I swallowed a curse I’d planned to hurl at Douma for knocking me over, mainly because I was too thankful to see her still walking and talking. Isda was trying to wake up, but her eyes kept closing, her head lolling as if she were a mere rag doll.
Douma picked her up and went straight to Raphael and Amal. I joined them, carefully moving over stumps and rising tree roots, so as not to cause myself unnecessary pain. Some healing paste would’ve worked wonders right about now, but there were no Shadians around to help us.
“They’re probably waiting for us,” I said. “The device. They need the device.”
“We need to get out of here, first,” Raphael replied, now standing with his arm around my sister’s shoulders. Amal grimaced from the pain, but she didn’t say anything as she helped prop Raphael up.
Branches broke, too close for my comfort.
“They’ll be scouring the area for survivors and culprits,” Douma said. “They’re angry and confused. We delivered one hell of a blow, this time.”
A bloodcurdling roar erupted from the colosseum, about half a mile from where we’d landed. I knew that sound. I recognized the rage, the raw anger and despair.
“Ta’Zan,” I whispered.
“He’s awake,” Amal replied, equally shaken.
Perfects were getting closer. I could see some of them darting between the trees. Maybe a couple hundred feet away, coming from multiple directions.
“We need to go, now!” Raphael insisted.
“Where, though?” I asked. “We can’t go to base camp right now. They’ll be tailing us. We can’t lead them to the prisoners we just stole from them.”
“We can’t get caught, either, with this device on us,” Douma replied.
Raphael shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get off this island first. Find a place to hide for a bit. Then regroup.”
As broken and as weary as we were, we did the impossible. We started running, though not as fast as we would’ve wanted. Then again, we’d lost some blood, torn some muscles, broken a bone or two. It was a miracle we could do this much, thanks to the adrenaline rush.
Behind us, the Perfects were getting closer. Dangerously so.
Douma pressed her earpiece button. “Dmitri? Elonora? Rose?”
She frowned as we kept running west.
“What, no answer?” Amal asked.
“No sound at all. I don’t think the comms are working,” Douma replied.
I checked my earpiece next. “Ridan? Rose? Anyone?”
Nothing. Douma was right. There wasn’t even static. It was as quiet as a grave, and it made my stomach churn.
“The earpieces are intact, though,” Douma murmured, with Isda thrown over her shoulder. “It can’t be a technical issue.”
Amal exhaled. “Ta’Zan was rebuilding the comms blocker. Maybe he succeeded.”
“What, in the middle of the explosion?” I asked incredulously.
“Or shortly before. Or after. I don’t know,” Amal replied. “Point is, comms are down, as far as we’re concerned.”
“The fae must’ve landed. The prisoners surely made it out. That leaves us in the wind,” Raphael breathed. “We’ve got to save our asses first, then figure a way back to the others.”
I agreed, already panting. Sweat dripped down my face and neck, soaking what was left of my tunic. We heard voices about a hundred feet behind us. The Perfects were catching up with us. They were barking orders.
They’d caught our scent.
But I couldn’t stop. None of us had any intention of giving up right now.
We’d come too far. Yes, we were all in tremendous amounts of pain. Yes, it was damn hard running with cracked ribs and bruised ankles. Yes, we had to give it everything we had left in order to not get ourselves captured again.
I was going to see Ridan soon. We were going to be together. Free and happy.
We had to keep going.
No matter what.
Ready for the FINAL book of Season 8?
Dear Shaddict,
Thank you for reading A Dome of Blood.
The next book, ASOV 68: A Purge of Nature, is the epic FINAL book of Season 8! I can’t believe we’re here already.
A Purge of Nature releases December 11th, 2018.
