A World Within
Page 31
Minion watched as Meineke rescued Daniel. “Come on, boys,” he said to the others. “Our prize is flying away without us!”
The four wils took bird form and flight, then tore off after Meineke and Daniel. An arrow struck the breast of Three. He fell out of the sky, returning to his normal shape before the body hit the ground. Louie nocked another arrow and let it fly, but the others were already into the trees out of range.
“I’m going to help them, Marissa!” he shouted. His cherub’s wings burst out from under his cloak. She gave him a look of acknowledgment before turning back to face the Wolven. Louie flew into the air following Meineke, Daniel and their pursuers.
With his last look back at the camp, Louie saw several Wolven closing in from all directions. Percival swung a giant sized broadsword. Captain Blackborne had maneuvered back to back with Marissa wielding a bloody cutlass and fresh pistols from a brace slung over his shoulder. Marissa exacted damage to the Wolven with a set of swords and Bon and Jale were scratched up, but giving it their all with tooth and claw. The bodies of four or five wolven lay scattered about as more closed in.
HOT PURSUIT
Meineke did the best he could to stay aloft. “Try not to struggle, Daniel. This is hard enough as it is.”
“We have to go back, Meineke! The others are in danger. We’ve got to help them.”
“You and I aren’t going to turn the tide back there lad, and Marissa gave me a direct order to get you to safety. That’s exactly what I intend to—”
Minion, in bird form, crashed into Meineke, gouging him with sharp talons across his back. Meineke nearly dropped Daniel upon the rocks below. Meineke descended under duress, but managed to recover. Minion laughed as he swooped skyward in preparation for another run.
“I really don’t like that guy!” Meineke complained.
“We’ve got to get closer to the ground!” Daniel shouted over the wind. “You can’t keep this up.”
Meineke descended at Daniel’s behest. They had been heading east toward the mountains. Mount Doom towered over them blocking the horizon completely. The petrified forest of the Deadwood seemed to run right up to the base of the nearest mountain, but it was difficult to tell at night. Only the moonlight gave them any indication of how far from the mountains they actually were.
Somewhere in the dark sky above them, Minion and his cohorts prepared to attack again. “I’m heading for the ground, Daniel. We’ll have better odds on the ground in a fight.”
One of the wils hit Meineke again. Daniel fell away, but they’d been close to the ground. The boy hit the dirt in a roll as Meineke morphed into another form and caught his attacker. The two wils fell to the forest floor, each scrambling for dominance. It reminded Daniel of a cat fight. High pitched growls sounded in the dark as multiple limbs and claws slashed among the chaos.
Daniel had dropped his sword in the fall but quickly located it as the moon glinted off the blade. He ran to where the wils were fighting. Someone hit him from behind. A wil, slightly larger than Meineke, clawed at his face and throat from behind.
Daniel ran backwards hoping to find one of the dark tree trunks quickly. He slammed wil first into one of the Deadwood’s petrified trees, knocking the wind out of his attacker. The wil fell off as Daniel turned on the creature with his blade. He did not hesitate to dispatch the evil wil with his sword.
Daniel followed the noise of wils growling and fighting through the dark trees until he came upon them. The last of the four wils had joined the fray against Meineke. Meineke held his own, but barely at this point. One of the creatures turned on Daniel as he approached. He bore fangs and claws at the boy.
Daniel’s refused to allow fear to hold him back now. His friend needed help. He kept his sword aimed at the wil as the creature tried to circle around him. The wil had blood on his face around the mouth and on its claws, probably from Meineke.
Everything happened quickly. The wil faked a jump toward Daniel causing him to slash at his target prematurely. Instead, the acrobatic creature leaped to a tree at Daniel’s side and tried to use it as a springboard. An arrow struck the wil’s foot as it tried to leap from the face of the tree trunk. It howled in pain, remaining pinned to the black trunk by its foot. The wil went into a frenzy, trying to free itself as it hung upside down.
Louie emerged from the darkness and grabbed Daniel, pulling him away. Meineke used the distraction to get in a good strike at Minion. He bashed the brown wil across his jaw with both of his small fists. Minion fell back into the dirt dazed, allowing Meineke to retreat and catch Louie and Daniel.
They ran with every bit of speed they could generate. The dawn approached, giving them light to navigate the Deadwood. The mountains towered ahead of them, promising sanctuary if they could only manage to get to it.