Red Hood's Revenge

behind her.
    The hunter had dodged Talia’s first attack. He pushed her back with his spear, then grabbed the horn from his belt. As he raised it to his lips, Talia knocked his spear aside and kicked high. Her foot cracked the horn and knocked several teeth from his mouth.
    “Try blowing that thing now,” Talia said, breathing hard.
    Roudette grinned and turned her attention back to the dogs. She finished off the wounded one first, stomping his skull. She picked up the body and tossed it at the second dog, knocking it to the ground.
    Talia was on the defensive now. Her speed and reflexes were fairy-blessed, but this was a fairy hunter. She parried every attack, but the man was impossibly fast. Each time she tried to strike, the spear lashed out like a serpent. Talia shifted her weight, and the spearpoint cut her thigh. A second thrust tore the sleeve of her robe.
    “I’ll deal with the hound. You help Talia!” The voice came from Danielle, who stood on the far side of the garden, glass sword in her hands. Danielle stared at the remaining dog, her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “Come to me.”
    The idiot! This was no common mutt. The dog was already charging toward Danielle. Even if she tried to flee, the animal was too fast. It leaped, jaws bared.
    Snow stepped from the shadows, one hand to her lips. She blew, and dark splinters flew out to strike the dog.
    Danielle twisted aside as the animal crumpled to the ground, whimpering in pain.
    Roudette laughed and picked up her hammer. “Forget the princess and face me, you fairy-cursed bastard.”
    The fight ended quickly after that. Roudette wasn’t certain who landed the final blow. Talia was the one who cut the hunter’s hand and wrested the spear from his grip, but it was Roudette who smashed his knee, knocking him to the ground. She thought her hammer struck an instant before Talia’s sword, but she couldn’t be certain.
    Talia kicked the fallen spear away.
    “He’s dead,” said Roudette. “I can smell it.” She scratched her arm, then flinched. Pushing back her sleeve exposed bloody gouges from one of the dogs. She hadn’t even noticed.
    Talia was pressing a hand over the cut on her thigh. “Will there be more?”
    “I hope so.” Roudette licked her lips. The magic of the wolfskin was more intoxicating than any drink. Having tasted blood, she wanted more. She stepped toward the doorway, the cries from beyond the temple walls tugging her forward. With her strength and Talia’s speed, how many more hunters could they destroy before the sun returned? The wolf cared nothing for her plans, wanting only to punish those who had hurt them.
    “Soon,” she whispered, forcing herself to turn away from the screams.
    Talia hurried through the garden toward Danielle. “What were you thinking? What would you have done if Snow’s little darts hadn’t stopped that thing?”
    Danielle ignored her. Her attention was on the hound, still writhing from whatever Snow had done to it. “What’s happening to him?”
    Roudette wiped gore from her hammer, then walked over to join the others. The dog was whimpering and biting his side. Foam dripped from his jowls. He tried to stand, only to collapse again.
    “What did you do?” Talia asked.
    “The spell is the same one I used on Roudette’s wolves,” Snow said. “This country doesn’t have a lot of pines, so I used a handful of thorns from the vineyard instead.”
    The vines which had come from the fairy hedge. Without a word, Roudette swung her hammer, ending the dog’s torment.
    “Are you all right?” Khardija stood in the doorway. She appeared shaken, but her voice was firm.
    Talia jabbed a sword at the hound. “ This is why you should destroy that thing. The thorns retain their curse. They kept the animal alive, tormenting it but refusing to let it die, just as they did to the princes.”
    Khardija turned to face the other sisters who had gathered behind her in the hallway, as though Khardija could shield them from the horrors that had invaded Jahrasima. “See if anyone else was hurt, and do what you can to calm our guests. Reassure them the danger has passed for now.” She waited until they had left before addressing Talia. “The danger has passed?”
    “For tonight,” said Roudette. She cocked her head, listening as the howls echoed through the city. “They’ll return tomorrow night, and it won’t take them long to discover where this one fell. I’d make sure this place was empty by