In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

57 - Neris - Screams and Revelations

Neris swore beneath her breath as she packed up what little she could scavenge, watching a familiar golden-haired talvuo begin her trek across the bridge between the tree and the gathering circle.

"Elis!" she cried through the slatted windows. She knew better. She was too high up. "Damn it, Elis."

Neris had hoped she had enough time to reach her lover, but halfway down the great tree, she heard the first screams of something terrible happening. Annoyance and terror gripped her heart as she broke into a sprint. Running down the dark tunnels of the musty, old, wooden round, she prayed to whatever gods could hear that she was not too late. Just as she crossed the threshold to the village proper, Neris swore she felt the faintest tremor rip through the tree. But there was no time for backpedaling; she needed to focus.

Covering several planks per stride, Neris passed two Hyunisti huntsmen as they dropped their spears and began to wrestle with each other. She spotted a demented excitement in their dull green visages as they struggled with each other, their teeth bared like rabid dogs. At the edges of the procession, several talvuo were hunched over twitching bodies as red puddles spilled across the large oak floorboards of the terrace. Anyone who tried to flee was held in place by gasping, snapping villagers. Others pressed themselves back in panic as they sought other avenues of freedom. Still others within threw their hands up as screams broke out through the large crowd. The whole village was gathered on the terrace, congregated in a fixed space with just enough free room for each to stand side by side.

Preparing to leap over the first wave of cannibals, Neris saw her brother laughing atop the center stage as people tried to reach out to him. Perking up her furry ears, Neris tried to pick out Elis's voice from the screaming mass.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught a giant splash of crimson-and-grey cloth spread into the air like a heavy mist. The sound of springing metal reverberated along the sensitive membranes of her dark ears. Without another thought, she leapt atop one of the bent-over talvuo. As the monster woman beneath her jerked, she leaped up to the shoulders of one of the fretful stragglers just as another talvuo began pulling him down into the crowd. Shifting her weight to the shoulders of another shrieking male, Neris sprang off the screamer's crumpling form onto one of the blood-spattered tables near the hazy, carnage-filled air.

"Stay away!" Elis's familiar voice rattled her brain as she sprang over grasping hands.

With keen eyes, Neris fixed on Elis's position, watching as Thaimi's thin, frail figure slithered through the crowd to the same table she was sprinting along. Elis's back was turned to the serpentine woman as the pale creature raised its hands in the air, each member turning into writhing spindles as it wound its arms. Neris fetched a small, heavy dagger from her belt and let it fly. Caught unaware, Thaimi's hazel head tilted away, the sun catching the dagger's protruding handle as it skirted along the edge of her skull.

"Elis, behind you!" Neris called as her stunned assailant began to regain her composure.

Hearing her cry, Elis turned around and fell backwards as she loosed the springing coils of her strange weapon. Neris watched as the nectar maiden dodged into the crowd. Elis screamed and cursed as the metal strands reversed their course. Several wrapped around the wooden table and implements thereupon while almost half of them dug into Thaimi's left side. Like hissing snakes, the metal recoiled, tearing free the Hyunisti's left arm, leg, breast, and much of her torso. With an almost mechanical motion, the nectar maiden jerked in place. Spinning with her free right arm, Thaimi jutted the lance-like member toward the golden-haired woman. Drawing one of her larger hunting knives, Neris dove to Elis's side and severed the tip of the woman's spear-like appendage.

"Neris," Elis panted as she lay beside her.

Looking her over, Neris saw several minor injuries all along Elis's body. Her lavender dress had been ripped and torn in various places. Several marks on her arms and wrists showed where others had tried to claw or bite her, most having been fought off before they could pierce her flesh. Returning her glare, Neris lashed out with another slash at their marionette opponent as it tried to retract itself, severing another section of its arm.