It crashed into their rugger.
The rugger went airborne, hit the ground, and rolled over and over.
“Gorr!” Rhain raced toward it.
When he got close, the two drivers climbed out. Mal released a breath. They were alive.
“It’s coming back again,” Cedo yelled.
Mal whipped around and saw the tail swinging again.
She jerked her hands up. The tail froze and the beast moaned.
She planted her feet and pushed out with all the energy she could muster. Her body hurt and she felt energy flow through her. She concentrated hard. For Trist.
The tail exploded. The colossal hexid roared in pain.
Rhain appeared beside her. He lifted his palm and the damaged rugger lifted into the air. It sailed up to the hexid’s huge head. Then the rugger crashed down into its face. Then again. And again.
Mal dropped her hands and touched Rhain’s back. She funneled what energy she had left into him. She watched him beat the hexid with the rugger until the vehicle was a misshapen hunk of black metal.
Finally, the hexid collapsed—head bloody and raw.
And very dead.
They were safe.
The energy drained out of Mal and she toppled sideways.
“Hey.” Rhain caught her and lowered them both to the ground.
“Gorr,” Cedo breathed, staring at the creature.
All the fighters stood by the dead, giant hexid.
“Trist,” Carvia said quietly.
“He died with bravery,” Rhain said. “A warrior in service to his people.”
They were all silent for a moment.
Mal looked around. The creature was dead, but so was one of their own. And their rugger was destroyed. At least the fog had cleared.
She frowned. “Where’s the other rugger?”
There was no sign of the vehicle anywhere around them.
Rhain scanned his people.
Trist was dead, and several were injured. Mal was standing, covered in blood, and he could tell by the way she was holding herself that she was in pain.
He touched her cheek. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll live. We need to find the other rugger.”
He nodded. “Is everyone okay to walk?”
There were nods and mutters.
“Cedo, grab anything we can salvage from the smashed rugger.”
The driver frowned. “I’ll see if we can get into it.”
It was pretty mangled. As Cedo and Kasra checked the rugger, Rhain slid an arm around Mal.
She leaned into him.
He let his energy slide over her, checking her injuries.
“What are you doing?” Her brow creased.
“Checking that you really are okay.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I am. Conserve your energy. I’m guessing we’ll need it.”
He ruffled her hair. “You did very well against the creature.”
She gave him a faint smile. “You too.”
“Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”
“I’m sure I’ll have some killer bruises, but I’m upright.” She frowned. “I still feel the pull. Toward Poppy.”
“We’ll find her. Now, let’s find the other rugger.”
The drivers hadn’t been able to salvage much, but soon they all spread out and started walking east.
The fog had gone, like it had never been there to begin with.
Ahead, Carvia broke into a jog and crouched. “I found something.”
Rhain took Mal’s hand and hurried over.
“Tracks,” the fighter said.
They were definitely rugger tire tracks.
“We’ll follow them,” Rhain said.
The group moved into a jog, following the marks. Suddenly, a figure emerged in the distance.
Rhain frowned. They were too far away to see who it was.
“I got a set of optics from the rugger.” Cedo handed the vision device over to Rhain.
In the distance, the figure staggered.
Rhain lifted the optics and zoomed in. “It’s Lira.”
From the other rugger.
They all picked up speed, but before they reached her, Lira collapsed. Rhain dropped down beside the woman and turned her over.
There were gasps. She had several black bolts stuck in her chest.
Gorr.
“Herris.” The man was their fighter with the best healing abilities.
The tall, bulky Herris knelt. “I’ll see what I can do now.” He held his palms up and closed his eyes. “She’s hurt badly.”
“Can we remove the bolts?” Rhain asked.
“Give me a moment. I need to stabilize her.”
Rhain heard Mal ordering the others to form a perimeter. They didn’t want to get ambushed while busy healing Lira.
“Okay, Overlord,” Herris said. “Pull out the first one.”
Rhain yanked it out.
Lira reared up, making a hoarse, pained sound.
“Shh.” Herris used his energy. “Next one.”
It was a slow, laborious process. They couldn’t go faster because Lira’s body was in shock. After every bolt was removed, Herris had to stabilize her.
Finally, Rhain pulled the last bolt free. Herris kept working on the injured woman.
“I…can’t keep going.” There was sweat on the man’s head, lines bracketing his mouth.
“Mal?” Rhain called out.
She limped over, moving stiffly.
Rhain frowned. She needed to be checked and healed as well.
“Herris is running low on energy. Lira will die without more healing.”
Mal swallowed. “Okay.” She dragged in a deep breath. “Herris, can I touch your arm?”
The man frowned. “Okay.”
“It’s fine, Herris. Trust her.”
“I’m kind of new at this.” Mal placed her palm on the man’s bicep.
Rhain felt a strange prick of annoyance. A part of him didn’t want her touching another man, but he forced the sensation away. This was life or death.
Mal closed her eyes.
Herris stiffened. “Auroras above,” he breathed.
He spread his palms and energy flared on them brightly. It was a deep orange with a touch of green.
Rhain watched Lira’s wounds start to knit together.
“She’s feeding him energy,” someone whispered.
“That’s not possible.”
“Lira’s healed,” Herris said, voice tired.
Mal stepped back, swayed.
Rhain slid an arm around her. She was pale but smiling.
All of a sudden, Lira sat up and sucked in a sharp breath.
Rhain squeezed Mal’s hand, then crouched beside his healed fighter. “Lira, you’re safe.”
The woman dragged in a shuddering breath. “Overlord.”
“What happened?”
“We were attacked in the fog.” She took in a shuddering breath. “Hexids and cupra.” She shivered. “We were overrun. The captain kept fighting, to buy us time to escape, but the beasts overwhelmed us. I ran to get help.”
“Okay. You’re safe now.” Rhain looked at Herris. “Can you carry her?”
“I can walk,” Lira insisted.
“Herris will help you. Let’s find the rest of our team.”
They set off, following the tracks again. Everyone was tense, alert.