulder. He whirls around to glare at me, and I bend to slash across his thigh. He drops to his knees, crying out. Zaki shoots a grateful glance over his shoulder.
That’s it. I’ll protect his back, the same way he’s kept mine.
The second demon comes at me, and I have to dodge before I land a stab on his thigh. Wow, stabbing the thigh is a good plan. The demon drops to his knees, clutching the bleeding limb. I’m so proud of myself I miss the fight behind me.
Zaki grunts, but when I look back, he’s still swinging his blades, kicking demons away, stabbing at whoever comes closer. Once there’s a pile of bodies around him, the demons who still stand seem to pause. They see the number of fallen demons at Zaki’s feet and think twice about the whole thing.
“Retreat!” someone calls, and the surviving demons, the ones who can still walk, step back through the slit. They don’t disappear, glancing at us with rage on their faces.
Zaki seizes the moment, holding both of his blades in a hand as he whirls around and grabs my elbow. “Come on,” he says in a breathy voice. “We don’t have long. Run, I’ll be right behind you.”
I start in a jog, following the path as it curls around the cliff, then dips to the right into a group of mountains. Minutes pass until I miss Zaki’s presence nearby. I glance over my shoulder, looking for him, only to find the demon kneeling several feet behind me, his back rising and falling with labored breath.
My heart kicks in my chest. “Zaki?” I cry out, then rush back to him. My hands land on his warm back, and I kneel next to him to figure out what’s wrong.
I don’t need to ask. With his free hand, he cradles his side where a deep gash shows where someone hit him. His blood is darker than human blood as it stains his fingers, seeps down his pants to pool near his foot. A gasp lodges in my throat as fear weighs down on me.