“I can’t get to you,” he shouted. He was right on the other side of the maze wall. “Bryn, Mason, Ren! Get over here! They’re behind this hedge.”
I could smell his scent, just out of reach.
“Calla!” Ren shouted. “Are you okay?”
“There’s a wraith.” My voice was raw. “We’re trapped.”
I heard Mason’s whining and his paws scratching at the dirt, trying to get to us. Bryn’s nose poked beneath the branches, but she yelped when a thorny vine lashed her muzzle like a whip.
“I’m going to try to cut through the hedge,” he yelled. “Stand back.”
“No, wait!” Adne cried.
“What do you mean, wait?” I glanced over my shoulder at the wraith.
Adne ignored me. She’d dropped her whip and held her skeans in her hands. With a sudden cry she plunged the slender spikes into the earth.
I shoved my hands over my ears as a horrible sound pierced the air all around me. The shriek was full of pain and outrage. And it was coming from the hedge.
“That’s right, bitch,” Adne hissed. “Get off this earth and go back to hell where you belong.”
The branches of the hedge were shaking. Its leaves began to wither, shriveling up and crumbling. The shuddering of the limbs became more violent. Thorn-covered branches splintered into brittle pieces. The living walls of the hedge spilled down in a wave of dried bits and ash that had been leaves. The maze vanished, leaving only shallow piles of debris marking its pattern on the white snow. Shay stood in front of me, swords still raised high. “What the—”
Adne groaned and slumped onto her side.
I began to turn toward her, but Shay shouted, “Calla, get down now!”
He leapt over me as I shifted, flattening my body against the snow. I rolled along the ground, scrambling to my feet. As I pivoted, I saw the wraith bearing down on Adne and Shay hurtling through the air toward the creature.
I barked in alarm, starting after him, but Ren jumped in front of me, snarling.
No.
Get out of my way. I bared my fangs at him.
But the growl died in my throat.
Shay flung himself at the wraith. The Elemental Cross spun in his hands at blinding speed. The blades sliced into the dark mass of the creature’s body faster than whirling helicopter blades.
The wraith screamed.
I’d never heard a wraith scream before. I’d never heard them emit any sort of sound. But there was no doubt that it was shrieking in agony.
The wraith’s inky tendrils crackled as if full of electricity. It screamed again and then its body spewed upward, like black steam exploding from a geyser, and it was gone.
Shay landed on the other side of where the wraith had been. He wheeled around, blades ready to strike again. When he realized the wraith was gone, he straightened and threw me a sheepish smile.
I barked at him, wagging my tail.
“Adne!” Connor was running toward us through the snow and the remnants of the maze.
Adne pulled herself into a crouch, leaning back on the heels of her hands. “I’ll be okay . . . I think.”
Connor helped her to her feet and grinned at Shay. “Nice work. I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Do what?” Shay frowned. “You knew I could kill wraiths. Because of these.” He held up the swords.
“Not the wraith,” Connor said. “Though that was good too. I meant the maze. If you hadn’t gotten rid of it, this party would have been over before it started.”
Connor turned, gesturing in the direction of the manor. “The teams will be able to regroup their attacks now.”
“I didn’t do anything to the maze,” Shay said. “The hedges fell apart and the next thing I knew, I was looking at Calla. Then I saw the wraith going for Adne.”
Connor stared at him, his brow furrowing. Adne brushed snow from her clothes, avoiding eye contact with any of us. I shifted forms, watching her closely.
“She did it.” I pointed at her. “She . . . killed the labyrinth.” I didn’t have any other word to describe what Adne had done. Somehow she had attacked the Keepers’ living hedge as it trapped us. And she’d defeated it.
Connor gripped Adne’s arms, fixing a hard gaze on her. “How? How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t natural—that it didn’t belong. So I asked her for a favor.”
“Asked who?” Shay paced around our huddled groups, scanning our surroundings for signs of danger. From what I could tell, the Banes’ attack had been concentrated on the teams ahead of us.
Even in the moonlight I could see Adne blush. “The earth.”
“You can call in a favor from the earth?” Connor asked. “That’s on your resume?”
She smiled. “That’s what all Weavers do. I just took it a step further.”
“No one has ever done that, Adne,” Connor said slowly. “No one.”
“I know,” she murmured.
Their eyes met and something important, but unspoken, passed between them. I couldn’t be sure what it was.
With the wall of tangled branches gone, I could see the storm of battle that raged ahead of us. Wolves crashed into the Searchers with the force of a tidal wave. Sharp teeth tore into human flesh, cutting off screams of pain as quickly as they began. The unending wails that rose horribly into the sky told me wolves weren’t the only enemy waiting in the darkness. Wraiths slid through the shadows, engulfing Searchers at will.
My eyes scanned the edge of the garden. It didn’t take long to find them. A line of twenty Keepers—our masters and some of their children, whom I recognized from school—had taken up positions at the edge of the dry reflecting pool. All were elegantly dressed, as if they were about to be seated for a formal dinner, not observe a battle. But they stood overlooking the carnage, like generals directing their infantry. With casual grace, the Keepers’ arms began to twist in the air, their fingers dancing in intricate movement.
Screeches filled the air and the sky above us came alive with dark, writhing shapes. Succubi and incubi appeared, summoned by their masters, to enter the fray. Searchers cried out warnings and crossbow bolts shot past the Nether creatures’ javelins. Some of the winged attackers dropped to the earth. Others dove at the Searchers, snatching them from the field of battle, rising to impossible heights to drop the human fighters to their deaths. A few Searchers, snagged in incubi talons, managed to get in a fatal blow with a dagger or sword as they were borne into the sky, taking the Keepers’ minions along with them into death’s veil.
I could smell his scent, just out of reach.
“Calla!” Ren shouted. “Are you okay?”
“There’s a wraith.” My voice was raw. “We’re trapped.”
I heard Mason’s whining and his paws scratching at the dirt, trying to get to us. Bryn’s nose poked beneath the branches, but she yelped when a thorny vine lashed her muzzle like a whip.
“I’m going to try to cut through the hedge,” he yelled. “Stand back.”
“No, wait!” Adne cried.
“What do you mean, wait?” I glanced over my shoulder at the wraith.
Adne ignored me. She’d dropped her whip and held her skeans in her hands. With a sudden cry she plunged the slender spikes into the earth.
I shoved my hands over my ears as a horrible sound pierced the air all around me. The shriek was full of pain and outrage. And it was coming from the hedge.
“That’s right, bitch,” Adne hissed. “Get off this earth and go back to hell where you belong.”
The branches of the hedge were shaking. Its leaves began to wither, shriveling up and crumbling. The shuddering of the limbs became more violent. Thorn-covered branches splintered into brittle pieces. The living walls of the hedge spilled down in a wave of dried bits and ash that had been leaves. The maze vanished, leaving only shallow piles of debris marking its pattern on the white snow. Shay stood in front of me, swords still raised high. “What the—”
Adne groaned and slumped onto her side.
I began to turn toward her, but Shay shouted, “Calla, get down now!”
He leapt over me as I shifted, flattening my body against the snow. I rolled along the ground, scrambling to my feet. As I pivoted, I saw the wraith bearing down on Adne and Shay hurtling through the air toward the creature.
I barked in alarm, starting after him, but Ren jumped in front of me, snarling.
No.
Get out of my way. I bared my fangs at him.
But the growl died in my throat.
Shay flung himself at the wraith. The Elemental Cross spun in his hands at blinding speed. The blades sliced into the dark mass of the creature’s body faster than whirling helicopter blades.
The wraith screamed.
I’d never heard a wraith scream before. I’d never heard them emit any sort of sound. But there was no doubt that it was shrieking in agony.
The wraith’s inky tendrils crackled as if full of electricity. It screamed again and then its body spewed upward, like black steam exploding from a geyser, and it was gone.
Shay landed on the other side of where the wraith had been. He wheeled around, blades ready to strike again. When he realized the wraith was gone, he straightened and threw me a sheepish smile.
I barked at him, wagging my tail.
“Adne!” Connor was running toward us through the snow and the remnants of the maze.
Adne pulled herself into a crouch, leaning back on the heels of her hands. “I’ll be okay . . . I think.”
Connor helped her to her feet and grinned at Shay. “Nice work. I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Do what?” Shay frowned. “You knew I could kill wraiths. Because of these.” He held up the swords.
“Not the wraith,” Connor said. “Though that was good too. I meant the maze. If you hadn’t gotten rid of it, this party would have been over before it started.”
Connor turned, gesturing in the direction of the manor. “The teams will be able to regroup their attacks now.”
“I didn’t do anything to the maze,” Shay said. “The hedges fell apart and the next thing I knew, I was looking at Calla. Then I saw the wraith going for Adne.”
Connor stared at him, his brow furrowing. Adne brushed snow from her clothes, avoiding eye contact with any of us. I shifted forms, watching her closely.
“She did it.” I pointed at her. “She . . . killed the labyrinth.” I didn’t have any other word to describe what Adne had done. Somehow she had attacked the Keepers’ living hedge as it trapped us. And she’d defeated it.
Connor gripped Adne’s arms, fixing a hard gaze on her. “How? How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t natural—that it didn’t belong. So I asked her for a favor.”
“Asked who?” Shay paced around our huddled groups, scanning our surroundings for signs of danger. From what I could tell, the Banes’ attack had been concentrated on the teams ahead of us.
Even in the moonlight I could see Adne blush. “The earth.”
“You can call in a favor from the earth?” Connor asked. “That’s on your resume?”
She smiled. “That’s what all Weavers do. I just took it a step further.”
“No one has ever done that, Adne,” Connor said slowly. “No one.”
“I know,” she murmured.
Their eyes met and something important, but unspoken, passed between them. I couldn’t be sure what it was.
With the wall of tangled branches gone, I could see the storm of battle that raged ahead of us. Wolves crashed into the Searchers with the force of a tidal wave. Sharp teeth tore into human flesh, cutting off screams of pain as quickly as they began. The unending wails that rose horribly into the sky told me wolves weren’t the only enemy waiting in the darkness. Wraiths slid through the shadows, engulfing Searchers at will.
My eyes scanned the edge of the garden. It didn’t take long to find them. A line of twenty Keepers—our masters and some of their children, whom I recognized from school—had taken up positions at the edge of the dry reflecting pool. All were elegantly dressed, as if they were about to be seated for a formal dinner, not observe a battle. But they stood overlooking the carnage, like generals directing their infantry. With casual grace, the Keepers’ arms began to twist in the air, their fingers dancing in intricate movement.
Screeches filled the air and the sky above us came alive with dark, writhing shapes. Succubi and incubi appeared, summoned by their masters, to enter the fray. Searchers cried out warnings and crossbow bolts shot past the Nether creatures’ javelins. Some of the winged attackers dropped to the earth. Others dove at the Searchers, snatching them from the field of battle, rising to impossible heights to drop the human fighters to their deaths. A few Searchers, snagged in incubi talons, managed to get in a fatal blow with a dagger or sword as they were borne into the sky, taking the Keepers’ minions along with them into death’s veil.
