“Do you realize how bloodthirsty you sound?” Dray asked with a shake of his head before taking several steps back down the hall to stand a bit behind Zachary.
“You do realize a Blight just called you bloodthirsty right?” Zoelyn asked calmly as she flattened her bare hand to the door. Her breath caught in her throat as the warm flood of magic filled her veins and she had to resist closing her eyes in ecstasy as the hunger of the curse was temporarily sated by the draining wards.
“Micah’s son so not an average Blight. Besides they are Rivasans and therefore they need to die. Have you seen the corrupted fire they use? It’s blasphemy.” Havoc protested in a disgusted voice.
“Right.” Zoelyn agreed numbly and stepped back from the door. Her body hummed with contentment from the magic and it was swiftly eliminating all desire to argue further with Havoc on anything he chose to do.
“Right.” Havoc echoed firmly before pushing her back behind him. She watched with mild interest as he squared his shoulders and drew his arms back once more. The air around him heated uncomfortably and she took another step back as he flung his arms toward the door unleashing a blinding gout of flame.
The door exploded inward sending shards of wood flying in all directions but rather than scatter as they should have they seemed to hang in the air as they spun slowly into the shadowed room beyond. Frowning Zoelyn blinked and stared stupidly at the pieces of wood as a dark shape stepped forward into the doorway with blinding speed. She saw Havoc’s hand reach for his sword but the movement was far too slow to block the flashing blade that tore across his throat. With a curse the Firym staggered back into her and the world seemed to explode into motion once more as the shards of wood spun off into the darkness. Blood gushed from Havoc’s torn throat and Zoelyn frantically tried to stem the flow with her gloved hand as she drug him further from the grey cloaked figure filling the doorway.
“Hello sweets. So very nice to finally meet you.” The man’s voice was low and filled with amusement as he stepped from the room and into the hall. “Lord Dark I wouldn’t draw that sword if I were you.” He warned as his head tilted to look past her.
Swallowing heavily Zoelyn drew on the healing magic stored within her and used the faintest touch to seal the flesh at Havoc’s throat. She would need to examine the wound closer to know how much healing he truly needed, but she couldn’t leave him bleeding as she drug him along, and she had to get him out of range of the approaching man.
Something brushed against her side and she glanced up to see Dray stepping in front of her with a determined look on his face. “You will not harm her.” Dray growled as his hand dropped to his own dagger. He seemed a pitiful guardian considering how quickly the man had dropped Havoc, but Zoelyn forced herself to keep silent. There was a small chance that Dray would give the man enough pause for her to get Havoc to safety just with his presence. Nearly everyone in Sanctuary knew of the Blight’s now, and there weren’t many that were willing to fight one of the creatures. Of course most Blight’s had a bloodthirsty nature and the instinct to kill, Dray had neither from what she had seen.
“Stand down Dray! Did you see how quickly he dropped Havoc? Did you somehow miss how the wood hung in the air like that? That is Hemlock before you and that was time magic he used to cheat Havoc.” Zachary barked the words like a field commander and Zoelyn watched mutely as Dray’s shoulders slumped a fraction, but the Blight didn’t budge from where he stood.
“I would die to protect Zoey.” Dray proclaimed in a voice that only shook slightly.
“Then you are a fool, because once he has finished with you he will continue after her. Don’t throw your life away, Dray.” Zachary snapped as he pushed past the Blight to stand before Hemlock with one hand on his sword hilt. “What do you want here Hemlock? As far as I knew the Rivasan’s don’t hire your kind. It’s considered too dishonorable even for their tastes as I understand it.”
“I am here for my own reasons Lord Dark.” Hemlock drawled as he slowed to a stop and leaned back on his heels to regard the taller man. “You know that knife I used on Havoc was rather well poisoned. It was the same mixture I used to kill Finn in Sanctuary. I doubt the girl has the skill to heal it, but Jala likely does. I’d say the Firym has about fifteen minutes of life remaining with the dosage I used, so that leaves us with a bit of a quandary. Do you waste his remaining time dying beside him or do you escape and attempt to get him healed?”
“I will not leave here without the children.” Zachary declared firmly.
“Noble to the marrow aren’t you? Well fine then. Let’s make a deal. I will allow you to take Havoc, the Blight, as well as the children and flee without giving you the slightest trouble for your efforts.” Hemlock spread his hands before him and cocked his head to one side as he presented his offer then tilted his blood stained dagger toward Zachary. “Or I kill you, the Blight, and then the girl and still have time to watch Havoc die slowly and painfully before I sell the children at the first slave market I can find. Which would you prefer?”
“You are here for Zoey?” Zachary asked incredulously.