Scientific Sorcery

Part 17

Char felt the cold blade on his neck and froze. He hadn't heard them approach. He looked sideways to see Kerr, who also had a knife to his throat. He was holding up his hands in supplication.

"Ok," he said, "I'm not moving."

Char could see one of the hunters with her lips close to Kerr's ear, "That's right, you won't," she whispered in a harsh voice. "Who told you that you could leave?"

The hunter holding Char laughed. He gulped, feeling the knife-tip move over his Adam's apple. He shivered.

"It wouldn't be in your best interest to try anything," she growled in his ear.

The woman behind Kerr nodded. "No man is match for a hunter of New Giza. Don't even think of it."

Hands still raised, Kerr stammered, "W-we're cool. No thoughts, whatsoever."

Kerr's captor chuckled. "You're a man. Of course you don't have any thoughts. That's why I'm telling you to hold still."

She motioned with her head, and two more women walked around them, each with bows drawn and aimed at them.

Char's mind shouted at him in fear. A quick spell could freeze one of them. Could he get it off in time? Could he freeze more than one before he was killed? Could he even get a spell out with the blade at his throat?

Char closed his eyes, his breath quickening. He felt the knife on his throat press harder. He felt the warmth of it breaking his skin. Or maybe he just imagined that.

"Now," said the woman behind Kerr. "Samia said to bring you to her. She said she needed you. I would like nothing more than to kill you right here and now, but as it is, she's in charge."

Kerr's eyes bulged. "What happened to that... thing that you were attacking?"

Char's eyes opened and he glanced over at Kerr. He wanted to ask what he was talking about, but the knife was so tight against his throat that he didn't dare speak.

The woman behind Kerr hesitated for a moment. Was that a muffled sob he heard?

The woman behind Kerr spoke again, "The... jackal... has been neutralized."

Now Kerr was doubtful, "You called it a flying jackal. Char called it a manticore. All I know is it was the biggest creature I've ever seen. Your little bows and arrows were able to stop it?"

Char sucked in a breath, being careful to keep his neck still. A manticore? Char tried to remember earlier that day, but couldn't. He could remember the boar, but he couldn't remember anything before that. His memory was a fuzzy cloud.

But if they had seen a real manticore, that was huge discovery. He had thought that they were extinct. He hadn't heard of one living in his lifetime. He had been told tales of the wild beasts who preyed on anything they found. They were said to be gigantic, with the body of a lion, the wings of a dragon, the head of a man, and the tail of a snake. Char always wondered if any part of the tale had been exaggerated to frighten him as a child. It was said that they spit acid, paralyzed with a bite, and could rip a man in two.

They were said to be magical beasts, with the intelligence of a human. Char always wondered if they could communicate. Of course, that was if they even existed. Char had his doubts about that, too.

A childish excitement filled Char. He couldn't help but grin. A real, live, honest to goodness manticore!

"Oh," said Kerr, looking at him. "No, no, no. Not again. It almost killed me the first time. This is not something you want to get a closer look at!"