Page 155 of Soul Forge

“You’re helping a beast as bad as the Behemoth,” the fae retorted. “When he’s done with her, he’ll come forus!”

“Give me back mybow!” Elda yelled, kicking out Lillian’s knee with enough force to knock her into the sand.

“You’re making a mistake, moron!” Lillian scrambled backwards and swept her leg round, knocking the elf onto her back and laying her katana against Elda’s jugular. “You saw him. It’s too late to help him now.” The elf tried to struggle, but every move was countered with a knee or an elbow pressing painfully into the joint. “He taught me all the tricks he’s taught you, Princess.”

Elda scrabbled for a handful of sand and threw it, making Lillian flinch and withdraw the sword. She smashed her forehead into the fae’s nose and rolled out of the way.

“I guess you forgot that one!” Elda hissed, snatching up her bow and aiming at Lillian. In the background, Ose roared and swiped for Vel when he flew between her horns, picking off her eyes one by one.

“You can’t seriously want to go back over there?” Lillian asked, getting back to her feet and brandishing her blade. “You’ll die.”

“I will if I go alone.”

“No way. I’m not going with you. This is a fool’s errand.”

“Youbroughtus here!” Elda yelled.

“That was before I knew there was a fucking Behemoth in the mountain!” the fae roared back.

Elda relaxed the bow, and the arrow disappeared. She was wasting too much time on Lillian.

“Fine. Stay here then.” She turned away, intending to jog towards the fighting beasts, but a grip on her weapon made her turn as the fae once again tried to stop her. Elda gritted her teeth, spun, and yanked, but Lillian held on. “Coward,” she growled.

Lillian looked ready to retort, but a whistle in the air made her pause. Elda spun in time to see a boulder twice her size hurtling towards them, Vel veering out of its path when Ose hurled it at him and missed. Fear made Elda move, jerking her body to the side right before it hit the sand with the force of a small meteorite. The ground beneath her feet buckled and surged upwards, flinging her into the air. She hit the sand and rolled, grit in her eyes and mouth, bones rattling from the landing.

But her bow was in her hand, and Lillian had been thrown far enough away to give her an opening. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted closer to the fighting, her feet slipping and sliding over the desert. When she was near enough that she was almost in danger of being stepped on and definitely in danger of being crushed by more chunks of rock, she stopped and raised her weapon. Vel swooped and wheeled between the Behemoth’s swiping hands, aiming for the remaining two eyes still gleaming from her horns.

Elda loosed three arrows in quick succession, targeting knees, elbows, even Ose’s face. The Behemoth threw back her head and let out another howl, stomping her foot down right where Elda was standing. She dove out of the way, coming up in a roll and firing another arrow that exploded against the giant ankle, weighing it down with a heavy shackle of ice.

Her concentration on one foot meant she missed the other one aiming to crush her, only just managing to get clear as it slammed down into the sand. Elda was flung backwards again, dust raining down around her as she tumbled down a shallowdune. She groaned and lifted her head, swiping grit away from her face.

Vel blinded another eye while the Behemoth was hampered by the ice, only to be swatted out of the sky by her massive hand. He hit the ground hard, wings buckling, one arm snapping at the elbow, his sword lodging in the sand. He snarled, slapped his good hand against his chest, and forced his injuries to mend. Elda watched him grab the sword in his uninjured hand, the bones of his wings already healing. He was back in the sky and angrier than ever, aiming right for the centre point of Ose’s chest.

Elda loosed another flurry of arrows, distracting the Behemoth as best she could. The creature screamed and swung for her when its massive fist was encased in ice, barely able to see her through its one remaining eye. She was almost crushed, but the creature stopped mid-swing, rearing back to scream when Vel dug his sword into its chest and sheared downwards, dropping his body weight onto the blade to vertically open the massive sternum. Elda gasped when he tore the ribcage outwards with his gloved hands, ignoring Ose’s thrashing, and smashed her heart to paste before setting it on fire.

The Behemoth crumpled. Elda ran, realising she was about to be flattened under the mammoth corpse, lungs screaming as her legs struggled to carry her across the shifting sand. Her boots kept sinking and Vel was too far gone to help her.

Use the bow, Irileth insisted in her mind. She heeded the suggestion and aimed at the ground behind her, still sprinting when she fired blindly into the sand. The concussive impact blasted her off her feet, pitching her forwards just far enough to avoid the enormous elbow falling towards her head.

Scrambling to her feet, chest heaving, Elda watched the dust settle, waiting for any sign that Vel had survived the fall. She got her sign when the arm moved, pushed aside by a pair of glovedhands. Vel stumbled out from beneath the Behemoth’s corpse and straightened up, the speed of his healing a dead giveaway that he still wasn’t himself.

She looked to where Lillian sat in the sand less than fifty feet away, still dazed by her awkward landing. When Elda looked back at Vel, he was already staring at the fae. His head turned slowly, and their eyes locked, neither of them moving. Then he zeroed in on Lillian and let out a vengeful hiss.

Elda fired an arrow at him andran.

“Lillian!” Elda screamed, not looking back to see if Vel was on his feet. “Run!” The fae scrambled up and reached for her sword, but it was wrenched from her grip and tossed aside when the demon soul landed beside her.

Elda dropped her shoulder and slammed into him at full speed, ignoring the pain that ricocheted through her when they tumbled to the sand. Lillian staggered backwards and tripped, her sword tossed several feet away, leaving her with no option but to help the elf subdue him.

Instead of acting, she froze.

Vel lifted Elda by the throat and tossed her aside, reaching to grab Lillian’s ankle. The princess scrambled to her feet and leapt onto his back, remembering what she’d learned during training at Gira’s villa. Her legs locked around his waist, arms constricting around his neck. She tucked her chin to her chest, bracing herself for the inevitable roll.

The demon snarled when she stayed clinging to him, sandy and winded but very much attached. She squeezed tighter, intenton cutting off his air supply. Instead of fighting, he stepped backwards into the shadows that rose up around him.

It felt like she was falling, her stomach lurching enough that when she reappeared in the desert, her limbs turned to jelly, and she dropped from Vel’s back. He disappeared again, and she realised he’d transported her twenty feet away. Swallowing the urge to vomit, she let her instincts guide her. Magic swelled inside her when she clenched her fist. Her fingers wrapped around the grip of her vestige, and she slapped the blue crystal, releasing the shining dagger.

“Irileth,” she whispered. “Keep my aim true.” She took a deep, steadying breath, feeling Irileth’s power rush to fill her, and then she hurled the dagger with as much strength as she could muster. It flew through the air like a dart, striking Vel right between his shoulder blades, burying itself up to the hilt in his back.

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