She didn't expect the bear to completely turn from Skye and start attacking her, but somehow she wasn't surprised when it happened. It turned and lunged at her, knocking the wind out of her as she hit the ground. Ashlyn found herself dodging teeth, claws and slimy strings of drool. She scrambled sideways as the bear snapped its jaws shut inches from her face, and she brought her bare foot around to connect with the side of its head.
The blow didn't seem to faze the beast at all.
Ashlyn flipped up in a scissor-kick, again landing a solid hit, but she might as well have been beating her legs against a brick wall. Nothing happened. A little shaky from the sudden exertion, she stood and dodged another advance from the bear, wondering how the hell she was going to fight her way out of this one.
"Ashlyn," Drake said calmly from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at him and squeaked out an exclamation when she saw that he had his revolver aimed right at her.
"Wait a second!" she yelped, dropping into a crouch, covering her head with her arms and waiting for the sound of the gunshot. But it didn't come.
She looked up just in time to leap out of the way of yet another swipe from the bear. "Uh, Drake?" Ashlyn exclaimed, executing a perfect jab to the monster's throat- or at least, where she assumed his throat was underneath all that fur. It must have worked, because the bear staggered backwards on its hind legs, hacking up spittle.
Just then a giant bolt of lightning split the sky, zig-zagging down to tear through the grass in front of Ashlyn and hit the bear. The smell of burning fur whipped along the wind of the storm, and the creature shrieked, pawing uselessly at its blistering skin as it fell forward. Ashlyn scrambled out of the way of the flailing monster, swallowing hard and trying her best not to wonder if the bear was anyone she knew.
As the beast finally stilled, singed fur still smoking, Skye walked up beside her. "A scout," he said grimly. "This is actually good news. We bought some time by killing him. They'll wait before sending another one. They have no idea where it's possible to penetrate the city's defenses, and this guy's not about to tell them."
"Right." Ashlyn stared down at the dying bear. "Aaron," she said before she could change her mind, "take him to the pagoda. Restrain him, but see if he can be saved. He may be useful to us later. Skye, we need to set up that perimeter defense." She turned to head back to the main gate.
"Ashlyn," Aaron said as she walked away.
"What?" She glanced over her shoulder and stopped.
The bear was shape-shifting, its fur slowly receding into seared skin, its features changing into something entirely more human- and familiar.
Heart in her throat, Ashlyn jogged back to the naked man and knelt beside him.
"Oh no," she murmured.
"Someone you know?" Skye called.
Ashlyn looked up, met Aaron's eyes. "It's my cousin, Soryl," she said. "Help me move him to the pagoda."
Chapter 14
Shaky Ground
“Wait." Drake knelt beside her, so close she could feel the heat of his shoulder against hers, a shock from the chilly western air.
"There's no time to wait." Ashlyn shifted her weight, balancing herself. "Aaron, help me-"
"Ashlyn," Drake interrupted gently, touching her arm. "The army awaits your orders."
She paused, looking at him incredulously. Being Drake, she kind of expected him to be out of the loop sometimes, but how, exactly, could he think of the Toryn army at a time like this?
"The city is under attack," he said, unnerving in his infinite patience. "They need a leader."
"And this kid needs a healer," Aaron said. He chewed agitatedly on his ever-present cigarette. "I'll do my best, just get the troops rallied fer me."
Slowly it began to occur to Ashlyn what was happening. They were telling her, in the most respectful way possible, that she couldn't help her cousin now. They were telling her she needed to put aside her personal ties and be a leader.
"Oh," she said in a small voice, the incredible vastness of her undertaking suddenly seeming overwhelming.
Skye seemed to notice her distress, and moved into action, as he always did. "Aaron, move him to the pagoda. When you're finished, come back out and Ash will assign you to your post. Ashlyn," and he put a hand on her elbow, pulling her up to her feet effortlessly, "we need to give the troops a purpose. Are you all right?"
"Sure," she said reflexively, without bothering to stop and consider, then shook her head. "I mean…"
Skye gave her arm a squeeze, and she glanced up at him, wishing for the millionth time that she could read his thoughts in his eyes. He'd spent the entirety of their undertaking with Lord Angelo leading FLD, fighting to overcome his private demons every step of the way. Ashlyn had never realized until now how intense the pressure must have been. He was a natural leader, but his time was past. Now he was supporting her in the only way he could- silently.
"I'm fine," she said softly, and turned, his hand slipping from her elbow as she did. The cold air that hit her skin at the absence of his fingers sent a shiver up her bicep, and Ashlyn wrapped her arms around herself, noting to herself that the rain had started again. Defending the city would be considerably more difficult when she could hardly see ten feet in front of her own face.
A blonde woman appeared in front of her then, herding a small group of children in front of her. About twenty Toryn soldiers marched behind, solemn but obviously scared.
"Trace," Ashlyn said, touching the Spartan's arm. “The kids- you're taking them to my house?"
The older girl looked at Ashlyn warily. "Wasn't that what you told me to do?"
"Yes. I mean- yes, that's exactly what I want you to do." Ashlyn stared at one tearful little girl, clutching a ragged stuffed bear in one arm, her thumb jammed in her mouth. "These kids are everything. Take care of them.”
The blonde girl smiled, some of her icy demeanor melting away. "You've got FLD behind you," she said, squeezing Ashlyn's shoulder. "I think you're going to be fine. But thank you. We'll see you when it's over." She turned and went back to the milling children, clucking like a mother hen as she ushered them towards Ashlyn's home.
When Ashlyn turned around, her friends were standing before her, minus Aaron, who apparently hadn't returned from the pagoda yet. Just the sight of her friends, together again, uniting in battle to help her, gave Ashlyn confidence. The clouds had made it so dark she could hardly see their expressions, but the sight of them was comforting all the same.
"Hello again," she said, grinning. It would have been much, much too awkward to be somber in the face of her doom. After all, her friends were the best warriors in the world. There was no force on the earth strong enough to defeat them- not Lord Angelo, and certainly not some ragtag army of magic-driven beasts.
The Toryn army, ever at the ready, stood behind them, clustered together in separate groups and looking as though they were ready to be assigned. Ashlyn wondered if her friends had had anything to do with that, and felt a rush of gratitude.
"Okay," she said firmly. "I want two battalions at the path to Na Michico. That's the most likely point of entry if they come from the northwest. Drake and Sk-" She hesitated, realizing that it was probably better to keep Skye close to her in case she needed some advice, and substituted, "Drake and Aaron, I want you to take the soldiers up there and defend the path. Don't send anyone beyond the walls of the city at any point, and try to make use of the archers as much as possible."
It seemed like she should say more, give them a specific plan of action, but for some reason she was drawing a complete blank on what else she could say. "You can send runners if you need help," she said finally. "It's possible that they may only attack from the south, but if you should see them, contact me immediately. Don't be afraid to request reinforcements."
She opened her mouth to assign everyone else to their positions, but suddenly there was a giant boom behind her, followed by an intense wave of heat that flattened her like a rice cake. She hit the ground hard, smackin
g her forehead on the grass, and sprang up immediately, spinning on her heels, the breath torn from her body in a single instant.
The pagoda was on fire.
A shadow fell over Ashlyn, blocking the light from the burning temple, and she didn't stop to think- she dropped to her belly, scraping her elbows painfully. She flattened herself to the ground as a bear leaped over her. The bear was unable to stop his forward motion enough to counter her quick maneuver, and his claws only shrieked on the surface of her sheath and shredded her shirt. Ashlyn jumped up and threw a straight jab, then another, and kept going when the beast roared its anger. She ducked a swipe from the first bear and hit him with an uppercut, then spun in a leg sweep, knocking him to the ground. She followed up the assault with a high-pitched yell, completely focused on casting her magic as fire rolled up in great flames around her opponent.
Ashlyn spared a glance to her right, recognizing only Restlyn in the midst of dozens of soldiers, sparsely intermixed with the beasts. The brunette was fighting smoothly, her movements flawless and calculated even as she shouted orders to her soldiers. Ashlyn looked to the left and swallowed, seeing only wave upon wave of beasts and Toryn soldiers coming towards her. The monsters were ridiculously outnumbered. This fight should be easy enough.
Motioning to the soldiers behind her and shouting for them to follow, she was off and running before reality sank in. How the hell was it possible that there were even a few dozen of these creatures? The shift magic was indigenous; no one but a Li could wield its strength!
She vaulted into the river and came up the other side, lashing out with her sword in a series of short leaps that cut down the single monster she came upon. Her attack was halted abruptly when something hit her from behind and pushed, and it took Ashlyn a moment to realize that she was being shoved along by frenzied Toryn, far too quickly to see if the enemy was anywhere near.
Someone grabbed her hair and yanked, hard, and she yelped as she was hauled back mercilessly, catching herself with her hands behind her, digging in her heels and somehow managing to stay standing even as she was bent over backwards. She struck out with the heel of her fist, catching her assailant in the throat, but lost her balance when he let her go, and fell on the ground, landing with a splash in a huge puddle of rainwater.
She choked as the breath was knocked from her, and lay there for a split second, trying to get her bearings.
A gleam glinted out of the corner of her eye at the same instant that a bear grabbed her by the front of the shirt, pulling her up. Her sword! Ashlyn twisted sideways- there went her shirt, completely this time- and hit the ground again, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of yet another monster. When she snatched up her sword, the weight of it was comforting in her hands.
A bear bent over her, snarling, spittle flying everywhere, and lifted its massive paw, preparing for a lethal swipe. Ashlyn skittered sideways, sending tiny waves of red-tinged water splashing across the ground, and rolled. She didn't know where she was going, but she hit a succession of legs and tripped a fair amount of soldiers in the process.
She leaped to her feet and turned, grabbing onto the corner of Heaven’s roof with one hand and hauling herself up onto the thin wooden railing that ran the length of the bar. Turning, she sheathed her sword and narrowed her eyes, struggling to see well enough to take aim in the pouring rain. Water and sweat dripped down her face. She wrinkled her nose, trying to escape the tickling sensation.
One…
Ashlyn jumped over a lash-out from one of the monsters, teetering precariously as she found her footing again on the narrow railing, somehow still managing to throw a kick at her assailant and knock him away.
She couldn't see any creatures beyond a circle of twenty meters.
Why were they all attacking her?
Two…
Grabbing the edge of the roof again, she hung onto it as she swung off the wall. She wrapped her legs around the neck of a bear who was clutching a Toryn man, holding him up loftily as though the poor man were some kind of trophy. Ashlyn clamped her knees as tight as she could and twisted violently, breaking the monster's neck. It was so easy that she almost lost her balance, but still maintained her grip on the roof and stayed upright.
Three!
Ashlyn steadied herself and stared out at the flustered army. Pulling a handful of small bo shurikens from the pouch at her belt, she threw them carefully, deliberately, and the tiny spikes didn't disappoint her. The gleaming shuriken cut through the rain and embedded themselves in the chests of of one, two, three, four monsters, and a fifth shuriken hit a tree with such force that a hail of dry leaves came raining down.
Ashlyn gasped as something smashed into her legs from behind. It happened so quickly there was no way to react, no reflexes to save herself, and Ashlyn's legs flipped out from underneath her, sending her tumbling backwards. She landed on top of the bear who had hit her, and Ashlyn screamed as she felt his sharp fangs sink into her bare shoulder.
She brought her left foot up in a straight back-kick, almost bending herself completely in half in an effort to land a hit over her shoulder- but her movement was limited and she couldn't connect. The bear's teeth dug deeper into her flesh. Ashlyn swallowed a scream and kicked out desperately, pushing against the wall, sliding them both across the ground a few inches. Not enough to deter her attacker. His massive paw came around to rest heavily on her breastbone, pinning her down even more securely.
She could feel the blood loss now- her vision was snapping with sparks and her entire body was shaking. Out of sheer desperation, Ashlyn grasped the arm across her chest, digging her fingernails under the stane lodged within his armband. She didn't know if it was possible to remove a stane during a spell-casting, or even if it would shape-shift him back into human form if she was successful, but it was her only option. Her fingernails splintered under the frantic pressure, but at last the gem popped out of its slot, sliding smoothly into Ashlyn's hand.
Beneath her, the beast roared and began to spasm.
She gritted her teeth and hauled herself up, bracing her arms and legs against the floor and forcing her body up in a sort of crab-walk position. Unable to support itself, the bear stayed on the ground, and it released its hold on her shoulder. Ashlyn could hardly believe that such a simple trick worked, but she wasn't going to ask questions- and she rolled to the side, drawing her sword and climbing to her feet, only to drop to the ground again as what looked like a giant black cat leaped straight at her.
Not waiting to see if the cat was going to chase her, she sprang up, vaulted over the railing and ran as fast as she could- which admittedly wasn't very fast, considering she was, in her desperation, fighting her way through throngs of soldiers towards the pagoda.
Her head was still spinning from blood loss and the awful pain. Ducking behind the sparse shelter of a tree beside the stairs leading to the bell tower and pagoda platform, she tried to push the shift stane into her pocket, but her shorts were too tight and her hands were shaking, both from blood loss and the intense cold. Ashlyn deliberated for a split second- she couldn't just leave it lying around if her ultimate goal was to destroy the magic. Putting it into the single empty slot in her armband went against her better judgment, but there was no other option.
She angled it into the slender metal band and then turned her attention to her shoulder, which was still bleeding profusely. Cursing under her breath, Ashlyn took a deep breath and shivered, trying to center herself for a healing spell. She didn't have much time, and that scared her. Heal was helpful in the fact that it could turn a life-threatening injury to a mere flesh wound, and could almost completely heal anything lesser, but battles were won and lost depending on the enemy's perseverance. If injuries couldn't be treated immediately and the spell-caster didn't have time to call for magic, even small wounds could mean defeat.
A low growl penetrated her consciousness, and Ashlyn looked up, focusing on the panther-like creature that was stalking towards her. She lifted the sword and gaspe
d, dropping her arm as slivers of agony shot through her shoulder. Taking the weapon in her right hand, Ashlyn struck a defensive position. Her flippant conversation with Skye on the airship came to mind now-
What happens if your left side is incapacitated somehow?
Then I fight with my right.
-And she realized suddenly how rash she'd been, training so determinedly left-handed, working towards hair-splitting accuracy and strength, that she'd almost completely neglected her right side. There was no way she could fight back with her right arm, and there was almost no possibility of the inexperienced, terrified Toryn soldiers offering any assistance.
The panther leaped sooner than she'd anticipated. Ashlyn dropped nimbly into a crouch, bringing the sword up to slice at the cat's belly. She rolled aside and swallowed a wince as leaves, mud and dead grass bit into her open shoulder wound. Steadying herself, she stood again and faced the creature warily.
Then a shot rang out, and the cat screamed- a primal, rasping sound- before it slumped forward onto the grass.
Ashlyn stared, unbelieving, as her teeth began to chatter from the cold.
One bullet? One bullet had killed it?
Drake walked up to Ashlyn quickly, sliding his fingers around the wrist of the hand that clutched the sword. "I believe that the cats are the weakest of our adversaries," he said, reading her mind as usual. He swiftly pulled the fully-charged heal stane out of her sword and swapped it with the drained heal in his revolver. "I've seen only two of them. The bears are much more powerful." He narrowed his eyes, casting the magic without so much as a tremor in his fingers, which were still clasped around Ashlyn's wrist.
She remembered that he'd been skilled with heal magic, more so even than Aaron. Right now he seemed so calm and collected. Strange, that they were surrounded by death, flames and carnage, but Drake was like a lighthouse in the midst of the storm- unmoved.
She shivered fiercely, wondered how he knew about the shift magic. "H-h-how did you-"
"Skye." He didn't even let her finish before he traded the glowing green orbs back again and dropped her wrist. "You're covered in mud. We'll have to open it up again after the battle."
The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) Page 18