The Time Hopper

Fight In The Forest

I looked into Felix's eyes, panicked, and acted on instinct. One hand darted behind me and took a hold of Riley's wrist, and the other delved into my bag, seeking out my book so I could take us away from the danger. But my fingers grazed over the contents of my bag without finding the familiar, rough texture of my usual saving grace. A jolt of terror shot through my spine as Felix's hands closed around my biceps, standing up and dragging me with him, trying to haul me out of the river bed. I released Riley, not wanting to pull him with me, but he grabbed onto my legs and tried to pull me back. I yelled out in fear, trying to break free as I became the rope in a game of tug of war. 

"Get off of her!" Riley roared, reaching up and trying to claw at Felix's arm with his free hand as the others rallied around me. The large man looked around at us all and whistled, long and low, while tightening his grip on me. I yelled out in pain, trying to thrash and free myself, but that wasn't easy when a bunch of people were trying to pull me towards them. Kat was the only one who wasn't outright reacting, still pressing her hand against the dirt bank. Her eyes widened as Felix grunted and pulled me free of the others, slinging me over his shoulder, and I saw why. Through the forest, dozens of dark shapes were darting towards the river. 

"Run!" Me and Kat yelled at the same time, as I redoubled my efforts to escape, punching at his back and kicking wildly at his stomach. From what I heard, most of the did, scrambling out of the river to flee through the forest or dashing up through the river. No, no, we needed to stick together! If we got separated, we wouldn't be able to fight Obsivian's men off, much less meet up again and make it to the sanctuary. But I had to focus on escaping myself, because everyone else was gone-

Except they weren't. Took, Kat and Riley had stayed behind, and I wanted to scream at them, Riley especially. Sure, it was kind of touching, but I was the only one among us who Obsivian wouldn't outright kill. Took and Kat didn't know that, sure, but Riley did, and he also knew that Felix could easily just snap his bloody neck if he got in the way. 

"Go!" I screamed at them as Felix reached for Took, no doubt hoping to drag two of us back to his master, but none of the three even flinched. In a heartbeat, Took touched his necklace and froze Felix's blood in his veins, Riley darted forward and yanked me away from him, and Kat made a wall of earth rise up from the ground and knocked back the other mages who were swiftly gaining on us. Unfortunately, that display of power would draw everyone from the two armies here, but it saved me in the short term so I could hardly complain. I scrambled to my feet, clinging to Riley, and looked at Took. 

"Kill him!" I told him, noting that while he was frozen in place, with veins popping out and a face turning blue, he was still alive. This could be the only chance we had at taking him out. The time for mercy was behind us. 

But clearly, Took didn't agree. His eyes widened with shock and his head snapped to the side so he could gawp at me. That flicker of focus, the single moment of shock that he allowed himself to feel, was enough to make his hold on Felix's blood falter. Which, in turn, was all the man needed to break free of the hold, taking a second to suck in a breath before launching himself forward, aiming for the child of blood with a blow to the head. I moved just a little faster. I grabbed hold of Took's sleeve and took of running, Riley's wrist in my other hand as I yelled for Cat to run with us. Had Felix been at full strength, we would have been screwed, but Took had thrown him off his rhythm just enough to give us a chance. He overbalanced as I yanked my friend out of the way and fell to his knees, resorting to wildly swiping at Kat's legs as she hurdled him and took off through the trees after us. 

We could see the others up ahead, fanning out and half going in a different direction. I paused for a few seconds, catching my breath so I could bellow after them.