“Care to find out?” Sebastian said, waggling his eyebrows at her.
“No thanks, kid. I’ve had my fair share of disappointing tumbles. No need to add another to the list.”
“Kid?” Sebastian’s jaw dropped in feigned offense. “I am both older and wiser than you, redcap.”
“Why does it gotta be a race thing?” Sadie’s retorted, returning the playful smirk.
Something blurry whizzed past her and she inhaled sharply as Sebastian pushed her forward. A spear that should have hit true, directly piercing Sebastian through the skull, reflected to the side and embedded itself into a tree next to them. How did he . . .? Frozen in what seemed like slow-motion time, she looked up at him; a long, thin scrap was marked across his forehead, the blood beginning to drip down his face.
Sadie’s eyes narrowed, body tensing as she snapped her neck to the side. Where had that come from? Sadie couldn’t process what had just happened. By all accounts, he should be dead. She didn’t have the luxury of time as the brush suddenly came to life around them. Okalri who had blended in with the vast jungle screeched as they assaulted the pair.
She rolled to her side, swiping the rod from her belt. The metal almost slipped through her fingertips. Sadie reacted fast, rolling her weapon around her wrist as the axe formed at the top. She tipped her head back and released a savage battle cry as her enemy charged.
This time her axe was longer, heavier as it extended behind her. The tip of the dual head dragged in the dirt. “Oi, you scum! You were lucky you didn’t have to face me last time,” she shouted, smashing two of the Okalri back with a single swing. Left, then right, she fought them back with each powerful motion. More Okalri clustered around her, trying to grab at her limbs and pin her down with their make-shift swords and spears.
Sadie ran toward the tree across from her, taking a few steps up the trunk. She twisted her body as she pushed off, swinging the axe with both hands. Okalri cried out in pain as they crumbled to dust with each blow. Back on her feet, Sadie tapped her bracers together. The axe, once large in her hands now returned to its normal size.
A feral roar shot through the fight, a sudden spike of fear jolting through her. She swiveled her head, looking for the prince. She dodged as another spear rushed her direction, reflecting it into the wood of a nearby trunk. Just to her left, he let himself be known as a rock creature fell at his feet. Sebastian locked eyes with her, a wicked grin on his face. Okalri echoed in the jungle around them. They were surrounded.
“Sadie!” A familiar voice called out from behind. She snapped to the opposite direction, taking her eyes off the prince for only a moment to see her sister at the edge of camp. Sadie could cry. If there were two things that Sadie could count on Mara for, it was to steal her clothes and to always have her back.
“Over here!” Another Okalri met their fate as Sadie crushed her weapon directly into the top runes of the creature’s head. Out of the corner of her eye she relaxed as she saw Mara and Vareck rushing in. Mara leaned down as she ran, grabbing for chunks of broken rock monsters.
Mara hurled the pieces and her aim was true, the side of a creature’s head crumbling, falling next to another of its destroyed kin.
Sadie watched as Vareck released his Harpy. His dark, black wings extended as if they materialized from thin air. He slashed out with sharpened talons so brutal and deadly. She had never seen anything like it before. Mara was right. There was no comparison. The rocks turned to dust underneath Vareck’s claws. Even in the hot, humidity of the forest the world around them seemed to have the slightest chill of winter.
She rushed forward, the Okalri following in pursuit. There was an unexplained strength that came with adrenaline. It seemed easy for Mara to use pieces of the creatures to smash down on the others. It confused them and they seemed hesitant to fight against fragments of their own kind.
Watching it happen was a little wrong, in a way. But Sadie had decided that there was no morality to survival. Back to back with her sister, they turned to look outwards at the enemies.
“What’s the plan?” Sadie asked, twirling the axe once more around her wrist before catching it.
“The same as always,” said Mara, a little breathless.
“Wing it?”
“Wing it.”
The two sisters slipped into a comfortable harmony. A low, melodious hum mused around them, circling in glimpses of magic sparking around the field. They both took a deep breath, lunging out from opposite directions as the crumbling rocks on the floor rumbled.
“Smash them until their runes don’t glow anymore,” Vareck called out as he slashed and killed the horde that swarmed around him.
“The hell does it look like we’re doing?” Sadie spat, shouldering an Okalri to a tree with a grunt as her axe embedded through the creature and into the wood. Whatever magic that remained in the Okalri vibrated the rocks together, calling for me to come to this location. Mara picked up another piece to crush it, trying to stop its transmission and hopefully buy them time.
She caught her breath as Sebastian was thrown towards her. He rolled gracefully and landed in a crouched position. She looked at him and he grinned with the adrenaline of battle. He looked spent, but that same wicked smile was still plastered on his face and he winked at her. “You can take care of yourself, apparently.” Sadie extended her hand out toward him, Sebastian taking the offer. As she began to pull him upwards, she screamed.
She fell forward on one knee, her teeth clenched as a spear skimmed past her shoulder, burning into her flesh. She turned with a snarl, looking for the direction of the attacker.
“Oh, fuck,” Sebastian hissed, scrambling to his feet. “Uncle!”
Sadie looked over her shoulder, watching as Vareck stood in shock. The spear had pierced through his shoulder into the back of his wing. Sadie took a few deep breaths, turning to Mara in fear. But what she saw she could have never expected. Mara screamed out in fury as blood from Vareck’s wound poured and coated the ground.
Mara
Time halted as Mara heard Sadie’s scream.
She turned to see her sister crouched down holding her arm, a thick line sliced open. Blood poured from the wound. She felt her heart thunder in her chest as Sebastian yelled in warning, immediately turning to Vareck in response. He stood still, the spear piercing through his shoulder into the back of his wing. The king roared as another spear whizzed by, ripping the flesh of his arm as it had done with Sadie. Mara fell to her knees as she watched in horror, feeling the slow motion of the events unfold before her.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not Sadie.
Not Vareck.
A ringing pierced through Mara’s ears, the world becoming blurry as every one of her senses felt like they went into overdrive. The blood in her veins sparked alive and burned as it coursed through her.
It took her a moment to realize it was her own scream that ripped through the air. Her nostrils flared as she curled forward. Talons grew, scratching against the ground where she braced herself. Mara stood, shoulders pinching backwards as her chest extended toward the sky. Fangs shot past her bottom lip as she surged forward, running to protect those she loved. Anger and rage fueled her. Everything was a blur. She felt like her movements were too fast to catch up with her fogged brain.