Winter's Light by Mj Hearle Page A

friends.’
    Sidaris grinned, shaking his head in amazement. ‘Still brave up until the end.’ His gaze suddenly widened dangerously as he bent down closer to her. Winter found herself unable to look away. His eyes beckoned to her, draining her will to fight. ‘Such bravery deserves a reward and so I promise to make this quick and painless for you.’
    Do something, idiot! He’s going to kill you! The voice inside her head screamed as Sidaris’s face filled her view. ‘Close your eyes,’ he said, his voice thick with lust.
    Unable to refuse his order, she obeyed. His breath filled her senses, sweet as perfume, the scent of the Dead Lands. In seconds his lips would press against hers, sealing her fate. The Demori kiss was lethal. Sidaris would drain her life force, leaving her body an empty husk.
    ‘Blake,’ Winter heard herself say softly, a final prayer and apology to her love.
    A whistling sound suddenly pierced the air, followed by a howl of pain as Sidaris rolled away from her.
    Shocked, Winter opened her eyes and saw the Demori writhing on the ground clutching at an iron bolt jutting from his arm. She’d seen such a weapon before. In Pilgrim’s Lament, Sam and his brothers had wielded crossbows that fired these bolts, iron apparently one of the only metals that could hurt a Demori. She turned and saw her saviour pointing his crossbow at Sidaris.
    ‘Sam?!’
    She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. When she’d left Sam outside the church on the mountain, Winter had been sure that was the last time she’d ever see him. It was three months since that night, and the young man before her was greatly changed. His blond hair had grown out from the short military cut he’d sported previously, his cheeks and chin were dusted with brown stubble making him look much older than the fresh-faced boy she remembered, and instead of a form-fitting black army uniform, Sam was now dressed in a rumpled, grey trenchcoat, criss-crossed with leather straps.
    ‘Get out of here, Winter!’ he said, staring intently over his bow at Sidaris.
    Winter scrambled to her feet, moving out of the weapon’s path so Sam could have a clear shot. Sidaris groaned again as he grabbed hold of the bolt and ripped it free from his arm. The wound sizzled and the air smelt nauseatingly like burnt meat.
    ‘Run!’ Sam said again when Winter hesitated on the periphery. He raised the sights of the crossbow to eye level. ‘I’ve got this.’
    Sidaris pulled himself into a crouch and sneered, ‘You’ve got nothing.’
    Before Sam could fire again, Sidaris sprang forward, vanishing mid-air in a crackle of green sparks. Almost instantly he materialised behind Sam, swatting the crossbow out of his hands and knocking him to the ground.
    ‘I don’t take kindly to being interrupted when I’m with a lady,’ he said, his eyes shining dangerously. ‘Where’s your sense of decency?’ In a flash he was on top of Sam, clawing at his throat. Too shocked to move, Winter watched the two figures grappling. It was clear that despite Sam’s considerable size, the Demori had the upper hand. Sam was going to lose this fight.
    Lying in the dirt a few feet away was Sam’s fallen crossbow. Winter ran and picked it up, aiming the heavy weapon with trembling hands at Sidaris’s back. She’d never fired so much as a water pistol in her life and only hoped whatever machinations were necessary to prep the crossbow before firing had already been set by Sam. Her finger hovered over the trigger.
    ‘Now you know what happens to naughty boys who stick their nose in where it doesn’t belong,’ Sidaris said, grinning wickedly as he tightened his grip around Sam’s throat. Sam’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. His face started to turn purple.
    Winter took a few quick steps forward until she was sure she wouldn’t miss, aimed the crossbow and with a silent prayer pressed the trigger. There wasn’t as much recoil as she thought there would be, just a mild kick