Riley threw his arms around Khalon, crushing himself against Khalon as he shook. Oh God. It wasn't real. He pulled back and cupped Khalon's face in his hands. He was beautiful and warm and alive. Riley smiled through his tears.
"We need to go to the temple. Now," he said. "I need to go home."
Khalon's brows furrowed. "What? Riley, what--"
Riley shook his head. He couldn't stay here any longer, couldn't put everyone at risk. They needed to go. It broke his heart, but he pushed away from Khalon, his legs unsteady. When Khalon reached out, Riley threw a hand up to stop him.
"I'm fine. Please, let's just go. We need to go."
Khalon nodded and Riley silently thanked him. He walked ahead as Khalon let out a fierce roar. Seconds later, in the distance, and barely audible to his human hearing, the call was answered by several others. A white light beamed above his head, and he watched as the barrier melted away. As soon as it was gone, Riley took off into a run with Khalon and the others on his heels. The other Soldati were somewhere to the east, so Riley headed in that direction, cutting through the trees onto a wider path, running as fast as his legs would go, spurred on by the anguish tearing at his heart.
"Riley, wait!" Khalon called after him, the rest of his words lost on the wind.
Riley was too focused on getting to the temple to hear what Khalon said. They couldn't be far. He had to get there as quickly as possible. When he said his good-byes, he would ask Khalon to send his apologies to Flora, Lasa, and Tinia for not saying good-bye and tell them he'd miss them. He probably shouldn't be pushing himself so hard after what just happened, but this wasn't his first vision. He remembered now. Remembered the first time he saw the horror. He couldn't stick around and wait for it to come true. The sooner he was gone, the safer Khalon and the others would be.
Around them the forest plunged into silence. No birds, no rabbits, squirrels, or leaves rustling. Riley squinted as he tried to see past the trees and bushes into the dense forest. It was dark. Why was it so dark? It was still midafternoon.
"The path!" Khalon roared as he approached. "You were supposed to stick to the path!"
The shadows moved as one and Riley gasped, dread sweeping over him. It wasn't shadows, it was demons. And there were thousands of them. Oh God. He'd let his fear and emotions get the better of him and forgotten all about the damned path. How could he have been so stupid? He hadn't meant to run off blindly. He'd just wanted the pain to stop.
Riley skidded to a halt and the four Soldati formed a tight circle around him, hissing and baring their sharp fangs, their collective roars terrifying. Riley crouched down, his hand instinctively going to Khalon's fur. It wasn't difficult to differentiate Khalon from the others. He was much larger. Yet even if he hadn't been, Riley would've been able to pick Khalon out from among a hundred tigers. How he knew that was beyond him.
Khalon's whiskers twitched, and he flattened his ears against his head, but he didn't object to Riley's hand on his fur. A shrilling sound knifed Riley's ears and he covered them, his eyes going wide at the half-dozen demons boring into Riley with their empty eye sockets. These weren't like the others. They were fouler, fiercer. And they were going to kill him.
Chapter Ten
KHALON ROARED, his call echoing through the trees, a warning to the demons that he would tear each and every one of them apart if they dared lay a hand on Riley. He summoned the power within him, channeling it through his body, the heat spreading until a white glowing light emitted from his eyes and body. He had only to brush near a demon with his light and it w
ould crumble to dust. With another fierce roar, he sounded the attack. His warriors drew from their own power, each one with a unique light force. They only had to keep the demons busy until more of his warriors arrived. Whatever happened to Riley, it was horrifying enough to send him speeding off without a second thought to where he was going or the danger he was running toward. The terror in his eyes was evidence enough Riley had another vision.
The four of them charged, slashing and leaping into the ocean of demons, all while maintaining a perimeter around Riley. Khalon would not allow them to hurt him. Perhaps the priestess had been mistaken, perhaps not. Whatever the reasons for her bringing Riley into his life, Khalon would not lose him at the hands of demons.
A wave of foul creatures gurgled up putrid poison, their stench irritating Khalon's nostrils and their screeching resounding through the forests around them. Their razor-sharp claws scraped at the earth as they crawled, scurried, and hobbled toward Riley. The dark demons were a particular worry.
"You have to give me something to fight with!" Riley shouted at Khalon.
Khalon hissed. No simple weapon could kill these demons. Leave this to us, Khalon said in his mind.
"Did you just telepathically talk to me?" Riley looked startled and Khalon would have rolled his eyes if he could. He swiped his claws at another demon, slaughtering it.
How else do you think we communicate while in this form?
Riley kept himself away from clawing demons, skirting their rotting limbs as they attempted to get nearer. A tide of demons rose, its shadow washing over Riley.
Rayner! Khalon sped toward Riley and skidded to a halt. He braced himself as Rayner leaped and bounded off Khalon's back to give himself the height needed to eradicate the wave of demons from its center, catching one of the dark demons with a twist of his body in midair. Rayner landed on his paws and they continued to extinguish the foul beasts.
Khalon was taken aback by Riley's resourcefulness. Despite his lack of weapons or power, he found ways to outmaneuver any approaching demons, at one point leading a hoard straight to Khalon for him to pounce on and destroy. Riley caught on fast, using himself as bait to lead the demons straight to their destruction. It was a risky maneuver but it worked. Demons weren't very bright and Riley made full use of this knowledge. Adira used a tree as leverage, soaring through the air and twisting to swipe at another dark demon, its companion narrowly missing her claws and hurtling toward Riley.
Behind you!
Riley didn't hesitate. He leaped out of the way, but not before the demon clawed at his arm.
Riley! Khalon swiftly dispatched of the foul creature and rushed over to Riley, who sat up in the grass. He sucked in a sharp breath as he held on to his arm. Are you all right?
"I'm fine. Just a scratch. It burns, though."
Let me see.