“Then what do we do?” Elder Wu asked.
“I will alert the People of the Wind. We’ll get their entire nest into the air to watch the skies all night. On the ground, we’ll rouse the Saddleback forces into patrols and scouts.”
“And the townspeople?” Wu asked.
Elder Ulfsdottir answered, “I will rouse all of Bornholm. We can begin to shift the townspeople into the castle. It was why Kalakryss was originally built. As a final line of defense if all else should fail.”
Tiberius turned and stared at Jake and his friends. “Centurion Gaius, I think it best if you take these four back to Kalakryss. Once there, spread the word and rally your guards to the walls.”
Gaius struck a fist to his chest in acknowledgment. He turned and swept an arm toward his charges, ready to herd them off.
Jake ducked under his arm. “Elder Tiberius. My sister…she’s gone off into the woods. I believe with your son and the Roman team.”
The older man frowned, not comprehending.
“The bonfire,” Pindor reminded him. “In the Sacred Woods.”
Tiberius slowly nodded, and lines etched his brow.
Elder Ulfsdottir answered instead. “I will send a runner out to them. You have saved my sister. I can let nothing happen to yours.”
Jake let out a sigh of relief. The assurance by this stolid woman helped to smother the worry inside him.
But only slightly.
With the matter settled, Gaius gathered Jake, Pindor, Marika, and Bach’uuk and headed toward the exit. The centurion grumbled under his breath. “And this time, no running off on your own!”
No one argued.
22
FIRST BLOOD
By the time they reached the parkland again, the sun had fully set. Stars filled the heavens, and the white road of the Milky Way blazed across the sky. The full moon hung over Calypsos, shining brightly on the merriment below. Music drifted up from the lower levels of the town, along with songs in a chorus of languages.
But how long would it last?
A giant raz flew low over them, rising up from the Tiberius estate. Jake felt the rush of its wings as it passed. It was probably a scout, sent out to raise the alarm among the People of the Wind.
“Keep moving,” Gaius urged as Jake slowed to watch the bird’s flight.
The gravel path crunched underfoot as if they ran over crushed bones.
With every step deeper into the forest, Jake could not escape the feeling something was watching them—or rather watching him. Jake searched both sides of the path. Here in the darkness, he remembered Livia’s black eyes, and the words that flowed from her throat.
“I see you…”
The hairs on the back of Jake’s neck quivered with the certainty that something frightening shared this dark forest. A shadow shifted on his left, a twig snapped.
Something was out there!
With a gasp, Jake veered and bumped into Bach’uuk. He was nimble enough to catch Jake and keep them both on their feet. They sped onward. Jake finally noted a break in the darkness. He hurried and took the lead. The trail flowed out of the forest and into one of the park’s many meadows, the one that overlooked the city.
As he burst out, the welcome moonlight washed over him. It bathed the field with silvery light and revealed something perched at the edge of the overlook. It was black as if a clot of shadows refused to flee from the moonlight.
Jake’s first thought was of the dark assassin Bach’uuk had spotted, the man with a cloak of living shadows. This illusion grew as the form heard their group’s approach and twisted around, casting out wings of darkness from its wrapped body. Outlined against the stars, it was plain the wings were not made of cloth or shadow—but leather and bone.
“A grakyl!” Gaius shouted behind them.
Jake fled from the overlook, drawing the others with him. Only the centurion remained behind. Gaius yanked his sword and crouched. The beast sprang into the air, wings outstretched. With a single flap, it dove toward Gaius.
“Run!” the centurion yelled. “Make for the castle!”
They obeyed, but Jake kept half an eye behind him. The grakyl fell upon Gaius with a great thrashing of limbs. It beat at him with its wings. But Gaius danced and spun and stabbed out with his sword. The beast screamed like a rusty fork dragged over a chalkboard. Blood gushed from its wounds. But it did not try to escape. With a great shudder, it cried out and prepared to attack again.
Worst yet, its cry was answered by another scream. From beyond the lookout, a second grakyl swooped up from below and swept overhead. The pair fell upon Gaius with a storm of claws and teeth.
Then Jake dropped into another section of forest, and he lost sight of the centurion. The four of them fled, too scared to speak, only run. Once again, Jake felt that overpowering sense that something watched him, possibly hunted him. He again heard whispers of pursuit: a rustle of leaves, a crackle of branches.
They reached the bench where the young lovers had been sharing a kiss. The pair had long since gone, but something else had taken their place. It leaped off the bench and filled the trail. Wings spread and blocked the way completely. They all froze on the path.
A grakyl. Its porcine nose sniffed at them. Its ears swiveled, taking in every slight noise. It panted at them, revealing a mouthful of jagged teeth.
But this was no ordinary grakyl.
This one clutched a sword in one claw, and two spiraling horns grew out of its head like some horrible crown. It hissed at them and lowered its sword, as if trying to judge which one to kill first. Jake scrabbled for his penlight, but he’d buttoned it into another of his pants pockets, and he couldn’t get it free.
Behind Jake, a snapping of branches alerted him that a second beast closed in from the rear. They were surrounded. He didn’t have time to get his flashlight out. He grabbed Marika and dove to the side.
But the trailing beast simply shot past them, running low to the ground, a blur of shadows. It leaped straight into the air and struck the grakyl in the throat. Its momentum and weight knocked the hollow-boned creature onto its back. A fierce feline scream followed as saber-toothed fangs ripped deep into the tender neck of the monster.
It was the Rhabdofelix! The one Jake had set free. Latched onto the monster’s throat, she shook and spit and thrashed until the wings of the grakyl stopped beating.
Jake urged them all to circle around the trail. “Go! Cut around that way!” He pointed and followed after them.
As he edged past the slaughter, the cat growled in Jake’s direction. Her eyes caught every bit of light under the dense canopy as she stared at him. The giant cat must have been following him all along. He read her eyes as she stared at him, sensing the bond between them. Not as pet and owner, but more like equals. You watch my back; I’ll watch yours.