“It's working!” marveled Kaleb.
But the moment Minx pulled her hand away, Alla could be seen to wince.
The flow of tainted blood from the wound suddenly increased, and the gash lengthened once more, all the progress being undone within the space of a minute. What? Why isn't she healing? The wound was almost closed. I've never seen this before... Closing her eyes, she attempted the spell once more, her soft fingertips sparking with energy and Alla's wound again responding to its restorative warmth. Still, she was unsettled. Her attempts at healing had never failed in this way. Something, though she couldn't say what, was keeping her Fae magic from functioning as normal.
Kaleb nudged Minx's arm. “I think that'll do,” he said, noting a second closure of the wound. “For the time being, anyway. If we stick around too long, those archers are bound to fire on us again. Do you think she's out of the woods?”
Mau sniffed at the unconscious girl. Her breathing seems stable, at least.
“I don't think we have a choice. Let's get her out of here.” Minx watched as Kaleb scooped Alla up in his arms. Donning his dragon form and bathing their meager camp in dense shadow, both she and the Faelyr took refuge on his back and were promptly lifted over the tops of the trees. Gliding on a powerful wind, Kaleb carried them higher, reaching such heights that no arrow could hope to reach them from the treetops below.
The dragon coasted for miles before making a hasty landing in a field beyond the opposite edge of the woods. Setting Alla down carefully, he returned to his human form and scanned the treeline. “OK, give her another look. I think we're far enough away that they won't be able to find us. Not right away, at least.”
Minx sat beside Alla, gauging the girl's vital signs and recovery. The wound was still seeping, though the last burst of Fae magic had been seemingly effective. “She's healing... slowly. But if we keep moving her, I don't know if she'll hold up. We need to stay put awhile.” She grimaced. “I'm not so worried about the wound. It's the poison that's the trouble. I don't have a good way to draw it out. The herbs may not be effective, depending on what sort of toxin the assassins used. I can administer healing to help her body through the side-effects, but she'll have to recover from the poison herself. I've never tried to heal someone suffering from severe poisoning.”
“Do you think her body will be able to handle it?” chanced Kaleb, eyes cloudy with concern.
From where I'm standing, she's got a fifty-fifty shot, wagered Mau. Depends on what kind of poison they used and how much of it was absorbed.
Minx nodded. “I think it's possible... if she's a fighter.”
“All right, let's stay put here, then. We can even set up a fresh camp,” concluded Kaleb. “I think we built enough distance from Alla's friends back there. The odds of them coming around to this edge of the forest are slim; and it'll take them the better part of a day to cover that much ground on foot.”
The remainder of the day was spent nursing Alla in the shade of the nearby forest. Kaleb gathered wood, water and food while Minx and Mau kept a close eye on the girl, administering intermittent healing when the strain of the poison looked to be too great. Alla's torment was clear; the toxins flowing through her veins had left her dripping with sweat, and on those rare occasions when she opened her eyes, they still possessed that strange, glazed look about them. Though she had no detectable fever, her slender body was racked with chills and her pulse would at times become erratic. The afternoon passed with little improvement.
The healings continued past sundown, as they all sat around the fire. The wound had long since stopped bleeding, and with Mau's help Kaleb had sought out a fine, broad leaf to use as an antiseptic bandage. Sitting in the firelight, slumping against Mau, the Fae huntress was exhausted. It required a great deal of effort to cast Fae healing magic, and never once had she attempted this much healing in a single day. Utterly drained, she nodded off beside the Faelyr.
“Think she'll be all right by tomorrow?” asked Kaleb, motioning to Alla.
“Possibly,” replied Minx through a yawn. “We're close to Pandling... If we can get her to one of the healers there she'll stand a much better chance. We just need to make sure she's stable enough to travel.” With a thin cloth, she dabbed the sweat from Alla's brow and counted her respirations. “She's doing better, but her healing has been slower than I expected. My magic... for whatever reason, it doesn't work perfectly on her.”
Kaleb cocked his head to the side. “You don't say...” He smirked. “Well, one thing's for sure. She's only still alive thanks to you. You brought her to safety after the attack, and you've been healing her hourly ever since. I'm sure she would have died if not for you. That's quite a power you have there.”
Minx was too tired to accept the compliment, and instead turned her bleary eyes from him to keep from blushing any harder. “Healing spells are basic. Any Fae worth their salt ought to be able to do this. We're a powerful people.”
The night was a blur. Kaleb slept with one eye open, canvassing the woods for signs of the dark Fae archers. Minx and Mau, dozing at turns, remained at Alla's side. Healing spells were cast, resulting in incremental gains in the patient's condition, but whether she would recover enough by morning to stand on her own two feet was uncertain. Hardly able to keep her own eyes open, Minx knelt beside the girl, channeling her energies. Don't get too cozy, she told the dozy Faelyr. If I have to keep this up all night, I might need you to start healing me. I feel exhausted.
The long night finally drew to a close, however, Alla's profuse sweating and labored breathing ceased, and she finally appeared to be resting calmly. The poison was still circulating in her veins—and would likely continue to do so for some days—but with the help of Minx's healing energies, her body seemed to be holding up well against the toxic onslaught. In the hours before daylight, it was decided that Alla could go a bit longer between treatments, and Minx capitalized on the opportunity to get some much-needed sleep.
The sun drew her back to wakefulness far too soon—as did the touch of an unexpected hand.
The Fae huntress sat up, bumping into Mau, and found Alla tugging at her arm from nearby. “Minx... water,” she muttered.
“Alla, you're awake!” Minx wiped the heaviness from her eyes and picked up one of the water skins that Kaleb had recently filled on a scouting run. The girl drank deeply before setting it aside and lowering herself back onto the grass with a sigh. “How do you feel? Any pains? Any strange sensations?”
Alla's energy had been fully expended in this search for water, but she managed to give a noncommittal shrug before returning to an uneasy sleep.
Kaleb had been awake for some time, and had just returned with a bit of kindling for the fire. “Good morning,” he said, snapping a handful of twigs and tossing them into the blaze. “How are things looking?”
Minx stood, stretching. “She's coming around.” She pulled a few blades of grass from her hair and looked up into the brightening sky. “She just asked for water. I don't think she's cured yet, but she's probably stable enough to travel. We'll have to carry her, I think.”
“No problem. We can set off in a bit. Pandling Grounds isn't too far from here. We can have your people looking after her by late afternoon, tops.” He turned suddenly, eyes narrowing in perusal of the treeline.
“What's the matter?” asked Minx.
Kaleb was silent for a time, then shook his head. “Never mind. I'm getting paranoid, I guess. I kept watch for most of the night—there was no one out there. I'm sure we're alone. The archers have certainly lost our trail.” He motioned to Mau. “Go ahead and get ready. The sooner we get moving, the better.”
The camp was cleared, the fire extinguished and their meager supplies gathered. Minx scarfed down a hasty ration and took up her weapon. “We're all set. Let's get moving.”
The dragon shifter took Alla in his arms and led the way, with Minx and Mau bringing up the flank. It was decided that Kaleb would take flight and carry them close to the boundary
of Pandling Grounds. “Like I said, it shouldn't take us too long. We'll be there before you know it. Just... do me a favor and don't gouge my hide this time, Mau.” They set out from their camp and marched quietly across the field, looking to the horizon.
But Kaleb didn't get a chance to shift before trouble reared its head.
They had departed a few yards from the campsite, from the edge of the woods, when an arrow came zipping toward them from the dense growth. It had been Mau who'd first taken notice, her sensitive hearing having heard the pluck of a tightly-drawn bow. The Faelyr leapt into the air and knocked the arrow to the ground with a great swipe, then took a few paces toward the woods, growling. They found us.
A handful of doubtful shapes were visible between the trees—five, perhaps six silhouettes in total. Each of them held a bow.
“It's them,” spat Minx, nocking an arrow and preparing to let loose. “It's the Zuscha from yesterday.”
There was one among them, a figure at the group's center, who stood a full head and shoulders taller than the rest, and whose odd dress and bearing gave the Fae huntress pause. This one, ahead of his shadowed fellows, emerged from the brush and gave a deep chuckle that could be heard even from across the field. He marched purposefully toward Minx and the others, a densely-built bow clutched in one hand and an arrow in the other.
The man—a human, clearly—was tall and muscular. His shoulder-length black hair flailed in the wind, wild as the mane of a great and fearful beast. His leathern armor and grey cloak were mottled with grime, and as he drew nearer, his arms, hands and feet appeared stained with earth as well. This was a man who spent his time in the brush; he had the aura and carriage of a hunter, and looked as though he lived among the creatures he hunted. The right side of his face was obscured by a bone-colored plate taken from some large trophy animal. This plate, featuring a large hole near its center through which one of his smoky eyes stared intensely, was carved with an intricate ceremonial design. The other side of his face was uncovered, save for a charcoal-colored mark beneath his left eye. This, it appeared, was a thin tattoo of some kind, which cut across his cheek and stretched nearly to his hard, stubbled jaw.
Aside from the bow, he carried a large, clanging sack over one shoulder, and the edges of his cloak appeared to tremble for the presence of other weapons—swords and bludgeons—that he kept strapped to his back. The chuckling hunter, trekking across the field with his arsenal, lifted the arrow in his hand, and in doing so summoned a number of Zuscha from the depths of the woods. They fell into step behind him, silent as shadows.
Minx raised her bow, and it was only a grunt from Kaleb that kept her from firing right then and there at the approaching hunter. She wasn't in a talking mood. Her stressful night had left her on edge, and until they'd returned to familiar territory—to the comfort of Pandling Grounds—she wouldn't be able to let her guard down.
“Who're you?” demanded Kaleb, still carrying Alla in his arms. The girl stirred, opening her eyes weakly and getting a look at the oncoming gang of archers. At sight of them, she shuddered violently and buried her face against the dragon shifter's shoulder.
The hunter, in a gravelly voice better suited to an animal, thrust his chin at Kaleb in salutation, then motioned at the girl in his grasp. “Mighty far from home, aren't you, Alla? Someone must be worried sick about you, no?” The Zuscha at his rear began fanning out, encircling Minx and the others with bows at the ready. Every one of these nocked arrows, whose points glistened in the new sunlight, were likely to be poisoned.
Alla didn't respond to the hunter's taunt, but instead shook her head as if trying to repel his voice.
“Friend of yours, Alla?” asked Kaleb, regarding the hunter narrowly.
“No...” she managed.
Minx's temper reached the boiling point. Taking aim at the human hunter, she cut into him with a sharp gaze. “Who are you, and why did you attack us yesterday?” The creaking of her bow as she drew it punctuated the question with ferociousness. If she didn't like his answer, she'd send the arrow right between his eyes.
Alla shifted in Kaleb's grasp, and with a deep breath she lowered her feet to the ground, clinging to him for support. She was barely able to stand, and her silvery locks were matted to her brow by fresh sweat. The poison robbed her of all strength, and even as she held onto Kaleb's arm, she swayed feebly. “L-Leave us alone... Just go away...” she mumbled.
“You heard her,” said Minx. “Turn around and go back to where you came from.”
The hunter and his dark Fae minions made no such move, however.
I'll take the ones on the left, offered Mau, claws extended. You handle the hunter and the ones on the right. Give Kaleb cover so that he can keep Alla safe.
Minx allowed herself a little grin. That's just what I was thinking.
Without warning, she let the arrow fly.
In the same instant, Mau loosed a terrible roar and lunged to the left, rushing at one of the waiting Zuscha.
The entire field fell into chaos.
Mau's claws sank into the archer's flesh. The Faelyr took the assailant to the ground and battered him with punishing swipes. Making sure to snap the assassin's bowstring, she hopped off the dazed archer and rushed headlong toward the next, narrowly avoiding an arrow which sank into the ground beside her. She jumped into the air, all four paws meeting the archer's torso and shoulders, and delivered a fearsome bite to the back of the neck. With a grating shout, the Zuscha crumpled beneath her weight.
Minx's arrow whistled through the air and would have found its home in the human hunter's skull if not for the rustling of his ashen cloak. He dropped the arrow he'd been holding and reached for something else, instead. From beneath his garment there came a large wooden club, which was stealthily raised in defense. The arrowhead was planted deeply in the knotted wood, and was then cast aside.
The Fae huntress couldn't help but be shaken at this display. He's pretty fast for a human... How did he do that?
The hunter wasted no time. He knelt just long enough to nab his dropped arrow, nocked it, and then sent it streaming toward her in a smooth upward arc that she barely evaded. He then stood to his full height, nocking a second. Meanwhile, the other Zuscha on the scene weren't fooling around. They stepped away from the fray just long enough to take aim and fire, and their poisoned arrows crackled as they leapt through the air. One shot grazed Minx's side, but mercifully failed to penetrate her jumpsuit. Another ripped past her so closely she could feel the tug of the arrowhead as it claimed a few of her hairs.
Still other arrows flew—these intended for a different target. Two arrows, one from the right and another from the left, sailed toward Alla from two of the opportunistic archers. Kaleb had been aware of their movements, but his footwork wasn't quick enough to completely outrun the shots, which met his back plate and faulds were met with a metallic crash. Had the shots been a bit higher, they'd have easily pierced the girl, who trembled in Kaleb's grasp.
Mau locked her jaws around an archer's leg and dragged him to the ground before he could launch another arrow. The Zuscha groaned as the Faelyr's full weight landed on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. A meaty paw tipped in razor-sharp claws met the side of his face and set him squirming against the soil. We need to hurry. They're going to kill the girl if we don't shut them down quickly!
Minx, the back of her neck tingling for the closeness of the human hunter's last shot, plucked a fresh arrow from her quiver. I'm doing my best, all right? This guy's no lightweight, though... Calling upon all her swiftness, the Fae huntress feinted toward the right. The hunter's aim followed—but no sooner did he move to fire did Minx cut back to the left, her nimble feet charging across the field and her fingers sending a blistering volley straight at the adversary's breast.
The hunter dropped to his knees, bow and arrow tumbling from his grasp. This had been his only way out—any other movement would have seen him skewered by the shot. He'd narrowly evaded the arrow but was now prone.
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Gotcha! Minx sped toward him, arrow poised for a point-black shot.
But the hunter had another trick up his sleeve. Rather than freezing in fear or pleading for his life, the unkempt warrior smirked and produced a wide, flat blade from beneath his cloak, the edge of which sheared off the tip of her arrow before she could fire it.
Minx staggered backward, nearly catching the blade in the stomach as he delivered a second thrust. What in the world? He's so fast... I can't hit him from a distance, and he's too dangerous to engage from up-close!
Chuckling, the hunter pointed at Alla with his blade and gave a sharp whistle which the remaining Zuscha took for a command. They lowered their weapons and turned to him expectantly. “All right,” he growled. “That's enough. Just come on over here, Alla. I've got what you need, after all.”
“She's not going with you. Come anywhere near her and you'll regret it,” promised Minx, prepping yet another arrow. Strong though he was, she'd exhaust her quiver before letting this fiend make off with Alla. Mau snarled in the face of a fallen archer and then strode toward Minx, ready to seize upon the hunter herself. Don't, warned the Fae huntress. He's good at close quarters. If we're going to take him out, we're going to have to be strategic about it.
The hunter ignored Minx's threat and nodded toward Kaleb. “All right, Alla. Enough of these games. Come along, now.”
Weak and barely clinging to consciousness, Alla turned toward him and summoned her voice. “Just leave me alone! I don't want to come with you!” she barked tearfully.
The hunter did not press them any further. He shook his head and tossed his brawny shoulders. “So be it. I could've helped you, Alla—but if you'd rather pal around with this lot, that's your funeral.” He motioned into the distance with his blade. “I don't have all day to convince you. The Wuff are getting mighty uppity and I have plans to kneecap their forces. This has been a fine warmup, but if you're going to play stubborn, I'm done with you.” He signaled to the Zuscha, who mechanically lowered their weapons and returned to him.
How to Kill a Dragon (Heir of Dragons Book 1) Page 11