Chapter Twenty Two

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Chapter Twenty Two

“What in the world?” Fey asked as the four figures burst out of the treeline. “Is that Clueless, Ember, and—”

“LOOK OUT!” Zave yelled, his eyes refocusing the way they did whenever he’d just a vision.

A split second later, a red light streaked out of the group. Zave moved before she could, wrapping his arms around her and tackling them to the ground just as the red light zipped by above them.

Zave cried out in pain.

They hit the rocky ground hard, knocking the wind out of Fey’s lungs. As soon as their feet weren’t anchoring them to the ground, they immediately began to slide back down the way they’d come. Fey clawed at the surface, but it was too steep, and the rocks were too slick from the constant rain. With Zave still clutching her against him, the two of them slid and bounced and rolled, until—

CRASH!

They collided with the fallen tree hard enough to jerk Zave’s grip free. He was catapulted over the log, skidding painfully down the slope alone, while Fey came to an abrupt, bone jarring halt. The fact that her horns struck the sodden wood first was all that saved her from getting a serious concussion. Even so, her vision went dark for a few seconds.

Zave tumbled gracelessly for a few more seconds before finally running out of momentum and coming to a stop. Groaning and gasping for breath, covered in a dozen new cuts and bruises, he stared up at the gray sky. Ever since they’d reached the mountain, the rain had strengthened from a sprinkle to a steady downpour, and now the constant drumming of water against his face was all that kept him from losing consciousness.

“Za…Zave!” Fey moaned, putting a hand on the log and trying to pick herself up. “Zave, are you…”

She peered over the top of the log just as a face she didn’t recognize reached her fallen packmate. He was skinny and wore glasses too big for his face, but the look on his face was one of pure malice as he glared down at Zave.

“Damn it!” he spat. “I missed!”

With no hesitation, he pulled a wicked looking hunting knife from his belt. Adrenaline surged through Fey’s veins. She didn’t know who this dweeb was, or why he’d been with the others, but it was obvious what he intended to do with that knife. He raised it above his head and got down on one knee. Zave weakly tried to raise a hand to stop him, and…

Fey vaulted over the log, relying on her goatlike balance to keep her on her hooves as she sprinted at a reckless pace across the slippery stone. The nerd looked up in surprise, and half a second later she careened into him. Her horns didn’t stab him, but they still hit him hard enough to send him flying for a few feet before he hit the ground and slid a few feet back down the mountain.

Using strength he didn’t look like he should have had, he rammed the blade into the stone, stopping his descent. He was back on his feet in an instant, holding the knife out threateningly in front of him.

He looks like he knows how to use it, too, Fey thought in confusion. But he doesn’t even look like he should know how to bait a hook!

Also, does he look…weirdly dry for this weather?

“I’ve got no quarrel with you, skinwalkers,” he said in a nasally voice. He had the look in his eye of someone who thought they sounded a lot cooler than they really did. “I’m just here for that evil…thing!”

“E…Evil?” Zave asked, finally sitting up.

The others finally reached them. How the nerd had managed to outrun three skinwalkers, Fey could never guess, but at least Ember had the decency to look shocked by what she saw. Norrin stood protectively between her and the twerp, and Clueless…

“Angel, stay away from it!” the nerd suddenly yelled.

Clueless ignored him, rushing straight over to where Zave was sitting.

“Zave okay?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Zave nodded. “I think so. I just…” He touched his arm, and his hand came away red with blood. “He grazed me with that arrow.”

“ZAAAAAAVE!” Clueless threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “I was scared I never see you again! And you think I hate you!”

Despite what he’d just gone through, Zave smiled and returned the hug. “I knew you didn’t hate me, Clueless. I was scared I wouldn’t get to see you again either.”

“I- I sorry for being mean!” she sobbed. “I confused!”

“I forgive—”

“Zave is good! A good boy!”

Zave couldn’t help but laugh. “And Clueless is a good girl!”

“Ex-cuse me,” interjected the dweeb, his face red with indignation, “stop calling her that right now! Her name is—”

“Her name is Clueless, you idiot!” Ember snapped. “God, you’re so damn annoying!”

The nerd looked at all of them in turn, his expression darkening with each one.

“So,” he finally said in a grim voice, “this is how it is. You’re all working with the evil thing!”

Clueless bared her teeth at him. “Zave not evil!”

“And you used me to get back to it!”

“It’s not our fault you can’t take a hint.” Ember rolled her eyes.

Something came clattering down the mountain and bumped against Fey’s hoof. Zave’s spear. He must have dropped it when he’d tackled her. She picked it up, and then thrust it at their gawky attacker.

“I don’t know who you are or what your problem is,” she said as lightning flashed above them, “but you’d better get the hell out of here before you really piss me off!”

For your information, my name is Gil. Short for Gilgamesh.” He pointed his knife at Zave. “And do you have any idea what it is you’re protecting?”

“As a matter of fact,” Fey said, stepping between him and Zave, “I do. He’s my friend. Do you have any idea what you’re attacking?”

Gil lowered the knife a few inches. “W- Well, not exactly, but I can sense the evil coming off of it!”

Taking the spear in both hands, Fey spread her hooves into a fighting stance. It wasn’t typical for a skinwalker to use a weapon—nature gave us all the weapons we need, Glenn was fond of saying—but she got the feeling she was going to need it this time.

“If you insist on protecting the evil,” Gil said, his face contorting into a scowl, “then I’ll have to kill you too!”

He threw himself at Fey.

NEXT CHAPTER: 4/9/2025