Inside the village, we moved silently along the sides of the houses. After a few nerve-racking moments, we turned onto the main street, and a husk blew across our path. I swallowed down the bile that burned the back of my throat again. No sound met our ears as we paused, looking through the shadows with our enhanced vision to ferret out any hidden enemies.
No one spoke as we started forward. The horses’ hooves’ over the cobblestone was the only noise heard in a once-bustling village filled with life. The shop windows were covered in dust, a telltale sign the inhabitants hadn’t been alive in more than a week. No stench of death or rotten bodies met my nose. Nor did any coppery tang of blood fill the air, which was a telling sign of a battle. Nothingness was here, which caused my throat to tighten from the loss of life within the village.
The touch of darkness was absolute death to those not immune to its murderous grasp. It consumed everything but skin, leaving only a leathery scrap of flesh behind. Books sat abandoned on a bench where a small leather husk remained stuck beneath it, as if the victim had been holding them when caught by the icy claws and sucked dry.
A door opened ahead of us, and the horses stopped. Slowly, they stepped back with a click of our tongues against our teeth. The subtle scent of male wafted heavily in the air, tingling in my nose, and I sat still without breathing.
“We’re not alone.” I swallowed, climbing down from my horse while the others silently followed my lead. “Chivalry, stay out of the way,” I ordered, barely above a whispered breath.
Nervousness filled the group at the sound of us drawing our weapons. The tension mounted with the gentle clang of metal filling the darkness while we pulled down our facemask and prepared to fight.
Apprehension took hold, sending a shiver of restlessness rushing down my spine. I nodded toward a large home, noting the door was still open and no lights burned from inside. The door shifted, and I paused, nodding twice before jerking my chin to the right. It was the signal that we would move toward it as one unit and clear the home out together.
The others followed my lead, creating an arch that spread out like wings behind me. My silver cloak ruffled in the breeze, sending an icy wave of wind up my back. The short blades I held ignited with blue moon scripture, pulsing with magic. It was the only indication of who we were until the moon raised high in its precipice. Considering it was a new moon, it wouldn’t offer us much light to ward against the darkness, nor would it provide us any power.
At the door, we all paused, then I rushed in first. Barely avoiding the red rune-covered sword that swung at me, I lifted my blades, scissoring them toward the warrior. If he were untrained, it would have easily unhanded him of his weapon. Unfortunately, it hadn’t. I spun as my team slipped behind me into the house. They took defensive positions at my back, guarding it as more hooded figures engaged against us.
I watched the sparks my blades created while trying to hold the sword between them, failing. A foot lifted, and I jumped back, moving outside, barely avoiding the boot from hitting my stomach and knocking me down. Dancing around and onto the porch, I ducked as the sword sang past me, slamming into the wood baluster.
I lifted my foot, slamming it into the very male appendage that was every man’s weakness. The grunt that expelled from his lungs was satisfactory, but it hadn’t slowed the warrior down. I shot backward again as he swung angrily. Lowering my body, I sprang into the air, flipping over the steps when the sword swerved toward me again. It sang through the air, driven by the anger of the male wielding it.
The man leaped from the porch, following me with his swords cutting through the air as the loud sounds of metal clashing continued inside the house. The combatant slammed his sword into my blade, causing my hand to burn with the pain from the hard blow driven by formidable strength. I swung my second one, narrowly missing cutting through the man’s middle, but he bent his body back at the last moment, and my blade caught air instead of flesh. His foot slammed into my stomach, and I gasped, moving deftly with agility learned from training.
His sword sailed toward me, crashing loudly against one of my blades, sending the weapon flying out of my grip. I lifted the second blade in time to deflect his return swing, falling backward as his leg swept against mine, unseating my feet.
I rolled the moment I reached the ground, dodging the sword he sent toward me. I growled as my cloak stuck on something, tearing at it until I freed it. Jumping to my feet, I barely deflected more powerful blows until I went on the offense, parrying his firm, punishing strikes until I spun, swinging up to dislodge his blade.
The moment I’d disarmed him, he rushed forward without warning, taking us both to the ground. The crash onto the hard surface made my teeth chatter as pain rocked through my spine, and my weapon went sailing across the cobblestone. With his heavy weight holding me down, I thrust my hips up, trying to unseat him. Grabbing my arms, he held them above my head while I continued to buck wildly.
I couldn’t see into the darkness of the cloak he wore. I couldn’t make out his features or judge his species. Growling in rage, I intensified the bucking of my body against him until my knee slipped between his thighs, ousting him from my waist, rolling us into the opposite position.
I slipped my hand to my boot, intending to draw the blade within, until the moon shone down, forcing us to pause as it appeared with a shot of power its light held. My eyes lowered to the creature, finding ice-blue eyes staring up at my white hair and moonlit eyes. My lips parted, and he lowered his gaze to them, narrowing his eyes while he took in my delicate features.
I should have been using his surprise against him, but I couldn’t look away, held captive by the masculine face that was sharp edges and lines that looked at me hungrily. It probably wasn’t the best time to appease my curiosity.
The warrior’s lips curled into a grin, and he rolled us without warning, using the moon’s sudden appearance to catch me off guard. He lifted his free hand to his head, pushing back his cloak to reveal midnight-colored hair and silver flecks of moonshine dancing within his eyes. He studied my face and then turned toward the fighting still occurring in the house where the moonlight hadn’t reached. His lips parted, but he paused at the sickening snarl of dark creatures exploded all around us.
The warrior turned, whistling loudly at the sound of creatures from the plague of darkness entering the town. I swallowed, taking in his high cheekbones and full mouth. He wasn’t like the men of the Moon Clan, or delicate as most of them appeared. His eyes slid back to me, finding me watching him silently.
“Who are you?” he demanded, and I resumed struggling to get away from him before the dark creatures reached us and ripped apart our bodies. “I asked you a question. I expect it to be answered, little girl.”
“Get off me, you ogre-ass tramp,” I snarled, working my legs up between us. He lifted his body a smidgen, staring down at my knees that were rising between his.
When they were high enough, his eyes lifted with confusion as the smile slid across my lips. I parted his legs, using my leg muscles and gravity to unseat him, sending his body slamming down against the cobblestone street. I rolled away, grabbing my blade as he did the same.
“Do you want to die here?” he snapped.