The woman in red smirked. “No need to yell, dear. If you give me what belongs to my mistress, I’ll happily be on my way. I’ll even let you and the rest of these insects live. What do you say?”
“If you could be more specific, perhaps I could help you. But I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have anything that belongs to your mistress.”
“You dare to lie to Madame? You will regret that, human.” The woman in red shot back up into the sky and snapped her fingers again. A dozen Gamjie appeared. The last thing they needed was more mythical beasts.
Eris watched in horror as the outermost shield flickered and went down. The soldiers who were still standing pulled out their swords just as the Wolfgrimm formed a line, snarling. The Gamjie roared, forming a second line behind the Wolfgrimm.
“Now then. Shall we have some fun? I’m sure the Queen won’t mind if I eat a few more of you.” Madame laughed.
Chapter 32
Eris
The Wolfgrimm and Gamjie attacked the soldiers, who were doing their best to fight the beasts off with swords and their remaining magic. Eris screamed as a Wolfgrimm grabbed a soldier by the arm and slung him into the trees. Magic sparked at her fingertips. She hoped that she lived through the fight, but even if she did not, she could not stand back and watch those men die. It was too much. She knew Soraya would understand her feelings.
She willed an opening in the magical shield to appear, and was only slightly surprised when it did. She quickly walked through it and watched as it disappeared. Master Garren had never taught her how to do what she had just done, but her magic had whispered to her, giving her the idea. She continued to open holes big enough for her to walk through until she reached the last remaining layer of the shields. The soldiers did not stand a chance against those beasts, no matter what Prince Knox had said. She turned and looked at the carriage for one last time before willing an opening in the last layer and walking through it.
The rain was still pouring outside the protective barriers, and she hadn’t stopped glowing. One by one the Wolfgrimm and the Gamjie paused attacking the soldiers and surrounded her.
“That’s right, my pets. Get rid of this troublesome human. Then I’ll be able to get the item my Mistress wants.” Madame still floated in the air behind her, above the carriage.
The rain was quickly soaking her clothes and Eris shivered. She could no longer hear the voices of the raindrops. Her magic was whispering to her in a language she didn’t know but somehow understood. The Wolfgrimm directly in front of her snapped its massive jaw at her. She needed to come up with a plan to fend off twenty of the beasts.
Eris turned to Madame. She needed to take out the person controlling them. Even if they didn’t run off when Madame disappeared, at least she wouldn’t be able to summon any more.
Eris reached for her magic, and it reached back. Her glow grew brighter and thunder sounded loudly in the dark sky. Madame laughed. The sound irritated Eris, causing her anger to grow. Her entire body hummed with magic.
“Attack!” Madame yelled.
Eris closed her eyes and willed her magic out towards the woman floating in the air. She opened her eyes as she felt her magic leave her. A blast of white magic shot through the sky like a cannonball and connected with Madame. Madame screamed.
Her magic whispered to her again. Eris raised her hand, and a sword appeared. She wrapped her palm around the white hilt.
Madame screamed with rage. “You will regret that, human.”
Madame conjured a long black whip and sent it at Eris. Eris brought her sword down in an arch, slicing the end off the whip. The woman hissed and pulled her arm back in a big arch. Her whip snaked backwards and cracked as Madame sent the whip towards Eris again.
Eris looked at Madame and willed her magic to make the woman disappear. Her magic burned as it left her in a shower of light. Eris watched the shower connect with Madame the same time as a bolt of lightning.
The woman’s smile faded as her entire body lit up. Eris watched as the woman’s body contorted in unnatural ways for several long moments before she finally fell from the sky. She landed on the magic barrier before slowly rolling off and plunging to the ground.
Exhausted, Eris turned to the Wolfgrimm closest to her. It howled, head turned up to the sky. The other Wolfgrimm answered the howl. Collectively, the large beasts turned and ran back into the trees, with the Gamjie following suit. The soldiers cried out in victory. Eris sank to her knees.
What had she just done?
Chapter 33
Knox
Knox opened his eyes. He was in the moving carriage, but Eris was no longer across from him. Panic surged through him. His body was still frozen, but from where he was seated he couldn’t see much, other than the passing shadows outside. He hated being stuck like that.
When he had control over his body again, he opened the window and called to the closest guard.
The guard ran over. “Yes, sire?”
“Report. Now.”
The soldier told him about the battle and the woman who’d appeared to be in charge of the whole thing. Details of her origin were still unknown, but she had disappeared after the battle without a trace. They had lost many soldiers who had been buried on site. After the battle had subsided, the general in charge decided to move out, putting as much distance in between them and the battleground as they could. Many of the soldiers were exhausted, so the pace was slow. According to the soldier, they had only been on the road for a couple of hours.
“And Eris? Where is the woman I brought with me?” Knox asked.
“Miss Eris was injured during the fight. She is currently on the medical buggy being treated by the physician on hand, sire,” the solider said.
“Where is solider Eastmund?”
“I’m here, sire.” Eastmund appeared beside the reporting soldier.
Knox dismissed the other soldier and said to Eastmund, “How was Madame defeated?”
Eastmund shook his head, “Eris left the protective barrier and fought her. I have failed you in my duties, sire. I am ready to take my punishment.”
Annoyed, Knox waved his hand in the air. “How did she leave the barrier?”
“I don’t know, Your Highness. But she walked through each layer as if it did not exist. Then she summoned lightning and attacked the woman. Madame disappeared afterwards, along with the beasts. Somehow Madame was able to control them.”
Knox had never heard of someone who could control beasts, let alone so many of them at once. How had Eris defeated her? How had she summoned lightning?
“And Eris? How serious are her injuries?” He couldn’t lose her. Knox made a mental note to chastise her after she recovered.
“Wendel said she almost reached burnout. Sire, I’ve never seen magic like that before. She was amazing.”
Knox swore under his breath. If she had gotten that close to a burnout, then he hadn’t trained her well enough. She should know her limits by now. “I need to speak with the physician. Take me there now.”
Eastmund nodded and opened the carriage door. Knox hopped down and walked towards the medical buggy. Once he reached the back of the buggy, he grabbed onto the handle and leapt inside, startling the physician who was attempting to feed some kind of brown liquid to Eris.