by Narro, B. T.
Sanya lost complete control over the dajrik’s energy as she kicked Effie off. She could hear the giant lumbering over while Reela screamed that she couldn’t control it on her own. Sanya ran up the incline and heard Effie just behind. The ground rippled as something pounded at it, probably the dajrik’s fist. Effie fell, but Sanya was able to stay on her feet and used the opportunity to create more distance.
Her arm scraped against one wall as she ran, too dark to see, so she straightened out and then turned to face the sound of the dajrik. Someone, probably Effie, ran straight into Sanya, knocking her flat on her back. From the ground, she focused her mind on the dajrik’s energy again. She felt Reela working with her as they let him know they were allies and that his enemies were outside the tunnel.
His roaring ceased once again.
Effie gathered energy to make light, then pounced on Sanya as soon as she located her. Sanya easily threw her off. But Effie grabbed hold of her hair before Sanya could get far. She tried to pull it out of Effie’s grasp, ignoring the agony it caused her scalp. She kicked Effie in the shin, buckling the mage’s knee. But she recovered instantly and kicked Sanya back in the same place.
She yelped as her weakened leg threatened to collapse, but then she found her balance and ignored the pain, punching Effie square in the chin. It seemed to confuse her enough to let go of Sanya’s hair and fall.
“Stop it, Effie!” Reela screamed. “You’re going to get us all killed.”
“Cooperate, Effie,” Sanya added, “and we can get this dajrik to fight for your army in the battle going on right outside!”
“I don’t care about them. You need to die.”
The dajrik pounded against the walls, desperate to get outside. Sanya could give him some guidance, but he would crush them on the way out. They needed to move now.
“If you kill Sanya, then we’re both dead,” Reela explained. “And you can’t kill her anyway. She’s better trained to fight with her hands.”
The tunnel seemed to shake as the dajrik beat harder against it. Thick chunks of dirt and rock rained down onto Sanya’s back.
“We’re all dead anyway if we don’t let this dajrik by!” Sanya yelled. She risked losing some concentration on the dajrik’s energy to make light. Lori appeared to be passed out against a wall. Effie charged at Sanya, so she motioned one way, then went the other, and got around her cleanly.
It was no easy task to sprint and keep the dajrik’s energy under control, but Sanya tried her best. “Lori?” she yelled, but her mother didn’t move. Reela ran at her side, but Effie was close behind. The dajrik stomped his way up. Sanya cringed as his right foot barely missed Lori’s limp body.
“Effie, you have to stop trying to kill Sanya!” Reela screamed with desperation.
“I will never stop.”
Sanya knew herself to be quick, but she’d already exhausted her mind and body, and now heard Effie catching up. Effie got hold of Sanya’s ankle and pulled her foot out from under her. There was no stopping the dajrik now, for he’d already figured out the exit. Sanya kicked her way free from Effie’s grasp and then stumbled backward to move out of the way of the quickly approaching giant. His foot came down just in front of her, the air from it powerful enough to blow back her hair. Reela grabbed Effie, who was still coming for Sanya, and shoved her so that she stumbled face first into the dirt wall just as the dajrik passed. Reela jumped the opposite way to avoid his enormous feet.
With a bloody and dirty face now, Effie ran at Sanya yet again. She held her ground and brought up her boot in a hard kick to Effie’s stomach.
When Effie collapsed and strained for breath, Reela hurried to her, but not to help as Sanya first thought. Instead, Reela put her hand on Effie’s head and grunted as she concentrated. Effie blinked quickly as her head wobbled from what had to be dizziness. She groaned and fought against it by flailing her arms.
“Help me put her to sleep,” Reela said.
Sanya got her hand on the small mage and assisted Reela, and Effie dropped lifelessly, her arms and legs sprawled. Reela turned the mage’s head so she wasn’t inhaling dirt, then stood and stared at Sanya for a moment.
Sanya then noticed the dagger on Reela’s belt. But with both psychics no longer focused on the dajrik, their spell had worn off. He turned and roared at them.
“You need me to keep him under control,” Sanya said, both of them sucking in air.
“And you need me as well.”
She thought I might try to kill her, Sanya realized. “I have no plans of hurting you or Effie. I just want to get out of here.”
Reela nodded and aimed her hand at the dajrik. Sanya turned and took the same stance as both of them reminded the dumb creature they were his allies. Confused yet still angry, he pounded against the walls once more as he grunted. The whole tunnel threatened to collapse as heavy globs of dirt rained down. Fortunately, it held, and the dajrik hurried back up the incline with Sanya and Reela running close behind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
There was no stopping the dajrik at that point. He was hungry to destroy anything that moved. Sanya had no idea how he ended up in the abandoned Slugari colony, but there was no time to wonder about that right now. A battle raged around them as they emerged from the tunnel behind the dajrik, but everyone stopped suddenly when they saw his hulking shape.
Sanya quickly located a throng of Tauwin’s men to the south who hadn’t yet engaged with the Academy’s army and pointed them out to Reela.
The two of them told the dajrik which group should be attacked, and he swung his head toward the startled men. The dajrik rushed toward them, stomping on one too slow to get out of the way. Fortunately he hadn’t been wearing a blue uniform of the Academy. This thought surprised Sanya, for she couldn’t think of any person in the Academy as her ally anymore.
The dajrik’s entrance segregated the battle, pushing those from the Academy back as they awaited orders from Terren now that many of their enemies had fled behind trees.
“Reela!” Terren yelled to her.
“He’s on our side,” she yelled back.
The dajrik stomped toward a cluster of men, and they dashed away in opposite directions. One man remained, a brave look on his face as he readied his sword. But then he noticed he was the only one.
He cursed and turned to run, but it was too late. The dajrik flattened him into the ground with his fist. The giant then chased after the others without needing any direction from psyche. But it looked difficult for him to move his enormous body around the trees, and soon Sanya advised him to give up and turn back. He obliged like a trained pet.
Tauwin’s men were engaging with the Academy’s army again when the dajrik came up behind them. The swordsmen at the front of the Academy’s lines backed away from their unsuspecting enemies. Many spun around at the sound of the monster and ran toward the Academy’s army just to avoid him. They were blasted by fireballs or shot down by arrows.
The sight of fire drew the beast’s attention to the Academy mages behind the warriors. Terren stood in front and took a brave step toward the dajrik. “Reela, do we need to slay him?”
“We have him under control,” she replied. “But if you hurt Sanya, I won’t be able to keep him loyal on my own.”
Just in case, Sanya put herself close behind the dajrik’s heel. As he turned to chase after more of Tauwin’s armored men, Sanya ran one way and then another to stay between his shuffling feet. Reela wasn’t as quick, taking the dajrik’s ankle against her shoulder. She tumbled right beneath where the dajrik was about to step, but Sanya saw it all unfolding and yanked Reela out of the way.
Reela looked at Sanya with shock. She shrugged her shoulders. Did Reela really expect Sanya to let her die?
Archers tried to find space to shoot the dajrik, but tree limbs were always in the way, forcing them to shoot him in the legs instead. Two impaled him just above his right knee. He stumbled for a moment, then regained his balance and pulled out the arrows as if they we
re splinters.
The Academy’s archers took this as their opportunity to shoot Tauwin’s, felling dozens in a short span while the rest fled.
Deeper into the forest, the battle continued without disruption. Swordsmen from both sides were mixed together, but with so many of Tauwin’s men having fled, a wave of Academy warriors crashed upon the battle and instantly overwhelmed their enemies.
It left no room for the dajrik to kill anyone without a good chance of maiming someone from the Academy. Sanya glanced at Reela, trying to read her thoughts. The Half-Elven psychic looked back nervously, possibly trying to read Sanya as well. There was no more time to think. Over Reela’s shoulder, Sanya could see Terren coming straight for them.
Reela turned and pushed out her hands. “Don’t, Terren. The dajrik will become wild.”
Even under their spells, the giant made a fist as if ready to squash Terren. He looked up and gulped, then eased back.
“Are you doing that?” Reela asked Sanya.
“No, he’s just becoming more aggressive naturally. I’m trying to keep him from killing anyone.”
“We need to give him something else to target, then.” Reela looked around desperately. The only men remaining who were loyal to Tauwin looked to be trying to escape.
“Tauwin’s building catapults in Oakshen,” Sanya thought aloud. “They’ll be ready before the week is done and will be used to destroy the Academy and all of you within it. But we can bring the dajrik there to destroy them.”
“Why would you want to help us?” Terren tested the dajrik by taking a step toward them.
The dajrik stomped threateningly. Terren stepped back.
“Because it’s better than having you kill the dajrik and then kill me next,” Sanya replied.
“I might believe you, but you were able to lie to our psychics,” Terren said.
“I’m telling the truth.”
“It’s her only option,” Reela said. “I’ll be there to ensure it’s not a trick to destroy the city.”
Terren tried to circle around the dajrik. “That puts you in danger.” The giant kept his eyes on the headmaster, bending down to roar when Terren got close. The wind of his powerful voice rippled Terren’s cloak and forced him to shield his eyes.
“Sanya needs me to help her control the dajrik,” Reela said. “She has no weapon, so he’ll easily kill her without me. She won’t do anything to me.”
“Headmaster?” asked Steffen behind Sanya. Her heart jumped into her throat as she saw he had an arrow drawn and aimed at her as she stood between the dajrik’s legs with Reela.
“Don’t shoot,” Terren demanded, and Steffen let down his bow.
“Where’s Effie?” Steffen asked Reela.
“In the Slugari tunnel with someone else,” Reela answered, and gave a questioning look at Sanya. “A friend of Sanya’s whom I’ve never met.”
“An innocent friend,” Sanya added. “I’m only doing this so she and I can live through this night. Destroying the catapults and saving the Academy from destruction should be more than a good enough trade for all of you. Promise me no harm will come to her.”
“That depends on who she is,” Terren said. “Is she a threat like you are?”
“Not at all. You’ll find out as soon as you speak with her.”
The dajrik pounded the ground in front of Terren. Both Sanya and Reela grunted as they strained to keep control of his aggression.
“There’s no more time to spare,” Reela said.
“Promise you won’t hurt Lori,” Sanya demanded of Terren. “Promise me now, and I’ll know if you mean it.”
“She’ll be returned to you safely.”
Sanya changed her psyche to tell the dajrik that more enemies awaited to the southeast. He bounded off, forcing her and Reela to run to keep up.
Glancing around, Sanya saw that the battle seemed to be coming to a close as the last of Tauwin’s men fled. Reela screamed at her comrades not to shoot Sanya or the dajrik and that she would explain when she returned. Some of the archers and mages aimed their weapons anyway, but Terren’s shouts to lower their weapons got through their desire for vengeance.
Once they’d left everyone behind, Sanya finally felt as if she could breathe again. But Tauwin’s catapults in Oakshen were a few miles away, and she was already so exhausted. She jogged in silence beside Reela for a while, both of them sharing glances just to keep the other aware that they were ready for anything. Sanya doubted Reela would try to kill her, but she would be a fool to trust the other psychic completely. Reela probably had the same two thoughts about Sanya.
As time went on, Sanya realized why Reela and the others from the Academy had come into the forest. “You’re trying to get through to Trentyre, aren’t you?” Sanya asked.
Reela ignored her.
“And you plan on using the abandoned Slugari colony as an underground tunnel,” Sanya added.
“And what are you doing in the forest?”
“Do you really care?”
Reela gave her a rude look.
“I don’t mean to offend you,” Sanya explained. “But if you’re trying to make conversation and don’t actually care about the answer, then don’t bother asking. It’s enough work keeping this dajrik from killing us while running behind him.”
“Then let’s have him carry us.”
“Didn’t you just see him use those enormous hands to crush people?”
“You don’t have to if you’re scared, but I’m tired. Have him stop.”
Sanya obliged. The dajrik grunted and panted as his long strides came to an end.
“Kneel down and open your hand,” Reela ordered, and the dajrik did as she commanded. “Now open the other.”
Reela cautiously stepped onto his palm, but Sanya hesitated.
“I’m waiting to make sure he doesn’t crush you,” she explained when Reela stared at her.
“Well I’m waiting for you before he puts me on his shoulder. Are you coming or not? You must feel that he’s eager to keep going. The longer we hold him here, the harder it’s going to be to keep him from killing us.”
Sanya wasn’t sure she could keep up the spell while jogging all the way to Oakshen, so she cautiously stepped onto the giant’s hand. When he made no motion of closing his fingers to crush her, she swallowed and got down on her knees for better balance.
“Now have him lift us,” Reela said.
She and Reela told the dajrik to put them on his shoulders. His hand shifted as it closed around Sanya, his fingers pinching her hips and bosom. She had a frightening moment of struggling to breathe, but he lifted her quickly to his shoulder and set her down on her stomach.
She clutched him to keep from falling as he rose. When he was upright, he allowed her and Reela a moment before he began to move. Sanya quickly turned her body to sit on his shoulder. Looking for something to hold onto, she gently grasped the horn situated on the side of his head. It was as hard and gravelly as a rock, but what really bothered her was his solid shoulder bone beneath her rear.
He began walking, sending pains up her spine. She shifted closer to his neck and found some relief. But here, beside his face, she could feel his hot breath every time he huffed.
She soon sensed his discomfort with her holding onto his horn, so she shifted her hand to the back of his neck. Her fingers touched Reela’s, but neither would give way to the other. She leaned back to find Reela leaning back as well, an annoyed look on her face.
“Move your hand if you don’t like it,” Sanya suggested.
To her surprise, Reela barked out a laugh. “Never in my life did I think I would be riding a dajrik and holding hands with you.”
For just that moment, Sanya felt like she had a friend. But then Reela frowned and Sanya felt foolish for thinking it.
“We could’ve been close and accomplished so much together,” Reela said, “if you hadn’t done what you did.”
“I had to do it to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.”
/> “And what is that?” Reela replied snidely. “What’s worth killing your friends for?”
Sanya fell silent as she contemplated whether the truth would help or hurt her.
“By your choice of hiding in the Slugari tunnel, I would assume you were trying to elude Tauwin’s troops as well as the Academy’s.”
“They’ll kill me. Tauwin will order them to.”
Reela leaned back to show Sanya a suspicious glance. “I don’t believe you.”
“You do. I can tell with psyche.”
Reela clicked her tongue and muttered something as she straightened, the dajrik’s massive head between them. “Fine, why does Tauwin want you dead? Did you kill one of his friends like you did mine?” Reela shifted her hand higher on the dajrik’s neck so it was no longer touching Sanya’s. “And who was that woman with you?”
Sanya had spent most of her life keeping secrets and she wasn’t ready for everyone to know everything, which would happen soon after she answered any of Reela’s questions. Exhaustion already made it difficult to maintain control of the dajrik, giving her no energy to think of what to say.
Reela continued in an angry tone. “So you’ve turned all of Ovira against you except for that one woman. Is this really what you wanted? I find it hard to believe you have no regrets. You saw what Effie was like earlier. That’s what all of us could be like if we had no empathy, guilt, or fear, like you. We would quickly destroy ourselves. But at least with Effie it was temporary. I can’t say the same about you.”
“You’re right. I’m a monster. Is that what you want to hear so you’ll shut up?”
Fortunately, a distraction came when the dajrik chanced upon patrolling army men. They must’ve seen him coming, for they were running in the other direction before Sanya had spotted them down through the tree branches. The dajrik broke the thick branches in his way as if they were sticks, intending to give chase, but Sanya and Reela commanded him to continue on his route.