Page 67 of Pawns of Fate
“The same spell,” Lyla replied. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but we need to move faster. Someone is tracking us.” She discarded the goblin and set off down the hill.
“Goblins can’t track, Lyla.” Rose panted as she tried to catch up with the mage. Someone was tracking them? Using goblins? This was concerning. She needed Lyla to stop and answer a few questions, not double their walking speed.
“No, goblins can’t track. Mages can. And the one who tried to kidnap you this morning is crazy enough to use monsters for trackingandattacking.”
Rose’s mind reeled; blood rushed out of her head and into her limbs. Someone was using monsters to track and attack her?
“What would a shadow mage capable of controlling monsters want withme?” Rose asked as she and Ava jogged to keep up with Lyla.
“I’m speculating, but it probably has to do with the legend surrounding your ancestor. The one that increased the mana flow of his comrades in the heat of battle.”
“I can’t do that, Lyla,” Rose said through labored breaths.
The mage only replied with knitted eyebrows. Rose felt her heart constrict. She wanted to hide under a bed, like a child. Things had gotten so wildly out of control, and her mind couldn’t stop searching for a hint of normalcy in the sea of confusion.
More chittering came from a nearby bush. Lyla threw a knife at it. The sound stopped.
“When we get to the village, I’ve got enough mana for a small ward. Enough for one room where we can wait for Syzman. But I can’t ward open spaces like this.” Lyla recovered her knife, wiped off the blood, and the trio continued their miserable flight.
Until a bone-chilling trio of howls split the air, like a choir of hell’s angels. The girls froze.
With a shaky voice, Rose asked, “Lyla, that isn’t… it simply isn’t possible… werewolves?”
Lyla moved so quickly that Rose wondered if she was using magic again. The assassin shoved small, silver knives into Rose and Ava’s hands, then turned toward the wretched howls.
“Change of plans. Run until you get to the village. I don’t care how tired you get or what noises you hear. You both mustget to that village.”
“You can fight them off, though?” Ava asked tremulously.
Lyla smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course. I’m going to take care of the wolves. I’ll be right back, but you two should still run. You’ll be in my way otherwise.”
Rose knew that she was lying for Ava’s sake. Lyla was just going to buy them time to run. That was the best that they could hope for in this situation. Werewolves were big, fast monsters that hunted in packs. Maybe if Lyla had all her mana, she could have defeated them. But alone? With no magic? Rose felt tears press at the back of her eyes, but Lyla shot her a glare. If Rose lost her composure now, Ava would never agree to run.
Before Rose or Ava could protest, Lyla took off into the sparse forest. When Rose tried to catch one last glimpse of her bodyguard by looking over her shoulder, Lyla was already gone, barely a speck among the trees.
Ava held Rose’s hand as they ran and stumbled through the dwindling light. They progressed about a mile before they heard the first goblin shriek. Ava’s hand squeezed hers.
“Rose, I think we should find someplace to hide,” Ava wheezed. “I won’t be able to keep this up much longer.”
“Where do you want to hide?” Rose asked, trying not to sound frustrated.
The terrain had become more rocky and mountainous but slightly less desert-like. There still weren’t many trees, especially not ones big enough to climb and hide from goblins or werewolves. Not that they would make it out if a werewolf found them. If one of those slipped past Lyla before they madeit to the village, it was all over. They needed to keep running.
“How about that rock over there? It looks too steep for goblins to climb. We could jab at them with our knives if they did manage to climb some of it.” Ava pointed to a smooth boulder about six feet high. She was right. It was just high enough that it would be difficult for the two women to climb and impossible for goblins.
Rose looked over at Ava, whose face was turning gray from fatigue. They didn’t have a choice. Ava was going to pass out soon, and Rose was fighting exhaustion, too. The shrieks and laughter of the goblins were drawing closer and closer.
“Let’s do it.”
Rose and Ava just managed to climb on top of the boulder when the first goblins caught up to them. Rose kicked one away as it grabbed her foot.
Only five of the nasty critters surrounded their boulder, but Rose could tell from all the noises that more of them lurked in the rocky landscape. The five chittered to each other and shrieked when Ava brandished her knife at them. One pulled at its own pointy, long ears. Another gnashed its dagger-like teeth. All of them tried to scrabble up the sides of the boulder with their disgusting yellow claws.
One of them ran off, presumably to communicate with the other goblins that were too shy to come closer. The other four watched it go. Rose summoned all her courage and took the opportunity to snatch one up and stab it in the neck. She tossed the grotesque little corpse at the feet of its comrades, causing them to go silent for a moment.
Then, every rock or shrub surrounding them erupted with goblin shrieks.
Rose and Ava covered their ears until the noise subsided. When they looked down from their perch, only the dead goblin remained.
