Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~ SIXTY ~~

The sky was a maelstrom, the air thick with a brewing storm. Lightning wielded by Gilthunder bleached the world of colour; then everything went quiet and still.

I hadn't realised I was holding my breath until I went to speak. "Did he do it?" Everyone else looked stunned and blinked in the harsh sunlight. I didn't need to say who 'he' was – Gilthunder probably had a few months worth of payback that needed to be exacted on the Grand Holy Knight.

Gowther cocked his head. "I don't sense Hendrickson."

"Which means-"

"They did it!"

Howzer and I high-fived and King buzzed happily around Diane's head.

"What's the plan now?" Diane asked.

"We should probably start discussing that. If Hendrickson has been defeated, then the knights will start flocking towards the disturbance," Leraj answered, a hand at his chin in thought.

The five of them delved into a discussion which I zoned out on. My brain was mush and trying to absorb all the words made a headache pound. I only realised I was pacing away from the five when I kicked rumble. It skittered against a broken door and I surveyed the line of dense damage that had been caused. Maybe I did have just enough space in my brain for thinking because I couldn't move past Leraj's words about the new generation. Over and over it circled like a broken record.

I watched the demon's back. He didn't look tense – did he believe that with Hendrickson gone, it was over? My skin prickled. I didn't want to voice the screaming thought in my head, that it seemed too easy. Gilthunder had immense power yet Hendrickson... I looked in the direction of the castle with hands on hips.

Those times in the courtyard, fighting under his eye, using my powers. I might have only been in his presence a small amount of time but I got the sense he hid much of his true strength under the serious demeanour.

"What the hell?" came a mutter. The others didn't notice and I turned my head just enough to look over my shoulder. "Guila?"

Jericho had propped herself up on a section of crumbled stone, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Guila rushed to her side and knelt beside her. The young knight looked stunned and it took Jericho a few seconds to shift her focus to her comrade.

"Dammit, how dare you!" She winced, her anger seemingly the only thing keeping her partially upright. "I'm going to kill you."

"No, you won't!" Ziel threw himself between Guila and Jericho, arms spread.

"Who the hell is this little brat?" Jericho asked.

I gave a small smile at his brave fighting words and turned to face them. With Guila and Jericho in close contact I couldn't let down my guard. Now all three new generation knights of our little team were huddled in the same spot and – after a glance at the others – no one else had noticed.

I tried not to let the panic eat at me and reasoned that if something happened, I could handle it.

"Ziel. He's my little brother," Guila explained, proud admiration in her voice.

Jericho gasped. "What happened with the battle? Where are the seven deadly sins?" Her eyes fell on me and my phantom hackles raised. "You!" Her malice was practically visible in the air around her.

"Careful, Jericho," I said, levelling her with a look that had her freezing instantly, her eyes widening in fear. "I'm not as placid as Guila when someone makes a threat towards me." I wasn't the same knight she last saw, and she knew it as she sliced her gaze away from me.