But a slower, heavier smoke hung white in the air, turning in slow motion tornadoes. Things coalesced inside the spinning whirlpools, shape-angled, skeletal. A glimpse of bared teeth. A sharp arc of metal. Heavy, restless boots.
"Soldiers," said Spyder. "Primo, that cave we want is above us, right?"
"Yes, sir. Up the mountain. "
"Maybe we should go now. "
Spyder took Shrikes hand and they ran up a narrow switchback that cut back and forth across the face of the Kaslan mountains. Coming from far behind them, Spyder heard the clattering of metal and leather. He hoped the smoke soldiers were slow, or still smoky, so the mountain wind might blow them away. As the group ran, however, the sound of the soldiers weapons came closer. Shrike pulled away from Spyder and ran back down the mountain, her sword up and ready to strike. Spyder was frozen in place, his mind a blank. What was she going to do against a soldier made of smoke? But when Shrike made her first slash, Spyder saw the blood and heard a scream. He realized that while the soldiers might have come from smoke, they were now just flesh and blood. He, Primo and Count Non charged down the hill while Lulu opened up behind them with the four-ten.
Spyder sent a couple of the soldiers off the edge of the trail as they tried to avoid the spinning Hornet, while the Count gutted one, then another of the smoke soldiers. Spyder saw other soldiers forming at the foot of the -mountain. While the others attacked the remaining few pursuers, Spyder grabbed Shrike.
"Do you know any magic to make the wind blow harder?" he asked.
"One spell. "
"Use it. "
Shrike got down on one knee and rolled up her sleeve. Whispering a
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