BLOODMOON PACT

BLOOD ON STONE

Chapter 6:

Steel rang against steel once, twice, and the quiet of the cabin shattered.

Raina’s dagger was out before she’d fully registered the Iron Fang in the doorway. Her shoulder screamed, but the healing draught gave her just enough clarity to move. She ducked low, slashing at the man’s knee. He buckled with a snarl, and she drove the blade into his thigh. Blood sprayed across the stone floor, hot and metallic.

Kael didn’t hesitate. His sword met the second attacker in a brutal clash, sparks flying as he forced him back toward the hearth. Stone dust fell from the cracked wall with every impact, choking the air. The Iron Fang fought dirty, aiming for Kael’s injured side, but Kael was faster. He caught the blade on his guard, twisted, and slammed his pommel into the man’s jaw. Teeth cracked. The Fang staggered.

“Eli, get down!” Kael barked, his voice raw.

Eli dove to the side, but not fast enough. The third Iron Fang grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the doorframe. Wood splintered. Eli choked, kicking wildly, his boots scrabbling for purchase on the dirt floor.

Raina saw it and moved on instinct. She threw her dagger. It spun once, twice, and caught the man in the wrist. He released Eli with a curse, clutching the wound as blood welled between his fingers.

“Run!” Raina yelled at Eli, grabbing his arm and shoving him toward the back wall. Her vision swam for half a second, the poison reminding her it was still there. She gritted her teeth and forced herself upright.

There was no back door. Just collapsed timber and moonlight spilling through the gap. Cold air poured in, carrying the smell of smoke and iron.

Kael was bleeding from a cut along his ribs, the fabric of his shirt torn and dark. But he fought like someone who’d expected betrayal for years. He disarmed the second Fang with a sharp twist, the blade clattering to the floor, then drove his boot into the man’s chest. The Iron Fang hit the stone hearth hard and didn’t get back up. His head struck the edge with a sickening c***k.

The first Fang lunged at Raina again, relentless despite the wound in his leg. She sidestepped, her shoulder protesting, and drove her elbow into his throat. He gagged, staggered, and she finished it with a strike to the temple. Bone met bone. He dropped without a sound, eyes still open and staring at nothing.

Silence fell. Heavy. Uneven breathing filled the room, loud in the absence of steel.

Eli was on his knees, shaking, hands pressed to the floor like he wasn’t sure it was real. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead, mixing with the dirt on his face.

Kael wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at him. “You said they followed you.”

Eli nodded, voice hoarse and barely audible. “I didn’t mean to. I was being careful. I took the long route through the ridge. They had scouts on the road from Red Hollow. I thought I lost them.”

Raina picked up her dagger, wiped it on the dead man’s coat, and sheathed it. Her legs felt like water, weak and unreliable. “Doesn’t matter if you meant to. The result’s the same.”

Kael stepped between them before Eli could answer, putting himself in the line of fire. “Stop.”

Raina’s eyes narrowed, fever making them brighter than usual. “What? You defending him now?”

“I’m keeping us alive,” Kael said. His voice was low, but it cut through the tension like a blade. “If we start turning on each other in here, we won’t make it out. And they’re coming.”

Outside, a horn blew low and distant. Not close. Not yet. But close enough that the sound sent a chill down Raina’s spine. Two notes. A rally call.

Kael swore under his breath, the sound lost in the wind. “That’s their signal. More are coming. Probably twenty, maybe more if they called in the patrol from the eastern pass.”

Raina looked at the door, then at Eli, then at Kael. The choice was simple and it wasn’t. Trust was a luxury she couldn’t afford, but neither was standing still.

“Can you ride?” she asked Eli, her voice clipped.

He nodded quickly, too quickly, like he was afraid she’d change her mind if he hesitated.

“Then we move. Now.” Kael grabbed their horses’ reins from outside and tossed Raina’s pack to her. The leather hit her chest and she caught it awkwardly, her shoulder jolting. Pain flared, but she didn’t make a sound.

Raina didn’t take it right away. She looked at Kael, studying his face in the firelight. The blood, the cut, the way his jaw was set. “If this is a trick”

“It’s not,” Kael said. His eyes didn’t waver. “I swear on my father’s grave. I wouldn’t bring you here to get you killed.”

That made her move. She grabbed the pack, slung it over her shoulder, and followed him into the night. The cold hit her immediately, biting through the sweat and blood on her skin.

Behind them, the cabin burned.

One of the lanterns had tipped during the fight, and now flames licked at the dry timber. Smoke curled up into the sky, a beacon for anyone within miles. The Iron Fang had found them. And now they knew Raina was still alive.

They mounted fast. Eli fumbled with his stirrup, hands shaking, but Kael didn’t wait. He grabbed the horse’s bridle and steadied it, giving Eli the leverage he needed.

“North,” Kael said, already kicking his horse into motion. “There’s a dry ravine two miles out. If we make it there, we can lose them in the rocks.”

Raina followed, keeping her horse close to Kael’s. The gallop jarred her shoulder, and she bit back a groan. The healing draught was wearing off. She could feel it in the way her thoughts started to blur at the edges.

“Don’t fall off,” Kael said without looking back. “I’m not carrying you again.”

“Try and stop me,” Raina muttered, but there was no heat in it.

Eli stayed behind them, keeping his head down and his eyes on the path. The horn blew again, closer this time.

They hit the ravine just as the first shouts echoed through the trees behind them. Kael pulled up short, dismounting in one fluid motion. “Down. Leave the horses. They’ll slow us down in the rocks.”

Raina slid off, her legs nearly giving out. She caught herself on the horse’s saddle and breathed through the pain.

The ravine was narrow, the walls jagged and slick with frost. Moonlight barely reached the bottom. It smelled of wet stone and old blood.

“Stay low,” Kael whispered, drawing his sword again. “Don’t make a sound unless I say.”

They moved in single file, Kael leading, Raina in the middle, Eli bringing up the rear. Every step echoed too loud. Every shadow looked like a blade.

Above them, torches flared. Voices called out in the Iron Fang tongue short, guttural commands.

“They’re in the ravine,” one said. “Spread out. Don’t let them reach the ridge.”

Kael’s hand tightened on his sword. He looked at Raina. “When I say run, you run. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.”

Raina nodded. She didn’t trust the words, but she trusted the look in his eyes.

A torch appeared at the top of the ravine. Light spilled down, catching on Kael’s blade.

“Now,” Kael said.

They ran.