Mark of the Firefly (Tsukkiyama)

Fly, You Fools

The three captives rode in silence until the moon was high in the sky, and the slaver in the back was fast asleep against his post. Then, and only then, did any of them deem it safe to speak and move.

Sitting up from her lying position, the blonde girl spat out her gag and whispered, "If I make to escape, will you help me?"

Eagerly, Kageyama and Yamaguchi nodded. They were both desperate for a way out and back to the relative safety of the Nekarasi. Moreover, these slavers were stupid, as they had not bothered to take the knives from either boy. Should their hands be freed, they'd stand a fighting chance against their attackers. Sighing with relief, the blonde nearly folded herself in half, untying the ropes around her ankles with her mouth. With still no way to move her hands, she carefully lifted a foot up to rest on her wrist bindings, then she brought her foot down and pulled her arms upward. On the first try, nothing happened, but by the third attempt, a ripping sound could be heard. After only a few more repetitions, the girl's arms were freed, albeit rubbed raw from the coarse rope. Not bothering to fix her unkempt appearance, she instantly pulled a penknife from her breast pocket and set about cutting the boys loose.

"They only grabbed me yesterday morning, but never took anyone else besides you two. I think they're searching for specific people, so we'd better be quick about this." She said, making light work of Yamaguchi's bonds and moving on to Kageyama. Once everyone was freed, the girl motioned for silence, before pointing to the sleeping man on the end of the cart. If he awoke, he'd cause a fuss, and they would be caught, again; they'd need to be silent. Or not, as Kageyama took the blonde's signaling to mean something else entirely. Stone-faced and quick as a flash, he slit the man's throat and pushed him off the cart. Both Yamaguchi and the girl stared in impressed shock. That certainly was one way to deal with the problem.

"What? He can't make any noise if he's dead." Kageyama shrugged as he spoke, apparently miffed at the need to explain his actions.

The blonde simply shrugged, "We'll need to get rid of the ones in the front just as quick, and one of us will have to grab the reins before the horses lose control."

"Won't the rest of the caravan notice their lead wagon changing directions?" Yamaguchi asked, not eager to partake in a horse chase.

"Not any more than they'll notice the corpse of one of their own thanks to your friend here." Retorted the girl, perhaps a little annoyed at Kageyama's lack of forethought.

However, before they could move up to the drivers, the wagon suddenly halted, throwing all three backwards in the momentum change. The horses whinnied nervously and stamped their feet, unwilling to go forward. The drivers, too, seemed spooked.

"What the hell was that thing?" Said one.

"I don't know, but it was big, got the nags all nervous-like." Replied the other, his accent noticeably more southern than the first's.

"Some kind of flying beast, I think. A curse from the goddess. It cast a shadow over the moon."

"Oh, nonsense. You know there ain't no such things as cursed beasts. Grow a pair, will ya?" Just as the southern man finished talking, a wretched screech filled the air. Like some horrid union between grinding metal, elk bugles, and fox screams, it echoed loud and cacophonous. The light of the full moon was cast in shadow, and spear sharp talons reached down from the sky to pick up the rebuking southerner. His screams harmonized with the cries of the creature and the terrified whinnies of the horses to create a symphony of fear. Whatever the beast was, it was violent.

The first man, shaking and praying, urged the horses forward, begged them to move faster. They did not take much convincing. The wagon was now rocketing across the open field, desperately trying to outrun the flying monster. Not even a minute later, the beast swooped down again, picking off the driver and sending the horses into a panic. They ran sporadically, taking sharp turns and desperately pulling away from each other. Eventually, the wagon couldn't take it any longer, and the horses broke free while the vehicle overturned and rolled into a ditch. Unwilling to be sitting prey, Yamaguchi, the blonde, and Kageyama turned tail and ran back in the direction of Tauveriin.