Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 8: The Showdown in the Dunes - Part 2

With three much larger stone spikes sailing through the sky, Mordecai doesn't pursue them this time. Instead, he retreats toward the barrier of spikes surrounding the outpost.

Allowing the lizard steed to run straight, Mordecai takes his crossbow from his back and lies on his belly over the top of the cage, loading a bolt with a hide satchel and fuse attached. Lighting the fuse with a flint tool, he aims at one of the spikes as it descends toward the ground.

Once the spikes land, gigantic hekoska like the one from earlier leap from the sand, their maws gaping wide, their roars fierce and full of rage. As soon as one reaches the peak of its jump, Mordecai fires his bolt into the beast's throat, causing an explosion that makes it roar and crash to the ground, shaking the ground and sending up a burst of sand from the impact. While Aurea delivers several ice rods along its body, the other two quickly start to close the distance, chasing after the sled.

Mordecai loads another bolt while Tessa sends another volley of stone spikes at the remaining two. The hekoska leap once more as the sled slides between two spires. One of them is close enough to almost clear the barrier, but its tail is snagged by the spike, stopping it. Its front and maw slam against the ground, causing another tremor. The other dives back into the sand just before the barrier but slams into the stone buried underground, nearby palms shaking from the impact.

Aurea slays the hekoska caught in the spikes with more ice rods, but they can see the mound in the sand as the other backs up to gain more ground and build up speed for another attempt to clear the barrier.

The maws of the larger hekoska have reinforced scales that make the tips of their noses quite durable, so everyone guesses it intends to charge the spot it rammed before to break through and continue advancing. Tessa sends more spikes toward the hekoska, but its speed is faster than before, making it difficult to stop its charge.

Mordecai positions himself to aim at the area of the barrier that it rammed before. Marlina spots Aurea, riding down a slide of ice formed from the pillar she had stood upon. Gliding down toward the area Mordecai is targeting, she holds two large buckets of water.

Once she clears the wall, she leaps off the slide and tosses the water towards the ground in front of the approaching hekoska, thrusting her hands forward to make the water form into a broad, thick incline of ice that sinks hard and fast into the sand. With her momentum from the slide, she clears the beast's warpath to the side and uses the sand to cushion her landing.

When the hekoska reaches the barrier, the ice ramp propels it out of the sand and launches it over the barrier. Mordecai fires another explosive bolt at its maw as it's about to pass over their heads. However, given its fast charging, the hulking beast is about to ram into the walls and demolish the courtyard.

Marlina is sure it will destroy it when the creature's nose starts to turn to glass. It quickly spreads across the maw and face of the beast until its top half becomes glass. It's now decorative head smashes into the outpost wall, shattering into thousands of pieces with a loud crash. The impact causes a large crack in the structure, and its blood splatters all over it and the sand, while its lifeless bottom half lies on the ground.

'What in the world was that?!'

While Marlina looks utterly dumbfounded by what she witnessed, Mordecai stands atop the cage to gain a higher vantage point, sensing that the battle might not be over.

Now that Marlina's closer, she looks up at Elek and Tessa and can see Elek leaning against the banister of the high balcony, his hand over his eye beneath his hair. With Tessa's hand over his eye beneath his monocle, she waves to the others to signal that the fight is over.

Mordecai relaxes and places his crossbow back into the holster on his back. He jumps down from the top of the cage, takes the reins, and leads the sled toward Aurea.

She doesn't seem very pleased by her expression, having realized long ago that Marlina's in the cage. Nevertheless, Mordecai approaches and allows her a moment to step onto the edge of the sled, supporting herself with the cage while he takes the three of them back toward the outpost. He brings them to a stop near the fountain, and then the two of them untie the ropes that secured the cage to the sled to release Marlina.

"Mordecai." Aurea's tone is icy and stern, causing Marlina to freeze in place. "I remember telling you not to bring her into the battle. You went against my decision." When Elek took Marlina to see Tessa, Mordecai pitched the idea to her. Still, she declined, even visiting the infirmary to reassure Marlina that she had no obligation to help by sheltering her.

Mordecai kneels, bowing his head in apology as he explains himself, his tone calm. "It was for the safety of the outpost. They were after her, and I used that to our advantage. I promised her safety and let her make the choice herself."

Aurea's cold stare shows her dismay as she turns to Marlina. "Is this the truth?"

Seeing Mordecai kneel, she lowers herself to her knees and bows her head.

"Yes, Your Highness." Since Marlina's unsure of Aurea's official status in the hierarchy, she can only use that form of address to show her respect for Aurea's higher authority without inadvertently belittling her position. "He clearly explained the risks to me, and I decided to help however I could because I am grateful for your kindness and hospitality. Please do not be upset with him; he did not coerce me."

Aurea's brow furrows. Her voice carries worry that Mordecai might face punishment, which makes her glare soften upon hearing it. One does not plead with such a tone unless they have been around those who inflict pain upon others.

"Chief, if you please, Marlina. My people are not a monarchy. What you decided to do was courageous, especially in the hands of a reckless daredevil like Mordecai."

Mordecai chuckles at her comment as he stands from his kneeling position. As the air becomes colder, his breath is visible as he speaks. "But I always get the job done." With Mordecai easing, Marlina slowly raises her head and gets up.

"I am grateful for your help, Marlina. Nevertheless, heed me when I say I want you to stay out of danger and under our care until you recover from..."

As Aurea looks down at Marlina's body and the still-lingering gaps in her frame, she sees frost forming around the edges of the gaps in her body and wrists. Moments later, the gaps widen, and more of her body turns brown and deteriorates.

Mordecai notices and pulls Marlina away from Aurea, who, in turn, takes quick steps back to create some distance from Marlina.

"What? Is something wrong?" Marlina asks, confused about why they suddenly moved.

"Your holes are getting worse..." Mordecai replies. He can feel that Marlina is now ice cold to the touch.

When he first saw her, Mordecai knew she wasn't human. But this is the first time he has touched her, and she feels like a freezing, oddly shaped suit of armor. She isn't even that hard to pull, either.

Marlina looks down at the gaps and starts to panic, "Why does this keep happening?!"

Right now, Aurea has no idea what's happening to her. When she took Tessa to prepare the defenses, she explained everything she and Elek had discovered about Marlina. A hekoska didn't bite through her metal body, yet their acid and her chill can harm her?

"Take her to the barracks."