“We’ll be dead if we lose,” Mac said.
“Just keep your distance,” I implored.
She nodded. “Be careful.”
I sprinted toward the horde of Obsidia that stood between me and my target, hurling my potion bomb at one of them. It collided with the creature’s chest, and the beast shattered into a thousand pieces.
The battle raged, glass and smoke flying. The monsters were deadly but brittle. They weren’t particularly hard to kill, but one of their blows was devastating. As soon as our forces took out one of theirs, another would appear.
A pair of Obsidia sprinted for me, their eyeless faces turned toward mine. I yanked a potion bomb out of the bag and hurled it at the closest one. The beast exploded, but the second was already on me.
The Obsidia lashed out. Glass sliced into my arm and shoulder, and pain flared. I stumbled back, grabbing another potion bomb. I threw it at the creature, my aim true. The beast blasted apart.
Blood poured from my shoulder and bicep. I spun around, searching for the next threat. One of them lunged for me, and I ducked, narrowly avoiding a hit as pain burned in my arm. I dug out another potion bomb and chucked it in the face of my attacker. The creature shattered.
In the distance, Grey fought like a whirlwind, so fast that he was nearly a blur. His sword cut through the Obsidia with ease. Beheading them worked well, but there were so many. The shifters and my friends kept up the attack, but we were outnumbered three to one. My friends were covered in wounds, and blood stained the dirt around us.
I sprinted for Rasla. It was up to me to take him out. But another group of Obsidia cut me off, three of them advancing. Black glass glittered ominously within the smoke that held them together. I hurled my potion bomb at one, but the pain and blood loss had killed my aim. The bomb detonated at the creature’s feet, and it leapt over, sprinting for me.
From the sky, Eve hit it with a blast of lightning, taking it down. There were still two more, though, and they were nearly on me. I plunged my hand into my bag, arm singing with pain. I drew out another bomb and managed to hit the second monster. It erupted in a burst of sparkling glass, but the third was on me in seconds, taking me to the ground.
As I fell, I caught sight of Mac going down, then a shifter.
There were just too many.
I thrashed and struggled, pain nearly blinding me as the beast wrapped its entire body around mine. It felt like falling into a pit of glass shards, thousands of cuts that gouged deep.
My blood poured onto the dirt, leeching out of me. Too fast. Too many cuts. Too deep.
Dying.
A roar sounded in the distance, and a second later, the monster on top of me was gone.
The pain remained, so strong and blinding that I could barely see.
Grey leaned over me. “Carrow,” he said, terror in his voice, “can you hear me?”
I nodded, my head already foggy from wounds. I could barely think, but I knew one thing—the blow had been too much.
I was dying. We were losing. It was over. “We’re…outnumbered.”
“We’re not,” he said. “More shifters have come. Open your eyes.”
I struggled to open my eyes, barely able to see the shifters behind him. There were over a dozen of them with shields and long swords. Screams and shouts sounded, and explosions of glass flew into the air as the shifters took out the Obsidia.
Eve’s lightning lit the sky, and I caught sight of Mac and Seraphia out of the corner of my eye. They hurled potion bombs at any Obsidia who came close. Rasla was nowhere to be seen, but I could still feel his presence.
The battle continued to rage, but I was too weak to sit up.
“Take my blood.” My voice was so faint that I wasn’t sure he could hear me. “I won’t make it, but you could. End the curse.”
“Absolutely not.” Fear echoed in his voice. Fear for me.
Cordelia appeared at my side, wringing her hands, her eyes worried.
Poor Cordelia. Who would buy her kebabs?
Cordelia tugged at Grey’s sleeve. Heal her.