Polly screamed again but didn't stop fighting. She kicked wildly with her uninjured foot even as she struggled to hold down the beast beneath her. She heaved a sob of relief as a large rock smashed into the head of the remnant at her feet.
A trembling Jackson stood over it, face as white as the sheets on her bed at home. He panted, chest heaving at the exertion of lifting the large stone.
One remnant was dead, but the other still struggled beneath her. Polly pinned its arms with her body and slipped a knife into the small space between the Skrim and the remnant’s skull. With a flick of the blade, she dislodged the alien beast.
The Skrim let out a piercing shrill whine and the remnant fell silent. Polly slashed her knife again and split the Skrim in two. Polly groaned in relief when the sound ceased.
She rolled off the remnant but flinched as it scrambled away from her. The remnant raised its hands to the back of its head, scrabbling and clawing at the wound the Skrim had left. It yanked hard, drawing out a long thin tentacle that still writhed in its hand. The remnant bashed the squirming appendage against the ground, smashing it over and over again until the thing fell still.
Eyes now faded to the normal dark-red of a remnant, the beast turned frantic eyes toward Polly. She pulled herself backward, one leg useless and trailing blood behind it as she inched away. The remnant bared crooked yellow teeth, then ran off into the forest.
"The fuck?" Polly whimpered. She looked up at a clatter nearby. "Danil!"
Jackson shook his head. "You're going nowhere."
Polly narrowed her eyes. "Wanna bet?"
She raised a hand and gestured at him. When he tipped his head, bewildered, Polly said, "Your shirt."
"My...shirt?"
"Well, I’m not taking off mine!"
She waited impatiently for Jackson to pull the garment off and hand it to her. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she tore off a wide strip. She grimaced at the dirt caked around her wound and wondered what the hell kind of bacteria had been in the remnant’s mouth, but she nonetheless bound her ankle tightly. With Jackson's help, she pulled herself to her feet.
"Daggers." She pointed at the weapons on the ground and Jackson scurried over and picked them up.
A thought struck him. "Stay here," he directed as he hurried off.
Well, I think he’s trying to hurry, Polly mused as she watched the arthritic old man hobble over to one of the buildings.
It took a moment to recognize it as the little house he had emerged from the previous night. In the light of day, the faded and peeling paint that suggested it had once been a bright and happy little building.
Jackson disappeared inside, but the door hadn't finished swinging shut before he emerged again. He hurried back to her, this time moving faster as he leaned on a finely carved cane. When he reached her, he handed it to her.
"This might help," he offered. Polly took it gratefully but his hand lingered on the stick. "I… Thank you. I was wrong. I shouldn't have sent you away."
"You’re damn right about that," Polly agreed. She flashed him a grin. "Lucky for you we’re stubborn bastards.”
Polly gingerly took a step, wincing as her injured ankle took her weight. She used the cane to take some of the pressure off the foot and looked down at the pair of daggers clutched awkwardly in one hand. This won’t do.
She turned back to Jackson and passed him one of the knives. "Use this, or, find someone who can. I want it back when the fight's over, so don't lose it."
Jackson's eyes widened as he took her weapon and he nodded once, looking for all world as if she had just handed him a crown dripping with jewels.
Hearing another crash—this time just on the other side of the building she was next to—Polly waved him away. "Thanks for the help, now go!” She banished the old man from her mind and painfully made her way around the building.
She found Danil wrestling a remnant with no weapon in sight. The beast gnashed its teeth a bare finger’s width away from his neck. Danil jerked a knee up, planting it into the remnant’s groin, but the beast didn't even flinch.
"I knew you cowards had no balls," Polly jibed.
She dropped the cane and straightened carefully, putting her weight on her good leg, and threw her dagger. As the blade flicked end over end through the air, Danil leaned one shoulder back and turned the remnant around to meet the approaching weapon.
The blade struck hilt-first, clattering against the Skrim’s hard shell. Though it hadn’t been the strike she’d intended, Polly sucked in a joyful gasp when the impact knocked the Skrim free.
The remnant staggered back and the Skrim darted to one side, beady eye stalks turning in two different directions as it took stock of its surroundings. Danil slowly crouched and slipped a knife from his boot, but as he drew it out the Skrim shot toward him.
The remnant bolted forward, anticipating the alien creature's attack. It snatched the tiny beast mid-flight and slammed it into the dirt. The hard shell cracked and intestines splattered, coating the remnant's hands. It continued to pound even after the creature was clearly dead.
The remnant screamed, punching the small red beast repeatedly until the skin tore from his knuckles and his hand was mangled and broken.
Finally the remnant stood and spat on the ground next to the massacred beast, then glanced toward Polly and Danil.
Danil braced himself for an attack, but Polly just watched. Dull red eyes met hers and she nodded once. The remnant slowly walked away.
"Where is he going?" Danil asked.
"Let him go," Polly told him slowly. "There’s something weird going on here, Danil."
"’Weird’ is right," he said. "I've never seen a remnant walk away from a fight."
Polly retrieved her dagger from the ground and her hobbling movements caught Danil’s attention. He rushed to her side. "Are you hurt?"
"One of those Skrim-fucked pricks tried to chew my leg off," she informed him as she brushed away his attempts to help her walk. “Don’t you dare start smothering me! Not in the middle of a fight, anyway. We have more aliens to kill.”
Danil stood back with a grin. "Yes, ma’am."
A scream came from the direction of the cellar and Polly's eyes shot open. "Go!" she urged Danil.
He hesitated for the briefest moment, patting his pockets as if looking for something he could use as a weapon. The only knife he had was for cutting meat, not slicing enemies open.
Polly shoved her dagger at him and he took it gratefully. She gave him a sharp nod and he took off running.
Danil was soon out of the range of Polly's vision. Though he was now blanketed in darkness, he knew the rough direction he needed to head in. He tripped over something and sprawled in the dirt but was back up and running before he lost his momentum.
A moment later he saw himself running down the street through the eyes of a woman who was watching him. "Thank the Bitch for that," he muttered to himself.
He jumped from mind to mind, piggybacking the visions of the villagers who watched him run, hearts in their throats. The slimmest sparks of hope were beginning to flicker.
Even as he ran he was aware of the attempts to stifle the unfamiliar feeling. These people had been so long without hope that they barely recognized it when they saw it…and they reflexively shied away from it.
"You people really need to lighten the fuck up," Danil gasped.
He came to a sliding stop at the end of the lane behind two remnant who were pounding on the door of the tiny stone building. Two trembling men stood behind them and before Danil could make it over to them one of the men hefted a rock. It caught a remnant right in the middle of its back.
The beast turned, red eyes flashing angrily as it growled. The villager who’d thrown the rock took one nervous step backward and hunched.
Danil could sense that he had no idea what to do next but he refused to back down despite the fear gnawing at his gut.
His companion edged away and a second later, a rock flew from his fist
too. This one smacked against the door of the cellar, missing the other remnant’s head by inches.
Both men now had the attention of one of the Skrim-controlled remnant and they exchanged a quick glance before taking off running. One of them hurtled past Danil, his eyes opening in shock when he saw the mystic.
Danil neatly stepped between the fleeing man and the remnant who was chasing him. He twirled Polly's dagger around one finger, and instead of ducking beneath the remnant's clawed hand Danil jumped into the air, grunting as the remnant slammed its head into his torso.
When the remnant’s arms encircled his waist Danil tensed and thrust downward, stabbing the knife through both the Skrim and the spinal cord of its remnant host.
The Skrim was silent, but the remnant let out a slight gurgle. Both creatures were dead in seconds.
Danil hit the ground as the suddenly-limp arms ceased holding his weight. He shoved the body off and stumbled to his feet.
Absentmindedly wiping the knife on his pants, Danil used his borrowed sight to seek out the other man who had fled with a remnant on his tail. They were nowhere to be seen, but Danil called out anyway.
"Run to me! To me!"
Danil spun toward a nearby building. A woman hid behind it, and he could see his own image drift in and out of her sight when she pulled back behind the wall, then peeked again.
"You! Over here, now." The woman stuck her head out, threw a nervous glance down the road, and darted over to him.
"I need your eyes," Danil said.
The woman started back, terrified. "My…eyes?"
Danil felt a brush of amusement. "Bitch's oath, woman, I'm not going to take them out of your head. I just need you to show me where to go."
The woman's fear didn't subside. Understandably, Danil thought. He’d asked her to leave her safe hiding spot to lead him to the very beasts trying to kill her. To her credit, she didn't refuse.
Danil grabbed her hand and they ran in the direction the last remnant had gone.
"Your name is Annabeth?" Danil asked as they flew across the tiny village.
Annabeth almost tripped in shock. "How did you know?"
"I read minds.” At her look of shock and awe, Danil added, “Did I forget to mention that?"
This time Annabeth did trip. She was saved from landing face-first on the rough road by a quick jerk on her arm. Danil turned to her with a grin.
Annabeth had noticed the way the strange visitor’s eyes had glowed earlier but had convinced herself that because they weren’t remnant-red he wasn’t dangerous.
Learning that he had magic, though, made her stomach twist…and his hand on her arm only made it worse.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Danil said carefully, releasing his grip once she had found her feet.
Annabeth’s mind raced to catch up with the revelation. "I...know. I mean, you wouldn't be here killing the remnant otherwise, would you?"
She tore her eyes from the strange man beside her and came face to face with a pair that glowed bright red. Annabeth skidded to a stop but it was too late—they already had the remnant's attention.
Danil flung an arm out and pushed her backward.
"Even if I can't see I can still fight." Danil shot her a quick glance. "If you want to run, do it while he’s distracted. Otherwise, stay out of sight but watch if you can."
Annabeth jerked her head in a nod. “I’ll stay."
The words fell out of her mouth before she realized she was going to say them. Her stomach spasmed again as she realized she had just agreed to help this stranger—the one with magic, for Bitch’s sake!—fight the crazed beast in front of them.
Danil stepped forward and crouched in a defensive stance with Polly's dagger outstretched. He waggled the fingers of his other hand to gesture the remnant closer.
"Come on, you big baby. What are you waiting for?" he taunted. Every sense was tuned to the remnant’s smell, its sound, and the pattern of the breeze it blocked. He didn’t want to be caught in the dark if Annabeth changed her mind at the last moment.
The remnant sneered and lunged at him. Danil braced to meet the attack, then reeled back in shock as it lunged not at him but at Annabeth.
Annabeth's head snapped back as the remnant punched her in the jaw. Her vision swam, and her last conscious thought was that if she didn't stay awake, Danil wouldn't be able to see. If he can’t see, how will he save me?
Danil roared in fury as the remnant snatched up his victim and sprinted away. Danil chased him, the sound of uneven feet thumping on the ground his only guide.
The remnant pulled away, its supernatural speed giving it even more of an edge than the simple ability of sight. Desperation filled the mystic.
Pain flared in Annabeth’s jaw, piercing the dark shroud that clouded her mind. She was vaguely aware of being jolted, but her thoughts were centered on the pain
I'm sorry to wake you, a voice said inside her head. But I really need you to pay attention. Now…when I tell you to run, RUN!
In her foggy state, Annabeth didn't even question why a strange woman might be giving instructions inside her head. The urgency that filled the imaginary voice pierced the haze, though Annabeth struggled to free her mind from the grip of sleep.
She was bounced roughly, then her captor suddenly stopped. Her stomach lurched as the world flipped upside down; whoever had been carrying her dumped her roughly on the ground.
Darkness clouded the edges of her vision again as her face slammed into the ground and pain exploded, but this time the darkness didn't win.
Something held it back, pushing away the blissful relief of unconsciousness. A thin wavering groan escaped Annabeth’s lips.
Run. The voice, loud and insistent, echoed in her head. Run!
Even through her agony Annabeth sensed the urgency of what she was being asked to do. She might be in pain, but she was alive—and whoever her new friend was, it seemed the woman wanted her to stay that way.
Annabeth rolled to her hands and feet and pushed herself up, then ran.
Her legs wobbled, but she stumbled toward the trees, pushing branches and leaves out of the way as she hurled herself into the forest.
Just as her knees were about to give way a man stepped out from behind a tree. Blonde hair flopped over his face, and his finely-sculpted body was the last thing she saw before she collapsed into his arms. Her eyes drifted closed, but before she sank back into a stupor Marcus heard her whisper something.
"Please don't eat me."
Marcus chuckled. "It's okay. I've already had breakfast." He scooped the girl up and carried her over to the horses, then looked around and realized there was nowhere to put her down except for the cold ground.
Although he considered doing so, he thought Julianne might tear him a new one if she saw the bruised and bleeding girl they had just rescued discarded on the ground like a bit of rubbish.
Marcus juggled the limp body in his arms to get a better grip.
"Hurry up, Jules. She's kinda heavy." Realizing what he had said, Marcus counted his lucky stars that Julianne hadn’t been in his head at the time.
Don't count on it.
Shaking her head at Marcus's thoughtless comment, Julianne brought her attention to the scene before her. She stood on the edge of Kells and leaves rustled on branches swaying in a gentle breeze in the forest behind the town at her back.
The town would have been picturesque, except for the ugly-ass monster that ruined the view.
"What? You didn't expect to see me?" Julianne twirled her staff, bringing it to a stop with one end pointed directly at her opponent.
The remnant apparently didn't want to waste time on niceties. It lunged at her lightning-fast, teeth bared in a furious growl.
Julianne twisted out of its way and flicked her staff between its ankles, and the remnant fell. It rolled on its knees, then leapt toward her again.
This time the staff caught it in the face; the wet crack of solid wood against soft cartilage and bone made her gri
mace.
Its head snapped back and the remnant stumbled and went down again. It refused to give up, though.
Face pulped and bleeding and breath coming in bubbling gasps, the remnant pulled itself onto all fours once more.
"Just fuckin’ die already, ye prick." Garrett flung his axe, then ducked the spurt of blood that erupted from the remnant’s neck.
Julianne danced out of the way as the head rolled past her.
"About bloody time," Danil exclaimed, hands on hips. "Where's Annabeth?"
"She's with Marcus," Julianne replied. She winced. "She's going to be in a world of pain when she wakes up, though."
"Speaking of pain," Polly called as she hobbled up the path behind them. "I'm starting to wish we’d brought a druid with us."
Julianne ran over to the girl and offered her an arm to lean on.
"Why is it that when I offer you help you get offended," Danil asked, "but when Julianne does it she's the nicest person in the world?"
"Because yer a man," Garrett told him firmly. "And cuz yer a man, yer destined ta never understand. At least I never did, in all me years o’ bein’ a man."
"I thought you would get a pass, being only half a man,” Danil quipped.
"’Half a man?’ Ye can come back ta me on that one when ye’ve caught up ta me in kills." Garrett sniggered and held up the haft of his axe.
He drew out a small pocket knife and scored a line in the handle, then ran his finger down a series of similar notches and turned to Danil. "How many did ye get today? Twelve? Because unless ye got twelve, ye still haven't caught up."
Danil scowled and turned his back on the rearick, sidling over to Polly.
"How's the ankle?"
Polly gave him a brave grin. “Feels like someone took a bite out of me."
She lifted her leg and Danil saw that the rough bandage she had applied was now soaked in blood.
“Doesn’t look so bad,” he said sympathetically. “It might hurt like hell, but I think it’ll heal all right.”
"The bastard ruined my shoes," Polly griped.
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