Page 129 of The Lands Defying
Fuck.
The mist-like fire on the wolf seems to become larger, and the rogure yelps, shaking its head back and forth like it’s in pain as the black fire seems to be spreading along its body.
My feet move me toward them without thought, without preservation as the other rogures begin to gather again and make their way toward the wolf. Us. Me.
Because now I’m in their sights, now their bone-colored eyes track every one of my moves before they raise their heads and release a hunting howl.
Then they come for me, not hesitating to get their kill. I can feel their bloodlust dripping off of them like water flowing over rocks. No. They are playing with their food, spreading out in a formation I didn’t know they were capable of even considering.
They are more intelligent than we thought.
My mind goes back to The Drylands and what we found there. The experiments, the liquid they gave those rogure-like beasts, and what was in Darius’s father’s basement.
Have they done experiments on normal rogures too?
When I looked down into the grates on the floor in that place, there were so many of those creatures, too many to count. It was an army of them, an army to take over more lands than Vrohkaria like Frederick said.
The wolf turns its head back and forth as it moves its body to try and get the rogure off its back. It’s biting into its shoulder now, even as the flames cascade over his body and rotting flesh drips from it.
The wolf yelps again, and it shoots straight to my heart. I feel inside for my magic, hoping for a tiny spark, anything to help him. Runa cries within, looking through my eyes as we watch on in dread.
I look toward the ground, seeing if I can spot anything, and I see it, a rock amongst a small tuft of grass. I go for it, looking behind me at the door where Mivera still holds her hand out, her eyes looking at the rogures nervously. I bend down and pick up the rock, sliding my eyes over to the now semi-circle that the other rogures have made as they close in on us.
The breath wooshes from me as I stand tall, knowing I only have one shot to try and make this work. My eyes stay glued to the rogure on the back of the wolf as he moves his body around, trying to dislodge him. He suddenly whines at a particular bite, and I wind my hand back, waiting.
Just as the rogure rears its head to land another bite, I let the rock loose, pushing all of my strength into it as it soars through the air. It smashes into the side of the rogures head, and it loses its balance at the unexpected blow. It falls to the side, and the wolf spins, knocking the rogure off completely.
“Come!” I call to him. The wolf turns his dark head to me, and I move to make my way back to the door. “Hurry!” He moves toward me at a fast pace, though he’s limping on one of his back legs.
The other rogures howl, that screeching sound echoing around us and they charge toward us just as the one that attacked the wolf gets to its feet and joins them.
I rush the steps to the door, to Mivera’s hand and I clap it on my own. I reach into the pocket of the pants I stole, and take out the port stone, setting the location in my mind and my eyes stick to the wolf coming to me as fast as he can.
The rogures are closing in on him, that black foam dripping from their mouths as they rush at us.
“Please,” Mivera whimpers, “Get us out of here.”
“We are going to die.”
“Gods, save us.”
The villagers all start shouting, begging me to go.
But I won’t leave him.
“Come on, come on,” I chant to the wolf, “Nearly there.” I watch on in fear as the wolf stumbles a little, the rogures nipping at his hind legs and I grip Mivera’s hand, dragging her out of the door a little to get closer.
She’s openly crying now, trying to get me to let go of her as the others scream in terror.
The wolf’s eyes lock with mine, so green, so familiar and I don’t look away from him.
“Come home with me,” I whisper, and with a powerful push, the wolf moves faster, then his nose touches my hand and we port out to the sounds of howls and snarls.
Thirty Seven
Darius
My power pours out of me, a swirly, raging thing as I let it roam the land, curling around any bora that decided to take me on today.
