I ran through the streets faster than most thought possible. If Salem was out there, then Summer was in danger. Whatever power Salem wielded, it outmatched Summer's maiden skills exponentially. There is no way she'd be able to go up against her by herself, or even with me.
I've seen her in action only once during my spying mission, a group of thieves tried to rob her while she was in the forest. It took her barely two minutes to kill a dozen men, their bodies left mutilated so badly that I couldn't tell them apart anymore. It was one of the most disturbing displays I've ever witnessed, and I just left Summer with the woman that caused it all.
As soon as I crossed the gateway I shifted, needed to get back as quickly as possible. I needed to get back to Summer so we could leave. If it had just been me, I'd probably stay and play damage control until she moved on, but I couldn't risk that Salem finding out about Summer's maiden powers. If that witch discovered that she was the winter maiden, she would stop at nothing to kill her. We couldn't risk the life of one of the maidens, not on this.
I could hear fighting in the distance, the familiar twang of Summer's bow among them. I prayed to whatever deity that would listen to let her only be fighting Grimm, that just this once, let me be lucky enough for it not to be Salem.
As I flew into the clearing I was shown exactly why I never count on luck. Summer was fighting Grimm, a large horde of them all aiming towards her. Despite the overwhelming odds she was holding her own, each of her arrows taking out several Grimm a piece. But it wasn't the Grimm that had me cursing my shitty luck, it was Salem. She just stood there, on the opposite side of the clearing, watching the fight as if it were simply an amusing movie; a movie she already knew the ending to.
