Page 59 of Nixx
We watch the confrontation with concern. The two other gortachs have joined the first one and there are now three angry monsters that they have to face. The fight is unequal. Their blades are too short to reach the beast without coming directly within range of its sharpened defenses. My heart is in my mouth.
Amill dropped Dall into the arms of an Erian and joined the men on the ground. Zakk does the same with me, leaving me in the arms of Hugg, whom I understand is not a warrior. With fear, I watch the fight below.
“Sarah, you're okay, you're not too stunned?”
“Why don't they take cover?” I whisper to Hugg. “Or don't they use their crossbows from the height?”
“Gortachs have too much thick skin. It just annoys them, but it doesn't cause any serious injury.”
“Is everyone safe now? Why not just wait for them to leave?”
“These beasts will destroy everything if they are not stopped. And there are already several victims. In this case, we must put them out of action. And afterward, we will take care of the injured and the damage caused.”
I flinch as I watch one of the monsters strike the silver-winged colossus in the shoulder with its horn. Fixated on its target, the gortach doesn't see Nixx pass under its chin and run his blade across the width of its neck. With an abominable howl, the beast collapses in a vermilion waterfall, while Nixx grabs the wounded colossus and pulls him back.
The fight continues and is fierce. The warriors now have many cuts of varying depths and a second monster is struck down.
The last one, feeling cornered, makes a sudden about-face and finds himself in front of the named Amill and decapitates him with a quick blow of his teeth. My God! But what a horror.
A cry of rage resounds and the silver-winged colossus rushes towards the beast, despite his wound and thrusts his blade into its eye up to the guard. The monster collapses with a loud noise. The deafening noise of the fight is replaced by dead silence.
The colossus takes the inert body of the warrior in his arms and pushes a howl of pain.
Hugg gently sets me down and I rush to the corner of the tent where I left my medical bag. The emergency is to treat everyone who needs to be treated. I grab the scanner and approach one of the gortachs.
“Sarah!” my dark angel whispers to me. “Don't come any closer.”
“Nixx, in order, I check these things for toxic substances on their horns that could aggravate your injuries. Next, I want all the wounded gathered in a clear, clean area. I also want clean beds and linens prepared.”
Crisis management with injuries to deal with is something I'm familiar with. I know that once I've done all I can to help these people and I settle down, the nightmare will catch up with me. But for now, I have work to do.
So, I scan the gortach and in particular its tusks which have left many lacerations on the warriors. As I suspected, they are full of bacteria. I will have to consider antibiotics. I don't have enough doses in mono-injections, but I also plan to use their miracle balm, which is highly antiseptic and should be fine for shallow wounds.
Nixx grabs me and drops me a few dozen meters away in the camp, where some Erians are setting up a large tent and bringing in wounded. As he is about to leave, I stop him:
“Nixx, you are hurt . . .”
“Kitten, they're just scratches. This blood is the blood of those monsters, not mine. Do what you know how to do, I'm going back to Liamm who just lost his father in the worst way. He will need support.”
“Liamm? The beautiful angel with the silver wings?”
Oops, bad choice of words. Nixx is the only one I usually call an angel, the others being simply Erians. The unfortunate association of "beautiful angel" seems to suit him even less. He takes a step back and glares at me, his face closed.
“Yes, it looks like it," he replies sharply, leaving the tent without another word.
Girl, you said something stupid. Your beautiful dark angel is sensitive and you just offended him. Well, you'll have to make it up to him later.
Some wounded are brought into the tent and placed on the beds installed at my request. Polly joins me and offers me her help.
Together, we clean the wounds, apply balm, and put on bandages. I proceed with a few stitches. Fortunately, almost all the Erians managed to get to safety quickly during the attack.
The majority of injuries were caused on the ground during the general chaos. Or while retrieving a child, or another person unfit to fly. The toll could have been even higher.
Polly and I have been working for over an hour and I think we are done. The only ones left are the warriors who haven't come in for treatment yet. I turn back to Hugg, who hasn't left my side for a moment.
“Hugg, I really need to clean and disinfect the warriors' wounds. They were cut by the tusks of these beasts and the bacteria can cause a big infection. Can you please ask them to come here?”
He nods without a word. What a pain in the ass those Erians are! They're always talking telepathically and they don't even bother with words for me, the poor human. How frustrating. I grumbled inwardly when I suddenly saw them enter the tent.
