“Ethan!” Kenzie gasped. “Look!”

I spun. Behind us, a crack appeared in the air, a tear in the fabric of reality. As I watched, horrified, it swiftly widened, showing the misty darkness of the Between beyond. And then a flood of shadows and glowing yellow eyes poured out of the breach like ants and swarmed to attack us.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE DESTROYER

“Run!”

I pushed Kenzie forward as Razor gave a screech of terror and bounced away. “Go!” I yelled. “We have to get to Meghan and the rest of the army. Go!”

They went, sprinting through the tent aisles, the Thin Man and myself close behind. I spared a glance over my shoulder and saw the massive horde of Forgotten still pouring from the gap, a flood of dark shadows. Some were normal-sized; some were larger and malformed, with huge heads and arms that dragged the ground when they walked. A few were enormous, towering over their smaller kin as they lumbered forward. I saw a dozen different types of Forgotten in one glance, but they were all blurred, indistinct shadows with wisps of darkness trailing behind. Featureless silhouettes except for their glowing yellow eyes.

And they were catching up. A pack of lean, doglike things raced toward us, making no noise as they leaped over tents and between aisles. One raced beside me, snapping pointed jaws at my ankles, and I cursed as I drew my sword. It leaped aside as I slashed at it, and the rest of the pack closed in. I felt one’s teeth snag my jeans and stumbled with a stab of fear, barely catching myself. If I fell, that would be it. The dogs would maul me to death, and I’d be swallowed whole by a black flood of Forgotten.

Snarling, I hacked at one dog and saw it erupt in a billow of shadow before it disappeared. At the same time, another pair of sharp fangs closed around my ankle, and I felt myself falling.

Just as I hit the ground, there was a blur of darkness, much bigger than the Forgotten hounds, as something huge bowled into the pack with a roar, knocking them aside like stick figures. The pack yelped and scattered, and I shoved myself upright as a massive furry creature bounded to my side, long fangs flashing in the darkness.

“Wolf?”

“Go!” the massive faery snarled, facing the oncoming horde. “I’ll slow them down. Move!” Baring his teeth, he roared a challenge, making the ground tremble, and sprang forward, straight for the army of Forgotten. Who, though I couldn’t be sure, seemed to hesitate as the enormous Wolf barreled toward them like a freight train. Then Kenzie dragged me to my feet, and we continued to run.

I caught a glimpse of silvery battle mail between tents and angled toward it, feeling the silent flood of the Forgotten at my back. “Meghan!” I howled, and the figure turned, eyes going wide as she spotted me. “Meghan, turn the army around! The Forgotten are here—”

There was a blast of wind overhead, and a huge, winged Forgotten landed in front of us with a shriek. Flaring dark, spiny wings, it reared back to strike.

A streak of lightning descended from the sky, slamming into the Forgotten, which exploded into a cloud of smoke and writhed away. Meghan stood in the center of a cyclone, one arm outstretched, her hair whipping about in the gale. Her eyes glowed a piercing blue-white in the darkness, and as the Forgotten surged forward, she raised both arms toward the oncoming horde.

The ground trembled, then erupted in a tangle of metal roots and vines that glittered and scraped as they coiled into the air. They surged into the Forgotten, smashing and crushing, flinging shadowy bodies away, and a thick black mist began boiling out from the edge of the army.

Gasping, we backed away from the carnage, as the sheer numbers of the horde began pushing through. But with a shout, the troops of Summer, Winter and Iron raced past the Iron Queen, slamming into the waves of Forgotten, and all hell broke loose around us.

I retreated with Kenzie and Annwyl, trying to keep myself between the girls and the battle raging on all sides. I caught glimpses of the Thin Man here and there, slashing at things around us, but concentrated on keeping Kenzie and Annwyl safe. A Forgotten knight rushed us, swinging a huge black sword at my head. I dodged, rolling under the blow, and slashed at his legs as I came up again. He staggered, and I plunged my other sword through his back, making him dissipate in a coil of mist. A swarm of small, pointy-eared things bounced around me, jabbing with sharp little daggers, making me dodge and dance around to avoid being stabbed. One of them darted past me and up Kenzie’s leg to her shoulder, but was shoved off by a furious shrieking Razor and booted away by Kenzie when it hit the ground. I cursed, slashed the last of the tiny creatures into nothing and rushed toward her.

“Ow,” she muttered, cradling her arm as I hurried up. Blood was oozing down her skin, making my breath catch in horror. “Little bastard had sharp claws.”

“Dammit, we’re too exposed out here,” I growled. We had to find a safer spot or risk getting torn to shreds. Meghan was gone, having disappeared into the fray, though the swirling storm overhead and the flashes of lightning told me she was still kicking Forgotten ass. I couldn’t see the other rulers, but I figured they were out there somewhere, wreaking havoc. A six-legged Forgotten sprang at me, teeth bared, but a tree root uncurled from the ground and smashed it to the earth. Annwyl winced, swaying on her feet, and Kenzie caught her as she staggered. I made my decision.

“Come on,” I told them both, raising my swords. “Fall back. Let’s get to the river. At least we’ll be protected on one side there.”

They nodded, but a Summer knight suddenly went hurtling by, hitting the ground a few feet away and rolling to a crumpled stop. The ground trembled, and a huge, four-armed Forgotten lumbered forward, smashing knights aside with a pair of clubs. A single eye in the center of its blocky face peered down at me as it roared and raised the weapons high overhead.

A flurry of gleaming ice daggers spun through the air, striking the Forgotten in the face, and it staggered back with a bellow. Ash strode toward us, blue ice-sword unsheathed, and the giant howled a challenge, whirling to face him.

It didn’t see the lean, red-haired faery sprint up behind it, launch off its meaty thigh and plant a dagger in its back as it came down again. Howling, the Forgotten flailed, completely forgetting about us in its quest to smash Puck into the ground. Puck laughed and danced around the giant’s legs, avoiding the two clubs that swung at him, sometimes missing by centimeters. The Forgotten bellowed in fury as the Great Prankster led it farther away, and I slumped in relief.

“Are you three all right?” Ash asked, giving us a concerned look as he strode up. His silver gaze went to Kenzie’s arm and narrowed. “Mackenzie, you’re bleeding. Ethan, you need to get them away from here. Now.”

I nodded. “Where?” I asked, and Ash pointed behind him.

“Head toward the Summer side of the camp. The fighting hasn’t quite reached there yet. Look for the watchtower by the river. You’ll be safe if you make it inside.” He raised his sword. “Get going. We’ll hold them off.”

A whoop caught our attention. Puck stood on the end of the Forgotten’s huge club, grinning devilishly as the giant scanned the ground, not seeing him perched there. Reaching over, the red-haired prankster tapped its shoulder, and the Forgotten jerked up, bellowing in anger as Puck waved cheekily.

“Right here, ugly.”

Ash sighed. “Go,” he told us, as the Forgotten smashed at Puck with the other club, and ended up hitting itself in the arm as Puck leaped away. “Protect yourselves. We’re starting to push them back, so hopefully this will be over soon. Go!”