Jehral’s men looked to him for orders.
Urgency coursed through Jehral’s blood with sudden force. Fighting the revulsion, he became cold and efficient as he stepped away from the vessel and addressed his men. “Men of House Hazara, you are looking at a ship of our enemy from across the sea. You fought revenants in the war, and we are fortunate this ship foundered, or right now we would be facing several hundred of them. Their bodies are in there,” he said, pointing to the ship, “and we can only hope that this is all of them; that right now survivors of this wreck are not loose in our lands.”
“What orders?” Rashine asked.
As Jehral opened his mouth, another of the desert warriors walked over to the hole and stuck his head inside.
Taking them all by surprise, something grabbed hold of the swarthy warrior, pulling him by the neck and dragging him into the hole.
The Hazaran warriors cried out and froze with terror. A moment later, a wrinkled hand took hold of the hole’s rim. A face came up, a decayed grimace with green splotches around an open mouth. Momentarily stunned, the Hazarans watched in horror as a bare-chested man with long, scraggly hair climbed out of the hole. He tumbled out onto the beach and then rose to stand.
“Revenant!” one of Jehral’s men cried.
“Attack!” Jehral roared.
The closest to the ship, Rashine swung his heavy scimitar at the revenant. The curved blade bit deep into the creature’s shoulder, and it snarled, making a jerky movement as it looked at the wound.
Then the creature moved. And it was fast.
Its arm whipped up as it struck Rashine across the face with terrible force. A solid crunch accompanied the blow. The big warrior crumpled to the ground and lay still.
Jehral lunged forward and hacked at the exposed neck, but the revenant moved quickly and dodged, twisting out of the way. It came at him with gaping teeth and clutching fingers, hitting the center of Jehral’s chest and knocking him onto his back. The stench washed over him as the creature’s face loomed over his, the teeth mere inches from his neck. Jehral’s sword fell out of his hands.
As one of Jehral’s men leapt forward to heave the creature away, the revenant casually struck back with the same terrifying speed, lunging forward to grab the warrior by the throat and squeeze. Jehral heard a crack, and the Hazaran crumpled.
Jehral took advantage of the distraction to return to his feet and pick up his sword. As another of his men fell, Jehral swung at the revenant’s exposed back, cutting into it with all the force he could muster. The scimitar almost came out of his hands as the blade cut deeply between the shoulder blades and stubbornly refused to come out. The revenant turned and growled as Jehral finally pulled his scimitar free, dark liquid spilling from the wound to the sand.
The living corpse’s eyes were entirely white.
As three of the warriors rushed it together, Jehral suddenly remembered.
“Al-maia,” he cried, the name of the desert rose, hoping he had it right.
The runes on Jehral’s shining blade lit up with fierce shades of crimson, and the heavy scimitar suddenly felt lighter as it came alive in Jehral’s hands. He felt heat washing off the blade, and set his brow in determination.
Another of Jehral’s men died at the revenant’s hands as it tore out his throat, and with a cry Jehral swung blindly at the macabre creature.
He put all his strength into the blow, and the glowing blade passed through the solid body without slowing.
The revenant fell down in two halves as Jehral’s blow separated the torso from the waist, but it was still twitching, and its arms spasmed as it tried to pull itself along the ground. Jehral cut down again, a precise blow at the neck, and removed the head from its shoulders.
The monster lay still.
Jehral panted, his chest heaving. “Khamsin,” he said, and the scimitar went dark. Jehral examined the steel in surprise. Whatever Ella had done, the blade wasn’t even dirty.
Jehral panted and then looked to his men. Only half a dozen lived. Jehral moved to Rashine’s still body and felt for a pulse at Rashine’s neck; there was none.
“Lord of Fire,” someone said.
One of Jehral’s warriors walked from body to body, checking each for signs of life. He looked at Jehral and shook his head.
Jehral drew in a deep breath. He looked at the hole, but there didn’t appear to be any more of the creatures stirring. His thoughts returned to action as he addressed his men.