Clash of Captains

Chapter 22

All Devyn could do as the blonde girl lost her footing and fell was scream. And scream she did, letting out a cry so full of anguish and fright that she barely recognized that it had come out of her own mouth. Her knees grew weak and she fell into a kneeling position, eyes resting on the side of the ravine where Aneira had just been standing. Her mind seemed to be taking two different sides in the matter.

Go after her, demanded one side. You have to try and save her; you can't lose her just like that, before you even complete your mission.

No, the other side chided. She's already dead. If you go over there, you'll only see her crumpled body lying at the bottom. Wherever the bottom actually lies, at least. Do you really want to know how far down it goes? And, more importantly, risk your life to rescue someone you can hardly tolerate?

Devyn remained on her knees, staring numbly at the giant crack that lay in front of her as her thoughts warred in her mind. The shadow beast was pacing at the side of the ravine, grumbling to itself as it glanced down to where Aneira had fallen. It must feel robbed of its prey, Devyn couldn't help but think to herself, only feeling herself fill with even more guilt at the thought. It probably expected to be able to finish her off itself. The thoughts finally spurred the girl to action, and she stumbled shakily to her feet. She wasn't going to let the beast just stand there lusting after its prey. She picked up a rough rock by her feet and tossed it absentmindedly from hand to hand, considering. After determining that it held enough weight to make a decent sound, she hurled the rock further up the path. It clicked loudly against several other stone surfaces; the beast raised its head and hissed, loping off to find the source of the noise.

As the creature disappeared behind the path's curve, Devyn let out a breath and managed a soft chuckle. "Dumb bird," she muttered to herself as she carefully stepped towards the ravine. Worries began to fill her mind again. I really don't want to just see Aneira's broken body... But she forced her way forwards anyway and glanced down into the large chasm.

She saw... nothing. No bodies littered the bottom of the ravine — not that Devyn could see it from this height — and no hands clung anxiously to the lip of the crevice. She clenched her hands into fists. Aneira was nowhere to be found.

"De..."

Devyn whipped her head up. It had almost sounded as if someone was trying to say her name, as if the word had been whipped away by the wind. But there was no one on either side of her; the mountain seemed completely uninhabited, since no one would dare to brave the dangers that the place offered, and the shadow beast must have still been searching fruitlessly for the ghost of an attacker it had been tricked by. She gulped and glanced back down into the ravine, and she finally discovered the source of the spoken word.

A good length below, just barely within view, was a thin ledge. Aneira lay sprawled across it — injured, but seemingly alive. The girl seemed to be tucked away just enough to have avoided being seen by the shadow beast when it had glanced down the ravine in search of its prey.

"Aneira!" Devyn cried back in a low hiss, her eyes going wide. She was already searching for a way to pull the blonde back up onto solid ground.

The girl straightened slightly, pleased to have been found, and shifted into a crouch. Even from the distance between them, Devyn could see her face contort in pain as she got onto her knees. The fall must have wounded her legs; it was impossible to tell how severely she was injured, except for a bit of blood that stained her temple.

Devyn glanced from side to side. She wouldn't risk climbing down to try and rescue Aneira; it would be too daring of her to attempt anything of the sort. She studied the crevice walls again. Is it possible for me to just reach down and help her up? She settled once more into a low crouch and stretched her arm down as far as it would go. Aneira's eyes grew wide as she recognized the proposed idea, and she eagerly inched her way closer, reaching both arms to the sky. Devyn strained herself further, pressing herself even further down and splaying her fingers to reach lower. As Aneira did the same, her hand was almost within reach. Just a little farther...

A resounding crack echoed through the air just before Devyn could touch Aneira's fingertips. She stumbled back from the ravine edge to recognize her attacker. The shadow beast seemed even more angry than before, clearly annoyed with the idea that Devyn had managed to trick it with the rock ploy. It spread its wings, their leathery membranes turning the sunlight that filtered through them a deep, murky brown. Devyn hurriedly grabbed for her sword as the beast stepped closer, its pointy teeth bared. The half skull that obscured most of its face only made it seem even angrier.

Devyn fumbled with the sheath as she slipped out her blade, swinging it around to face the shadow beast. For a moment the creature paused, eyeing her with consideration, before it let out a grumbling roar and loped forward. Devyn leapt out of the way, jabbing her sword at the creature as she did. The blade didn't hit its mark, not that Devyn had expected it to be that easy. The dark-haired girl advanced with her sword outstretched, but the feathered beast seemed uninterested in the weapon; it stalked forward, its neck stretching to loom over her, and ducked down as if to pounce.

Well, Devyn thought to herself, desperately seeking a way out of the match and finding her efforts hopeless. I guess this is it. A little sad, I guess, that it's going to be my own god's pet that takes me down. She screwed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see her terror reflected in the beast's soulless eyes as it delivered the final blow. Devyn tensed, bracing herself for the deadly strike as she heard the creature padding its way steadily closer. She felt its ragged breath fluff her hair; she felt a rush of wind as the beast likely prepared itself for the attack. And then, suddenly, she felt some of the tension release from the moment, as if the beast had hesitated. Devyn slowly opened her eyes.

A hand had placed itself at the edge of the ravine, followed by a second. And then Aneira's head was miraculously poking out of the crevice, her blonde hair a dirty mess. Her eyes displayed nothing but determination — and perhaps a hint of pain from her injuries — as she heaved herself up onto the path. Devyn watched, finding herself falling to her knees when her legs gave way beneath her, as Aneira stumbled forward. Her gaze was fixed on the shadow beast, which had momentarily abandoned Devyn in favor of its original target.

"Ser arden, friend of the shadows," the blonde intoned. Her voice held a quiver that made it no less powerful. The shadow beast flinched slightly, its lip curling with distaste to display its daggers of teeth. Aneira didn't seem phased. "You keep the world in darkness, but you're forgetting one thing: even a tiny pinprick of light in a room made of shadows will cause the darkness to fall apart around it. So, here I am: your pinprick." She spread her arms out to either side, her brow furrowed with concentration as she glared at the shadow beast.

At first, Devyn felt nothing but panic as the shadow beast unfurled its wings and let out a low hiss. It's going to attack her. Why in the name of the shadow god is she doing that? But then the creature flapped its way into the air with some difficulty, weaving its way through the air until it disappeared behind a large boulder. Aneira just... scared it away.

Devyn felt a tremor make its way through her body. She was already on her knees, so she had no new fear of collapsing, but she felt a bit lightheaded and nearly toppled over. It was difficult for her to admit, but she had no doubt that the quivering was from her fear, from the fright she had felt when facing down the beast, from the way it had so easily taken her down.

Aneira stood for a moment in the same spot, before a shy smile darted across her lips, satisfied with her work. Her head turned immediately to face Devyn and her eyes suddenly shone with worry. She hurried over as quickly as she could with a slight limp.

"Are you okay?" The blonde asked immediately, the breath rushing out of her.

Devyn glanced at the girl as she knelt down beside her, at the concern in her eyes, and then down at her hands, which were still shaking beyond her control. She looked back up at Aneira and, as if a dam had broken, tears began to rush out of her. She bowed her head as sobs racked her body, and she faintly felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder as she dissolved utterly and completely into tears.