When Help Finally Arrived

If one should ask Nia and the others how they defeated the Doomcaw, they wouldn’t be able to explain it.

It was all a blur to them.

They only knew it had come down.

One moment, it had been swooping toward them, its void-like eyes fixed on its prey, its claws extended for the kill.

The next moment, it was on the ground, its body twitching, its remaining eye staring at nothing.

But it hadn’t been without effort.

The beast had fought with every ounce of its being, lashing out with claws, beak, and wings that seemed to move faster than anything had a right to.

It had taken coordinated strikes.

Arrows.

Blades.

Fangs.

Everything they had.

Even then, it had nearly taken Nia with it.

If not for the arrow that had struck its eye at the last possible second, she wouldn’t be standing here now.

But it was down.

That was what mattered.

But they did not have the time to pause because while they fought the beast the enclave warriors surrounding them fought too.

Nia barely had time to lift her sword before an enclave warrior swung at her.

She blocked the strike though the force of the impact sent a sharp pain through her arm.

She gritted her teeth.

“Still fighting?” the warrior snarled.

Nia pushed his sword aside.

“Unfortunately for you.” She said as she sent her sword through him.

The warrior stumbled backward, blood spraying across the snow.

She didn’t watch him fall though, there were still more enemies tyat surrounded them.

They pressed in from all sides, their swords gleaming through the storm, their voices shouting orders that were swallowed by the wind.

And the Virelops seemed to be increasing.

Every time a warrior fell, every time blood stained the snow, more of the white creatures appeared.

A lot of them were bleeding, and it was no new fact that wherever a Virelop lurked, there was always another beast nearby.

The Gravehart had now shown up.

Its twisted antlers emerged through the snow, their jagged points catching the pale light.

Its hollow eyes fixed on the wounded warriors.

One wounded Nightshade warrior stumbled and a Gravehart’s head lowered.

Nia noticed the beast was about to attack.

“Move!” She screamed at the warrior but then he was occupied with fending off an Enclave warrior.

The Gravehart charged just as an arrow struck its shoulder, making it stagger, but the beast recovered almost immediately.

Another arrow followed.

Then another until the beast lay still amidst the snow covered ground.

——–

Ethan was injured.

Blood dripped down the side of his face, mixing with the sweat and snow that clung to his skin.

His vision swam for a moment.

He blinked hard.

He couldn’t afford to lose focus.

He wasted no time using the device Oscar had given them, pressing it against his teeth and activating the herbs.

The pain dulled almost immediately.

The bleeding slowed.

He fought with an Enclave warrior, his sword clashing against the man’s blade.

The warrior was strong.

His strikes were heavy and relentless.

Ethan parried.

Blocked.

Countered.

Each movement required more effort than it should have.

His muscles burned.

His lungs felt raw.

But he kept moving.

The warrior swung again.

Ethan caught the blade then he twisted his sword.

The man’s weapon slipped and Ethan drove his blade forward.

The warrior collapsed.

But before Ethan could recover, a Virelop jumped toward him from the side.

Its small body lunged through the air, its teeth bared.

An arrow took it out before it could reach him.

Ethan’s gaze swept across the battlefield.

Then something made his blood run cold.

Some Enclave warriors were nocking bows too.

“Fuck.”

He quickly killed another warrior in front of him and tried to move toward the archers.

He couldn’t let them start firing freely.

But another Enclave warrior blocked his path.

The man’s sword came swinging.

Ethan raised his own immediately meeting the sword.

An arrow flew through the storm.

It struck one Enclave archer.

Another arrow took down another.

Then another.

But there were too many.

The numbers were far greater than theirs.

Their warriors were stretched thin.

Each Nightshade warrior was fighting two or three enemies at once.

They were barely holding on.

Ethan ducked beneath a sword.

He drove his elbow into the attacker’s face.

The warrior staggered and then he finished him with one clean strike.

And just as he did a hiss sounded.

Ethan froze.

“Oh, come on.”

He turned toward the sound.

And then heard another hiss.

There were two Trihydras.

—

Nia’s hands shook.

She hated that they did.

She hated even more that she couldn’t stop them.

She tightened her grip around her sword.

She was scared.

The Trihydras were approaching.

Their three heads moved independently, their dark scales glistening beneath the snow.

Their hissing grew louder.

Laia stared toward the creatures.

Two Trihydras.

Their squad was stretched thin.

Those beasts would do more damage than the Enclave warriors ever could.

If they reached the group while everyone was still fighting the Enclave, it would be over.

She inhaled and then turned running towards the direction of the sounds.

Helios’s wolf ran beside her.

Laia knew they weren’t enough to take it down.

Not alone.

But they had to try.

It would be better to kill it before it reached the others.

Ethan noticed them. He wanted to call her back.

It was too dangerous.

Just the two of them against a Trihydra was madness and there were two.

But he couldn’t go after them.

An Enclave warrior attacked him from the side.

Another came from behind.

Then another.

Ethan cursed and raised his sword to attack when suddenly, two arrows suddenly struck the warrior behind him.

The man collapsed.

Ethan turned, Ronan was standing several feet away, his sword already wet with blood.

He had another arrow knocked in his bow already.

Just then two wolves ran past Ronan heading straight into the woods.

Ethan would know them anywhere.

Yuma and Neoma.

They headed straight in the direction of the Trihydra.

Just as more arrows came flying from the trees.

One struck a Virelop.

Another pierced the shoulder of an Enclave warrior.

One struck a beast charging toward Nia.

Ethan smiled, help had arrived.