Page 103 of Soul Forge

Nox was almost clear of the buildings when a large pair of jaws clamped around Elda’s shoulder and yanked her from the saddle, pulling her into the shadows of a tight alley. Her body bumped and scraped against rock walls and the rough ground it dragged her over. The tulpar demon let out a startled neigh, unable to squeeze her wings between the two dwellings to follow.

The teeth piercing Elda’s armour burned, grinding down into her skin and shaking her when the alley widened out, trying to separate flesh from bone. She tucked herself up instinctively and whacked the blue gemstone on the bow still clutched in her bleeding hand. The dagger dropped from the weapon, and she caught it and slashed, opening a deep slit in the creature’s face. Its jaws parted in a scream, dropping her at last.

When had it escaped her? It was one of the ones she’d partially blinded with her first shot, but she hadn’t seen it slip away. The thought of it being smart enough to stalk her in the shadows was enough to make her stomach flip. The knowledge that it had successfully isolated her was worse.

Elda’s shoulder was bleeding profusely, her fingers already turning numb. The torn fabric of her tunic was saturated, red running down her bracer to drip steadily from her fingertips. Her body was bruised from the bumping and scraping, her joints loosened by the violent shaking. Her bow was useless if she couldn’t draw the string, so she tucked it over her uninjured shoulder and backed away from the whining demon.

It shook its head and hissed, flinging black and grey gore at the walls. Three of its eight beady eyes were ruined, but the remaining five watched her every move. Six rows of dripping,bloodstained fangs gnashed with every step it took on its awful, fleshy legs. The smell of rot and smoke made her eyes water as the village smouldered and the monsters continued to swarm, their fetid stink turning the air putrid.

If you hold the dagger, my strength is still yours, little friend,Irileth whispered. Elda’s fingers tightened around the hilt in answer, thankful her dominant arm wasn’t the injured one. Somewhere on the outskirts of the village, Irileth was reaching for their mental link. Her presence was comforting.

Slipping into a fighting stance, she squared up against the half-blind beast. It hissed a challenge and thundered towards her, but Elda didn’t hesitate. She kicked off and sprinted right at it, her heart fluttering in her throat as she dropped to her knees at the last second. The sharp points of its front limbs narrowly missed her eyes, the soft mud allowing her to skid beneath it. She thrust the dagger upwards with the intention of sticking it into the soft underbelly, but the sharp tip raked along more armoured plating and almost slipped from her grasp.

The creature issued a series of clicks and spun to face her again. Elda gritted her teeth and changed tactics, energy raging in her chest. She felt the weapon cool in her palm, that freezing magic snaking up to her shoulder and strengthening her muscles.

She couldn’t channel the power she was being fed with so much adrenaline rushing through her, and it continued to build while she searched for a way to kill the spider demon racing towards her. Her left arm was useless, and its vulnerable underbelly was plated with a thick exoskeleton that her dagger couldn’t pierce.

She dove out of the way, crying out in pain when her wounded shoulder hit the dirt and she bounced off the wall, but she rolled and staggered to her feet to face the beast again. She watched how it moved, looking for weak spots each time it came at her.It felt like an eternity had passed, though she knew it was mere seconds that she’d been fighting for her life. Blood loss made her slow, the red liquid seeping down her arm through her ruined sleeve to mix with the dirt and rain, but the power in her right hand was still growing.

The next dive meant she only narrowly missed the gnashing teeth aiming for her head, landing roughly in the sloppy mud and struggling to regain her footing. Her vision was beginning to dim, the night starting to spin slowly around her. She saw the blurred outline of the arachna coming at her once more, and she did the only thing her body had the strength left to do.

She threw the dagger.

Elda woke up in a bed she didn’t recognise, bandages wrapping her arm from her elbow right up to her neck. The drapes were drawn, only letting enough light in to make out vague shapes. There was a chair in the corner, something that could be a wardrobe on the opposite wall, and dark beams across the ceiling. Someone stirred in the chair.

“Pipsqueak?” they asked cautiously.

“Julian?”

“Oh, thank the stars,” he sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “Maybe now your idiot husband will come back.”

“Where is he?”

“He went down the hole to kill the rest of the hive.”

“Vel and his ridiculous overreactions,” Elda groaned, her throat closing at the thought of him exhausted and angry, fighting his way through the dark alone.

Julian shook his head. “Not Vel.Sypher. Vel didn’t even make an appearance.”

“He didn’t? Why?”

“Beats me.” He scowled. “Sypher healed what he could and fucked off down the hole.”

“You mean he’s down there with my injuries too?!” She sat bolt upright, her voice smashing through three octaves in a second.

“Just the blood loss. He’s had worse.”

“Are youkiddingme?” Elda snapped, swinging her legs out of the bed. “He’s hadworse? He’s immortal, not invincible!” She dragged her trousers on beneath the nightdress, ignoring the sting in her shoulder. Her fingers were still numb, but she could move them enough to fasten her boots. “Close your damn eyes,” she commanded, turning away from the vampire to switch her nightgown for a tunic she found folded on the dresser with the new trousers.

“Now hold on a second – you’re still injured! Where do you think you’re going?” Julian spluttered when he was allowed to open his eyes again.

“To find my idiot husband.” She stormed out before Julian could stop her, grabbing her bow where it leaned against the dresser.

“Your shoulder looks like mincemeat, Elda! There isno wayI’m letting you down that hole.” She looked down at his outstretched fingers, poised to stop her from heading outside. The urge to smack them away was strong, but she fixed him with a level glare, putting all her worry and rage into her next warning.

“If you put one hand on me, so help me, I will snap it off.”

Julian blinked, brows creeping upwards when the elf fixed him with a glare that could melt steel. He held his hands up, palms out, to ward off her anger. She turned on her heel and stalked outside with her hair loose around her shoulders, not a single piece of armour on to protect her.

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