But because the ripples the arena had been putting out had just turned into all-out waves.
Earth fey, I thought grimly, as horses whinnied and fell, as Arthur’s charge broke, as the nearest section of the burning town shuddered and shook and collapsed into a sea of rubble. And as we plowed determinedly ahead, despite the sledge being so low that it hit the back of our legs with every stride. Until a piece of earth like a tidal wave came speeding toward us and tilted it over, throwing us to the ground and scattering the wounded everywhere.
That wave was followed by another and then still more, the smaller ones from behind suddenly nothing compared to the ones from in front. And a glance showed that it wasn’t targeting us. It was happening everywhere, in a huge circle around the battlefield. The Svarestri were encircling us, not with more soldiers but with their element, refusing to allow us to escape.
Because they didn’t know who was behind this, so they planned to just kill everyone they could find.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the little witch said as I turned back around. And noticed that the broom was no longer attached to the sledge.
Because she and the witches who could still move were climbing on board.
“No!” I said, trying to reach her past the rolling waves of earth. “No, take us, too! Take us with you!”
“Too heavy. I’m sorry!”
“No, please—”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” And then they were gone, flying up into the air as I clutched Pritkin and watched our last lifeline spiral away—
And be hit by two Svarestri spears, one from either side, and be blown out of the sky.
Suddenly, everything got louder, or maybe it was just my heartbeat speeding up, pumping blood to my ears as I watched the burning bodies rain down. Or watched part of it, because I couldn’t even make out where they’d landed. The battle raging above was easy enough to see, but lower down smoke and steam and spell-fire were everywhere, confusing my eyes; screams and crashes were doing the same to my ears; and waves of earth were destroying my sense of direction, throwing me off my feet and freaking me out every time I tried to stand.
So I crawled instead, using the rope to grab the last piece of charmed wood, which was now floating fairly high with nothing on it. Until I pulled it down and strapped Pritkin to it and started dragging him along with me. Because the witch was dead, so this spell was going to unravel pretty damn fast and I couldn’t renew it.
I couldn’t do much, including crawl effectively, although that was partly because of the dirt constantly hitting me in the face. I finally gave up and climbed on board with Pritkin, draping myself protectively over him. And pushing us along with my feet, ridiculous though that was, because it was all I could do.
And to my surprise, it worked.
Like really worked, like body-surfing on dry land, which was so insane I decided not to think about it, and just go with it. And suddenly, we were moving, coasting across the ground under the protective haze, pushing off from each crest and zooming down and then up the next, like a crazy toboggan. We’re getting away, I thought, an insane grin spreading across my cheeks. We’re getting away!
And then a barrage of fey energy spears flew past, barely missing us. And took out a group of witches running just ahead. Who were hit so hard and so fast that they were dead before they plowed into the ground.
I stared at them, my mouth dry, my heartbeat hard enough to actually hurt. And that was before one of the dead decided to abruptly roll over and sit up, a large chunk of her torso gone, her hair on fire. And her slack features becoming animated once more as a spirit in search of a body suddenly acquired one.
And this time, it didn’t fight back.
You have got to be kidding me, I thought, as the dead eyes met mine.
And then Jo was coming.
But this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. Which was why one of the corpses behind her caught her ankle, tripping her up just before she could reach me, leaving her splayed on the ground. And slamming her filthy, shoeless heel into my borrowed face as I hung on, trying to keep her away from the two bodies now slumped over the gently revolving sledge.
Jo turned around, snarling, and I snarled back out of a half-missing mouth. A fey who had been bearing down on us both turned a whiter shade of pale and backed away, only to get taken out by a witch’s curse. But not before dropping his spear, which didn’t go out. It lay there, eating its shape into the dirt, while Jo and I stared at it.
I didn’t know what she was thinking, but I had always assumed that those things were a spell given form, since the fey just materialized them when needed. And maybe they were, but they must have run on different rules from human magic. Because this one spluttered and hissed but continued to burn, despite the very obvious death of its caster.
And then we both went for it.
We grabbed it at the same time, adding more cooked-meat smell to the smoke and blood and ozone-laced tinge of expended magic already in the air. I had the pointy end, but it didn’t matter, even when she shoved it through my already damaged middle. In fact, it made this easier, my new rib cage working to help trap it as we scrambled to our feet and started doing a strange sort of waltz through the battle, using the spear to throw each other around as rain pattered down and people stared and Jo finally realized why I was willing to dance with her.
And then her face burst into flames.
The blaze in her hair had become a conflagration, like the one the blunt end of the energy weapon had created in her chest. She was literally cooking in front of my eyes, and that was before her body went up like a Roman candle when the fat ignited. I staggered back, shocked despite my alarming new threshold, and grabbed a fey for balance. Who screamed and tried to get away, but my hands had fused to his shirt. And I belatedly realized: I was melting in the middle of my own personal inferno.
The fey screamed again, a strange, high-pitched note of pure terror, and pulled out a knife. A moment later, my spirit was slamming back into my own body as my borrowed one all but exploded against the ground—except for the severed arms. They were still clutching the sleeves of the now terrified fey.
He tore off through a cloud of smoke and I looked around, trying to spot the next threat, but there didn’t seem to be one. I didn’t wait for one to show up. I grabbed the sledge and took off, pushing Pritkin toward the relative safety of the river.