Page 33 of Ryld's Shadows
In a bone-weary, rasping voice, Kai called over, “What did I say about fire?”
“You’re welcome very much, your high drowsiness,” Flax yelled back with a snort.
Kai pointed with his uninjured arm to a nearby bush, happily blazing away.
“Oh, um. Right. Sorry.” Good thing the Boggle Habitat was nearby. Flax pulled water from the marsh and doused the flames before they could spread. “Hal, we’re clear! If you’ve got a medic free, I need a couple over here!”
A couple of the human medics who had ridden in with their winged colleagues rushed over. One of them tried to see to Kai, but he waved her off and sent her to help with Hank. Kai staggered up from the grass and managed the three steps to Ryld before crashing to his knees again.
“Ryld?” Kai spoke softly in drow for a bit. Flax didn’t understand much more thanit’s over. Then Kai switched back. “Ryld? I need you to come back, please. Hank is badly hurt. You must let them take him to Medical.”
The only response Kai received was a low growl that was infinitely more real and less creepy than the sounds the shadow beasts had made. Flax saw no sign of Ryld in the dark pits of his eyes.
“If he doesn’t come back soon, can we restrain him long enough to get Hank help?” Flax asked quietly.
Ryld snarled in their direction, and Kai shot Flax an absolutely withering look. The shadows in the pockets of trees and brush all around them started to shift in odd and ominous ways, lumps of darkness trying to take on form and shake the tethers.
“Well shit, I didn’t know he could reform them.”
“He does notreformthem,” Kai hissed at him. “He forms new ones. Constantly. It’s all a matter of degrees.” He patted the ground in front of Ryld, trying to take his attention away from Flax. “We will do no such thing. There will be no restraints. Ryld knows that Hank needs assistance if he’s to survive this.”
“I hope he understands that. I really do,” Flax murmured. The big guy didn’t look good. There was a lot of blood on him, on the ground, on Ryld.
Kai switched back to drow. Flax didn’t catch the words, but the tone told him enough. Soothing, then pleading.
Ryld stared at him. In the gloom it looked like his eye sockets weren’t just black but empty. Flax suppressed a shudder. Whatever Kai was saying to him must have penetrated somehow. The expression of madness and rage faded. Ryld closed his eyes, sagging against Hank, pressing his forehead to his uninjured shoulder.
“Is he…?” Flax started to ask.
Kai waved the medic forward with urgency. “Let him alone for now.” And to the medic, “I want him kept with Hank. Donot, no matter what the circumstances, separate them.”
