Discover L (Book 2) | Complete |

~~ Trick Or Troll ~~

She knew what she had to do, her claws lengthened and she increased her speed, she dodged and dived, slashing at the legs of the Trolls she neared. Some were able to avoid her, running or rolling out of the way, a few weren't so lucky. Green blood squirted the ground, L had nicked just the right artery. The two Trolls she'd hit were howling, they hobbled back towards the tunnels before L could even think of stopping them.

L darted aside to avoid being hit in the head by another club, she glowered at the rest of the Trolls while staying out of reach. She and Robbie were still outnumbered and had no way to gain a clear advantage. The Trolls were wise to Robbie's fire, quick enough to avoid L's claws and impervious to magic. They seemed hellbent on getting Bryce back, and they didn't care what happened to her or Robbie in the process.

L thought about weapons, something to fight with from a distance, but there was nothing for miles and the knife she'd had in her bag wouldn't have helped much in this situation.

"Hey, L? Do you think you could pull up one of these trees?" Robbie asked suddenly, gnashing his teeth at two Trolls who tried to advance on them.

L's brow quirked, "Yeah probably, why? What were you thinking?"

Robbie's huge Dragon mouth stretched into a toothy grin. "Maybe a game of Troll-ball?"

He must have been thinking the same as L, they needed something long range to keep the Trolls at bay or fight them off with. L grinned and ran for the nearest tree, while Robbie kept the Trolls busy. L used her enhanced strength and pulled the tree out from the roots. It must have been ten feet tall at least, L swung it round, the leaves catching fire from the blaze Robbie had started. She hit one of the Trolls, who hadn't noticed what she'd been doing.

The Troll yelped as it was thrown through the air, disappearing into the distance. Six down, still four to go and the element of surprise she'd had with the tree was gone now. L brandished her new weapon, which was on fire, and the Trolls kept their distance.

"We can't stay like this forever though," L remarked, her thoughts on Bryce and how quickly he needed treating.

"Go get them with your burning tree, you could wipe them all out with that thing." Robbie chuckled inside L's head.

"But that'll leave you exposed," L hesitated, wanting to wipe out the Trolls as quickly as possible.

"They won't get by me and they definitely won't be getting through me. I know, use the tree to herd them to me and I'll get rid of them." Robbie sounded excited at his plan.

L smiled and shrugged, it was the best they had. She nodded her agreement and ran at the Trolls with her flaming tree. They scattered, using their speed to outrun L, something she certainly wasn't used to. She turned and swung the tree, hoping to catch one of them with a stray branch. But to her horror, none of the Trolls were nearby. They'd done what she and Robbie wanted, but a little too readily, they had Robbie surrounded and distracted; he didn't see one of them break off and head straight for Bryce.

L tried to run, to get there before the Troll did but it was too late, the large, usually docile creature reached through L's barrier like it wasn't even there. It picked up Bryce by the scruff of his neck and ran for the tunnels, there was no way L could reach it before it got inside. If it disappeared into those tunnels again, she was positive she would never see Bryce again. L's heart clenched, she dropped the tree and sprinted at the Troll as fast as her abilities allowed, but it wasn't enough.

She watched the Troll enter the opening of the tunnels and her heart began to sink. She possessed the knowledge and abilities of almost every creature in existence and she still couldn't save Bryce. She felt useless and hopeless, and yet she was ready to chase that Troll through the tunnels regardless. She would have done anything to get Bryce back and was about to put that statement to the test when something sang by her ear.