Before he could say anything, though, Gabriel rose off him. The melltithiwyd had only swooped past and continued on. As Ricky got up, he saw that Gabriel’s attention was focused on a blob of viscera, presumably from the raven.

“You okay?” Ricky whispered.

Gabriel shook it off. “Yes, of course.”

“We should take shelter,” Meic said. “In case they come again.”

“No,” Gabriel said. “We need to get to Ioan and Olivia.”

“They won’t hurt Liv,” Ricky said. “Counterproductive.”

“And Ioan? Would that not be a coup—killing the leader of the Cŵn Annwn?”

Ricky recognized this for what it was—manipulation rather than an actual display of concern—but it worked. The other Huntsman—Wmffre—said, “I’d hope they wouldn’t dare, but yes, perhaps we ought not take that chance.”

Wmffre scanned the sky, looking ready to hit the ground himself. Ricky presumed they’d never encountered melltithiwyd, and he was about to give a couple of pointers when he caught a blur of dark red against the gray night.

“Incoming!” he shouted.

Gabriel hit him. Ricky supposed it was meant to be a protective blow, but it felt more like a Shut the fuck up…in the most productive way.

“Everyone take cover against the wall,” Helia said. “We know how to fight them.”

Ricky got to the side, Lloergan pressing against his legs, shielding his lower half. Gabriel stayed where he was, watching that dark streak.

“Gabriel…” Ricky said.

The melltithiwyd swooped, and Gabriel shouted, not a warning this time, but a string of booming Welsh. The hell-birds changed course, shrieking.

Ricky grabbed Gabriel’s arm. “Great, but you can do the shouting thing from over here.”

He yanked Gabriel closer to the wall. Gabriel didn’t fight. Didn’t seem to notice, either, his gaze fixed on the swarm, which was coming around again.

“Let them come, Gwynn,” Alexios said. “We have this.”

“We really do,” Helia said.

The melltithiwyd swooped toward the alley again, and Ricky gripped Gabriel’s arm tighter. He felt the other man tense, his gaze riveted to the swarm, and for a split second Ricky caught a glimpse of an older man, blond hair and beard streaked with gray, bright blue eyes the only part that said, This is Gabriel, in a way.

The two forms shimmered, Gabriel and Gwynn, both of them focused on those hell-birds as he moved back against Ricky, shielding him along with the hound.

The melltithiwyd swooped, and Gabriel went board-stiff, and Ricky could feel the shout build, held in by only the greatest of effort, ready to explode as soon as whatever the dryads planned failed.

Then the ground erupted beneath his feet, toppling Ricky off balance. The dryads had betrayed them. Ricky lunged, but now Gabriel was the one grabbing his arm, holding him steady. He looked down to see that the ground had erupted…in a way.