My eyes rose to Emory, who watched me with such love and longing in his warm cinnamon eyes I nearly kissed him right there. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “They are… just… unbelievable. So incredible. Thank you.”
Emory shrugged, awkward yet casual in his acceptance of the compliment. “They suit you. The others weren’t worthy of you, too clumsy. These are as close as I could get to what you deserve.”
I pressed the buttons to shut off the energy crackling along the blades and slid them into the scabbards on my sword belt. Right now I didn’t care who walked in or what they thought, I was giving him a hug. “Thank you,” I said again, a hitch in my voice as I pressed my face to his warm chest.
His lean arms wrapped around my shoulders tightly, and I held on as long as I could. I knew what this was: a goodbye gift. In three days we traveled to the Clan Gathering, and then we’d both be hunting for mates. No more dinners, no more braiding, no more kissing and sleepovers.
The time had come to give him up, and I just didn’t know how I was going to do it.
Chapter 7
Kaliya
Morning arrived, cool and scented with the distinctly vibrant green of summer. The fragrance of flowers and ripening fruit drifted among the trees, wisps of fog still clinging to the deeper parts of the forest as the rising sun slowly burned off the remains of the night.
I’d sent Emory home early this morning; I didn’t want anyone to see him leaving my house at dawn, just in case Mikal had someone watching me. With so little time left, I couldn’t resist having him stay the night, but we’d be as careful as we could.
We only had two more nights.
I stroked the ornate handles of the swords he gave me yesterday, strapped to my hips over my battle gear. They were incredible. Not that I expected any less from him. He always surprised me with the way he saw the world, the care he put into things.
I pushed Emory to the back of my mind; now was not the time to wax poetic about him. The citrus scent of excitement, mingled with the weaker odor of fear, swirled around me. There were some younger warriors going with us on their first raid. They were excited to prove themselves against the wraiths, but having never attacked a nest before, a little fear was reasonable.
It would be stupid to take our track record of defeating the night stalkers for granted, but everyone should have their fear in hand before battle.
Once my team was loaded into their transport, I jumped in the back, slapping the side so the driver knew we were ready. I turned to face the team, sitting on their benches and leaving a narrow aisle down the length of the truck. The electric vehicle rumbled quietly to life, and we began moving.
My eyes drifted across the twelve individuals that stared back at me, noting the ones whose stench of fear sharpened when I focused on them. I wasn’t sure why Mikal put those four on my team, except perhaps as a lesson to them; or punishment to me. After I humiliated two of them a few weeks ago, I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of these pups. They certainly weren’t ready for a proper battle, and now it was my responsibility to keep their pathetic hides alive.
Instinctively, I slipped into my ‘hard-ass warrior’ vernacular. “I know, for some of you, this is your first raid. The rest of you know what I’m about to say, so feel free to fuck off and take a nap.” A few chuckles. “The wraiths will be tucked into their nest for the day by the time we arrive. They will not come out to allow us to kill them with the convenience of the open air. We have to enter their nest and hunt them down to the deepest, darkest parts of the cave, and they will probably leap out at you from all angles, especially above you. The fuckers like to climb the walls for some reason, even though they can’t seem to figure out trees.” More chuckles.
“I’m going to warn you now, because I don’t want to hear you complaining about it when we’re in there: Wraiths fucking smell like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Their caves are rank with rot and death, and the smell will be overpowering. Try to ignore it, breathe through your mouth, whatever you have to do. Any noise you make, even the smallest sound, will draw them. Their hearing is sharp; so is their vision in the dark. We see relatively well in the darkness, but as far as we can tell, they see clear as day. They’re also extremely fast. Be prepared for it.”
I slid one of my swords from its scabbard and held it up, hitting the igniter switch. A few whispered comments told me they were as impressed by Emory’s gift as I was. “These weapons are the best we’ve come up with to fight the bastards. For one, the light bothers them; they flinch away from it. Second, there’s no natural light in the dark, dank nests of night stalkers. The sword provides light and it will help you see. Just don’t stare directly at it like a moron, that’ll blind you to the darkness. Third, the electricity on the blade cauterizes the wound so the fuckers can’t put themselves back together. This is why you always want to cut, as opposed to stab. They can still fight with a hole through their gut. Cut off an arm, a leg, or preferably a head, and it’s not going back on. The body can’t do much once the head is removed, but keep an eye out for the teeth; they can still bite.
“When not actively in battle, try to keep the sword above your head so the wraiths don’t jump on your back. Once they’ve sunk their fangs in you, you’re good as dead. It’s only a matter of time. Don’t forget: You have to restrain your wolf. You’ll be tempted to shift when you feel threatened, but your wolf can’t kill the night stalkers, and you’re more vulnerable without your swords. Stay in your human form, use your weapons and your training, and don’t do anything stupid.
“Now, you’re already divided into your battle units. This is the most important part: Stay together. You are each other’s best defense against being jumped from behind. Watch each other’s backs, kill the fuckers, and make it home alive. Got it?”
Even though I’d given the other two teams permission to ignore me, they’d all listened with rapt attention. Now they stomped their feet on the floor of the transport and shouted, “Hell yeah! Kill the fuckers!”. The tangy scent of excitement thickened in the air, drowning out the scent of fear in the adrenaline rush of impending battle.
Our vehicle slowed and I drew my second sword, raising them both over my head and clanging them together repeatedly. The veteran warriors knew what this was, but the newbies caught on quickly, clanging their shields with their swords, gradually getting faster and faster until we came to a complete stop. I leapt from the vehicle and ran to meet up with the rest of the raiding party, my team streaming behind me.
Mikal was waiting with another three dozen warriors, all with swords out and ready to party. There were few that fought with two swords as I did; most preferred a small shield for protection. To me, the best defense was offense. I’d rather end up with one sword than a flat disc of metal that wouldn’t kill shit. That was a great way to turn yourself into wraith kibble.
Once everyone was assembled, Mikal spoke, gesturing to a low cave entrance behind him. “The wraiths are in here. We don’t know how many for sure, at least a dozen according to our guards posted in the trees the last few nights. We also don’t know how deep these caves go. If you reach any point where there’s more than one path, use flares to mark your way back out. If you go over twenty minutes without seeing any wraiths or anyone else from our team, turn around and head back out. Questions?” He glanced around quickly, then clanged his sword against his shield. “Then let’s kill the freaks! Kaliya’s team in first, then the rest as we planned.”