Rykka (Beastborne: Book 1)

Part 9: Rats In A Maze

Song: Enemy (with JID) - Imagine Dragons

Her first move was to dodge a lethal flurry of attacks. The blades spun so fast even her inhuman eyes struggled to keep up. Still, her reaction time had saved her and she was able roll out of the way. Her next move was to strike. She wasn't in position to hit the weak spots in his armor as she came to her feet beside him so she settled for attempting to knock him off his. The years of training with her aunt and father had ingrained hard lessens about the reality of her strengths and weaknesses. She needed to get him off her long enough to scramble up the boulder as fast as she could. Striking out with her elbow she hit the side of his knee hard as she coiled into a slight squat to get her feet underneath her. Then as she sprung upward she used the same momentum to kick out her foot and make contact with the same spot.

Her leap had also served to give her a decent lead onto the upward handholds of the trail. She scrambled up as she listened to hear if he hit the ground. In the same instant, she felt the hair on the back of her neck raise and she was forced to let go of her hand holds and fall the few feet back to the ground to avoid getting skewered. She was quick to face her opponent again but not quick enough to dodge the blade coming for her. She raised her forearm to block and felt the blade bite through the thick plating in the shirt she wore underneath. She didn't even grimace but remained focused on surviving as she slid beneath his feet to escape. Her mind was becoming more lost to her animal instinct by the moment. Now he was between her and her escape and her back was towards where his reinforcements would arrive from.

Something snapped in her mind as she realized she was trapped. A feral instinct took over and she took on a stance she had never been taught. It was one she had only observed in beasts. Specifically those who were cornered and fighting for their life. A cornered Kilthra was the most dangerous type. Part of her was surprised when a growl forced its way out of her chest but she was too focused to care. With deadly precision she attacked. Now she was on the offensive as the Knight scrambled to defend himself in the limited space. She was ruthless, even when he landed a hit she didn't falter. Instead it seemed to alight a new desperation in her eyes that was starting to make him wary judging by his guarded movements.

She could tell he was growing nervous of this unpredictable nature she had taken on. He didn't even know half of the tricks she kept tucked away for secrecy. She had taken two hits before she finally backed off. One was shallow, a barely bleeding but under her chin and the other was a blow to her ribs she was sure had at least left a nasty bruise. Yet, she didn't slow down because she had to stop. She pulled back to listen as she heard the sounds of shuffling feet moving quickly in their direction. She had barely regained herself from this observation when her enemy was suddenly gone. A massive leapt down from the boulder she had been scaling and had snatched the knight by the back of his neck and carried him up a boulder half the side to the side like he was dragging off a meal.

She didn't have a chance to marvel at the kilthra's sudden actions as she charged forward and scaled the boulder at last. The beast was too large, too mature to be either of her companions and she wondered if it lived in the maze. Aakine and Othanis were waiting for her at the top and the three  decided to do a little improvisation instead of continuing on the path. It was dangerous, if she got lost she could get trapped in the maze of rocks for days or even weeks if her enemies didn't find her in the end. But the trail only led her into more pockets like the one she had just gotten trapped in. So she needed to do her best to travel as far as possible due south on top of the boulders. The first stretch was fast but after the trail dipped back into the depths of the maze she started taking larger and larger leaps between the rocks. Eventually she was having to go further and further out of her way to avoid patches she would be forced to climb down.

The sun had set hours ago in the valley but even the light filtering in from the pass was beginning to fail her. She had to be faster. At this rate her enemies would reach the other side before her and secure both sides so that she was trapped in the maze if she wanted to avoid confrontation. So finally she dropped into a bit of the path she estimated was half an hour from the other side. She had been her a few times in the past few years with her Aunt Vayla but she knew how the path could change as the boulders shifted. Only the frequent travelers updating the markers every summer kept it up to date. Being fall the path could very well be a dead end.

Still she moved as fast as she possibly could. Sprinting short distances and climbing as fast as possible. If her wounds hurt she wasn't aware and she didn't have time to care about it. She almost let out a sigh of relief when she broke through the maze finally, if it weren't for the eight men in position waiting for her. Her heart pounded and her head spun as she faced them alone. She was quick to pull out her full blade and fall into a defensive stance. They were all on foot and she had the impression they had barely had a chance to prepare themselves before she bursts out after them.

She was greatly outnumbered and it would only get worse when the surrounded her from behind. She almost wanted to give up then and there but that wasn't an option. There was honor in fighting to the last breath but there was no honor in giving up to be slaughtered anyway. So she suddenly swung her sword down in front of her and stabbed it into the ground. Both hands free she began to form signs with her hands, moving her body rhythmically she swayed slightly as she began to speak summoning. They weren't taught as a necessity but as a sort of tradition when she was young, only later did she find out that other magic wielders required incantations to bridge the gap between their physical selves and their souls and summon the essence they used.

The cliff was steep and a single long path ran down to her right where four of the eight stood. It was her only quick escape but the others stood in a way to block most of her access to the steep hill. If she could make it to the base she would have much better odds in the thick forest below but it was a matter of getting there that seemed to be the issue. She decided her full on attack would be best directed at the group by the path, she would have pursuers either way but if she made it through the four she might be able to put some distance in the correct direction. So she whirled her arms in a swirling motion as her voice rose louder and louder.

Finally, in single smooth motion she brought her left leg in front of her, swiveling her body on her right foot, and pushed out her arm so that her left arm was thrust forward palm outwards as the last line of her incantation left her lips. The air around her burst to life with a musical roar, almost like that of a waterfall, charging through the air around her in the shape of a large flame Kilthra, an homage to the mysterious one who had saved her so recently. Just like her boys were saving her now as they protected her exposed back from the other three while the closest to the blast had ducked for cover. As soon as the air around her cooled to a breathable temperature she was off.

She tried not to look at the burning corpses or listen to the sounds of her companions fighting off the others. She whistled sharply and they were on her heels in an instant as she ran down the path. The steep angle made it feel as if she were flying and she wasn't entirely sure she could stop now if she wanted too. It was a good thing she didn't want too. She was almost half way down when her stomach suddenly lurched and her veins quacked with a surge of powerful heat. Her essence tried to warn her but it was too late to do anything but give a short series of whistles.

Aakine and Othanis split off in a distance protective formation just as she felt the air around her charge with electricity. Before her next step could land she felt a blinding pain in her chest and her world faded to white.