Chapter 27.1

She paused for a moment, her entire body trembling.

“The demons won’t find us. This time, if he tries to leave, I’ll knock him unconscious until they’re gone.”

Beki nodded her approval.

Swallowing hard, I glanced behind us to find only a network of barren rocks. There were too many of them between us and the carnage I had left behind, but the demons would soon concentrate their search to this area. I had to set up a hiding spot before they did.

A ten-foot-tall wall of stones surrounded the village up ahead, but it had crumbled in places, and there wasn’t a single sign of life. Brown and shriveled stalks the size of tree trunks protruded from some of the straw roofs. They curled around the settlement’s exterior, looking like it had once been overrun by a giant vine.

I shuddered at what kind of plant might have caused such damage. It either took place very quickly or the village had been long deserted. Nobody would allow vegetation of any kind to run riot.

Glinda took a running jump ove