"Petal!" she screamed again, scrambling back to her feet, trying to get a grip on the now even more slippery ground. She had to get there before she lost her other daughter as well!
The thought slammed into her, driving the air from her lungs, sending her tumbling back to the ground.
Her other child. Xandra. How had she forgotten about her?
Another scream, not in pain this time, but a raw defiance, followed by a loud crack.
She looked up, had to look up, no matter how much the thought of seeing her daughter ripped apart by that monster pained her.
Instead, she saw Petal dance back light on her feet, never standing still, that staff that had seemed so ridiculously long and unwielding, whirling in front of her. She whacked it hard against every spear-tipped leg that dared come near her, then melting around those deadly spikes, flowing with effortless grace.
Giselle had known her daughter sneaked out every free moment to train with the old, retired guard woman who came to live in their village some years ago, but when she saw them train together, it was always more like a slow intricate dance than actual fighting. Watching her move now was so amazing that she almost forgot the deadly seriousness of the situation. The slightest miscalculation, the merest misstep, any hesitation, would be the end of her child, fierce as she was. Those deadly pikes stabbed into the ground, beating out a rhythm that drummed out Petals' fatal dance.
But Petal didn't miscalculate. She didn't misstep. Every foot knew where to stand, the slippery surface of damp grass and moist earth didn't trick her footing. The staff kept moving, whirling in front one time, then slamming sideways into the leg that had seemed to come out of nowhere.
Petal's mouth was drawn into a tight line, her face tense and droplets of sweat beading her forehead.
Giselle, seeing the strain she was on, desperately wanted her to move back, get away from that monstrous nightmare. The fight was taking too long, the monster too strong. This wasn't going to be a match of skill, but one of endurance. The young teen was no equal for the beast on that front.
Someone tugged at her sleeve, and she almost screamed, stopping herself only at the last moment.
"My lady, would you please hurry? We have to get back, find shelter from those monsters, we—"
Theodore stepped hurriedly back when she whirled on him.
"That's my daughter out there! I'm not leaving her!"
"Pardon, but I don't think—"
"We've got to help her!"
"I'm not a fighter, I don't think I can..."
She didn't listen anymore. There could be more of those spiders, jumping from thin air, or galloping at them from that forest. Ted was right, they couldn't stay here out in the open, but she wouldn't leave her daughter.
"Grab as much of the gear as you can, all of you. Then get into that hollow. There has to be a fissure, a cave, or something. Or barricade it or... Go!"
He flinched, spun on his heel and ran back. She didn't spare time to look if he obeyed her. They probably wouldn't. She had no right to command them.
Scanning the ground, she spotted the branch sticking out of the fire. Fire. Most creatures feared it. It might be the only chance Petal had.
Not hesitating any longer, she ran, crouching low, and yanked the wood from the flames. The heat scorched her skin, but the branch was long enough for the fire not to be too close to her. Sparks rained as she ran back.
YOU ARE READING
The Mountains of Mourning
Adventure[IN PROGRESS] After his rebellion failed, Patrick and his team escaped to another world, thinking to be safe there, and live out what remained of their broken lives in whatever peace they might find. But the world he found wasn't the one he expected...
