ROHAN:
A drizzly rain spat down on us.
Blades slick with demon blood, I scouted the perimeter of the forest, satisfying myself there were no more ambushes. The uneven forest ground was treacherous now that my left thigh had been ripped open like ground beef. I let the pain of each step sing, joining the howl of rage that had bounced inside me since the moment Malik had taken Nava.
I limped over to Ari and the witches he'd been working with, veering around one of our fifteen dead. Their blood stained the rich earth, drenching all other forest smells in a coppery bite that caught at the back of my throat. I added that note to the discordant melody in my head.
"Why the delay?"
Ari lay a thin wire around a pile of mulch. "We need to recalibrate. Malik opening the portal made something happen to the Hellgate set-up."
I laughed bitterly.