KINGSLAYER

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Act 2 Chapter 37
JAYLAH

I would never be used to the stillness of the forest before a hunt. The entire place seemed to be holding its breath, delaying the inevitable explosion of chaos. Between those eerie, frozen moments, anything could be out there.

This was the final day of our time with the huntresses. One last hunt, and Alexander and I were on our own. The huntresses had been tracking this particular beast—a naga—for weeks, since even before we met. According to Ghislaine, it killed an entire group of two dozen Razorwood travelers and left the splattered bodies uneaten. If left to its own devices, the beast would strike again.

Wordlessly, Sonia dropped into a crouch. There, imprinted in the dirt, was the barest sign of a lizard-like footstep, only half a hundred times bigger. The only sign that it was a footprint and not simply uneven footing on the ground were the holes spiked into the ground made by claws longer than a krivex's.

Sonia stood, then gestured for the rest of us to weave behind her through a thicker patch of trees. Every shadow that passed overhead had me anxious. But upon looking to the canopy, I saw they were only songbirds passing by. The little creatures were fleeing this area.

Fluidly passing by Sonia, who held her hand to stop us, as if the two communicated through some non-verbal means, Margaux strode ahead and scrambled up the side of a rather large series of boulders. The way her feet made no sound, even as they scraped against stone, was reminiscent of Alexander.

We all watched on as Margaux stood on the top, her brown hair shining gold in the rare rays of sun up so high. Drawing the string of her bow back, I watched her contemplate her aim. A heavy moment passed. There was a whoosh as she let the arrow fly.

The response was nearly immediate. A snarl sounded through the forest, so deep I felt it in the earth through my feet. I got into position, mirroring the others. The fight was coming to us.

Bigger than I imagined, the naga soared into view from far behind the rocks, leaping to clutch onto the towering tree trunks in front of us. Its double set of bat wings were dark enough to block out the sun as it roared, pouncing from above to tear us apart. I could see the burning gold of its eyes locking onto us. We scattered.

I lunged right, past the cover of the rocks. A few arrows missed their target and rebounded off the naga's armored skin, falling around me. The beast hit the ground where we hid just seconds before. Holding her bow high, Ghislaine leapt through a series of bushes to get into position, but it only negatively caught the naga's attention. Unhinging its jaw, it sought to snap the archer in half. She was barely dodging the razors on the ends of its wingtips as it was.

It turned away at the last moment. Something else caught its attention. Me. Or, more specifically, the gleam of my swords. Gods, I thought as it fixed those unholy eyes on me. Where were all the others? Even Ghislaine was making a swift escape into the underbrush.

Knowing I stood no chance against it, I turned on my heel and sprinted. My heart left my body when I heard the naga following scarily close, running so fast its footfalls sounded like those of a galloping horse. If I strained hard enough, I could nearly hear the earth being dug up from its claws. Hopefully those would remain out of my flesh.

The wind whistled in a strange way and I knew it was lashing out with the spikes on the tips of its wings. Instinctively, I dropped low and changed directions. The wing struck out just over my head. 

I was tripping, stumbling, racing into an unfamiliar part of the forest, leaping over small bushes, shoving the occasional low-hanging branch out of my way and in turn, earning their slashes against my hands and arms. I felt none of the pain.

Though I was fast, the naga held infinitely more power in its muscled legs. The only reason I was not skewered yet was because the tree trunks were just close enough to each other to make sharp movement difficult for a creature as large as the naga. It fought regardless, knowing it would eventually win. I knew it too. Especially when I heard it leap up, taking flight to avoid the slowness of running. Its wingtips scraped terribly against tree trunks as they passed in a beige blur.

Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods. I held my swords up, preparing for the inevitability of the first strike it landed on me. The naga's shadow fell over me and my path. I could not do so much as breathe.

And then...it was over, just as suddenly as it began. The naga plowed into the ground close enough for me to feel the sweeping wind of its fallen body. I forced myself to stop running and see what became of the fearsome beast. There it lay, its jaw smashed against the dirt, with one golden eye bursted like a rotten tomato. The feather of an arrow stuck from deep within the skull. I followed its path back to Zensa, who was lowering her bow with three of the others at her back, including Alexander.

In no time, they were crowding around the naga, admiring the terrible beauty in the dying glow between its ribs and the razor edges of its many claws. Celebrating its demise. I simply stood watching, waiting for my heart rate to return to normal and the pain in my lungs to subside.

Soon, the jubilation turned to bittersweetness as we had to say goodbye. The other hunters flocked to Alexander, as he had won them over. But Zensa approached with a steely look in her eye, as if warning anyone watching not to overstate the fact that she was coming to see me off rather than Alexander. Gods forbid we appeared to be friendly.

"Good shot," I said.

"I know."

"A second later, and I would have been dead."

She shrugged, playing it off. "I am used to it after hundreds of these hunts."

"Well," I said, feeling a sudden warmth for her, "If you ever tire of this humble life of slaying monsters in Razorwood, I have elite connections in Naxaros. Go to the center of the city and you may have opportunities arise that you would not have here." My gaze shifted to the other girls, taking in their braided hair of varying hues, their bows and arrows. "This offer stands for all of you."

"It will be some time before I tire of this hunting. But then again, boredom is in my nature." It sounded like a maybe, bordering on likely. I would take it.

"In that case, I hope we will meet again, Zensa Feibao."

She was quiet for a moment, as if debating something. One side won out and she pulled a small dagger from her belt. "This was a family blade. I wish for you to have it."

I took the hilt she extended to me and examined the dagger. Just like my swords, it was made of Bloodiron. There was elaborate carving work on both the hilt and the blade itself that I would inspect more closely later. "Why?"

"Does a gift require an explanation?" But she relented. "If it must, we will say it is for you to remember us by."

"Thank you," I said, and I meant it. I nearly told her to give my thanks to Adelié as well, but thought better of it given what I now knew of Zensa's possibly unreturned feelings.

"Now go," she said, stepping back as if the soft moment had not occurred. "You have a new life awaiting you." 

Sometimes I wondered if she somehow guessed at my true identity.

Regardless, Alexander and I left into the rest of the forest alone, the huntresses watching us recede until we were out of sight.