Page 34 of A Bond So Deadly

He rolls his wrist, spinning his blade and stalks toward the fifth illusion. This time he struggles to land a hit, because everywhere his blade seems to land it does nothing but pass through the illusion. The sixth illusion lunges, and Nate is distracted enough that the Xalgrith’s blade slices along his cheek. Nate jerks back, spinning away, and he frowns when he lifts his hand to his face and discovers blood on his fingers. “What the fuck? I thought these were only illusions?”

Galen’s lips quirk up. “I can make my illusions solid for small periods of time. That’s why this works. I figured it would be most useful for these illusions to seem as real as possible.”

Nate narrows his eyes at my shadow mate, but that smile still lingers on his lips. The cut on Nate’s cheek heals near instantly, leaving only a smattering of blood behind. This time when he attacks the last illusions, Nate moves so fast I almost can’t track him. It takes a few hits, but he manages to defeat the Xalgrith warriors without too much effort. The shifter grins triumphantly.

Thane’s brows lower. “With your abilities, I don’t doubt you could fight many Xalgrith, but learning their patterns will make you more efficient. Your demon warriors don’t have your speed, and they won’t fare so well on a battlefield. You need to take note of the Xalgrith and the way their color changes. Watch the color of their eyes.” He nods at Galen, and Galen creates three more illusions.

This time the three illusions attack Nate at once, and even with the shifter’s incredible speed and reflexes, he struggles to keep up. His blade keeps slicing through areas of the illusion’s bodies where they’ve made themselves incorporeal, and the illusions don’t stop coming. One slices a line on Nate’s bicep, while another goes for his legs.

Blake watches intently, no longer eating her popcorn, but she doesn’t intervene and neither do her other mates. They all want to see what happens, and Nate isn’t in any real danger. The shifter is bleeding from multiple wounds before he finally listens to Thane’s advice, and I notice the change in his movements. His focus becomes more intense, and the next time the silver disappears from the Xalgrith warrior’s eyes, Nate slices his blade across the warrior’s torso, severing the illusion in two. The illusion dissolves, and Nate makes quick work of the remaining Xalgrith.

“Better,” Thane praises. “Now that you’ve grasped the basics, let’s make it more interesting. Raith. Lend him a hand, will you?”

Raith and Nate both look unimpressed at that idea, and my mate grumbles under his breath as he moves closer to the jaguar shifter.

Galen and Thane share a long look, and I’m not sure why, but I get a funny feeling.

“What are you up to?” I shadow whisper to Thane.

“Just watch, mate. This demonstration is about more than simply showing the demons how to fight any singular Xalgrith warrior,” he replies.

“What does that mean?” But Thane doesn’t answer me.

Galen’s power fills the air, and my brows rise when more illusions come into view. This time there are a couple dozen of the Xalgrith warriors, and they circle Raith and Nate, smiling horribly as they advance on the pair.

“Is this supposed to be challenging?” Nate laughs.

“I guess we’ll see,” Thane rumbles, his face devoid of humor.

Blake and her mates watch closely, but they don’t step in.

The Xalgrith warriors attack in groups, and Raith and Nate move swiftly, dispatching one after the other, their blades moving with expert precision. Nate doesn’t take them down as fast as Raith, but he manages to keep up a similar pace, pausing every so often as he has to remind himself to watch the Xalgrith’s eyes.

They’re fighting well, but the pair remain segmented from each other, both taking care of the warriors closest to them. They’ve almost defeated the last warriors when Thane nods at Galen, and Galen’s magic fills the air again. Dozens more Xalgrith warriors appear around Raith and Nate. What?

“I think he’s got the fuckin’ point,” Raith growls a shadow whisper to me and my mates. “What are you doin’?”

Galen and Thane don’t reply, and this time the illusions seem to attack as a horde. Nate and Raith have to dodge and weave, fighting furiously to stop from becoming overwhelmed.

“On the right!” I whisper-shout at Raith. That results in Raith spinning to his left, and an illusion cuts a line across his chest. He growls before beheading the Xalgrith warrior.

I wince. “Oops, sorry! My bad. I meant my right.”

Galen huffs a laugh. “Perhaps, don’t help, treasure.”

I want to protest at that, but he kind of has a point, so I bite my tongue.

Raith is focused as he carves through the warriors one after another, but every time he defeats one, more seem to appear. Even though I know they’re illusions, my heart hammers as the Xalgrith warriors continue to close in on Nate and Raith. It doesn’t matter how many they take down, Galen creates more, and they just keep coming.

“This is what it’s like, isn’t it?” I say to my mates, my heart squeezing. “Out there on a battlefield with the Xalgrith. Are our soldiers really outnumbered like this?”

“Yes,” Thane replies, not shielding me from the truth. “When they come, there are times when we have no idea how to stop the flow of their troops. Sometimes they come in smaller groups, but other times their warriors continue to appear as if they’re materializing from nothing.”

I shiver, imagining how it must feel to be on a battlefield watching Xalgrith warriors appear around you, and never knowing how many there are or how to stop them from coming.

At first, Nate and Raith continue trying to fight on their own. Nate shifts into his jaguar form, discarding his blade for claws and fangs. Five Xalgrith attack him head on, while another three go for the jaguar’s back. They leap for him, but Raith’s shadows shoot out, grabbing hold of them, and Nate uses the opportunity to slice his claws through the illusions. Another dozen Xalgrith come at Raith, and his sword is a blur, but there are too many of them. Nate jumps over the shadow warrior, landing on three of the Xalgrith and tearing their heads off before lunging for another.

I watch transfixed as the two men go from fighting on their own to working as a team, somehow managing to keep up with Galen’s illusions, taking down multiple of them at the same time. Their movements become rhythmic, and Nate watches carefully, his keen jaguar eyesight taking note of the Xalgrith and watching for the opportunity to attack.