by B F Worlds
"Let's go boys!" Evergreen yelled.
The hunters raised their weapons and opened fire. The animal bristled and turned, looking for an escape route.
"I don't think so dear," Evergreen mumbled. She dug her fingers into the earth and focused. She had to come to learn that every halfling used, and even saw, magic differently. For her, the magic appeared as strings. She could attach them to any living thing and manipulate it like a puppet.
She grabbed all the trunks she could see and bent them toward each other. Then she wrapped them in the strings, coating them with her magic, to reinforce the already tough plants. Normally, a changer could bowel down a tree, but the beast was repelled. It shook its head in confusion and looked for another way out the woods that had twisted into a living cage.
Evergreen stood up. "The chains please."
Eight of the hunters slung large crossbows off their backs and loaded them with heavy iron bolts, the tips covered in silver, tied to long metal chains. They took aim and fired.
The first two bolts lodged themselves in the animal's shoulders. It screamed in pain and bucked, trying to dislodge the heads. The next shots went into its hind legs, the next two into its chest, and the final shots into its stomach.
The other hunters grabbed hold of their comrades' chains and, together, they pulled on the chains, forcing the beast to the ground. It continued to struggle and sixteen men couldn't match its strength. It would yank hard in one direction and the hunters on that line would stumble forward, forcing the others to pick up the slack. The silver was slowing it down, but it was only a matter of time before it regained its strength and broke free.
Curiously, Evergreen reached out with her magic and touched the animal. The moment the strings touched its fur, the magic was dispelled. It was as if the beast was a magical void, something that shouldn't have been possible with any living being.
"Holy crap," Ivy said beside her. "I mean, you told me about these things, but I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. A changer immune to magic."
"Now you see why I want her so badly." She pulled her whip and cracked it. The animal roared as the thorns shredded its back. Evergreen wound her arm back and swung again. Its roar wasn't as strong the second time and its struggles lagged. By the sixth strike, it was stationary, growling lowly.
Evergreen rolled the whip up, laughing merrily. "Ivy, dear, you are an artist. I believe you are the first Verdant to create a non-silver based tranquilizing agent that can stop a changer. Bravo."
"Thanks...I guess."
The halfling stepped over to the animal, grinning as its growling became louder. She knelt beside its head and ran her fingers through the fur of its mane. "I've got plans for you, my dear. Big plans."
A high pitched scream drew her attention behind her. Evergreen stood as a lion jumped onto one of the Reds. A tiger sprang from its shadow and swiped its claws through a Gold's stomach.
The four Greens processed the danger and hastily dropped their lines, retreating to the trees. The others pulled their weapons, but it was too close for their guns to be useful. The two felines tore through them.
"No! You're ruining everything!"
Evergreen put her fingers in the earth and coaxed the grass to move. The blades reached out and wrapped themselves around one of the tiger's ankles, making it stumble. A Blue saw the tumble and pulled his knife, burying it into the animal's side.
The lion knocked the hunter down, tearing out his throat. Evergreen unfurled her whip and swung it through the air. The lion saw the attack and dodged, growling as it focused its attention on her. The halfling felt a crack in her confidence under its baleful glare. "You're quite terrifying dear. But you're no blood wolf."
She reached out with her magic. This time, the strings took hold. "Good, now lie down." The lion stiffened and it's muscles shook as it fought her manipulation. Evergreen felt her stomach twist and sweat break out along her body. She understood now why the Council hadn't eradicated the animals yet. Just because they were vulnerable to magic, didn't mean it was easy to take one down with it.
"What are you idiots doing?" she yelled at the cautious hunters. "Now's your chance. Hurry up and-ugh!"
The clenching in her stomach gave way to a sharp pain. She looked down and saw three white points sticking out of her. She turned her head to see the beast slowly rising to its feet, one of its claws sticking inside her. It glared at her with its ruby eyes and Evergreen swore she could see triumph in them.
It retracted its paw and blood quickly soaked Evergreen's shirt. She swore she could even feel the air whistling through her as she collapsed to the ground.
The beast pulled out the bolts still lodged in its body and stepped over Evergreen's body. It eyed the remaining hunters and roared, the sound rattling the lower branches.
Only one Gold remained. He eyed the incapacitated tiger fighting to get to its feet, the lion that had broken free of its stasis, their original target that was seemingly infallible, and his fallen commander. The decision was easy to make. "Full retreat! Withdraw to the cars!"
The hunters ran, bolting through the trees that had returned to their original positions in the absence of Evergreen's magic. The beast watched them go, but didn't give chase. Instead, it ambled over to the tiger and gently picked it up with its jaws. The lion bumped it with a shoulder and walked ahead, glancing back regularly to make sure the beast was following.
-
Ivy crawled from her hiding spot under a bush and crept into the field. It was littered with corpses so it took several minutes to find Evergreen among them. She knelt down and felt for a pulse. It was there, barely, but Evergreen was out cold. "You've really done it now Ever."
From one of her pockets, Ivy pulled out a tiny jar, smaller than her palm. She unscrewed the top and scooped out a generous amount of the green paste inside. Then she lifted Evergreen's shirt and applied it against the other halfling's wounds.
The medicine hissed and bubbled before quickly hardening into large black scabs. Ivy scraped at them with a finger. Where it chipped away, the skin was faintly green but the wounds had closed. "That should stabilize you. Alright, up you go." She scooped her up, grumbling as her arms immediately protested the strain. "When you wake up, I'm asking for a raise."
COMING SOON…
Normally, dreams are just that. Dreams. Meaningless pictures the mind comes up with to entertain itself while the body sleeps.
But Lunar Dawn's dreams are anything but normal. She's haunted by visions of a woman with silver hair, a woman she knows is tied to her in some way. She struggles to understand what her dreams mean while convincing herself she isn't insane.
Calypso Devos is also plagued by dreams. Nightmares and voices that follow her into the waking world. Dark forces are plotting against her and it's all tied to a series of bizarre crimes happening in the city.
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