Chapter 121: Surrounded

The light reached a pair of hands pressed flat against the concrete, and Mara stopped moving. The fingers were long and pale, their joints swollen into hard knobs. Above them, a face hung upside down beneath the next shelter's roof. Its mouth opened as the rest of the body began unfolding from the gap.

"There's one." She lowered the lantern enough to see farther inside. Another hand appeared beside the first pair. "More than one."

Rook eased the coffin past the slab above him and stepped out. "Put the light behind that block."

Mara set the lantern in the angle between two stones and drew her dagger. Before she had straightened, something scraped behind them. One of the creatures from the shelter they had avoided was coming over the rubble on all its hands, its long body dragging between them.

"Behind you."

Rook turned as it sprang. The curved blade of his one-handed scythe caught beneath an outstretched wrist. He pulled the creature past his shoulder and down against the corner of a block. Its jaw struck first, teeth scattering across the road. He planted his boot between its shoulders, wrenched the blade free, and cut through the arm reaching for his ankle.

The severed hand kept crawling. Mara stepped away from it as the creature twisted beneath his boot, bringing two more arms out from under its body.

"Back against the stone," he said.

She obeyed, keeping her dagger raised. The creature lunged sideways at her feet. Rook hooked the scythe behind its neck and hauled it backward, dragging its reaching hands across the concrete. He forced its head beneath a fallen slab, then drove his heel into the wedge of loose bricks supporting one end. The slab dropped with a heavy crack. Fingers scraped twice against the roadway and went still.

The other two came out together. One stayed low. The other climbed the face of a barricade and launched itself at Rook's head. He ducked behind the squared block, and its chest struck the upper edge hard enough to fold it over the stone. He drove the point of the scythe into its shoulder, pulled it toward him, and slammed the end of the handle into its face.

The low one reached him while he was pulling his weapon free. Mara saw the fingers close around the back of his boot. She brought her heel down on its wrist, pinning it long enough for him to wrench his foot away. The creature turned on her, mouth spreading across the lower half of its face.

Rook's scythe caught it beneath the jaw. He pulled upward, lifting its head, then kicked its body sideways into the narrow space between two blocks. It struck hard and wedged there, limbs thrashing against the stone.

"Lantern."

Mara snatched it up. Rook backed around the barricade, keeping the block between them and the creature still clawing at its ruined face on top. When it tried to follow, he caught a hand with the scythe and pulled until its elbow bent around the corner. Something snapped. He released it and pushed Mara toward the next shelter.

They made it beneath the slab as wings beat over the road. A pair of long feet swept through the space they had just crossed. The fingers at their ends closed on empty air. One struck the upper face of the barricade, throwing grit down around them, and Mara pressed her shoulder against Rook's as a wing dragged across the roof.

He held still, scythe angled toward the opening. She could feel his arm tense through his sleeve.

The wing slid away. A moment later, something landed beyond the far side of their shelter. Nails tapped against concrete.

Mara shifted to look. Rook caught her sleeve before her head cleared the slab.

"It can reach around."

She drew back. His fingers released her at once.

Through the opening behind them, she saw one of the small creatures dragging itself toward their shelter. Its broken arm trailed uselessly, but the others were still working. Farther back, the one trapped between the blocks had begun forcing its narrow body upward.

"They're coming."

"I see them."

Rook watched the other opening. The nails clicked again, farther to the left this time. A wingtip passed across the gap, and he shifted his grip on the scythe.

"When I move, follow me. Around the upright block." He pointed to a tall piece of concrete a few paces ahead. "Keep it between you and the wings."

Mara nodded. She waited until he moved before slipping out behind him.

The flying creature lunged around the shelter. Rook stepped into its reach, caught the fingers reaching for his coat against the haft of his scythe, and twisted. The curved blade dragged across the back of its foot. It recoiled, striking the block with its other leg as Rook shoved past.

"Go."

Mara rounded the upright slab. A wing slammed against its far side, and the stone shuddered beneath her hand without falling. Rook came around after her, keeping low. Beyond them, a narrow strip of open roadway ran between the next pile of rubble and the parapet.

He pointed toward the covered space at its end. She was halfway across when a long leg dropped in front of her face.

Mara jerked back. Fingers closed over her shoulder, catching cloth and flesh together. Her feet scraped across the road toward the parapet. She brought her dagger up, but the creature pulled again, wrenching her arm against its grip.

Rook struck its wrist with the scythe. The fingers opened just enough for him to get his hand against her chest, and he shoved her hard.

Mara hit the side of the rubble and dropped to one knee. The lantern struck the road beside her, its handle clanging against the frame. She turned in time to see the creature's other foot crash into Rook's shoulder.

His back struck the parapet. The bottom of the coffin caught against its upper edge, and the force carried him over it.

"Rook!"

The scythe struck the roadway. His left hand caught the top of the parapet, fingers slipping through loose grit before finding purchase. His other hand clamped down beside it. The coffin banged against the outer wall, pulling his shoulders lower. Mara scrambled toward him.

"Stay down!"

She stopped beside the fallen scythe. Beyond his hands, the flying creature banked through the darkness, turning back toward the bridge.

Rook's knuckles whitened. She heard his boots strike the outside of the wall, searching for a hold. One found the edge of a drainage opening. He pushed against it and pulled, getting an elbow over the parapet, then his chest. The coffin scraped up behind him as he swung a knee onto the top and rolled back onto the roadway.

Mara grabbed the scythe and pushed its handle into his hand. He rose before she could ask whether he was hurt.

The creature came over the parapet with both legs extended. Rook caught the nearest ankle inside the curve of his blade and hauled downward. Its wings struck the rubble on either side, one folding against a slab. He braced a boot against the base of the barricade and pulled again, dragging the creature low enough that its chest hung almost level with Mara's face.

Its mouth opened above her. The jaw had split into two uneven halves, both lined with small teeth. She backed a step, then saw the bare chest between its straining wings.

She tightened her grip on her dagger and reached for her Death Imprint. The blade's edges wavered. The light caught the metal unevenly, breaking along its length as she stepped toward the creature's exposed chest. Rook held its leg down, his forearm pressed against the short haft of the scythe.

Mara aimed beneath the breastbone and drove the dagger forward. The trapped wing tore free of the rubble and struck the road hard enough to throw dust into her eyes. The creature's chest jerked upward, beyond the point of her dagger, and its bent leg swung across her thrust. Her blade entered the thigh.

There was almost no resistance. Mara stumbled forward, her hand traveling much farther than she had expected. She tried to bring the point up toward its body, but the creature twisted away. The edge passed through the rest of its leg instead.

The limb came apart above the knee. Rook staggered back with the severed leg still caught on his scythe. The creature pitched sideways, struck the top of the barricade, and fell onto the roadway. Its wing beat against the concrete inches from Mara's head.

Rook caught her by the back of her coat and dragged her behind the upright slab. The Abomination screamed, and Mara flinched as the sound struck the stone beside her. The creature hauled itself along the road with its remaining foot, leaving a dark smear behind it. One wing flapped uselessly against the rubble before it managed to spread both. It lurched into the air, struck the parapet with its belly, and scrambled over.

For a moment it dropped out of sight. Then its wings caught, lifting it past the edge of the bridge. It flew crookedly into the dark, screaming with every beat.

Mara stared at the severed leg. Its fingers were opening and closing against Rook's blade.

"I missed."

"Get the lantern."

She retrieved it from beside the rubble. The frame was dented, but the blue flame still burned. Rook shook the leg from his scythe and turned toward the next shelter.

A cry answered from farther along the bridge, and he stopped. Another came from behind them, followed by the heavy beat of wings. Mara raised the lantern. The small creatures among the rubble lifted their heads toward the sound, then began climbing out of their gaps.

Something landed on the parapet ahead. Long fingers closed around the concrete, and a bare chest lowered between two folding wings. A second creature struck the top of the shelter they had just left. Before Mara could turn fully toward it, another pair of feet settled onto the upright slab above them.

Rook caught her arm and pulled her beneath the nearest overhang. She crouched beside him, gripping her dagger as pale hands began reaching through the rubble at their backs. Beyond the opening, more wings crossed the blue light.