Hearts in High Places

Boadrorn

Warning the end of this chapter contains depictions of sexual abuse and suicidal thoughts, there will be a warning before that part starts.

Piper

The giant seemed genuinely remorseful as his form retreated over the pines. He had to be near a hundred and thirty feet tall, his body barely concealed beneath tattered clothing, his skin marred by thousands of scars. He bore many fresh crusted wounds likely from his battle with the elder drake. The angry red lines already had soft pink scar tissue closing in to close the gaping claw marks. Some of the larger marks were taller than me. The notion of anything beating one of those cataclysmic creatures sent shivers down my spine. I heard the last of his thundering footsteps and hastily pulled my things together, packing some of the venison in waxed linens I had brought. He implied that we were in a dangerous part of the forest but I hadn't heard or seen anything dangerous. I swung my bag over my right shoulder and grasped my knife in my right hand, my left being next to useless with the pain.

I darted into the bushes, keeping to tree trunks in case he came by. He didn't seem keen on killing me outright but I didn't want to risk an accident. I didn't hear his footsteps but he said he would return soon so I wasn't taking unnecessary risks. He confused me more than I would like to admit, it could just be my imagination but he treated me like he knew me. As if my thoughts summoned him, a massive foot silently planted in the forest floor before me. The dropped needles remained unmoved, his footsteps quiet as feathers floating in the wind. I stifled a startled scream and ducked back into the bushes. For a minute of anxiety inducing silence, he did nothing. I measured my breathing and tried to school my heartbeat into some semblance of calm, hoping he hadn't spotted me. An enormous hand burst through the canopy, reaching for me. I braced, praying to The Architect that he didn't see me.

Nothing. Silence, then my eyes flew open as a loud squeal filled the air. Held in his hand was a huge rat-like creature with boar tusks and no hair concealing its bony face. Its long tail lashed in the air destroying the surrounding foliage. The force of its movement caused a flurry of pine needles to fill the clearing before it was extracted through the canopy still squealing. The needles settled as the last squeal sounded, then the awful sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping filtered through the pine boughs. I clapped my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. The sound brought my father's mangled corpse to mind. I shut the image out and held my breath hoping to remain undetected long enough for him to move on.

The sounds faded as he silently passed by. His footfalls are entirely silent, the forest floor unbothered by his passing. My first thought was how handy that skill must be, then it was replaced by dread when I considered how much more of a threat he was with this skill. I waited until I couldn't see any part of him and darted across to the next bush. I did this over and over again, checking my progress by the smoke of the fire in the clearing. The smoke remained too close for comfort as I darted into another bush, this time my motion met resistance. The pain in my arm and ribs swelled and threatened to overwhelm me as I fell.

Panic rose, did he find me? I looked up and found three perfect golden disks peering at me through the branches. An avian creature stepped forward, its sharp talons scraping the stones and soil. It was the size of the horses they used in the cities to pull cannon wagons.

It cocked its head to the side, examining me, before its head split into three separate mouths, each equipped with a hooked beak and rotating teeth. It let out a shrill screech as I took off running. It was fast for a bird on land, it was gaining ground fast. I saw a bush in front of a large tree and dashed into it, hoping the creature was dumb enough to fall for the obvious trap. I had to get the creature off guard or I might not survive this with my injuries. I used the trunk of the tree to swing around and keep running, losing very little momentum. Mere seconds later I heard a loud thunk and the falling of pine cones as the monstrosity slammed into the tree. I didn't stop as the screech filled the woods, I sprinted until I crested a ridge into a very familiar clearing. Thankfully the giant was nowhere to be seen. I had very little time to enjoy that little triumph as I heard twigs snapping behind me. I spun just in time to shove my hunting knife into the monster's throat as it tackled me. We tumbled down the small hill and landed in the clearing. I screamed as I was pinned beneath its dead weight, the sharp, wet gurgling noise slowly fading.