The Thief (A Tale of Heroes & Demons Book 2)

Chapter 9

Hope

The heat was all-consuming, a raging inferno that destroyed everything in its path. It licked up the side of the ancient creature, chasing up the trails of blood that streamed across its face until it found the source and burrowed deep.

Amongst the dancing crimson light, the whyrme's screams nearly shattered Saege's eardrums. With a roar the whyrme swung its head, trying to dispel the burning light to no avail.

She scrambled out of the way, aiming for cover the trees afforded, aware the whyrme could crush them without a second thought.

Her head whipped around, searching for the others. There! She darted through the trees towards them, the herbs burning through her blood. Saege could feel them edging away, pushing the shadows of pain back to her consciousness.

They were running out of time.

Slamming into Orelius's side, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him further into the trees. "We need to move!"

Raenen appeared through the woods beside them and together they fled further into the forest.

Not thirty seconds later the boom burst through the air.

They dove to the ground as the air shimmered around them. Heat and slabs of the whyrme's flesh slammed against trees behind them—the burning blood sizzling as it splattered the ground.

As the world settled, Raenen rolled onto his back and placed his hands on his head. "What the hell just happened?" He laughed and sat up.

Orelius and Saege only let out strangled laughs. As the three of them lay there, staring up at the canopy above them, Saege realized just how little the world had changed since she last walked the earth.

"Saege."

Pulled out of the fuzzy memories, she blinked up into Raenen's eyes as he stared down at her. The sun poured through the branches above, circling his face in a golden hue and obscuring his features.

"What?" The words were a whisper against her lips.

"What did you do?" Orelius helped pull up into a sitting position.

"Blood." Now that the danger had passed, she could almost feel the last of the herbs burning out of her blood. She didn't have must time left. "The blood is flammable."

Gritting her teeth against the pain of her now throbbing arm, she pushed back the dizziness curling around her mind. "Attack the eyes and burn the blood. The only way they can be killed."

***

They made their way back to the clearing. Orelius was still a little surprised when they only found the corpse of the vicious creature strewn across the clearing.

Well, what was left of it.

Saege moved and knelt alongside the whyrme's head, tracing some markings on its skin. "It's a baby.'"

"Excuse me?" Orelius's eyebrows shot up.

"The whyrme. It's a juvenile at most. Still quite young."

When Saege's eyes met his they were glazed, expression distant. He frowned and turned. "Raenen, where are the others?"

"We set up camp south, closer to the village."

Nodding, Orelius turned. "Let's return there are figure out how to clean out our home."

"Saege!" Raenen's shout cut through the air, directing Orelius's gaze back towards where Saege had collapsed.

***