The War Against Aberon (Rough Draft #1)

Chapter Six

   Zaffre waited till the moon was high in the sky and the stars shone brightly to sneak out. She had to be sure her mother had gone to sleep to make sure she would not be caught. She knew Jahzarni would not approve of her mission, what with her lack of training still, but she had to fix all of this, she had to avenge Atlas. So, as soon as her mother's breath was deep and even, and as soon as she knew the moon was able to be a proper guide, she left. With her father's sword in hand, she made her way around the house and into the horse field. She had a satchel over her shoulder with a handful of azalea bombs, a canteen of freshwater, a compass, and a few other odds and ends. She wanted to be prepared.

    Her steps were light as her bare feet made their way through the lush grasses of the home of her horses. She paused briefly at Atlas's body. There hadn't been enough hours in the day to bury him just yet, and there wasn't much to bury. It had taken Jahzarni a while to get out to the field in time to save the rest of the animals so Atlas had no chance. The tawny horse had once been youthful and exuberant, but now his guts lay out amongst bits of his fascia and clumps of fur. He was all stained red and Zaffre could not tell where any of his true colorings shone through. It was truly a gruesome sight that made her stomach turn and tears blur her vision. He did not deserve to fall in such a fashion. The stallion deserved to pass of old age, not by a hungry and vicious killer.

    Zaffre shook her head of such thoughts and moved onward into the forest behind her parent's land. The woods were all part of the Laverna forests, where the trees were tall, strong, and many. The coniferous things were so thick within that on nights of a new moon one could not see two feet in front of them. Not even dark elves who had superior night vision. They were also home to many wildlife. Some predators like the Volbrix, and some prey like deer or rabbits. Zaffre only hoped to be the predator on this night.

    The moon was full as she stepped into the foliage of Laverna. She was saddened to realize her father had now been ill for two moons. Two months of vomit and pale sickly skin. It was just another thing to push her forward. She kept her eyes trained ahead as she watched for any sign of movement from within the trees. The Volbrix was probably deep within the woods by now, but there were more than just Volbrix here and she intended to keep a lookout. Her muscles were tense in preparation for a fight.

    It wasn't long before she had to force herself to relax some. She found Vobrix tracks and they traveled deep into the underbrush. She could be walking for several hours as she tried to track the murderous beast. With that in mind, being at all times tense would not work in her favor. The high-strung nerves would only serve to tire her which wasn't needed when on the hunt. Zaffre kept herself at a steady pace as she followed the trail and kept her eyes open for any fresh signs of a Volbrix. Though, from the only semi-fresh footprints she would be searching for a long time.

...

    She did indeed need to search for hours. It was getting closer and closer to pre-dawn and Zaffre had no clue if the Volbrix was a mile ahead of her or ten. She'd checked the compass at least twenty times to make sure she didn't get turned around as the tracks twisted and turned about the trees and bushes within the forest. She was beginning to very much tire and her canteen was almost empty. She hadn't stopped moving since whenever she rose sometime around midnight. It was nearing four in the morning at Zaffre's best guess. She only hoped she got this over with before she collapsed of exhaustion and became Volbrix food herself.

    It was then as she pondered her untimely demise that she stumbled across something worse than a lively and evil Volbrix. A dead one. The creature was on its side in a small clearing of the woods. Lacerations all over the body, and feathers were all over the grasses and clovers of the forest floor. Zaffre recognized the two gashes on its chest to be the ones she bestowed upon it. This was the same Volbrix that attacked the farm, and now it was cold and lifeless. This in Zaffre's mind was a good thing. What wasn't a good thing was that a Volbrix was twice the size of a horse. One could not be taken down easily and many experienced fighters trembled at the sight of one. Not many things could take one down. Judging from the scratches and wounds all over this one, she knew whatever killed it was big and strong.

    The blue-green feathered monster had tears running from its neck to its tail. One leg seemed to have been torn clean off and as Zaffre got just a tad closer she could see half the face was gone and blood still gushing from the wound. The kill was fresh. When she saw all of its gruesomeness and scented the coppery nightmare she leaned over and vomited her dinner. It was all so disgusting.

    When her stomach was empty she wiped her mouth with a groan and made a hasty retreat from the clearing. Once the body was out of sight and the shock was gone from her body, realization, and fear took hold. Whatever had done that was not something she could hunt or kill. If anything it would find and end her. She had to get out of here quickly. However, Zaffre realized she'd made a fatal error when fleeing the horrendous scene. She didn't go the original way she went in, and now she was on unrecognizable terrain with no trail to lead her home. 

    A cold sweat began to trickle its way down her back and a shiver traveled up her spine. It was when the hair on the back of her neck stood on the end that she realized something was wrong. She took a few more steps forward in the dark forest when she finally comprehended the thing that flashed a warning in her instincts. The sounds of the woods she'd been hearing all night, the birds, crickets, and scuttering squirrels had all gone silent. That only meant one thing, and one thing only, a predator was on the hunt. This time it wasn't her. 

    Zaffre's ears were swiveling in some sort of hunting dance. Her tail lashed wildly behind her. Her entire body was tense. She gripped the sword in her right palm tightly. The metal was unfamiliar, but essential to her task. Whatever had laid siege to the Volbrix was coming after her. She had to be ready to fight for her life.  A flash of movement stole her attention.

    Cursing the darkness of predawn, Zaffre crouched and waited. Ears trained on every minuscule sound that passed her eardrums. Yellow eyes squinted as she tried to spot the shadow that'd slipped through the trees. When the creature did appear, her sword fell from her grasp.

Word Count-1258

Word Count of the previous chapter-1672