Page 63 of Pawns of Fate
“I’ll follow you!” She yelled, but now, a whole crowd separated the trio. Rose couldn’t even see Lyla’s lavender hair above the chaos. Still, she tried to make her way to the alley.Lyla and Ava would surely wait for her there.
Rose had almost made it when someone shouted, “Troll!”
Even more panic erupted as the crowd, which had previously been flowing in the same direction, albeit haphazardly, tried to change course. Strangers collided; families separated; parents screamed for their children. Rose had never seen such madness. It paralyzed her like it had done to Ava.
But none of it compared to the fear that rushed through her when Rose saw the troll itself. Large as a carriage, with skin the color of forest moss, eyes redder than blood, and fangs larger than her fist jutting up from its lower lip, the troll looked at home in the wildness overtaking the city. A small, red spell circle sat on its chest.
Odd. Trolls weren’t intelligent enough to use magic, from what Rose understood.
She shuddered as the monster turned toward her. Its face, far too small for the troll’s oversized body, shone with an insane delight.
The troll strolled down the road, smashing a few shop windows with its club and lunging at any citizens who had the misfortune of being too close. Trolls were notoriously slow, so everyone had evaded its grasp thus far, but Rose wondered how long that statement would remain true.
Rose spied a small boy hiding behind an overturned cart of produce. With a glance back at the lumbering giant, she noticed the troll’s gaze lock on the child, too.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up. She’d probably get them both killed, but she had to try. She couldn’t letthe child be taken by a monster. Her arms outstretched, pushing him out of the way just as fingers, each thicker than a loaf of bread, wrapped around her waist.
The troll’s hand covered her entire midsection. Rose tried to scream, but only inhaled the putrid smell of rotten flesh as the troll squeezed. The pain caused black spots in her vision, and she realized that she was about to die.
A purple blur moved behind her. The squeeze loosened. The metallic scent of blood filled the air, and the troll bellowed with rage.
Rose fell to her knees. Someone helped pull the now severed hand off of her body.
“Are you alright, Lady Rose?”
“Lyla!”
“At your service.” Lyla winked, then turned to face the troll. It bore down on them, but Lyla kicked it away with just one leg, sending it crashing into a nearby shop. The troll was massive, yet Lyla pushed it away like it was nothing more than a minor annoyance. How was that possible?
Lyla quickly checked Rose to make sure she didn’t need medical attention. Rose saw that the mage had rolled up her sleeves. Purple spell runes gave a faint afterglow on her forearm.
“What kind of magic was that?”
“Metaphysical magic can increase a person’s speed and strength.” Lyla helped Rose up, then turned her attention to the troll, which was thrashing about in the middle of the road, blood spurting out of its wounded arm.
A different set of runes lit up on her arm, and Lyla chasedafter the troll. Rose decided not to watch the gruesome fight, fascinated as she was with Lyla’s magic abilities. She needed to find the child and escort them to safety.
A low, pain-filled rumble echoed through the street. Rose heard a loud thud and imagined Lyla was almost finished with the troll. She continued her search for the child, then saw a woman with a tear-stained face run and pick up a small boy from behind a barrel. The little boy threw his arms around the woman, and Rose heard him yell, “Mama!”
Well, her heart would know a little relief today. A tiny smile crossed her face.
Lyla returned, wiping blood off her knives with blankets or clothing taken from one of the shops the troll destroyed.
“We need to hurry. Ava is just around the corner. The troll’s attack scattered the villagers and gave us enough space for the teleportation spell. Hopefully, it was worth all the mana I used to kill it.” Lyla looked mildly concerned. “Can you walk?”
“Yes. You severed the hand before it could do any real damage.”
“Thank the gods. Let’s go.”
Ava was hiding around a corner, just as Lyla said. While no other monsters appeared in their vicinity, there was a lot of roaring in the distance. Trolls usually traveled in packs; it was doubtful that the one Lyla killed was the only one in the city. The smell of dust, smoke, and blood permeated the air. Anyone who had been using a cooking fire before the attack started might come home to a pile of ashes when all of this was over.
“Are we going back to Onanish?” Ava askedwith a shaky voice. The roar of at least two more trolls sounded in the distance.
Rose didn’t care where Lyla took them, as long as it was away from here.
“I’ll get us as close as I can,” Lyla replied, already forming the spell circle. “Now, the magic takes a bit longer when I have to teleport more people than just myself. We’re going to hold hands and there will be bright lights.” The spell circle started to grow. “You might feel sick as the magic unfolds. Whatever happens, don’t let go of my hand until I say so.”
“I understand,” said Rose.
