Chapter 26
They walked three abreast through the edge of the jungle. The cliff was on their left, with Namitus closest to it and Alto in the middle. A few feet separated them and they took care to move as quietly as possible. The soggy jungle ground aided them but Alto's metal armor clinked with almost every step.
Their discretion seemed unnecessary. The apes were ahead of them in the jungle and grunting and roaring. They heard the sound of leaves and branches shaking against each other and wood cracking. Alto wondered if the apes knew where they were already.
Patrina hissed and held her hand out to them. She crouched down, causing her skirt to rise up on her leg. Alto jerked his eyes away from her thigh, reasoning that he shouldn't be looking in the first place, and even if he did, the darkness in the jungle stopped him from seeing more than a shadowy outline of her legs.
"I see them!" Patrina whispered. "Ahead, they're climbing trees and bending or breaking them."
"Why?"
"So much for the Britanly spears," Namitus whispered. Both of his companions gave him a sharp look. "What? The wood of the trees can't be that strong if it bends under their weight."
Patrina scowled and looked away from him. "Are you sure about this?"
Alto nodded. He had a plan. It wasn't a great plan, but it was a plan. "Namitus, along the cliff. Patrina, you flank them through the jungle. I'll draw them to me."
Patrina raised her axe and nodded. Namitus drew his scimitar and a dagger. "Let's get this monkey business under way."
Alto closed his eyes and shook his head. He heard Patrina hiss at the rogue, "Just go!" He felt Patrina's lips on his, prompting him to open his eyes and try to return the kiss but she'd already pulled back and turned away. Alto nodded and watched her disappear into the darkness.
He waited a few minutes and then walked forward towards the sound of the apes. He drew his sword and clanged his hand against the mountain under the crown emblem on his shield. Light flared into the jungle before him.
The apes roared in a matter of seconds. Alto wasn't sure how many there were, but it only took a minute for him to find Bucky smashing trees aside as he rushed through the jungle towards him. He stood his ground and waited as the monstrous ape charged towards him on all fours. Too late, he wondered if he should have leaned his shield against a tree and attacked from the side.
Alto raised his shield to keep the light in the ape's eyes and then dove to the side as Bucky tried to pound him into the ground. The impact of the ape's fist sent tremors through the earth and left a small crater in the ground. Alto slashed at Bucky's wrist with his sword but barely grazed the ape's hand.
Bucky roared at him again and tried to swipe at him with his other hand. Alto took the strike on his shield but it was ripped out of his hand and he was knocked to the ground. He fell back, scrambling to gain some distance.
The other ape that had come with Bucky shrieked as Namitus cut into her calf with his scimitar. She spun and swung at him with a hand but he ducked away. The chase was on as she went after the now fleeing rogue.
Patrina ran at Bucky as he towered over Alto and bared his teeth. She swung her axe in both hands like a woodsman and sank the blade into his hip. He roared and rose up, spinning and sending her stumbling as he did so. She jumped back but still felt the wind from his hand that passed in front of her face.
Alto used his distraction to roll forward onto his feet. He drew his sword back and was about to thrust it into Bucky's side when the ape continued to turn and knocked him back into a tree with his hind leg. Alto fell to his knee but stopped himself with a hand to the ground. He rose up and watched Bucky turn and slam his hand into the ground on the far side of the tree that Patrina had run around.
Patrina cried out but Alto couldn't see what happened with the massive ape between them. He ran forward and jammed his sword into Bucky's leg just above his knee. Bucky jerked his leg up, pulling it away before Alto's sword could dig too deep, and then the ape kicked back and sent Alto rolling through the dense vegetation. It wound around him and softened the blow of the tree that stopped him, but left him tangled and confined.
Namitus cursed under his breath when he plunged through the ferns and weeds and saw the cliff loom up out of the darkness. He spun around and saw the female bearing down on him. A quick glance to either side yielded only vegetation so thick he couldn't hope to slip through it in time. Namitus crouched low and drew his scimitar back while he held his dagger out in front of him.
The ape slowed for a moment and then flared her lips to show Namitus her teeth. She rose up on both legs and raised her arms high, brandishing them and letting him know she intended to crush him into the ground.
Isle of the Ape Page 35