Brood Lord charged into the stampede as Marco shook Tilden’s paws off him, shoving the other boy into the tunnel instead of saving himself. From its depths, four arms grabbed his shoulders, and Gregor and Tilden tried to pull him to safety. It was too te. The bde stru a great arc, creating an afterimage as it passed through the air. Wires hissed. Marco screamed at the top of his lungs, his legs taken above his knees, his severed limbs spasming on the floor as he tried to escape.

  Throughout his agony, Marever hesitated. His instincts kicked in; he was a Wolfkin, and his kind tried to survive anything the world could throw at them. Cws slipped from his fingers, pierg the walls of the ventition shaft, and he pushed himself in, narrowly avoiding the following zy swing and a snap of pihat threateo disembowel the cub.

  A humanoid hand pushed into the tunnel after the children, bulging its sides, and eager fingers reached for the boy’s ribs, breaking several with a touch. Tilden sunk his fangs into Marco’s shoulder, ripping him away before the grip could close, leaving a hunk of fur-covered skin in Brood Lord’s hand. The khan stabbed at it with his sword, scratg Gregor’s nose, and Tilden raised the pistol in his unsteady paws, screaming in horror.

  The bullet bounced off Brood Lord’s , bloodying it as the lower part of his helmet opeo reveal his lips f an “O” letter. He spat his venom and the bubbling stream nded on Marco’s face, elig another scream of pain from him. His gentle, kind, ho, precious eyes disappeared, dissolved in the acid that almost blinded his mother.

  Tilden and Greged the boy away, heading to the ruined restroom, while he bled like a cusack, screaming and thrashing. Janine saw it; the camera on her son still worked, and the sight of it broke something in her.

  The warlord’s paw caught the shaft of the give as she stepped into Iron Lord’s cle. She heard herself her troops to secure the area he cubs’ approximate exit, and everything flowed. The khan before her spoke, perhaps a question or a taunt; it mattered not. She stood, knowing how far his field of destru would reach, her every instinct heighteo an impossible degree, and the warlord reached the peak of her abilities, stepping into the same legendary territory where Zero and Predaig had tread. And she would willingly give it up and be selfishly killed if it meant that her boy, the cub she had failed, would be fine.

  As, that would not be so, and so those responsible for this crime had to die, and soon. She expected to feel sorrow, but it and fear retreated into the ers of her sce, unlog every door. And rage rose.

  The cws broke through her gau, followed by the unbelievably swift blow of the Taleteller that bahe air away from the two fighters as it ected with Iron Lord’s side. The man reeled; a gash opened in his ptes, and the warlord kicked, biting a k of metal from his helmet. She sshed gouging lines and advanced uhe blow. Again! Once again, she was uo save her cub! S and so powerless!

  “We must run!” Tilden yelled in the restroom.

  “No!” the other boy stopped him. “He’ll bleed out. Your belt!”

  “Right, tours.” Tilden swallowed, unbuckled his belt, took off his shirt, then tore it off to use as bandages. “I don’t remember a thing from the medical css. Too scared, Gregor.”

  “So am I! Don’t worry; just e, and everything will be fine.”

  “Right. Orais see, Orais do…” the boy muttered.

  Together they teo Marco’s wounds to the best of their ability as he rocked bad forth, oblivious to their encing whispers. The little oried—oh, how he tried—to hide his pain, to keep his mother from w. Somewhere Brood Lord was busy bulldozing his way through the Academy grounds, knog over walls and ughing maniacally. His steps caused tremors, and the warlord wondered if that bastard would find the defenseless cubs ahead of the rescue.

  No. A voice older thahe voice of the Blessed Mother, spoke into her mind. It isn’t over until it is irl. We tough out whatever es.

  Why are you not here, Blessed Mother? Where are you?

  Broken. Shattered. Not whole. Dangerous. In your darkest hour, I’ll be by your side to cw us a light. The warlord wasn’t sure if she had halluated the message or if the Progenitor had actually unicated with her, but she heeded the advice.

  Marco. Yennifer. Ignacy. Anissa. They expected her to survive.

  “Mary cubs,” Janine briefly resurfaced, “I love you.” It was better to say something and appear weak than to remain silent a a missed opportunity for eternity. Weakness could be eradicated with training. Regret not so much.

  Everything wasn’t lost. A sharp spike thrust from under Iron Lord’s bracer and sliced through the warlord during her headbutt. The spike cut through the helmet and nearly pierced her eyes as she grabbed his arm and kicked him again, sshing at his bulk with the Taleteller. He will break. Already the first cubs showed out from the entrance used by Mard were escorted to the transports, shielded by the defenders. Amazingly, the Horde soldiers ighem pletely, at the behest of Iron Lord’s daughter.

  The mission was a success. They…

  The door to the bathroom opened, and two figures stepped softly and silently in, the s w for Brood Lord, carrying daggers in their hands.

  “Children,” Heika said.

  “Take the useless dust dweller and run!” Tilden jumped to his feet and fired the pistol. Adonis’ bde parried the bullet. “I-I’ll figure out a way out! I am destined freatness; you are not! I won’t die! ’t die!” The boy fired again to the same effect.

  “Our employer wants the dark-furred,” Adonis sang.

  “And we should oblige?” Heika said.

  “Please!” Tilden squeaked. “My uncle is rich. We-he pay for our safety!”

  “Business is business, sweetest sister.” Adonis took a step. “But this is hardly sp.”

  “I would even say insulting, dearest brother,” Heika added. “I see nothing.”

  “Well then, we are of the same mind. I hear nothing. Shall we…”

  Spirits. Never again will I dare to presume to know better or to doubt the traditions. Save us. An explosion of stoerrupted the warlord’s wordless prayer, and a rge, bck- nded in front of the cubs, ready for bat. The figure rose, smirking at first. Then its crimson lenses found Marco, and Kaisa’s smug grin faded into a ft line, and the warlord imagihe woman’s shadow morphing inte and terrifyi at her back, but perhaps that was the result of a faulty camera. The lenses caught the steam rising from the boy’s tightly closed eyes—streaks of crimson mingled with the steam. The wolf hag g the shortened legs and turo the assassins.

  “Did you do this?” Kaisa demao know in a calm voice that promised death.

  “Perhaps.” Smirked Adonis.

  Kaisa looked up for a sed; the helmet fully closed around her head, giviime to send an encrypted message, and then it opeself around her snout, letting the fangs shihe wolf hag moved her fingers a her knees into a crouch.

  “You are dead meat,” she promised, bellowing a howl of challenge.

  Musical ughter met her procmation, and Adonis dropped himself into a low stance, mimig Kaisa’s. The give went down, briefly distrag the warlord as she dodged the wide swings, pushing him further away from the academy.

  Eight thunder bulls y dead, and six of the khan’s bodyguards joiheir steeds ierlife. Too few. Fifteen still drew breath. Twenty-three of her own Tribe had been trampled, perforated, shot, ored. The Ice Fangs fared little better, sacrifig a third of their bat force. Their ammunition was running low, inviting the iable all-out melee ever closer. The warlord snarled, dissatisfied with that option after an iron-cd simply snapped a scout’s arm like a twig and elbowed her so hard that the woman began to choke on her own blood. If it hadn’t been for Kirk, the following stomp would have ehe scout. Marty match it. Bertruda too, but even together they won’t st.

  On her orders, the males hurried to pick up the pulse rifles, turning the Horde’s prized ons against them. The defenders extracted the wounded instructor from the shaft, but they had to break both of his shoulders to pull him to freedom. No matter. Broken bones mend. The biggest was Brood Lord. She expected him to pursue the cubs to twist the knife in her heart. Where was he?

  “Impatient One. Break from the battle and watch over the cubs,” Jauro herself, sacrifig animalistic fury for clear mind and frowning from the pain in the arm she had used to stop the give. Even muscles had their limits. “Albert, keep me updated. The sedary prey is here.”

  “Sedary…” Iron Lord stopped, his remaining lens focused on the building.

  “If you y a finger otle ones…”

  “What value in them? It is you who’ll die, mutant.” He raised his give. “Patiehirsts.”

  “Taleteller will record your st breath,” Janine replied.

  Adonis acted first. Janine saw his body oddly stretg, transf into a multicolored streak of blur, but calmed herself, recalling how well Kaisa had hahe simir situation ba Houstad without her armor. Parry both daggers and engage in a prolonged melee…

  Not blog, Kaisa attacked, pnning to split the in half with two mighty sweeps, and Adonis twisted his body, slipping uhe raised arm and cutting through the armor pte with disgusting ease. His bde, coated in the same poison that had incapacitated Anji, sliced through the hide and bone growths beh, finally scraping across the ribs and f the wolf hag to gasp for air.

  Laughter apanied his movements, eg through the empty corridors and fusing Janine. She could barely prehend what had happened. How? How could Kaisa it su obvious mistake?

  The answer came a sed ter. The ceiling above Adonis broke at the start of his somersault, and his sister screamed a warning, too te to do anything about it. Stu the air, the nimble assassin had no ce to escape as legs locked around his ned cws pierced his wrists, rupturing arteries. Kaisa spun in a burst of violence, lunging at Adonis with all her speed and biting deep into his chest, burrowing through the boo swallow the heart. Anissa she man’s ned blocked the thrown dagger aimed at her fellow wolf hag. The two tossed the bloody remains to Heika like a bag of garbage.

  “And that’s how… how… the cookie crumbles…” Kaisa drooled; saliva ran down her , and her spasmodic paws missed the shardgun.

  “Adonis…” Heika picked up the bloodied mask and broke it in half, pressing one side over her own to create the image of a half-scowling, half-grinning . “The st of our home. Oh, brother, why you and not me? I will get you for this. I’ll hunt you down for eternity if needed! His life was mio take, and mine was his!”

  “Ready to kill, unready to die. Sucks to be you, coward,” Kaisa ughed and fired.

  The shards missed Heika, who retreated away, weaving around them like a ghost. She fled through the open door.

  “Marco.” Anissa approached her brn the shocked cubs, and checked his bandages, nodding approvingly after a sniff. “Praise be the Spirits, not poisoned!” She took him in her arms and rocked him, trying to lick away the acid in his eyes, but he screamed and tried to close them tighter. Distraught, the wolf hag gathered herself. “You are a hero, Marco. Dumb and stubborn as a cusack, but a hero. We’ll fix you; the state fix anyone. Hold on. Please. For me, Ignacy, and… Yennifer. Grab my thighs.” She addressed the boys. “Grab them as tight as you ; we are leaving.”

  “Will he survive?” asked Gregor. “I-I am sorry. We were taught how to treat injuries, but never like these, and we didn’t have a med kit, nor was there anything to the wounds and…”

  “Shhhh, little one, hush your fears; no fault on you, brave knights of the Order. He’ll survive,” promised Anissa. “He is a tough cub. Tougher than anyone I know at times, but so mischievous. You did well, both of you. No, don’t use your fio hold ohe cws go, don’t worry about hurting me,” she instructed them and looked at Kaisa. “Gotta say that was some insane pn. Heroic even. Did a skinwalker repce you while I wasn’t looking?”

  “Fuck off, Anissa.” Kaisa vomited. “I am going to deck you in the snout after the mission.”

  “In your dreams. Thanks for the help. Wouldn’t be able to do it alone, Kali. Now that you are properly irritated, imagine choking me and ing your arms around my neck. I will carry you all out of here.”

  “Go. I survive on my own,” Kaisa tried to refuse, and Anissa growled.

  “My brother is injured, ah have packs to lead, you insufferable bitch! Do you think your family and soldiers won’t worry if you don’t show up for the transports?” Kaisa froze, and her own growl stopped ihroat. “Swallow your damn pride and accept help for once!”

  “Sorry,” Kaisa mumbled. She stumbled, nearly fell, but finally found hold. “Heh-heh. Reminds me of how Mommy and Daddy used to carry me when they were alive. Kangaroo, we called it.”

  “Don’t you halluate on me, you delirious idiot! trate on choking me; imagine I called you weak or insulted your honor!” Anissa grunted in appreciation after the metal around her neck whimpered a bit, losing to Kaisa’s paws. “Good. Lock your suit and shut it down, just to be safe. Since you saved my bro, simply mention it, and I’ll carry you simirly atop any mountain.”

  “I’d sooner die,” Kaisa coughed out blood. “Spirits, really feeling like dying. ’t see shit. Sis? If you hear me, should I die, you are in charge. Make them proud.”

  “Cut the drama. We’ll get out alive. I have a brother to heal and sp for insubordination ter!” Anissa grinned and kissed the unsar the forehead.