Jagged Embrace

Chapter 94 - Maeve

Will's hand ripped out of hers. Maeve stumbled forward and fell out of the thicket onto the dirt. Where was Ander? Will barreled at the creature. She didn't even have time to yell before he jumped up into the air to pounce. Except he didn't hit the monster. He hit something invisible. Because of the speed and force, he hit a barrier and ricocheted up and back into the air, sailing past her into the woods. She got to her feet.

The revenant stared at her with dimly lit eyes that kind of reminded her of Ander's. It cocked its head to the side and studied her. The element of surprise was gone. She took a breath and strode to the ruins. Seconds later, Will charged past her at the revenant again. This time, he had his axe out. Again, he hit a wall of some sort. His axe flew out of his grip and sailed behind him. Maeve was glad she'd moved forward.

With shaking hands, she did one of the stupidest things she could think of. She grabbed Will's arm and yanked against him. "Stop!"

In a blur of movement, he snatched his arm away and pushed her at the same time. She hit the ground on her ass, hard. Pain shot up her spine and caused her eyes to water.

"Damn it!" she called out.

Just as Will was about to attack the barrier again, a flash of dark from the right tackled him to the ground. Will and Ander rolled around in a blur, dirt flying up. Ander spoke, but she couldn't make out the words. Ander flew off and into the barricade with a loud thud. Will jumped up and stalked toward him, but then his expression changed, his brows pinched.

"Andy?" he asked in a small voice.

Maeve got up, her tailbone throbbed. It hurt to stand, and it was more painful to stumble forward.

"Could you help me stand? I do not believe my shoulder will bear any weight right now," Ander replied in a tired voice.

Will hurried to Ander and hauled him up.

"That's the most interesting thing I have seen in a long time," a wavering, odd voice said.

Maeve peered at the revenant behind the wall. "Hi," she replied. No point in trying to act like badass Soldiers of Night now. Man, her butt hurt. Was it possible to break your tailbone? Every heartbeat brought more pain and made her sweat.

"Good evening to you." He dipped his head. Not at all what she'd expected. Although revenants could pass as humans, he seemed more human than a reanimated corpse. "I suppose you're here for the page?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah, I don't suppose you would give it to us?" Never hurt to ask.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Will growled at her.

"Excuse me," she told the creature, and spun on her heel to face Will. Shit, that really hurt, blurring her vision for a second. Ignoring the agony, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You know what? You can shut the hell up. He's being a lot more reasonable than you are right now." She turned to the creature. "I apologize, you're Henrick, right?"

"Indeed, I am. This is... refreshing." Henrick was just under six feet, with short, dark hair and a pale complexion. Of course, that could've been because he was a corpse. His pointed ears peeked out from his hair.

"Refreshing?" she asked.

"Yes. You were obviously sent to get the page and kill me, but you're being honest about it," he said with a small grin.

"Is it in there with you?"

"Yes."

"Right, and we can't get in unless you let us in and then I guess we have to fight over it?"

"Close, but not entirely correct. I am tasked with guarding the page, but I can't let you in to get it," he answered.

"You're a fucking liar," Will spat out.