Chapter 15 | Part 3

They ran.

Srietz slipped between two crystal columns without slowing. Drusniel turned sideways to follow, scraping his sleeve against an edge he had not seen. Beyond them the ground fell sharply, hidden by overlapping slabs of rock.

Behind them, the shrieks grew closer.

“Don’t look back,” Srietz hissed. “Looking slows you down.”

Drusniel looked back anyway.

The Coatly had the silhouette of bats until they banked. Then the extra joints showed: wings folding twice where one hinge should have been, narrow bodies flexing around turns no spine should survive. Their shrieks tightened as they closed.

One dove toward them.

Drusniel caught the draft beside his face and flung it at the creature. The effort drove a stitch beneath his ribs, but the Coatly tumbled backward. Its cry changed, and answering cries rose at once.

Shapes he had not seen before lifted from the trees.

“NO!” Srietz’s voice cracked. “No magic! You just told every one of them exactly where we are!”

Wingbeats crowded out the shrieks. A leathery tip struck his shoulder as he ducked.

“They can trail a signature when they are close,” Srietz said, running harder now. “Casting tells every Coatly for leagues where you are.”

Drusniel lowered his hand. The pain in his ribs made each breath shallow, but another burst would bring more of them.

“Through here!” The goblin ducked into a crevice between two rock formations. “They don’t like enclosed spaces. Too hard to fly.”

Elion’s shoulder caught in the gap. It narrowed beneath his shirt with a wet click, and he pulled through, gasping. Drusniel caught his arm as his legs buckled. Wings battered the opening behind them.

“Keep moving.” Srietz didn’t slow. “The crack buys minutes.”

The crevice widened into a cave. Srietz stayed near the wall, feeling ahead with his fingertips where Drusniel could see no path.

“You used to work for the thing that controls those creatures,” Drusniel said between breaths.

“Three years. Alchemist.” Srietz ducked beneath a low ledge. “Poisons, mostly. Then he wanted improvements. Srietz decided someone else could make those.”

“They’re hunting you specifically.”

“Vexrath does not like it when property leaves.”

The shrieks faded behind them, but did not stop.

Drusniel tried a deeper breath; the stitch caught again. He could still hear the creatures at the entrance.

End of Chapter 15.3 —> 15.4: The Goblin Who Counts Costs: The Bargain