Revolutions

34 - Teqosa

My heart sinks at the sound of the ominous, rumbling growl. I've barely recovered—if we can call it such—from the initial encounter with the fire pumas, narrowly defeating them and escaping with our lives, only for them to reform and appear even angrier than before. With blood from the wounds in my hand and leg having only just clotted, I gather any inkling of energy still remaining within me and hold the glaive, blade pointed out toward my reincarnated foes.

Upachu eases his way behind the cart, making sure to place it between him and the fiery beasts, and leaving the llama exposed to any incoming attacks. I'd feel pity for the animal if I wasn't so concerned about my own wellbeing. The creatures slowly circle us, watching and waiting to make their move while baring their blackened stone teeth.

Before they can flank me from either side, I shuffle away from Upachu and the cart, hoping to draw the creatures' attention away from them and give my companions the possibility to make a break for it. The two pumas and I stare down each other, ready for someone to make a mistake and flinch first. I steel myself for this next fight, hoping I have enough left in me.

One of the fire pumas grows impatient and paws at me, testing to see if I'll concede my position. Instead, I dart to the side and counter with a quick strike from my glaive, twisting around to get my blade to land in the torso, which worked out well moments before. Unfortunately, I can't do enough to cause any serious damage, as I miss its ribs and only glance its body. It snarls at me, then flips its hind legs so that it faces me head on, but places itself in the way of its companion.

Seizing the opportunity, I flip my hands on the pole so that both thumbs face back, then bring the glaive around and just above my head, jabbing at it from a high angle. It backs into its fellow fire puma, and while the two collide with each other, I jab again, this time piercing its head. It's yet another glancing blow, but the front puma's body jostles enough on impact with the puma behind it that it causes its head to swivel around, enough to evade the brunt of my blow and taking most of the strike on its cheek.

I spin the glaive around, repositioning it into my hands so that my thumbs face toward my target again and keep pushing the advantage. Steadily moving forward, I thrust the weapon at the creature, forcing it backward some more and into the remains of the chamber walls as it paws at the blade defensively, trying to swat it away and regain the advantage. With pain searing throughout my leg and hand, I grit my teeth and press on, changing the direction of my incoming attack with each attempt to keep the beast off-balance.

The puma behind it eventually slips out, preventing itself from being squeezed between its companion and the wall, then readies itself to attack. I spot this from the corner of my eye and hurriedly slide to my right, keeping the fumbling puma in the middle of the other beast and myself. I have to act now and eliminate at least one of these creatures to give myself a chance at surviving this encounter.

I feign a stab at the puma's shoulder, driving it into the wall to avoid my attack. The maneuver works better than I had hoped: The fire puma clumsily collides with the wall, smashing into it with enough force to bounce off it and tumble to the ground. With its chest exposed, I put every measure of my remaining energy into thrusting the glaive into its body. The blade finds a narrow opening between the joint in its shoulder, penetrating deep into its torso and hitting a rock or something solid contained within its hollow body. I feel the pole vibrate from the impact, striking a vital part of this creature's being, and it collapses almost instantly, disintegrating into a mound of stones as the light from within extinguishes, much as it had done before.

"The heart!"

I hear Upachu shout at me, his head barely peeking out from behind the cart. He points at the pile of rocks that was once a beastly puma, and with urgency, repeats himself.