Steel Maiden (19 page)

The thing came at me. It was crazed and
slammed into me, pitching me hard to the ground again. But I could
feel that the poison was leaving my body, and I felt rejuvenated. I
rolled back onto my feet just in time to block a clawed hand that
had come within inches of my eyes. It was so close that I felt the
icy numbness of death.

I knew I couldn’t risk the creature taking
any more of my blood. That would finish me.

I kicked out hard and caught the creature in
the knee. I heard a satisfying snap and the thing staggered
back.

The beast lunged again, but this time I was
faster.

My left arm was a useless weight at my side,
but I still had one good arm and my wits.

I drove my blade into the creature’s open
maw and ignoring the razor sharp teeth that cut into my hand, I
pushed my blade all the way into its brain. The creature went limp
and crumbled to the ground.

I kicked it once, nudged it, but it didn’t
move again.
Was it dead? Did the dead
stay
dead?
I
reached down and pulled out my dagger.

I took a minute to examine my left arm. I
had never suffered any broken bones before, so I didn’t know what
to expect. I pressed and squeezed around my forearm where I
believed the break to be, but felt nothing out of the ordinary. And
as I stood there examining my arm, I felt my feeling return.

It was still pretty stiff. I’d have to be
careful with it until it completely healed.

An anguished cry echoed through the mist,
followed by a series of blood-curdling howls. The air was filled
with the clang of metal hitting flesh and bone. I heard another
muffled cry, and then the sound of flesh tearing, but the ominous
silence that had made my insides cringe was gone. What was
happening?

I rushed blindly through the impenetrable
mist, following the sounds. A thin, damp layer of film coated my
face and clothes. I stumbled clumsily over rocks and leapt over
fallen trees and chunks of stone, straining to see through the fog.
I barely kept my footing as I slipped on mist-covered rocks and
grass.

I was going to break my own neck if I
continued this way. I skidded to a halt and listened.

“Hello? Mad Jack?” I called out into the
fog.

I turned on the spot. “Is anyone out there?
Can you hear me?”

I heard a noise a few yards in front of me.
It sounded like the shuffling of feet.

My heart raced, but I waited.
Was this
another trick of the mist?

I knew that if the shuffling feet had been a
person, that person
would
have answered me. The hairs on the
back of my neck stood up. I could see a collection of fiery red
eyes watching me from the depths of the mist. Only a few trees and
shrubs stood between us.

I had been lucky with the first monster, but
I didn’t believe I’d get lucky a second time.

I cursed and held my breath as I crouched in
a fighting stance.

“Creator, help me,” I breathed.

The creatures barreled over the rocks and
through the trees as if they were no more than gossamer curtains.
Even the most skilled warrior couldn’t fight these things. They
were blessed with supernatural strength, and we were mere mortals.
I couldn’t run. I couldn’t hide. They were coming. I swallowed and
braced myself. This was going to hurt.

But someone tugged at my arm suddenly

Mad Jack stared at me with wide eyes. “This
way! Quickly!” he urged.

I let him pull me away, and I sighed with
relief as we ran. How he could see through the mist, how he knew
where to go, was a mystery. All I could do was try and keep up with
his giant strides. I fell a few times, but his strong arms lifted
me as we tore through the haze. He urged me on, faster, and faster,
although my thighs burned with every step. I heard the guttural
grunts and gurglings of the creatures behind us and ran even
faster. My lungs were raw, but I struggled to keep up.

I couldn’t believe our luck when we finally
burst out of the mist and into a clearing. Mad Jack stopped running
and bent over to catch his breath. I drew my blade in a panic and
whirled around to confront the monsters again. But there were only
trees and grasses at the edge of the clearing. The wall of mist was
yards behind us, and the monsters didn’t come.

The mist rolled and coiled back on itself as
quickly as it had appeared. I could see it clearly now, thinning
out and retreating into the bogs from whence it came.

In less than a minute the mist had
completely disappeared.

I did a quick head count. More than half the
groups were missing. Many of those who had survived were wounded,
some more seriously than others. One man, a Fransian was missing an
arm. They had managed to bandage it up quite well and stop the
bleeding, but I suspected he wouldn’t compete in the race
anymore.

But when I searched the grounds, the beaches
and the small meadows, there were no bodies. It was as if the
creatures had taken them without leaving a trace of blood behind.
They were lost.

And that chilled me to the bone.

CHAPTER 19

N
OBODY SLEPT AFTER THAT.

Those of us who were left unanimously
decided that it would be safer to spend the rest of the night away
from the sand dunes. We moved to a large meadow that wasn’t so
close to the bogs.

The mood in the camp had changed
drastically. The losses had been great, and I suspected that many
of the dead had been brothers and sisters of the survivors, family
rather than just friends and allies. I watched as they wept for the
loss of their loved ones.

The loss of the horses hit hard on everyone
as well. We would have to make the rest of the journey on foot.
Although I hadn’t been accustomed to riding, I felt the loss of the
horses, too. I missed Torak already. That great warhorse had given
me a sense of protection. I felt naked and vulnerable now.

I had thanked Mad Jack for saving me. If it
hadn’t been for him, I would most likely have been killed or pulled
into an unknown fate in the mist. I knew he was trying to make up
for betraying me. I could see the guilt plainly on his face now.
And he ought to feel guilty about sending me on this hellish
journey. I didn’t want to owe anyone any favors, but he had saved
me, and I was grateful for that. I knew that he really was sorry
now.

I wouldn’t wish our experience in the mist
on anyone—except maybe the priests.

I was glad to hear that Landon was amongst
the survivors. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to say when
I spoke with him, but I felt I needed to tell him that Torak might
be safe.

I found him in a glen in the forest just as
the sun began to rise. The parties hadn’t left yet, and most of
them were in a group with Landon. I didn’t know why.

They stood together in the early morning
sunlight, atop a grassy knoll that overlooked a glade of pine
trees. It appeared the pretty blonde had survived, and she eyed me
warily as I approached. But I ignored her and kept my focus on
Landon.

He stood with his hands clasped together.
His expression was grim, and he looked like he was praying. A woman
with long black hair knelt beside him on the stones. I could see
that her shoulders were shaking as she rocked back and forth.

Everyone was silent, and they all stared at
a small clearing in front of them that was carpeted with stones.
Each of the stones was marked with a name.

“What is this?” My words were
half-mumbled.

Landon turned around, a look of
surprise.

“A graveyard of sorts,” he answered
solemnly.

He looked at me sadly. “We have no bodies to
bury, so this is purely symbolic. But we need something to remember
them by. We must never forget what happened here.”

The little glen was a beautiful place for a
graveyard. After last night, it was exactly what it needed to
be.

The blonde continued to glare at me, and I
was glad that looks couldn’t kill.

“I came here to tell you that Torak’s fine,”
I said. “He and the other horses ran off before the mist could
reach them. I thought you might want to know, seeing as he was
yours once.”

Landon’s face brightened. “Thank you. I’m
glad to hear it.”

He pressed his hand on my arm gently, and my
face felt warm. “And I’m happy to see that you’re well and still in
the race.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was only too
aware that we were having a three-way conversation. I smiled and
nodded.

His hand remained on my arm.

The blonde cocked her head and rounded on
me. “Shouldn’t you be with the rest of your kind,
peasant
?”

Blood rushed to my face, but I kept my
expression blank. After the night we’d all spent together, I
couldn’t believe that she would still dismiss me with this type of
class snobbery. It was a low blow, even for a highborn woman. It
meant that she felt I was a threat, a real threat. It was clear to
me that she wanted a fight. It was also clear to me that she wanted
me to start it so Landon would see that I truly was a peasant.

I calmed my breathing. An argument was the
last thing I needed or wanted.

“Thea,” growled Landon, and he let go of my
arm. “There’s no need to be rude. We’re all equals in this
race.”

“She’ll never be
our
equal,” Thea
spat.

She smiled and drew herself up to her full
height, which was several inches taller than me.

“She looks and smells like the peasant she
is. She’s nothing but a priest’s whore. Anyone can see that.”

Her icy stare met mine, and she laughed.
“You must have bedded an entire legion of priests to have been
given permission to participate in this race.”

“That’s enough, Thea.”

Thea’s winning smile disappeared, and she
shrank back into the shadows.

But Landon persevered with her. “Apologize
to Elena.”

Her brows narrowed. “I will do no such
thing!”

She crossed her arms defiantly.

Landon exhaled an embarrassed breath. “I
must apologize for my friend’s behavior. There’s no excuse for her
rudeness. I’m sure she meant no offense.”

My jaw clenched. “Yes, I’m sure.”

I turned towards the scowling woman. “But
for the record, my
lady
—I would rather be a peasant and a
priest’s whore than socialize with the likes of you.”

I did an exaggerated curtsy and left.

“Elena, wait!”

But I was already walking back towards the
spot where I’d left my bag. If Landon socialized with the likes of
her, I didn’t want to be near him either. More importantly, I
didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing that her words
truly did hurt. I was a peasant. Although I had been born with
nothing and would probably die with nothing, I had a head on my
shoulders and more than a whisper of magic in me.

I swung the large bag over my shoulders and
set off studying my map.

I made it to the edge of Death’s Arm. There
was already a line of people waiting at the edge, but no one had
made a move to cross it. It was like they were all waiting for the
first fool to venture into the stinking bogs.

Well, let
me
be the first
fool.

I sucked in a breath and moved. The ground
was soft and stinky, and I had to pull my boots from inches of
gray-green muck with each step. But once I started it was
surprisingly easy to keep a steady pace.

I didn’t have to turn around to see that the
others had followed in line behind me. I heard their curses and the
suction of their footsteps.

We traveled through Death’s Arm for the next
six days. The nights became colder, and the days shorter. But
nothing attacked us. No monsters came in the middle of the night or
during the day. It actually became repetitive and quite boring
after a while. From time to time I’d chat with Mad Jack, and his
friends from the Pit, Leo and Will. They were the only ones who
cared to speak to me. But mostly I kept to myself and kept my
senses sharp.

Icy rain dogged us for three days. With each
gust of frigid, cutting wind, I wondered when my skin would peel
from my face. I was miserable and cold, and I missed the warmth of
my small cottage. I missed Rose. More than once I wondered what I
was doing here, and many times I contemplated turning back. I tried
to convince myself that the high priest would never hurt Rose or my
friends in the Pit, that maybe he was bluffing. But I knew I was
being foolish.

I kept moving with everybody else, but the
heavy weight of responsibility that I felt for everyone back home
was wearing me down.

I was soaked through, and my stiff wet toes
were frozen. My boots were wet. Everything I owned was wet. I
couldn’t change into my spare clothes because they were soaked as
well. Each night, I’d wrap myself in whatever dry spot I could find
in my tunic and try to rub the feeling back into my toes.