***
“Vevin Human has no weapon,” Marrraa said in alarm to Liselle. “I have extra knives I can give him.” She pulled out two.
“No. Vevin will be fine.” Liselle looked around to find an area clear of plants before pulling off her cloak to set it on the ground. “We should just sit here and let the boys have their fun, I think.” She then sat as per her own suggestion.
Marrraa looked at Liselle in disbelief. “But . . . they . . . sstejj . . .” She sputtered and remained standing.
At that point, the slaughter began. Just as the first sstejj was about to reach Sir Danth, the knight suddenly shifted forward in space. One moment he was ten paces away, the next he appeared right next to the creature’s head and rammed his sword into the gills. Apparently, Tathan wasn’t the only one going for gill shots.
The creature’s head stopped abruptly while the rest of its body continued forward. It flipped over itself, snapping the neck joint. Sir Danth didn’t budge under the force of the sstejj’s movement. He twisted his sword and pulled it out. He shifted to the side of the next one and rammed the sword into its gills as well.
Sir Danth’s sword flashed through the air. By that point, three more had surrounded the knight, trying their best to get at him. They also died quickly; one through the gills, the next with cuts to the body, and the third with a great slash across the neck. His enchanted blade even cut through the legs of the creatures without slowing.
Liselle glanced at Marrraa, who was staring at the knight in wonder. She didn’t blame the feju for being in awe. Liselle knew that Sir Danth was dangerous, but it was another thing to see him in action. She turned to look at her cousin. Tathan was stomping the ground to get the attention of a sstejj near him. There was a mischievous grin on his face. “Oh look, Sir Danth is going to let Tathan play with one too.” She pointed Tathan out to Marrraa.
The Rojuun woman gasped in alarm as the sstejj scurried toward Liselle’s cousin. It stopped where Tathan was, only to discover that the rogue had somersaulted onto its back and sat down behind the first set of legs. The creature just stood there, vibrating, unsure what to do. Apparently, it didn’t have the ability to react to anything on top of it.
Tathan squeezed his knees as one would on a horse, causing it to scream in response. He looked back at Liselle with his arms spread. She shrugged in return. Tathan plunged his sword down into the creature, causing it to collapse and die instantly. He sprang off, looking for his next kill.
Liselle looked back at Sir Danth to see that the knight had killed four more monsters. He was laughing at the creatures that were still attacking him. Both ladies turned to look at Vevin, who was studying a charging sstejj. They gasped when the creature’s snout came forward to bite down on Vevin.
Their purple friend caught the creature’s jaws in his hands, forcing them open. It screamed horribly, trying to get away. The sstejj put its forefeet against Vevin, pushing to no avail. Vevin stared down its gullet. After a moment of study, Vevin lifted the creature into the air by the jaws and slammed it down. Then he picked it up and slammed it down to the other side. Four more times he did this until the creature’s neck snapped and it was dead.
At that point, everyone stopped in their tracks. The sstejj stopped because of the large vibrations. Tathan and Sir Danth stopped to watch the display of strength.
Vevin rammed his hand into where the heart might be. He pulled a mess of goo out and sniffed it. Then he licked it. A sour look crossed his face.
Vevin turned to everyone else and held up the goo. “I don’t know how they can be cannibals. They taste absolutely horrible!” He shook the goo off his hand.
Liselle, Sir Danth and Tathan all burst into laughter while Marrraa just stared, completely in shock at that point. Then the remaining sstejj continued their attack.
Sir Danth took out most, but Tathan was fortunate enough to kill two more, both with gill shots. Vevin changed tactics, waiting for the next one that came toward him. He raised his right hand, which began to glow. When the creature reached him, purple lightning shot out of his hand to run along the body of the sstejj. It shuddered and died instantly.
“He . . . he used no incantation, no gestures . . .” Marrraa said, both of her voices filled with awe. “He does not appear tired.”
A moment later, all twenty sstejj were dead. Vevin surveyed the battlefield and shook his head. Sir Danth was standing on top of one with sword raised in the air. “The Knights of Morhain once again know glory!” he yelled to the top of the cavern, and then burst into wild laughter. Tathan joined him in the laughter from atop another of the creatures.
“Men!” exclaimed Liselle. “They do seem to enjoy their fights!” Then she laughed with them as well. She laughed even harder when she saw the obvious look of disbelief on the Rojuun woman’s face.
She stopped laughing when a sstejj that had circled behind them lunged forward and bit Marrraa. The creature latched onto one of the feju’s arms causing her to shriek in agony.
Rojuun Page 40