The creature screamed and thrashed about, almost causing Terrwyn to lose her hold on her sword. But years of training had her grip firm, and she was able to yank her blade out without losing it. Then the third one was lunging towards her.
She pulled back, prepared to strike at its more vulnerable neck, but its aim was off, more to her side than at her. A sudden thought had her eyes widening, but before she could shout a warning, Zel appeared in the space the monster was aiming at. He caught it under the chin with a swift kick, snapping the creature’s mouth shut on its tongue. With its head up, he slashed out across its neck. Blood splurted as he hit something big.
Leaving him to it, Terrwyn’s attention went to the first creature that was shifting towards her, blood still faintly oozing from its neck. It rushed her, mouth gaping wide, tongue sliding out towards her. She took the invitation and slashed across. The edge of her sword sliced through the edges of its mouth.
While it screamed, its head thrown back, she snicked her blade out to catch the loose skin of its throat. Almost a mirror of Zel’s attack, her blade broke through something important in the monster’s neck and caused a spray of red. The body collapsed with only a few twitches prior to it going still.
Hissing, the last one darted forward. Terrwyn slashed down at its eyes while Zel jumped to its side. While it was concentrated on the glancing blow she dealt it, he stabbed two knives into the thing’s side and twisted. Its brief roar was cut off as it collapsed.
Terrwyn turned to Zel, only now realizing she was panting. “You all right?”
He was breathing as hard as she was. “Yeah. These things are faster than they have any right to be.”
She nodded, nudging one of the bodies with her toe. “I’m guessing these are the things Kish warned us about. If this is what’s around the Tower, we’re going to have to watch every step.”
Zel grimaced. “Let’s hope he was exaggerating while acting like he wasn’t. If we have to fight our way through monsters like this every day, we’ll be exhausted by the time we get to the Tower.”
“Should we avoid the next ones then?”
“We might have to. It’ll depend on what they are though. These things would have followed our trail. If we run into anything like that, then we’ll have to take them out. But if it’s something that’ll leave us be, we should do the same.”
“At least we won’t have to worry about these three, though I got the impression from Kish that there are more. But hopefully they’re elsewhere,” she said, slowly walking towards the horses.
Zel was right behind her. “With what we’ve seen so far, I wouldn’t bet on it.”
She made a face but had to agree.
Chapter Nineteen: Stone
Terrwyn stared up at the stars, the light of the quarter moon spilling over her face. The night was comfortable and quiet, a relief after what had happened earlier. She didn’t think either of them had another battle in them. Though if it had come to that, she knew they’d both fight. But the only thing she heard were insects and the occasional distant howl.
She sighed and took another look around their camp but saw nothing amiss. It was sheltered on two sides by tumbled stones, while the other closed side was a rocky hill that explained where the boulders had come from. With the horses dozing at the back, and Zel asleep a short distance away from her, everything was as it should be.
She glanced over at the man, eyeing his quiet form. With the warmth of the night he only had his legs half-covered with his blanket, the rest of him on display in the bright silver light. A sudden impulse had her standing and ghosting closer to him.
Keeping a few feet away, she studied his sleeping face. Part of her knew she should be focusing on her turn at watch but she ignored it. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed, not lit up with one of his smiles like she was used to. She’d learned the range of them in their time together, from the harsh, brutal smiles that occasionally appeared when he spoke of Chayn, to the sly one he liked to turn on her whenever he made her blush. Which was far more often than she really cared to think about at the moment.
Terrwyn hunkered down so she was close to his level and unabashedly ran her gaze over him. She took in the loose shirt he wore to sleep, the way he’d shifted in his sleep having pulled it tight so she had a clear view of the lines of his muscles. She studied him, thinking his training had to have been just as rigorous as hers if not more so.
She continued her visual downward sweep, only stopping when she reached the blanket that unfortunately covered his lower half. When he was awake, one look from him would have had her dropping her eyes, but with him asleep... Her hand seemed to reach out of its own accord towards his face. She immediately yanked it back, feeling her cheeks heat up.
What was she thinking? He was asleep, had stood his turn at watch, and she was going to disturb him? No, no she was just tired. That’s why she was being weird. It wasn’t that she wanted to touch his hair, to finally see what it felt like, to run her fingers across his face—
She caught her arm going towards him again and abruptly stood. Obviously she couldn’t trust herself not to...well, do whatever it was her hand wanted her to do. She was a sworn knight, a woman who lived by her honour.
Terrwyn had never felt her honour sit so heavily on her shoulders.
Heading back to where she’d been sitting, she dropped down, deciding distance was the best solution. She couldn’t resist glancing back at him. He hadn’t moved, the shadows about his head hard to distinguish from his hair. She wondered what it was he dreamed of that had him lying so quietly.
She knew from others that she didn’t lie comfortably. She kicked and rolled in her sleep and had been known to even speak in her sleep. The thought had her eyes widening. What if she’d been talking in her sleep while Zel was on watch? What if he’d heard the stupid things she said, or had watched her flail about?
Terrwyn shook those thoughts away though that didn’t help cool her cheeks any. Whatever she did asleep wasn’t anything she could control, so there was no point in dwelling on it. She should focus on what she could do. And chief among those was do a better job of being on watch.
But another sweep of the area found everything as empty as before. Just the same two trees standing black against the sky, the area around them filled with grass and a handful of bushes until it swept up into the hills that seemed to fill the Wild Lands. Terrwyn was still a little surprised there weren’t any mountains here. Though some of the larger hills were closer to small mountains. Of course, none of them came close to the peaks of her home.
She sighed, feeling a wave of homesickness crash over her. It’d already been over two years since she’d last been back. Her family had come to the palace since then, but it wasn’t the same. It’d be nice to run through the halls, to slide down the banisters with her siblings when their parents weren’t watching, something they still did, even as adults. It’d give her a chance to rest, to talk to her family, to exchange stories and reminisce. A time to be free of responsibility and worry.
But worry was her lot at the moment. And the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t see a way out for herself. She could only fast for a day or so before battle if she wanted to have enough strength to fight, and she wasn’t sure any faith she had in a higher power would be strong enough to protect her. She’d never been particularly spiritual and the only things she did believe in that strongly were honour, duty, and doing the right thing. None of those were things she could really offer prayers to.
Which meant she wouldn’t have any protection against the witch except her own skin. And with that and how long she was going to need to keep the witch busy, she really didn’t know how she was going to survive. It would be all she could do to keep the witch busy long enough for Zel to kill Chayn and get Aricia out. But no matter what happened, no matter how hard it was for her, she’d make sure
they both got out. Even if she had to bring the Tower down on herself to do so.
Memories of falling blocks and the wooden towers she and her siblings had built as children rose in her mind. She missed her family, missed her sister and brother, her parents. She wanted to embrace them, to tell them all the things she’d always meant to but never got around to doing. To let them know she loved them.
Terrwyn drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them. Tears pricked her eyes as she realized she wasn’t going to be able to do any of those things, that she’d never get to see any of her family again. She wouldn’t get to see her future niece or nephew her brother had last written to her about, she wouldn’t get to see Eira’s marriage, she wouldn’t ever get to hug her parents again. She’d never see her home again.
Swallowing hard to fight back the tears that threatened to fall, she concentrated instead on what she had to do. She’d made her vows, been sworn in as a knight. Aricia’s safety was what was most important. Even if she hadn’t been a knight, if she’d been simply one of the bodyguards, she’d still have come.
Aricia wasn’t only her master, she was her friend. And she couldn’t leave a friend behind like that. Not and still be the kind of person she wanted to be. As much as Terrwyn didn’t want to die, she couldn’t live with herself if Aricia wasn’t safe. She was caught. She could try making a spear, could try and set up a trap of some sort if time allowed, but Terrwyn didn’t think she’d have that kind of luxury. She’d plan for it, but not rely on having that kind of time. She couldn’t imagine being that lucky which left her back where she’d been from the beginning. She’d only tricked herself into thinking she had hope for another outcome.
She hoped everyone at court would understand, that Aricia would understand. And more than anything, she hoped that Zel would understand. Terrwyn dropped her forehead against her knees and sighed. She was going to die and there was no escaping that fact.
* * *
Terrwyn looked up at the hills around them, a faint frown on her face. She was pretty sure they were getting flatter. She glanced over at Zel. He met her gaze and a grin spread back across his face, the same expression he’d been wearing all morning.
She didn’t understand it. He’d been fine when he’d first woken up until halfway through breakfast when he’d suddenly gone still then slowly turned to face her, that wide smile of his appearing a few moments later. It was there or reappeared quickly every time he met her gaze. There was an edge, a glint to it that made her wary.
Doing her best to ignore it, she nodded at their surroundings. “Do you think the hills are getting smaller?”
Eyes dancing, he glanced around. “Could be. It’s difficult to tell. Does it matter?”
Terrwyn shrugged. “Not really. It’s something I noticed and wondered about.”
“It could mean we’re getting closer to the Tower.”
“That would be good.” She did her best to ignore the faint chill she felt at his words. She wanted to save Aricia as soon as possible, but at the same time, reaching the Tower would mean the end of her journey and likely her life.
“Yeah, before we know it, we’ll be within reach.”
Terrwyn frowned, wondering what the emphasis was for. Zel’s expression was no help, just that damned grin of his, his eyes boring into hers. Something in them made her look away. At times, Zel was harder to deal with than Aricia was, even at her most stubborn. He was...unpredictable.
She heard his chuckle and looked back at him as their mounts rounded the big, lumpy boulder nestled against the short, grassy hill to their left. Her attention landed on the boulder. On the far side there was something odd on it. A smear of dark red and black went down it, like something had rubbed against it though at eye level with her mounted form.
Then it moved and she realized it was no stone.
Her mare shied away from the creature rapidly unfolding itself from where it had been sleeping. Twice the size of her, with massive hands, wide teeth, a single huge eye, and straggly bits of black hair, the dried red stains around its mouth left little doubt as to its diet. It sighted on them and roared.
Fighting to keep her mount calm, Terrwyn risked a look at Zel and saw him struggling with his too, not helped by the fact the pack horse was in a far more lathered state. The monster pushed itself to its knees and swiped at Terrwyn and her horse. Her mare jumped away, eyes showing white with fear, but she didn’t bolt.
Terrwyn turned her horse towards the creature and drew her sword. It looked like a pin next to the strange thing that even now was standing up. Standing fully erect, when it turned, she saw clear evidence what she fought was male.
She pushed all stray thoughts away, focus narrowing to the monster, her weapon, and what she could do to deal with him. His lone eye darted between her and Zel. Terrwyn kicked her horse into a canter towards him, hoping he was distracted enough not to react quickly. She had barely gotten within his reach when he swung at her.
Her mount danced sideways, and Terrwyn had to fight to stay in her saddle. As the thing turned towards her, a shout drew his focus back towards Zel. One hand up and waving while he kept a white-knuckled grip on the reins with the other, he and the two horses were hard to miss.
And the creature didn’t. It lumbered forward, hands extended towards Zel. Darkness rose and covered him and both the horses, causing the monster to freeze, hands slowly falling to its sides.
Terrwyn didn’t waste the distraction. She had her mount cantering forward again, her sword held low until she reached the grey-fleshed side of the monster. Using the momentum of her swing, she sliced deep into its back and side, scoring a dark line of red.
He roared and swung towards her. She turned her mount away, looping large while the creature stumbled a few steps towards her. Zel reappeared out of the shadows, shouting and waving his hands until the thing turned towards him. Hands fisted, the monster stepped towards him.
Riding past and scoring slashes that were like paper cuts to her wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Terrwyn had to do something big, something decisive, if they wanted to be finish this. Preferably before any allies it might have showed up.
She rode back towards the monster, lying low against her mare’s neck, hand clenched around the hilt of her sword. She studied the thing that stalked towards Zel, a fist raised above its head, lone eye locked on to her companion. The thought sparked an idea and she changed the angle she approached at.
Zel chose that moment to bring the shadows back up, not that it stopped the charge of the creature. Heartbeat pounding louder and louder in her ears, breath coming hard, Terrwyn could feel the sweat beading up on her face. She only had one shot at this and if she failed...
She shifted her grip on her sword as she aimed her mount straight under the monster’s upraised elbow. Her horse’s ears passed his arm and she tensed. When her own head passed by it, she let a single heartbeat pass then shoved herself upwards in her stirrups. Using the full force of her body and momentum of her horse, she thrust upwards at the eye that was just now turning towards her as the monster lowered its head to look at her.
Her sword pierced the eye. A combination of clear liquid and blood came flooding down as she tore sideways across prior to yanking her blade out. Her mare thundered past while the monster threw back its head and roared, hands clamping down onto its bleeding eye.
The sound further spooked their horses, and Terrwyn didn’t bother reining her mare in. “Follow me,” she shouted to the pool of shadows that held Zel.
He reappeared a moment later and must have let his mount have his head because in seconds, he was pounding right behind her. Steering her horse to keep her at least heading in the right direction, Terrwyn kept a sharp eye out for any more strangely shaped rocks or other dangers. Her breathing was loud even to her ears but she ignored it. Time enough for that later.
It took a while
for their horses to run their fear out. When they were finally able to rein them in, they found themselves at the top of a small rise, the ground sloping down then rising up again. Terrwyn studied the hills as she patted her poor mare’s neck. Her hand came away wet with sweat.
She frowned as she noticed something odd amidst the distant hills and patches of trees. Something black and slender thrust up higher than even the biggest of the hills, like it was clawing at the sky. A moment later, her eyes widened. “Zel,” she said, pointing. “Is that...?”
He shaded his eyes and followed her finger. Face shiny from exertion, he nodded. “Looks like we’ve found the Tower.”
Chapter Twenty: The Tower
Hidden behind the last of the hills that lay before the open area surrounding the Tower, Terrwyn could feel her heart thud louder. It had taken a whole other day of riding to be this close, but they were finally within striking distance. Her hands unconsciously balled into fists.
Just beyond the hill the ground smoothed downwards until it was a level area of grass for a short distance. From there it changed to the black sand Kish had told them of. That lay in what appeared to be a perfect circle around the Tower, making it impossible to sneak in without being seen if someone was watching from the windows.
Terrwyn stared at the Tower. Glassy black stone rose up in a spiky, narrow tower that had the tip of it broken off. A few scattered windows and a single doorway at the base were the only entrances she could see. It looked bigger now they were closer, and Terrwyn guessed it was between seven and eight stories high.
She dropped a hand to the hilt of her sword and squeezed. This was it. The end of their journey. Somewhere inside were Aricia, Chayn and the demon witch. She needed to free Aricia then find the witch and keep her busy long enough for Zel to deal with Chayn and get Aricia out.
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