TENN
Tenn and Kianna raced to the top of the Guild’s wall.
“This is bad,” Kianna muttered.
They stared out over the burnt expanse of land. Only now, they weren’t greeted with darkness. Great flames twisted up to the sky in front of them. Maybe a mile or two away. Tops. Tenn opened to Earth and stretched his senses out through the soil, fearing what he’d find in the field. The army that unfolded under his senses outnumbered any he’d ever seen. Whichever Kin this was, they hadn’t come to mess around. Howls swarmed by the thousands, and the sheer amount of magic used by the necromancers was enough to make his skin crawl.
They were here to wipe out Tenn and his comrades. Once and for all.
“I don’t suppose you have any fancy runes to kill them all, eh?” Kianna asked.
Tenn shook his head. He couldn’t stop staring at the army. They stretched across the entirety of the horizon. How had they gotten here so quickly? He’d thought he was the only one possessing runes of travel. But maybe, like Tomás, they had another way.
Shouts raced along the wall as Hunters readied themselves. Tenn watched as their Spheres blinked to life. But they were like candles against the sun. They didn’t stand a chance.
“We need to run,” Tenn said. It was the only thing he could think of. Get them out of here. Find someplace safe. Figure out how to... What? He still had no clue what to do.
“Like hell,” Kianna said. She opened the chamber of her gun and slid in two more bullets, then snapped it into place. “We die tonight. I’m not going to die with my tail between my legs. And neither should you.”
She grinned at him. In the light of the coming fires, she actually looked excited.
“Come on, you already killed one Kin. What’s one more? Just a shame that Aidan isn’t here to see this. He’d have loved it.”
Then, before Tenn could tell her she was mad, she turned and darted off along the wall, heading toward the field.
Tenn watched her go, his heart in his throat. He could sense death coming, and Water sang out its siren song. It was time to give over to the power. Your pain gives you strength. Your pain gives you strength.
It was almost time to unleash it.
It was almost time to drown.