The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [79]
“Lei!” Daine cried. He caught her as she pitched forward, catching her before she hit the ground. A volley of arrows came flying out from the dark trees. Pierce dove forward, shielding Lei with his body.
“Gate …” she whispered to Daine. “Dusk …”
“Get to the gate!” Daine cried.
And the thorns charged.
The creatures came at them from all from all sides, and Lei couldn’t begin to count them. The night was full of thornblades and beady eyes, and the sound of tiny feet against the grass. Lei’s head span as Daine swept her off her feet, holding her in both arms. Xu’sasar scattered their enemies with a long chain formed from links of razor-sharp bone, carving a sap-drenched path to the central arch.
“Go!” Xu’sasar said as they approached the gate. There was an arrow in the girl’s thigh, dark blood almost invisible against her skin. She whirled her chain, ripping the links across a thorn and pulling the creature to the ground. Daine hesitated, and then he ran through the arch …
And into the light.
In the distance, the setting sun made a silhouette of a range of mountains, but after the long night, the fading sun was the most beautiful thing Lei had seen. The sounds of battle were gone; all she heard were crickets and songbirds, and Daine’s labored breathing.
“Welcome to Dusk,” a voice said. Male, young. “It certainly took you long enough.”
Adrenaline surged through Daine’s body. He was still battered and bloody from the battle with the thorns, and while Lei was his greatest concern, Pierce and Xu’sasar were still on the other side of the gate. He’d hoped for a moment of peace, yet a new threat awaited them. Dropping into a crouch, he lowered Lei to the ground as gently as he could. As soon as he’d released her, Daine drew his sword and turned to face the speaker.
“Please, no need for that.” The stranger was leaning against the gate. On this side, the arch was formed of polished mahogany inlaid with gold sigils that gleamed in the light of the setting sun. The archway was empty, and Daine could look through to see waves of grass and wildflowers rippling in the meadow on the other side. No sign of the realm of Night. Pierce! Daine thought.
The stranger was human, on the edge between man and boy. Wavy golden hair fell to his shoulders, and his flawless skin was slightly tanned. His clothes were black velvet and orange silk. A fine sword hung from his baldric, and he wore an amulet depicting a golden sun setting behind a mountain. He was a prince pulled from a storybook, an ideal image of charm and grace. His voice was just one more piece of perfection, melodic while still firm and masculine. “I assure you, Daine, I mean you no harm.”
Before Daine could respond, Xu’sasar appeared in the gate, rippling into existence in the blink of an eye. Blood and sap covered the drow girl. She vaulted up and over Daine, turning in mid-air to face the stranger, but she landed on her injured leg and almost fell. An instant later a thorn came through the gate—and not under its own power. The green man flew backward and struck the ground hard, and Pierce appeared behind him. The warforged held Daine’s dagger in one hand and the darkwood staff in the other, and like Xu’sasar he was covered with sap and torn foliage.
“Well, that’s everyone then,” the stranger said. Xu’sasar spun her gory chain and Pierce leveled his dagger at the portal, but the young man raised his hands disarmingly. “Please, warriors. You’re safe now. You’re under the protection of my queen, and no mere thorn would challenge her power.”
Daine kept his sword steady. “And what does she want with us?”
“I am only an envoy, Master Daine, but I assure you that my mistress means you no harm. Please. Let me to take you to her home, where your wounds will be tended and all questions answered.” Concern colored his voice, but Daine wasn’t fooled. There