As much as I love the water bottles in my backpack, I can’t fight properly with so many extra pounds on my shoulders. Quick as a heartbeat, I ditch the pack and leap high into the air, somersaulting backward until I land right behind the tallest hybrid, balancing on the horse’s backside. I drop to sit behind the rider. His head spins around one hundred and eighty degrees to look me right in the eyes.
“Aren’t you a clever filly?” Up close, I can see his teeth jutting through his decaying cheeks.
“Guess what else I can do?” I grip the rider’s skull between my hands, twist hard, and tear it off his neck. It pulls free with a satisfying pop. “That.”
The dead body slumps off the horse; I chuck the head in the opposite direction. Beneath me, the demon horse goes berserk, bucking on its hind legs and whinnying up a storm. It knows its rider is gone and is none to happy.
I grip the saddle, ready to hoist myself off the horse and back onto the ground, when a pair of ropes land right around my chest. Two of the other riders have lassoed me, pinning my arms to my side.
Luckily, they didn’t get my tail.
The arrowhead end of my tail swipes around me, slicing through the ropes. I spring off the horse and look for Lincoln. He stands nearby with his baculum ignited as a long-sword. One of the other demon horses has been decapitated and Lincoln is skewering its rider through the chest.
The remaining two riders circle us, howling and yelping with rage. They open a new pair of ghoul portals and charge through them, disappearing from the desert. An odd silence follows after they’re gone.
“Do you think they’ll come back?” I ask.
“Yup.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Because that’s exactly what I was thinking, too.
A portal opens right before me, revealing a rider on a black horse. The demon animal rears on its hind legs, its front hooves suspended in the air for a moment before slamming down toward the exact patch of ground where I’m standing. I roll away at the last second, but not before a fresh round of rope loops around my ankle.
The rider bursts forward, dragging me across the desert floor. I eat a mouthful of dirt and rock before I gain enough sense to cut through the rope again with my tail. I look over for Lincoln. The other rider tried the same trick with him, only Lincoln was able to cut himself free with his baculum. We both look like we’ve been dragged through a mile of desert.
The riders whoop before disappearing through into a new pair of portals.
“Change position,” orders Lincoln. “They’ll try the same trick again.”
I run a few yards to my right and, sure enough, a rider comes barreling out of a fresh portal at the spot where I just stood. Once more, the horse rears on its hind legs. This time, I use the opportunity to jump high into the air, pull my legs into a crouch, and kick the rider firmly in the chest, throwing him off his horse. The hybrid swaggers to his feet as his horse gallops madly around.
The rider’s eyes glow demon red as he pulls a six shooter from his hip. “The pair of you are no end of trouble, chucking me off my ride.” He stalks toward me, aiming the gun right for my head. “But I think I’ve got you just where I want you.”
Behind me, I hear the low-pitched hum of a ghoul portal opening. He’s going to try to shove me into the portal, alive or dead. I stare down the barrel of the gun. I’m fast, but I’m no match for a bullet. I take a half-step backward, but my heel hits nothing but air. I so don’t want to fall into a ghoul portal without a ghoul—I’ll tumble through empty space for eternity. I move forward a bit, and raise my hands to shoulder-height, palms forward. “I won’t give you any more trouble.”
“I know you won’t.” The rider saunters closer. “And I’m guessing Armageddon will pay a pretty penny for the likes of you. He always wants ‘em feisty. More fun to break ya.” With his free hand, he rubs his chin. A chunk of rotting flesh falls off. “My buyer’s gonna love you, little girl.”
The rider stalks closer in what feels like slow motion. With every step, his spurs echo more loudly through the desert. A realization hits me. I might get caught here, on the Plains of Fire, before I ever get anywhere near my son.
How could I have been so reckless?
I scan the plains, looking for any sign of Lincoln or Kiya. Were they already abducted by the other rider? My husband could be on his way to the torture pits right now. My heart kicks so hard in my chest, I think it might break free.
The rider pauses before me, the exposed tendons in his neck flexing as he speaks. “Here’s what you’re gonna do.” With his right hand, he points the barrel of his gun at my head. “Take my hand and step back into that portal behind ya.”
The rider raises his grisly left hand toward me. Bits of moldy flesh hang from his fingertips.
Bracing myself, I slowly lift my hand to meet his. A heavy sense of doom presses onto my shoulders.
The rider grins and gives my hand a little squeeze. “Now don’t be so—”