FLOOD

Party of Three

There were a few things that would work for the fever, and I searched for them as I went, trying to keep low to the ground, going from tree to tree as quickly as I could. It was hard to avoid the spotlight, since it kept sweeping the woods, albeit wildly. It was almost like someone else had taken over operating the spotlight, and they were drunk. Or wounded more likely.

I ducked a second sweep of the wide beam and then stumbled, spotting a cluster of white flowers as the light flashed over the ground. Feverfew. It wasn't the ideal, but it would certainly do in a pinch.

I hunched down and ripped up the flowers in each hand, stuffing them into the pockets of my tunic. There were people in the forest around me, I could feel them moving, some coming closer and some moving away. I could even tell which ones were human and which were jotun. Luckily all the humans were far enough away that none of them would get in my way. It was just jotun in the near vicinity, a lot of them in all directions.

Which was probably why I didn't sense him on time.

There was a sharp whistling sound, and something struck me in the head, sending a spike of white hot pain through my temple. The forest swung wildly in circles around me, the trees blurring together in a dark haze. I hit the ground hard on my hands and knees, head swimming, pulse throbbing in my neck and fingertips, through my entire body. The pain made bile rise up in my throat, but I scrambled back as quickly as I could, trying to collect myself, squinting at the man-shaped figure standing between two trees before me.

Bolthur. I was really starting to get sick of him.

He was already coming for me, taking long strides across the forest floor. He seemed impossibly fast, and I couldn't seem to get my grip on my powers. The trees were still blurring in and out of focus, my blood rushed in my ears.

Something gripped the front of my shirt, and my collar dug into the back of my neck as Bolthur lifted me half off the ground. "About bloody time." His voice sounded distant.

I squinted, blinking, frantically trying to clear my vision. In the crazy, wavering spotlight something glittered. Something Bolthur held in the air above me. A knife?

"I can't say I'm sad to see—"

Bolthur stopped, straightening up with a sharp gasp. In the light something glittered, lower this time, something on his chest. I blinked, and my vision finally cleared. The tip of a silver blade jutted from the left side of Bolthur's chest. He stared down at it, eyes wide, wavering on his feet for another few seconds.

Then he gave another shuddering gasp and pitched forward. I barely had time to roll to one side, ducking out of his way before he fell on me.

"Vee?"

Eli stood in the spot between the trees where Bolthur had been a moment before. His face was the color of chalk, and he held Gunny's sword in one hand, hanging at his side. With the other, he braced himself against the tree. He looked like he was barely standing.

"I think I just killed him."

I struggled to my feet, clutching my head, and Eli rushed to my side, dropping the sword to grasp my chin gently, turning my face to look at my wound. "What did he get you with?"

"I don't know. He threw something at me I think." I glanced down at the Gunny's sword, now lying on the ground half covered by leaves. "You should hang on to that."

"Yeah, right." He looked at it for a long second before hunkering down to pick it up.

"We should get back to Gunny. I don't want to leave her alone." I started to turn away, catching flash of light out of the corner of my eyes. I staggered and blinked, realizing I was still shaky on my feet, a little dazed.

Eli grasped my arm and pulled me behind the closest crop of trees, and just on time. A pair of soldiers came tramping through, close enough that I could see the whites of their eyes. They wore dark swat gear, and I could feel the water in their bodies. Human, not jotun.

Should I stop them from whatever they were going to do? I took a step forward, but Eli's grip on my arm tightened, and when I glanced sideways at him he shook his head sharply. He didn't have to say it. I wasn't in any condition to take on two soldiers, and it wasn't like he could actually fight with a sword. Him stabbing Bolthur had been a lucky break.

The human soldiers paused when they saw Bolthur's body on the ground, and one of them nudged the jotun in the ribs with his foot. I winced, half expecting Bolthur to jump up, or twitch or something, but his body just rocked with the motion of the soldiers foot and then went still.

He was dead.

The black-suited soldier chuckled, a muffled noise behind the guard of his helmet. I wondered how he was able to see in the dark with that black face guard.

They started to move on, and then one of them halted, snapping to attention when he spotted something beyond the trees. His voice floated over to where we were standing.

"Sir, I thought you were in the building still. It isn't safe—"

"I know that, you idiot. You think I don't know that? I'm the commander, not some sappy housewife. I'm not staying inside."

The voice was deep and gravelly, and it sent shivers of rage through me. Cain and Eli's grandfather. The old man. The one responsible for all of this. I surged forward, or tried to, and Eli gripped my arm again. This time it was harder, yanking me against his chest. His chin rubbed on my cheek, stubble scratching me.

"Don't." His voice was low and harsh with fear. "He'll kill you."

I could feel the trembling in his limbs, his broad chest rising and falling against my back. What had the old man done to him to make him react like this at just the mere sound of his voice? We couldn't even see his grandfather through the trees.

Then again, my entire body was rigid too. Every atom of my body vibrated with the need to launch myself forward and kill him. To rip the water right out of his body. It would be so easy to do it too, I could feel it moving sluggishly through his system. At my fingertips.

But there were the two soldiers there too. If I did that, I would have to be sure I could take them out before they discovered me and Eli. And I wasn't.

So I had to just stand there and wait for them to finish their little meet-cute. I curled my fingers into fists at my sides and tried to concentrate on Eli's heartbeat, which I could actually feel with him pressed up against me. His heart was beating like crazy, probably almost as hard as mine.

"Do we have hostages yet?" The soldier's voice.

"Of course we do." The old man sounded maddeningly smug. "We've got the wolf, and we pulled some woman soldier out of the ground like a damned weed just now. Heard her yelling from underneath. She's half dead though, wound in the gut."

My fingers dug into the tree bark, and I clenched my teeth together so hard my jaw twitched. Gunny, they'd found Gunny. She must have woken up in the dark and started calling for us. Guilt and dread pulsed low in my stomach, making me feel like I might be physically ill. Eli left her because he was worried about me. If he hadn't I'd likely be dead now, but Gunny was a hostage because of us.

The conversation ended abruptly, with the soldiers jogging away through the trees, and the dark shape of the old man turning back towards the spotlight, vanishing into the woods before I could even think about going after him.

Eli finally relaxed, though he didn't let go. "Shit. They got her." Her voice broke. Probably he felt the same guilt I did. Worse.

"She's in the compound," I said grimly. "In one of those damn cages. We have to go after her."