I miss and hit him in the bridge of his nose. It's equally as effective but a lot more gruesome. An arrow strikes my leg, but my armor protects me. It isn't from the soldier I just killed. It came from the east. I extend the shield to cover us. The roots fall on it before it's even fully formed.
"We're not going to make it out of here," I shout.
"Just keep fighting!"
The roots and vines make the shield heavy. I'm already tired from when I had to push back the dirt. I don't know where the energy is coming from to hold off the roots, but my strength won't last much longer.
Stryder halts when he can no longer see. Dathid jumps from his back and holds a hand out for me. "We have to go on foot. We're too big this way."
I don't need his help to hop down. "What about Stryder?"
"He'll be much faster now that he doesn't have us. He can outrun the vines, and the Grucht Leisck won't waste ammo on a loose unicorn."
I pat Stryder's rump. "Get ready to run," I whisper to him. I hold up my sword. "Ready?" I ask Dathid.
He nods, "Ready."
I drop the shield, and like before, a million stingers pummel our bodies, followed by hard, heavy branches and roots that wrap themselves around our legs and arms. I swing ferociously at all of it and make progress until a stem wraps around my neck and pulls me to the ground.
I swing my sword, but I can't find the branch attached to the section around my neck. The thorns are piercing me, locking the vine in place while it tightens its hold. Tendrils creep over my legs and waist. I drop the sword and grab my wand. The vine painfully closes my airway.
I've never pointed the wand at myself before. I've made tiny lightning with it, but I've never tried when I'm this scared. I may electrocute myself. Or I may fail completely. Or do something unintentional that's going to make things worse.
I can't focus because I'm panicking. I can't think. I claw at the vine around my neck. Lightning. I need to picture the lightning. I hold my wand against the vine and force the energy out. My body seizes when hot electricity shoots through it, but I burn all of the roots and branches that were holding me down.
I grab my sword and jump to my feet. Dathid's also pinned to the ground. He's flailing his sword wildly, so I can't get too close. I focus on the lightning and point it at him. His body seizes, and the vines burn.
He jumps to his feet, startled. Is he confused about what just happened, or that I was the one who did it? We don't discuss it because he grabs me and throws me in front of him. We're running for our lives.
It's easier to get through without Stryder because I can avoid more branches and roots. I also use my wand to shock a lot of them back. This horrible plant could be covering most of the countryside. We've come a long way, and still, the vine continues for as far as I can see.
We haven't seen too many soldiers. Maybe they've been eaten. More likely, they're stationed at the front of the castle with a sporadic few spaced throughout the lesser-used areas. Ziras probably knows there are holes in the walls, but they'll be looking for floods of people escaping.
I'm kidding myself. They're looking for me. And I've been seen.
I run harder. My lungs burn, and my legs ache. Bless Trelix for making me run all those laps. The thought of him breaks my heart and my concentration. We left him back there. A vine smacks me in the face and latches on to my cheek. I yank it off and get back to the task at hand.
Three red soldiers run toward us. We can't hide because the vines will overrun us. I pull a knife from my leg sheath. I aim at one soldier, but he falls under Dathid's arrow, so I throw it at the guy next to him and bury it in his forehead. He runs several more steps before he falls. I'm better with knives than arrows, but now I'm down a weapon. An arrow bounces off my shoulder when Dathid deflects it. For the second time, I'm mad I left my helmet behind.
The third soldier falls with another arrow from Dathid. Fighting is difficult, but each side has an equal disadvantage. We can't stop running, and neither can they. No one can take cover or take aim.
I sheath my sword and take out my bow. Dathid runs up next to me. "No," he says surprisingly clear. He's not out of breath at all. "Keep your sword. I'll shoot the arrows." He steps in front of me, and I fall in line behind him. Giving up Stryder was a bad idea.
We've run at least ten miles through heavy vines that trip us up and ensnare us. We're both so covered in thorns we resemble cactuses, or is it cacti? What does it matter? The pain is so constant it's almost numbing. Almost. Maybe it'll be the same as the Salt Mines if I give up. My friends will be left alone once I'm gone. At least, I think that's what happened; I never asked.
"There's light ahead," Dathid says. He sounds winded. That makes me feel better.
He must be imagining it because there's no light. However, once I take a few more steps, I see it, too. A thinning of the vines lets the sunlight in. It gives me a boost of energy, and I run faster. An arrow pierces my armor and digs deep into my thigh. I hit the ground chin first. One of my back teeth breaks. Then blinding pain in my nose. I roll to a stop.
The pain in my leg far out shadows the pain in my face, but the blood pouring from my nose makes it hard to breathe. I instinctively wrap my hand around the arrow.
"No!" Dathid shouts. He can't help me because he's firing at whoever shot me. "Get up!"
I let go, but he's out of his mind if he believes I can move. I can barely hear him over the ringing in my ears. I roll to my side and spit blood. If I take short gasps through my mouth, I can get enough air to focus my thoughts. I tilt my face forward so the blood will pour from my mouth and nose to the ground and not down my throat. I try to bend my leg and snap my mouth closed when I scream.
I'm trembling so badly I can't aim my wand at the vines that are falling on me. If I pull the arrow out, the pain will end. But Dathid said not to. He's been a medic for a long time. I should listen to him. But it hurts.
"Get up!" he yells.
When I smashed into the ground, I buried myself in vines. A thick layer of roots has entangled my uninjured leg and sword arm. I turn my wand and focus my lightening. A jolt shoots through my body and I blackout for a second.
I mindlessly yank my limbs free and stand before I can think. Pain radiates up my leg and makes my eyes roll back in my head.
"Don't faint!" Dathid commands as he catches me.
I force myself to focus on him. I can do this.
"Can you run?" he asks.
I wobble a nod. I don't have a choice. Either run or die. Dathid puts his hand under my arm and holds me up as he sprints through the vine. With every step, the arrow lodges deeper into my leg, slicing open muscle and making it harder to move. I can't fight the vine. I can't watch for soldiers. It's taking everything in my being to keep my legs moving.
I'm lightheaded and nauseous. My body and consciousness are separating. It's as if I'm not entirely in myself. I might be bleeding to death. The running is making the blood pump faster from my leg and face. I'm not breathing well. I'm swallowing mouthfuls of blood that are souring my stomach. I'm not strong enough to survive this kind of pain. I have to stop running. I have to pull this arrow out of my leg.
The vines are definitely getting lighter and thinner. There's sky up ahead. I run faster. Soon the branches that were way over our heads slope toward the ground. The tops of the vine is at our waists. My armor holds the arrow steady, but I have to push the tendrils away from the fletching because it keeps catching on the vines and ripping my leg apart.
Finally, the vine is at our feet, then it disappears completely, but we're still running. The red soldiers are out here, and we need shelter. The blood drains from my head. My body is quitting. I'm flying. My cheek hits the ground so hard I might've broken my jaw. But I don't care. I'm too tired and tingly to feel it.
"Sorry, Agg, we can't stop," Dathid says when he throws me over his shoulder.
The bounce of his running makes the wound in my leg burn. I'm woozy, and I'm going to barf. How mad will he be if I vomit on him? I wonder what happens when I lose too much blood. I'm glad I'm not running anymore. I can't feel my feet. This has to be hard on him. I'm lying on some thorns that are sticking out of him. I wonder if this hurts him. I wonder if he cares. I wonder why everything is so fuzzy and sparkly.
Chapter 25: Fuzzy & Sparkly
Începe de la început
