Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) by Brad Magnarella (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

I peered over the top of the coop at the diminishing torch lights. The mobs were moving east, which meant Central Park was out. While Gorgantha lifted Malachi, I helped Caroline to her feet.

“Know of anywhere nearby we might be able to lay low?” I asked.

I’d cycled through a few places before exhausting my knowledge of the period. My first thought, of course, had been a church—St. Martin’s, even—but the threshold would strip my powers. Plus, through regular exposure, Malphas’s demons had immunized themselves against the churches in the time catches. Our protection would be questionable.

Before Caroline could reply, Malachi murmured from Gorgantha’s arm. “The bluffs…”

We all turned toward him. His eyes were closed, but his hooked hands were twitching as through trying to claw his way back from sleep.

“What bluffs?” I asked.

“On the Hudson,” he slurred. “That’s the way to … to Seay’s time.”

“No jokin’?” Gorgantha said.

“What time period is that?” I asked.

Charges of anticipation were going up and down my body at the thought we could soon have eighty percent of the Upholders back together. But though Malachi’s lips sputtered, no words emerged. I prompted him a few more times, but he’d lost his struggle and fallen back to sleep.

Caroline peered around. “The bluffs are northwest of us. And frankly, I don’t think we’re going to find much refuge here.”

“Especially with an active demon,” I agreed.

“I’ve had my fill of 1861 anyway,” Bree-yark grunted.

“Damn sure know I have,” Gorgantha said.

We crept from the coops and headed west under the light of a half moon. Beyond the squatter shacks, the landscape turned into cleared building lots and empty streets. Here and there lights burned from what looked like a boarding house or small estate. We avoided them, sticking to the most undeveloped parts of what would become the Upper West Side.

Soon, I made out the wooded heights over the Hudson River—the bluffs Malachi had mentioned. We could duck out there until Malachi recovered enough to show us the location of the portal.

“Riders coming,” Bree-yark announced.

He had taken the rear, and I turned to find his glamoured ears perked up. Soon, I heard the distant rumble of hoofbeats. Torchlight glowed into view a moment later, flickers of orange over several streets.

“Dammit,” I muttered.

Caroline pointed out a grove of trees. “We’ll have better cover that way.”

“Let’s go,” I said, pulling Arnaud by the manacles. “Gorgantha, see if you can wake Malachi.”

We took off running toward the trees, Bree-yark stooping intermittently for stones to arm his sling. I attempted to speak a shield into being, but the ley energy was even more scant here than a few blocks back. After a few sputtering attempts, I gave up.

As we reached the grove, the cracks of gunfire sounded. The lead riders had come within about a block of us.

“Give me Arnaud!” Caroline shouted.

I passed the demon-vampire to her and waved for her and Gorgantha to continue to the wooded bluffs. Bree-yark and I followed them through the grove for several rows of trees before taking cover from the riders. There were about a dozen of them, their dead auras betraying their soulless states.

“Hit ’em hard,” I called to Bree-yark. “There’s no humanity left in them.”

With a grunt, he slung his first stone. It smacked the forehead of the lead rider and sent him into a backward tumble from his mount. More shots cracked, splintering bark past my face. I had a handful of invocations that could have scattered them like bowling pins, but I lacked a decent energy source.

As Bree-yark loosed another stone, I eyed my blade’s banishment rune and spoke a Word. Hallowed white light flickered around the etching—and just in time. A rider was charging up my row. I waited until he was almost even with me and swung. The contact of blade on rider was glancing, but it was enough to send holy flames ripping up his side. The horse bucked him to the ground and bolted. Meanwhile, Bree-yark had taken down another rider, but we had eight more coming.

“How you doing?” I called to him.

“A shot nicked me, but I’ll live,” he grunted. “You?”

“Fine, if I can get close enough to these guys.”

More gunshots went off, pinning us behind our trees. I looked toward the bluff. Caroline, Gorgantha, and the others had disappeared from view, and I imagined them crouched inside another of Dropsy’s glamours. I felt better knowing Gorgantha was with them in the event any riders got past us.

“Get yo’ ass back here!”

I looked over to find the massive mermaid charging into the grove from the west. What the…? Ahead of her was what at first appeared to be a bag of rags blowing in the wind before I made out the shape of Malachi. His tattered clothes and long hair flew every which way as he raced toward us like a man possessed.

“Down!” I called to him. “Get down!”

But he kept coming. The remaining eight riders veered toward him. Bree-yark and I broke from our cover to try to head them off. I shouted to get their attention, but they were locked onto Malachi. If the riders took him out, we would not only lose our friend, but our guide to the time catches.

The demon Malphas clearly knew this.

I pumped my glowing sword like a relay baton, struggling for another speed. Bree-yark slung several stones, but they were off target. Malachi slowed, seemingly confused by the sudden attention, his Bible clutched to his chest.

As the first riders closed in on him, Bree-yark and I were still too far away. But Gorgantha wasn’t. Reaching Malachi just ahead of the riders, she scooped up a thick branch and swung it. The branch split against a rider’s head and knocked him to the ground. Two more riders aimed revolvers, but Gorgantha had the presence to duck behind a tree before shots exploded from barrels.

The remaining riders circled Malachi until he was blocked from our view. Shit.

I aimed my sword. Though there wasn’t