Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties

by Kellie Doherty

  “Yeah.” Finally, a plan clicked into place. “After we capture a Divus from one of their meetings here. Then we can tell the Moon Knights what we know and let them deal with it.”

  “But why not now? We need all the help we can get.” Dylori shifted her weight from one foot to the other, as if needing to move.

  “I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.” Misti slid her eyes away from Dylori and onto the dirt, the grayness blurring as guilt twisted in her stomach. She could see those men’s empty eyes staring up at her when she closed her own. She couldn’t risk it. Not anymore. “I thought—”

  Misti didn’t hear her move, yet suddenly Dylori was resting a warm hand on her neck and lifting her chin. “Their deaths weren’t your fault. Please remember that,” Dylori whispered. She pressed her forehead against Misti’s, surprising her into silence. “If you want it to be just you and me, we can do that.”

  Misti nodded, staring into Dylori’s dark eyes, eyes that could swallow her whole, and she’d go willingly. She desperately wanted to close the distance between them, but now wasn’t the time.

  “I think it’s for the best.” Misti pulled back. “Now we just need to sneak up on one of their meetings and snatch one away. Quietly, if possible.”

  “Quietly, right.” Dylori sighed. “We probably need to go much deeper into the woods to find them. If I were a banished one, I certainly wouldn’t set up a secret meeting so close to the edge. No matter how scary the woods were.”

  “Neither would I.” Misti looked out into the forest. The spindly gray trees seemed to go on forever. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  They walked on for nearly the entire morning, before Misti stumbled into a suncreature’s nest. She had just climbed over a massive fallen tree that was one and a half times Dis’ height, the bark turning to ash in her grip even though the trunk still held, and landed in a heap on the other side. She waved away the ashy clouds drifting down around her, looking back up to help her friends, and saw them: suncreatures. Four of them, hidden in a den tucked inside the fallen tree. She had landed nearly on top of them, but she could only see their heads. They whipped around as one, four pairs of red eyes glowing at her, and then they lunged for her.

  Misti threw herself backward into a roll, landing on the forest floor and reaching for her dagger, intending to gut one of the creatures as they sailed over her. But only one body flew above her—one body, four heads. She had never seen anything like it, not in her adventures, or studies, or training, and all her preparedness left her in a shriek.

  The suncreature swung its heads around, eyes never leaving Misti’s as it landed on its thick legs, claws digging in the dirt as it turned to face her. It stretched its heads back, settling back on its hind legs and staring at her, seeming to analyze her. Misti stood, trying to get a better, calmer look at the suncreature before her. Its smooth white skin rippled with reds and yellows as it moved. Four legs, one sleek body about the size of a common pack muol, no tail, and four reptilian-like heads. Moon above, what kind of creature is that?

  Each head was distinct—one had horns on its snout, one had spikes like a crown, one had long curved teeth, and one had a thicker forehead, plated like armor—but they moved as one, swaying this way and that, bulbous eyes peering down at her, snouts sniffing the air for her scent. Their features glowed with the signature suncreature red, like they wanted to call attention to their individuality while remaining one whole beast. The suncreature growled, a rumbling noise from deep within its chest that echoed from four throats.

  “Zora! Dylori! Dis!” She needn’t have wasted her breath. While she had been staring at the suncreature, her friends had already heaved themselves over the massive trunk.

  Zora flew next to her, her wings buffeting Misti’s shoulder in comfort. Dylori slid down the bark and caught herself easily, brandishing her sword. Dis had climbed over, as well, albeit not so gracefully, but had landed on all fours next to Dylori. It might’ve been a funny sight—a neades trying to climb over a massive fallen tree—but Misti couldn’t laugh. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t even breathe.

  Surely creatures like this one, this mesh of too many heads and too few bodies, was what made the Ravenlock Woods so terrifying. The suncreature rumbled again, but this time it opened each of its mouths. Red, white, yellow, and black light seemed to glow within the suncreature’s jaws. It was the only indication that they should move, should run, should leave this place or die from whatever it was about to attack them with.

  “Move!” Dylori yelled.

  Misti and Zora darted right, and Dylori and Dis ran left moments before the suncreature unleashed on them. The horned head spit fire, the spiked head gushed ice, the head with curved teeth sprayed acid, and the head with the armored forehead belched tar. Each attack burst against the tree. The flames licking over the bark, the acid crumbling the trunk beneath, and the ice and tar sealing the ashes in place. A hole the size of Dis appeared in the trunk for a moment before collapsing in on itself from the force of the attack.

  Misti gaped at the sheer volume and diversity of this creature’s attack. Zora nudged her shoulder, but Misti couldn’t move. Only one thing ran through her mind. We should run. We should run away right now.

  “Come on! We can take it!” Dylori shouted, but her words seemed far away and muddied, like they were traveling through water.

  The creature swung its gazes to her, four pairs of eyes latching onto her own, and fear rippled down Misti’s back. Her feet felt cemented to the ground, and her stomach seemed to drop right out of her. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything but stare as the suncreature opened its myriad jaws once again. Just before the suncreature unleashed another attack, Misti felt a shove to her side, sending her onto the ground and away from danger. At first she thought Dylori had pushed her, but then Zora tumbled on top of her and bit her shoulder hard. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to pull Misti out of her fearful trance and push her into action.

  Completely forgetting the dagger in her hand, she grabbed Zora and darted around the creature to where Dylori and Dis stood.

  Dylori gripped her arm. “Are you okay?”

  Not trusting her voice, Misti nodded.

  “Good, because we can take it,” Dylori replied.

  Horrified, Misti stared at her.

  Dylori pointed to the suncreature. “Look how slow it is.”

  Acid and fire and ice and tar dripping from its mouths, the suncreature turned, searching for them. Slow? Yes, it’s slow. But, those four jaws with four separate attacks scared her. And it had leapt clear over her before. Maybe it’s not as slow as it seems. But Dylori was in her element. That glint was back in her eyes again. She had formed a reckless plan and obviously planned on keeping it.

  “We can take it.” Dylori let go of Misti and raised her sword. “Stay away from its heads. Dis and Zora will distract it, pull its heads to them, not us. They can move out of the way quick enough to not be harmed. We’ll attack its back or necks if possible. Maybe its heart if we’re lucky.”

  Without waiting to see if Misti agreed, Dylori shoved her own curved sword into Misti’s hand, raised the Shey sword, and charged. Misti slipped her dagger back into her belt and lifted the Moon Knight sword. She glanced at Dis, who huffed in reply, and then threw Zora into the air. Zora flared her wings and zipped straight at the suncreature’s head, and then darted sideways. Dis followed. The four heads followed them instead of Dylori charging around it. Against her better judgment, Misti ran after her, sword at the ready.

  The suncreature unleashed another four attacks, this time directed at Dis and Zora, who ducked and swerved out of their way. Dylori had used their distraction to leap right up onto the suncreature’s back and plunge the Shey sword into the creature’s flesh. It bellowed—an angry four-jawed roar that shook the ground—and swiped at Dylori with its massive claws. Dylori ripped the sword out, a spiral of fiery blood trailing the blade, and leapt back from its attack, grinning. The
suncreature swiped again, its claws missing Dylori by a hair.

  Fear paralyzed Misti for a moment. Her breath caught, hand growing cold on her hilt, but Dylori laughed. The suncreature seemed off balance, rearing on its hind legs and body twisted around, so Dylori lunged.

  But the suncreature wasn’t off balance. Misti had seen this creature stand tall on its hind legs when it seemed to analyze her earlier, and even with its necks and body twisted like they were, she knew it wouldn’t topple over like Dylori assumed. Dylori swung the Shey sword in a powerful downward arc, but the suncreature’s armored forehead took the brunt of her swing, blade sliding off as smoothly as it would a shield. The head shoved Dylori back onto her heels, but she caught herself and waited for an opening. It was a terrifying and awesome sight. Dylori standing alone, sword at the ready and legs planted, silhouetted against the suncreature’s white body that shimmered yellow and orange and red. All four massive heads turned their wrathful gaze to her, ignoring Dis and Zora and Misti. Four sets of eyes like burning coals narrowed their sights on Dylori.

  Misti knew Dylori’s instinct would be to attack right now, to use all her strength to slash into this creature, to wound it until it died. But she also knew that strategy wouldn’t work. It was too big, too strange for sheer power to overtake it. The creature was slow, so they had to be quick, agile, nimble. The vulnix way. But before Misti could do anything, say anything, the suncreature swung its heads down, all four jaws snapping. Dylori deflected one head, leapt sideways to avoid another, and rolled under a third, but she couldn’t get out of reach of the fourth—the spiky one. It clamped down on Dylori’s shoulder, teeth crunching onto her armor there. Dylori yelled, trying and failing to slice into the creature. It had latched onto her sword arm and she couldn’t get an angle on it.

  Misti’s heart pounded in her ears, blocking out all other sounds, and her body returned to her. Help her, you idiot! Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword, and her fear evaporated as the need to protect Dylori kicked in. She sliced once, twice, three times at the spiked head, aiming for its eyes since they were the only weak spot she could see. Her attacks landed quick and true, destroying both eyes. Fiery blood gushed from its wounds, and the suncreature bellowed, detaching itself from Dylori’s shoulder and rearing. Its massive spiked head knocked the borrowed Moon Knight sword from Misti’s hand, sending it clattering to the ground, but Zora attacked, aiming her claws at the armored one’s eyes and distracting it. Misti pulled Dylori back and took a frantic look at her. Ice caked her ruined armor. Blood poured down Dylori’s shoulder, soaking her tunic deep orange, and her dark skin was paler, the gray lines by her eyes turning a lighter shade. She was losing so much blood. Her usually bright eyes were closed, and for a heartbeat, Misti feared she had died.

  “Dylori!” Misti shook her.

  Dylori groaned in response, and Misti patted her cheek.

  “Good. Keep groaning.” She called Dis over and tangled Dylori’s hand into his fur. “Heal yourself. I’ll be right back.”

  Trusting that Dis would help Dylori, Misti turned her attention back to the suncreature. Zora had successfully clawed out another set of eyes—the armored one, this time—but the suncreature didn’t seem daunted by that. It let out another bellow and stretched its heads out to Zora, emitting a terrifying wave of all four substances in her direction. Zora managed to dodge all but one. Even though the spiked head couldn’t see, the ice caught Zora on the tip of her wing and sent her off balance, spiraling away from Misti.

  Misti’s stomach clenched at the sight, but she kept her focus on the suncreature. She couldn’t reach the suncreature’s heads, so she did the next best thing. Use the vulnix way. Remembering what Arias had taught her when using the bow—the inhale and exhale, the steadying of shoulders and arms—she called up her crafting, the familiar orange glow tinting the world and sharpening her vision.

  Aiming for the horned head closest to Zora, the one opening its jaws, Misti threw her dagger, sinking it deep into the folds of the suncreature’s skin. The head went limp, crashing to the forest floor. Zora perched in a tree above it, curled tight but safe.

  Yes! The three other heads tilted toward the fallen one, bellowing, then swung around toward her. Toward her friends. Misti considered staying between the creature and Dylori, but if it lashed out with one of those elemental attacks they’d all be caught in it. Be quick. She took a risk and dashed at the suncreature, eyes only on the dagger now sticking out of the spiked neck. Her fingers curled around the dagger just as the horned head spit fire. She dove out of the way, feeling the heat against her skin and smelling a horrible acrid whiff of burnt flesh as the flames scorched the dead head.

  Misti darted around it, trying desperately to get away from the suncreature’s attacks. She narrowed her eyes, saw the opening for her attack, and threw her dagger again, this one sinking into the back of the horned head’s neck. The head crashed to the ground. Excitement sparked through Misti at the sight. Two down!

  Misti ran to grab the dagger. She had assumed that with two of its heads as dead weight, the suncreature would back off, maybe try to save its own life, maybe run away. But the armored head snapped down before she could get to her weapon. It didn’t have sharp teeth like the others, but its gummy jaws clamped onto her leg and squeezed it tight. Black tar slopped from its mouth, burning where it touched her skin. Misti yelled, her muscles tightening in response to the agonizing pressure of the jaws, but thankfully nothing broke.

  Panic raced through her as the head swung her up and away from her dagger, her vision blurring into a gray whirlwind. No! Her sight solidified on the last head—the one with curved teeth—and fear choked her scream in her throat. Dangling helplessly, she’d be ripped apart for sure, if not melted by acid first.

  Zora fluttered between Misti and the curved teeth with the dagger clamped in her jaws. Good girl. Misti grabbed the dagger and swung up at the armored head that held her, hoping to hit some weak spot that would let her go. She embedded the dagger into the underside of the suncreature’s neck, and a gush of bright yellow spurted from the wound, covering her arms in blood that seemed to contain the same burning properties as the tar. She shrieked from the pain. Then the jaws slackened, and she dropped to the ground, twisting her ankle and wrenching her knee. White-hot agony spiked up her leg from the impact. She focused on the dying head. It swung this way and that in its struggle to stay alive, spraying blackness onto the trees, onto the ground, onto the other heads. Finally, it came crashing to the ground beside the others.

  A deep aching pain shuddered through Misti as she pulled herself over to the armored head and yanked her dagger free. Zora zoomed around the remaining head, but she couldn’t distract it from Misti. The last pair of red eyes narrowed, and it opened its jaws.

  I won’t die today. The thought tore through Misti. Not here. Not yet. She narrowed her eyes, focusing her gaze on the suncreature’s mouth, already dripping with yellow acid, until she found the spot she wanted to hit. She hurled the dagger with all her might, sending it flying into the roof of the suncreature’s mouth. It sank up to the hilt into the creature’s flesh. The head reared back for a moment, then crashed to the ground, its entire body crumbling to a heap of burning red and black ash.

  A fierce joy spread through Misti. She had killed the creature. Not with the pendant or brute strength, but with targeted attacks aimed true. Zora landed by Misti’s side and nudged her, healing her ankle and knee. The shuddering pain subsided, and her wrenched knee stopped pounding. Not fully healed, but she’d be able to walk, and Zora would give her more once they found a safer place to rest. Zora’s calm spirit warmed her, wrapping around her like a soft blanket.

  Misti scratched Zora under the chin and gently rubbed the ice crystals off her feathers. “Thank you, Zora.”

  Dis had settled down in front of Dylori, and while Dylori was sitting upright on her own, Misti knew she had lost quite a bit of blood and would need to rest, regardless of what Dis had done for
her. The gash in her shoulder had completely healed, but the armor had holes through it and would need to be repaired. They both stared at her as she approached holding Zora in her arms.

  “Are you okay?” Misti asked, dropping down next to Dylori.

  “I am. That head was the worst one, I think. Never using ice in my water ever again.” Dylori gave her a sheepish grin and scratched her left horn. Her eyes drifted to the pile of ash behind Misti and Zora. “That was impressive.”

  “Thanks,” Misti replied. Though Zora had given Misti enough life-energy to heal, tiredness crept through her. They’d both have to rest soon. She stole a quick glance into the gray forest. So much for heading deeper into it today.

  “Sorry about that,” Dylori grumbled. “I thought we could take it easier.”

  “Well, we could…just not with the techniques Zarious taught us. Sometimes brute strength doesn’t work.” Misti shook her head, remembering that Arias had said something similar. She put her hand on Dylori’s arm and squeezed. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “You, too.” Dylori bit her lip and looked away. “I shouldn’t have run in like that. Again. It got us both hurt.”

  Anger at the reckless way Dylori had acted burst in Misti’s chest, surprising her, but she buried it. Now wasn’t the time. Dylori had apologized, and it was just her nature to be reckless. It hadn’t been much of an issue when they were with the Moon Knights. They had other fighters at their side, to fill in the gaps when Dylori rushed headlong into the fight, but now, with just the two of them, maybe she’d have to rethink her fighting style.

  Without thinking, she swept some dark hair off Dylori’s forehead. Dylori arched her eyebrow, and Misti gave her an apologetic grin, heat creeping up her neck. Perhaps that was too intimate a gesture. Clearing her throat, she said, “We’ll do better next time. We’re a team, okay? We just need to learn how to fight with two people instead of ten.”