BooksBarbecue
Back Into the Dying Light
Chapters (72)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. I
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. BEFORE
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. BEFORE
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. BEFORE
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. BEFORE
  25. II
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. III
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. IV
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. AFTER
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  72. Newsletter Sign-up

She walked off into the dark without another word. Hassan slumped down by the rock, grabbing his pack to use as a pillow. The cold cave floor was hardly comfortable, but he didn’t have time to worry about it before his eyes slipped closed and he fell deep into sleep.

Someone shook him awake a moment later.

Hassan rubbed his face blearily and sat up. “I thought we were resting for three hours?”

“We did,” Hector said, sounding amused. “You slept like a rock. And you snore, by the way.”

“I don’t snore,” Hassan grumbled, getting to his feet. “You snore.”

Incandescent lights illuminated the others in various states of groggy exhaustion. His eyes found Khepri immediately, stretching over on the other side of the rocks. Ephyra and Beru were packing up their bedrolls.

Across from them, Jude knelt beside Anton’s bedroll, stroking his fingers gently through Anton’s hair. Anton stirred and then sat up. Jude stayed where he was, his hand lingering at Anton’s side as Anton leaned in to say something that was too quiet for Hassan to catch. And then Jude did something Hassan had never seen him do before—he laughed.

For a moment, Hassan wondered if exhaustion was making him hallucinate. But no, Jude was still there, staring at Anton with an expression so tender Hassan almost didn’t recognize him. Gone was the stubborn, surly swordsman that Hassan had lived in close quarters with for over two months. He had softened after just a handful of days with Anton, and Hassan felt his own icy regard for Jude thaw a little in response.

“Here.” Hector nudged Hassan again, holding out a hunk of bread and dried meat. Hassan accepted it, digging in gratefully. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he’d gotten some sleep.

“I would do truly awful things for some tea right now,” Ephyra said, rubbing her eyes.

“Let’s be honest, you would do truly awful things anyway,” Hector said.

Ephyra glared at him.

“Here,” Khepri said, reaching into a pocket of her bag and holding something up to Ephyra. “Made sure to grab some guaran root from the Order’s storeroom. Legionnaire secret. Chew some and you’ll be perky in no time.”

“Unlikely,” Illya said. Ephyra glared at him, too, taking the guaran root from Khepri.

“We need to get going,” Jude said a little tersely.

Those three hours of sleep didn’t stretch very far. Hassan still felt exhausted as they set off, his whole body aching, and now his head was fuzzy with sleep, too. The pack somehow felt heavier than it had when he’d put it down. Khepri gave him some of the guaran root, which helped but also left him buzzing with nerves and feeling somewhat nauseated.

They still had days of travel through the caverns left. And already they were flagging. But they had to push on. It was their only choice.

23

BERU