CHAPTER 10

“Vax!” Vex couldn’t see her brother anymore. She’d seen him dodge out of the way. He’d been in the fray around the campfire seconds ago, but when a group of soldiers came thundering in, she lost track. She reached behind her for the steady presence of Trinket at her back, then scanned the camp for a way to get closer to where she’d last seen her brother. “Shit.”

She called Vax’s name again, to no response.

Everywhere she looked, she saw those dead things fighting. Three had converged around the dwarves. Two were as tall as the dwarves were, and it looked like they were fighting wretched copies of themselves. Axes tore through bone and sinew, while zither song wrapped itself around the creatures. Cursed dead, they’d called them. The creatures all looked like they had been people once, but no longer, as though the ash that covered ate away at them.

An ashen corpse, taller than the dwarves or anyone in the camp, lurched in Vex’s direction, its movements wild and uncoordinated. She brought up her bow, took aim, and shot the tall, lumbering creature in the knee.

But no matter how hard she—or anyone—fought, the corpses slammed through horses and travelers alike. The camp would’ve been entirely overrun if it weren’t for the group of riders that had come barging in, swords at the ready. And now … now they weren’t alone, at least. Vex counted six riders, slashing their way through the creatures. She thought she saw others too, in more practical gear, but she couldn’t be sure.

She sent another arrow into the thick of the fight, where it glanced past the bookbinder to hit an ash creature in the eye. It only stalled the creature for a few heartbeats before it continued to swing wildly with bony arms, its rotting hands dripping with blood.

She still couldn’t see Vax anywhere. She called out again before she nudged Trinket. “Come on, Trinket, we’ve got to find him.”

Growling, the bear slammed one of the corpses out of the way, causing a cloud of soot to cover his fur. With an affronted shudder, he shrugged it off. Before he could follow Vex to help, another one of the dead creatures leaped at him. They were everywhere, with sharp claws and sharper teeth. The clouds of dust obscured other figures drawing closer.

Trinket slammed at the shambling cadaver until Vex could hear the sickening crack of bones breaking.

She circled the encampment as best she could, trying to make sure none of the dead could come around her, keeping uneven ground and rocks at her back. Trinket followed to the best of his abilities. On the other side of the camp, Nera, the half-elf scout, did the same, though she clutched at one leg that was badly bleeding. She reached into her tunic and threw some pieces of paper into the campfire, causing sparks to shoot up into the sky.

Soldiers and horses cut their way through the cursed dead, and for a moment Vex thought she saw her brother lying on the ground, his hair spread out around his head and his cloak trampled. Before she could be certain, her line of sight disappeared. A lanky ash creature stumbled her way. It wore sooty tangles of hair like a shroud around its burning eyes, and maybe it had once had another facial expression, but now all that remained was hunger. Behind it, another creature dropped whatever it was eating and focused on Vex too.

She aimed for the first creature, drew her bow, and sent an arrow straight into its hip. The other arrow she aimed at the second creature. Both continued walking unimpeded.

Withdrawing farther, a sharp rock formation at her back, she pulled and shot again, causing one of the ambling corpses to stumble. One of her arrows buried itself deep into its half-protruding spine, while the other skidded harmlessly off a skeletal shoulder.

Her heart rate picked up. She put a new arrow on her string. Before she could aim, something thundered past her. Strong arms wrapped themselves around Vex and pulled her out of the path of the creature and sideways onto the saddle of a chestnut mare. “We’re withdrawing to Jorenn,” the rider shouted, though her voice was barely audible over the chaos of the fight around them. “We need to get you behind the barriers.”

Vex struggled, her heart still in her throat. She tried to push herself into a more comfortable position. “My brother is there!” she called out, pointing in the direction of the camp.

“One of the others will get to him,” the rider replied. “We’ve been sent to evacuate all of you, and it’s my duty to get you into town as soon as possible.”

The horse’s hoofbeats created a discordant rhythm with her own heartbeat, and she tried to slide off, but the rider wouldn’t let her. “My bear!”

“Shademaster’s orders! I need to get you behind the palisades!”

Vex twisted and fought, and the rider cursed but never budged. The best she could do was raise her head far enough to see an angry bear thundering after the horse, shaking off crumbling corpses left and right. He roared when he saw Vex and kept struggling.

Behind him, other riders picked up travelers. The scholar got scooped up from the horses’ trough, where he’d barricaded himself and flung streaks of vibrant blue light toward the creatures. Another rider rushed toward Nera and dismounted to help her into the saddle. They were all gathering travelers as effectively and efficiently as her rider had.

She breathed out hard, overcome by relief and shock, and let herself be carried, still clinging to her bow and the arrow she’d grabbed. It was far from comfortable like this, but it was far better than being murdered by cursed dead.

The horses’ hooves thundered across the ground, and the sound of it echoed in her ears. The screams and snarls of battle, the pounding of blades on undead flesh and bone, disappeared in the distance.

After a couple of miles, the rider slowed the horse to a trot and helped Vex sit up more comfortably. When Vex could finally see her well, she viewed a scarred human face with crow’s-feet around her eyes and a determined grimace underneath a battered mail coif. Before Vex could even ask or say anything, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, we keep going until we’re inside. The Shademaster kept the gates open and the whole town is exposed.”

“What the fuck are those things?” Vex managed. She reached out to Trinket, who’d caught up with her and threw an affronted look at the horse for carrying her off without warning.

“Ash walkers,” the rider answered. “Bloody bane of our existence.”

She nudged the horse forward once more, and the animal shuddered but picked up the pace. Trinket ran too. Other riders did the same thing: they helped their quarries to sit comfortably before making their way toward the town that appeared on the horizon. One of the riders held two empty ponies by a rein, though the poor animals looked half frightened to death and exhausted. She tried to spot Vax.

But they kept going before she could get a good look around. They all did, until Jorenn Village rose out of the hills in front of them. The town was walled on all sides, wooden palisades strengthening its natural defenses, and large torches on either side of a set of open gates lit up the path. A dozen archers covered the entrance, their bows at the ready to give the riders cover or to protect themselves, while another group of archers patrolled the makeshift battlements.

When the riders approached, the archers jumped aside. Vex and her guard were the first to storm through, past the gates and down a wide unpaved street that led them to a large square in the middle of town. Trinket followed at a short distance, undeterred by the strange looks from the guards around them.

Inside its walls, Jorenn Village looked like a small town in chaos, but it was a structured chaos. Teen messengers ran around from the palisades to the streets to the large town hall adjacent to the square, stopping only to jump out of the way of the horses. A dozen or so people busied themselves with boarding up doors and windows of predominantly wooden buildings, while others collected weapons from their houses and from guards in the same uniform as the riders. A healer busied himself with herbs and bandages near the entrance to the hall.

Other than the stars in the sky and the cold night air that crept through the streets, Jorenn looked and acted like it was the middle of the day, and the lanterns that were set up on every street corner bathed the town in a deep orange glow.

“Does this type of thing happen often?” Vex asked. “Everyone seems to know exactly what they’re doing.”

“None of this is new to the people here. It isn’t a matter of if those cursed creatures will attack, but when.” The rider patted her horse’s neck and slowed the animal down. She sounded winded too. “But they know what to do, and they also know Shademaster Derowen will protect them.”

“She’s the leader of the guard?” Vex guessed. “Your guard?”

“Leader of the Shadewatch. She’s the one who gave the order to take in all travelers caught amidst the ash.” She pushed her mail coif back, and a mane of curled gray hair appeared. “She’s a hero to most here.”

Other riders thundered through the gates and a cry went up around the town. “Close the gate! Raise the barrier!” And just like that, everyone’s positions shifted again. Messengers ran toward the palisades. The townspeople who’d armed themselves managed tight smiles. The wooden gates were closed with a dull thud that echoed through the dusty streets, and Vex thought she felt a sigh of relief around them, in the knowledge that while the danger hadn’t passed, at least there was another obstacle between them and the dead.

Vex glanced around to see if she saw her brother yet, but the riders were still making their way toward the square.

The one who’d helped her ran a hand across her forehead, wiping away beads of sweat, and the rush of the fight visibly made way for exhaustion. She rattled off everything Vex needed to know. “Come, there are rooms set up for you in The Scattered Bar. You’ll be safe here, and in the morning one of the Shademaster’s people will help you find your way in town. If you left belongings behind, we may be able to retrieve those. If you need assistance, the Shademaster can help too.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” It wasn’t false flattery. Vex was certain the night would’ve looked far different without the help of the Shadewatch.

With the rider’s aid, she slid unceremoniously down the chestnut horse and onto the stamped ground. Her legs trembled, and she fought to keep her balance when Trinket rushed over to her and nudged her with his head, sniffing her to make sure she was all right and pushing his nose into her face. She clung to him and tried to brush the layer of ash from his fur. “I’m okay, buddy.”

He growled softly, and she scratched his ear. “Yeah, I know. I don’t like those nasty things either.”

Leaning on her bear, Vex tracked the riders coming in. All around them on the square, horses came to a halt and the Shadewatch helped the travelers dismount. The healer immediately made his way toward the half-elf scout when she slumped on the ground, and one of the messengers dashed forward to help support her. Together they brought her toward the town hall, a proud three-story building that held somewhere between a castle and a large mansion, its stone walls a warm burnt orange, with tall heavy wooden doors and guarded windows.

The scholar slid down his horse and immediately vomited. The bookbinder made his way toward his nemesis, checked to see if he was unhurt, and within moments they were bickering again.

Vex turned around. The dwarves had made their way toward the three ponies the Shadewatch rescued and were frantically examining the animals for wounds or exhaustion before tending to their own injuries. They were both covered in soot and sweat and blood.

A teenage boy with sleep-tousled hair who wore an apron tied around his waist ushered the travelers toward the designated tavern at the far side of the town square. Half a dozen guards converged at the edge of the square to brush off their clothes and weapons. One by one, they began leading their horses away, presumably to a stable of sorts.

Vex’s stomach dropped. They were the guards who’d aided their camp. The guards who aided their camp were all accounted for. The other travelers were all accounted for too, and Vax wasn’t here.

No, no, no, shit.

She spotted the rider who’d brought her here, who was leading her exhausted horse to a stable, and grabbed her arm. “Wait! Where’s Vax?”

The rider turned toward her and fatigue flashed across her face. She brushed Vex’s hand off and frowned. “What do you mean?”

Vax was nowhere to be seen on the square, and none of the guards were left behind. She counted them again to make sure.

“Where the fuck is my brother?” Vex demanded, an edge of panic to her voice. She could do nothing to stop it.

The rider stilled. “We brought in everyone, I’m certain of it.” Her eyes darted across the square too, counting like Vex had.

“Like fuck you did. Vax is still out there!”

“We brought in everyone …” The rider’s nostrils flared and she visibly swallowed what she wanted to say. “We brought in everyone we could find.”

There were other words there. Vex knew it. But she refused to accept what the alternative options might be.

“Then we have to go back to find him!” Vex snapped. Her throat constricted. She felt sick. “I can’t leave him there!”

The rider shook her head. “I’m sorry, Shademaster’s orders. The gates are closed and barred, and she’s working on putting the barrier up. No one is to leave until tomorrow.”

With a determination verging on desperation, Vex reached for the rider’s horse. “I’ll find him myself if I have to!” He was outside somewhere, surrounded by those ashen dead, without help. Without her. She couldn’t even think about it. She couldn’t let him be. She needed to get to him.

The rider clamped her hand around Vex’s wrist, not hard enough to hurt but immovable regardless. “Not an option. Jorenn is responsible for your safety now, and while you’re here, you’re responsible for ours. We’ve risked our lives for you once. No one leaves until the barrier is lifted.” She softened. “You’ll be able to rest in the inn, and we’ll ride out first thing. You have my word.”

Vex shook her off. “No one is responsible for me. I can take care of myself. I need my brother.”

Trinket walked up next to her, sensing her agitation and presumably missing Vax too. He growled softly at the rider, his mouth drawn into a snarl, as if daring the rider to touch his Vex again.

Other guards stopped what they were doing and walked their way. The travelers who were shepherded off toward the inn stilled and looked back and forth between Vex and the rider.

“Make no mistake, we could’ve easily left you to the mercy of the ash walkers.” The rider casually folded her hand over the pommel of her sword. “You don’t want to be causing trouble here.”

Vex swallowed hard, bile rising up in her throat.

Gods. How often had she and her brother heard those words before? Always with the same dismissive attitude. Other things mattered more than they did. Names. Prejudices. Other people’s safety over theirs. They’d always existed at the unwanted edges of other people’s worlds, and for once, Vex wished she could be at the center.

She did want to cause trouble. She wanted to get to her brother. She felt her panic curl into something hard and untouchable, and she drew herself up like she’d seen her father draw himself up countless times. Shrouded in importance and invulnerability. Someone who couldn’t be hurt by what happened around her. “I demand a way out of here. And if you can’t fucking help me, then find me someone who can. Bring me to the Shademaster if you must.”

The rider considered her, and that small, treacherous part of Vex whispered she’d sounded ridiculous. She couldn’t pull off those demands any more than she could find her own way out of this town. But Trinket stepped closer and nudged his head under her hand, so she could stare down the rider with a bear at her side. She crawled her fingers into his fur. No one would want to get into an argument with a bear.

Eventually, the rider turned to two of the other guards, who’d lingered nearby, hands on their weapons. Exhaustion colored her voice when she said, “Take her up to Shademaster Derowen. She can decide what to do with her.” She turned away while the two guards stepped in and stalked off without another look at Vex, though she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like an invitation to climb over the palisades if she didn’t like what was happening here.

She would too, if she had to.

Once the rider continued on toward the stables and the matter seemed resolved, everyone else on the square continued their work, though the other travelers cast curious glances in Vex’s direction. Nera frowned deeply.

Vex felt a kernel of worry at the idea of making her case to the leader of town—her track record in those situations was less than stellar—but she balled her trembling hands into fists and kept her thoughts on her brother. She needed to get to him. Now.

The two guards escorted her in uncomfortable silence, while Trinket stayed by her side. They walked the broad street with boarded-up shops on either side, back toward the gates, which were shut and guarded by the Shadewatch. Shouts were echoing back and forth on the palisades, presenting the same structured chaos Vex had seen when she’d entered the town. Archers shot arrows at targets Vex couldn’t see.

On top of the palisades, right at the highest point over the wooden gatehouse, stood a slender human woman, her bushy brown hair tied back with a leather band and a tall sword at her side, intensely focused on a distant horizon. She held her left hand in front of her and the air around her hand shimmered where she was casting a spell and raising the barrier that kept the town safe.

She didn’t react when Vex and the guards climbed the makeshift parapet, but she tensed and shuddered under the weight of the barrier. The woman shifted slightly and in the pale moonlight Vex saw exactly what was at the center of the still-expanding barrier.

A ring. An intricate silver band with dark cloudy gems and shards of bone.