direction; then all fell silent. She took a step toward the trees, habit and instinct driving her to investigate, but Kian caught her arm. “Could be a trap. Daria wants you back; she made that much clear. Those on guard will investigate.”
Zarrah drummed her fingers against her thigh, the compulsion to go out into the woods, to see who was there, almost more than she could resist, though she wasn’t sure why.
“We’ll get word to the rebels that we’ve secured you from Daria and her lot, and they’ll likely make their move soon enough.” He hesitated, then added, “They know everything that happens on this island through the guards on their payroll. They’ve washed their hands of Daria because of the choices she and hers have made.”
Given the revulsion she herself felt, Zarrah could understand that, but it still jarred with Daria’s complete certainty that the rebels were coming for them. Made Zarrah wonder again if it was a myth the woman had created, perhaps motivated by her own delusions, and used to motivate her tribe to remain loyal and strong.
Except … There’d been people in Daria’s camp who’d been incarcerated less than a year ago.
Those prisoners had brought renewed hope, which made little sense if the rebels on the continent had turned their backs on Daria’s tribe.
One of Kian’s men approached, interrupting her thoughts. “Sounds like Flay caught himself a new look. No one is missing, so it was likely one of Daria’s spies.”
Who was it? Saam? Bile rose in Zarrah’s throat, because she knew everyone in Daria’s camp and would not wish such a fate upon any of them. “We should—”
“Whoever he is, he’s already dead.” Kian gave her a grim smile. “Flay doesn’t like his new looks talking back to him, so he cuts their throats right away.”
“Why don’t you kill him?” she demanded. “Why do you allow such a monster to live?”
“Kill all the snakes, and you soon find your camp infested with rats,” Kian answered. “As it is, He was being kind, but what Daria had told her about him lurked in the back of Zarrah’s mind. This whoever he caught will satisfy him for a time.”
man was very much a villain, so all she could trust was that he wouldn’t jeopardize his own chance at Places like this shouldn’t exist.
Kian put a hand on her arm. “Stay strong, Zarrah. Soon we will be free from this place and all its
“You’re wondering what I did to get here?” Kian grinned, revealing his mouthful of gold teeth. “It’s horrors.”
There’d be a catch. There was always a catch. But she trusted Kian’s self-motivation to get off that island, and that … that she could work with.
“Whoever he is, he’s already dead.” Kian gave her a grim smile. “Flay doesn’t like his new looks talking back to him, so he cuts their throats right away.”
“Why don’t you kill him?” she demanded. “Why do you allow such a monster to live?”
“Kill all the snakes, and you soon find your camp infested with rats,” Kian answered. “As it is, whoever he caught will satisfy him for a time.”
Places like this shouldn’t exist.
Kian put a hand on her arm. “Stay strong, Zarrah. Soon we will be free from this place and all its horrors.”
There’d be a catch. There was always a catch. But she trusted Kian’s self-motivation to get off that island, and that … that she could work with.
PULSE ROARING, KERIS slowly turned his head, but all he could see was a small form holding a spear. Alone, as far as Keris could tell, though the man had said we. “Easy, friend. We only just arrived, so it’s too soon to have made enemies.”
“We saw,” the man whispered, head cocking, though Keris couldn’t see his face in the dark. But he could smell him. The man radiated the stink of rot. “We watched.”
“Right. So you know.” Keris tried to turn to face the man, but the tip of the spear sank deeper, and he went still. Better to keep him talking while Aren extricated himself from the net. “Where are your friends, then? Might we meet them?”
“They are here.” The man patted something at his hip. “They are watching.”
The man was clearly mad, but that alone wasn’t enough to explain the sudden surge of primal dread that poured through Keris’s veins.
“It walks.” The man poked Keris, sending blood dripping down his back. “It comes with us, soon to become one of us.”
Going anywhere with this creature seemed like a quick path to death, but Keris didn’t have much choice as the spear dug deeper. Praying to whatever higher power might be listening that Aren would get loose, Keris slowly walked back down the dark trail. “Are you asking me to join your group? Is that how it works on this island?”
The man giggled, and Keris clenched his teeth as the acidic taste of bile burned up his throat.
Thump!
The spear tip disappeared from his back. Keris turned in time to see Aren regain his feet, then charge toward the man, blades in hand. “It has claws!” the creature shrieked, eyes fixed on Aren’s knives, then, with shocking speed, scuttled into the shadows.
“Where’d the little prick go?” Aren snarled, skidding to a stop next to Keris. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” He took a step after the creature, then froze. “There are traps all around us.”
A giggle filled the air, and a dozen yards away, a face appeared in a beam of moonlight, head capped with a crown of dark curls. There was something strange about his expression, the
woodenness of it at odds with the gleam of his eyes and the delight in his laugh. Then he was lost again to the shadows.
Branches rustled and footsteps pattered, both Keris and Aren rotating with the noise. Another figure stepped into the moonlight. Long hair fell to his shoulders, but his face was equally strange. He pointed at Keris, then faded backward into darkness.
More footfalls, then another appeared. This one was bald and laughing, giving Keris no time to get a good look at him before he ducked behind a tree.
“I can’t tell how many there are,” Aren said, his knife blade catching the moonlight as he rotated, more and more men appearing, only to swirl away into the shadows. “We need to make a run for it.”
Keris eyed the ground around them uneasily, because if they were caught up in another one of the nets, it was over. The men knew they were armed, and they wouldn’t give them a chance to cut themselves loose twice. “Back the way we came. We know it’s clear.”
“Go!”
Keris broke into a sprint but only made it a few paces before the first man appeared, blocking his path. “We want it,” the man crooned, the moonlight falling upon him, revealing a mouth that didn’t move with his words. “We shall have it.”
“Good God,” Keris whispered, despite knowing that God had no power in this place. “He’s
wearing someone else’s face.”
Which meant they all were.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Aren hissed, his back against Keris’s as he hunted for the other attackers. As he readied himself to fight.
Keris lifted his own knife as the man, the creature, stepped forward, snickering and giggling, the sound bouncing off the trees.