Chương 54

Before the earth settled, three terrible creatures took off in all directions. They were fast, careening on six limbs across a forest floor that seemed to propel them forward, their ape-like forms sleek with feathers and cruel beaks. Despite Sejal's warning, the mercenaries were not ready. The first Illwrought hit the Acid Talent like a speeding Sloop, driving three of its clawed arms into her torso and shoulders. She cried out, the bark splintering beneath her armor. The Illwrought stabbed its beak into her eyes.

"First Depth—Acid Scourge!" An orange blast hit the Illwrought straight on. The thing threw its four arms forward, but the acid stripped its feathers into gobbets of streaming flesh. It fell back, blood hide oozing down its shoulders—but the maddened thing only screeched and rushed back in. Acid Talent was ready this time. Orange acid leapt from the sizzling earth, reforming at once into hooked whips that cut into the monster's legs—or would have, were it not so fast.

"Abyss! They're stronger than ever!" The Acid Talent followed the Illwrought with her whips, searing through the camouflaged netting that it climbed as fast as flat ground.

"Margo! I could use your aid!" The ape bounced ahead of her lashings, springing back onto the tree before dropping in a blur of bloody limbs. Acid Talent threw herself aside. She twisted her body to throw her arms at the tree trunk. The whips followed her movements, cutting into—and through—bark and bole alike. The forest titan fell with a resounding crash, but the Illwrought escaped. The girl spun, chasing after it as her scourging whips slammed into the ground.

The other two Illwrought scattered into the netting, but the mercs had finally rallied. The Air Talent—Margo, Sejal supposed—threw a hand up and Water gleamed from her left palm.

"Get back down here! First Depth—Air Claw!" The girl bent her fingers and the air above distorted into a near invisible simulacrum. Wind hissed and she hauled downward—ripping both Illwrought from the netting. They hit the ground with a dire grace, their many limbs already propelling them in separate directions. Acid Talent—Gwenna—brought her acid whips down, splashing them into the earth in bright orange fountains of sizzling death. The Illwrought pivoted, heading instead directly for the young woman.

"Now," Gwenna shouted. Wind whipped and the air distorted as a single, five-foot wide Air Claw tore down the narrow passage. Hardened flesh split in bloody furrows and feathers were scattered into the air. The Illwrought didn't seem to care. They rushed through Margo's brutal attack, forcing Gwenna to pull her Talent into a doubled wall of hissing orange malice. The Illwrought diverted, running to either side in a gallop of unnatural limbs.

One vanished, leaping somewhere, and the other bounded off the rippling earth—straight into Margo. A pair of bronze sickles met the Illwrought's claws, blocking them in a rapid flurry of parries.

"Lohse!" Water gushed from the mercenary, but her Talent dissipated into a violent breeze.

"First Depth—!" The abomination clawed across her face, cutting her words off in a flush of pain as even her refined skin couldn't hold back its strength. At the same time, claws punched through her armor into her thighs. Margo choked. Orange coated hands seized the Illwrought by the throat.

"Let her go!" Gwenna hauled back and the creature thrashed, but her acid was wrapped around its feathered neck and acrid smoke was followed by a bubbling gargle. Its many arms fell limp. She released it to fall to the ground.

"Finally." Raw bones and bloody hide tackled her from behind. Gwenna rolled in the dirt, arms lifted as she defended against the things thrashing claws. Orange clung to her, cladding her hands and forearms in a layer of sizzling vehemence that pained the Illwrought with every maddened strike. It didn't stop.

"First Depth—Impact." A sword punched through the Illwrought's belly and it exploded outward in a flash of blue-green Water. The creature fell to the side, utterly still.

"Lohse," Gwenna breathed. She took his hand and stood up.

"Impeccable timing."

"I know." He spun, thrusting his sword straight through the belly of the last ape-monstrosity. His Talent, still active, blew its guts through its back.

"That's the last of them." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"No." Sejal said from the sidelines.

"It is not." The sound of liquid being strained through cheesecloth overcame all other noises in the woods. The Illwrought that had just fallen stood back up, its belly filling with a jellied fluid. It swung on Lohse faster than he could put up his guard. Two of its arms went flying in a bloody blur. A circular blade curved through the air, returning to Sejal's hands like a loyal hound. The Illwrought shuddered, its body bubbling up at the shoulder and chest rippling. It froze, pushed into an unnatural stillness.

It wouldn't last long, but the mercenaries realized it. Impact took off its head.

"Keep your weapons to yourself, veilguard," he snapped.

"Their reservoirs are mine." Sejal curled her lip.

"I have no desire for their tainted power." Regardless, she put away her chakram and let the mercenaries finish their fight. They knew the Illwroughts' weakness now, and it was an obvious one: they could not recover from a lost head. The last of the abominations tried to run, but an expertly placed Air Claw sent it tumbling, and no amount of earth flexing allowed it to recover in time. Acid Scourge followed close behind, breaking open its feathered back. The creature wasn't done yet, though.

It slammed its four fists into the earth. The ground rippled, lifting up into a wave that hurtled back toward Lohse and Gwenna. The man thrust his sword, releasing his Impact once again. It blasted through the wall—only to reveal the Illwrought screeching through the breach. It tackled Lohse and Gwenna both, stomping them against the softened loam before slashing across their faces and necks.

Chainmail scattered like metal filings, but their haubreks withstood the brutality with only a sharp screech of scratched metal. An Air Claw hit the thing, forcing it to curl against the sharp wind. A mistake. Sejal nodded as Gwenna mustered the Water to envelop the monster's head and shoulders in her orange acid. It flailed, falling backward even as pieces of it dissolved into gooey sludge. It stomped its feet and the earth lifted up around it in a wave blocking their view.

Sejal lifted her head, drawn from the fight before her. She was gathering excellent intel on the skill and techniques of the Grim Company, but it seemed the others were drawing near. And their conflict was coming with them. The Stitcher is likely with them. She clenched her jaw, fingers tightening around the hands of her chakrams. The blackheart was owed her vengeance, but she had wasted enough time in this place. Just beyond the trees and netting, the grunt of men and howl of Illwrought grew to a frenzied pitch.

The Stitcher was a threat that could not be ignored but it was not her threat to handle. Not any more. The mercenaries could take care of him. Sejal had no need to clear the camp of horrors either her only responsibility now was to escape to find her ward. Has she reached Haver Hill yet? Beside her, the earth collapsed as the final Illwrought fell, its head blasted clean off its shoulders. It's body was riddled with burns, tears, and smaller holes where Talent had been dumped atop his wiry frame.

Lohse was likewise torn up; his chest was a mess of bloody scratches and his face was already swelling along the jaw.

"More are coming," Sejal said to the three. She pointed.

"There are stolen supplies in that tent. Return them to the towns and villages." Gwenna wiped her mouth. Her face was little better than the man's.

"Where are you going?"

"I have been held here too long. I'm leaving." Sejal turned on her heel and strode into the forest. Margo's eyes widened.

"Wait wait you're not supposed to leave! Gwenna, please—!"

"Enough." Gwenna stepped up to Sejal, her hand lifted palm out.

"We do not wish to hurt you."

"But we will. We have orders, veilguard." Lohse got in front of her. Despite his wounds, the blade he held between them was steady.

"You're to come with us." Sejal frowned. The trio had surrounded her quite adeptly.

"Your captain has no hold on me, child. Step out of the way."

"Orders are orders, lady." He lifted his blade and sneered.

"But please…resist."

"We don't have time for that." Gwenna's voice was shrill.

"The other team needs our aid. Lohse, stop posturing and—" Sejal moved. A body refined by countless years and the darkening depths, caught Lohse's sword on the edge of her chakram, and hurled the thing from his grasp. She spun, deflecting a pair of sickles from Margo and put a boot to Gwenna's chest. Their Talents flared but Sejal was faster than any of them. With two fingers, she punched into their forearms and thighs and throats—their refined skin and muscles could not hold against her strength. Not like this.

Their Talents dried up before the first of them fell. The silence that came after was punctuated only by the screams of men and grunts of distant Illwrought. She loomed over Lohse as he struggle to stand.

"I will not kill you. That would mean leaving your corpse for the Stitcher to steal, and I haven't had time to incinerate you all." The man swallowed, his pupils shrunken down to pinpoints. His hand quivered, trying to reach for his blade. She had to give him points for temerity.

"Send this message back to your captain: Leave me and mine alone, and you will all live long, fruitful lives." Sejal hurled one of her chakram, immediately severing the neck of the abomination that had been hiding in the shadow of the branches. She gestured, and the chakram curved back into her grasp.

"You understand?" They nodded, and Sejal left them there, stalking out of the clearing and into the burgeoning night. She had a long way to go until she found her ward once more. Ancestors save whoever stood in her way.