Page 58 of Nixx
Dall, all pale, comes and stands in front of me:
“I can't fly anyway. It is absolutely necessary to fly away.”
“No, as I told you, you'll have to wait at least two days to use your wing.”
“You don't understand, the gortachs are dangerous, deadly! You have to take refuge in the air to escape them. And I can't fly.”
Oh shit! The agitation rises again around us. I hear cries of terror. I see as many Erians as possible fly away.
Ah girl, you're in trouble it seems.
I see an old woman pulling large bags that are too heavy for her. She desperately tries to fly away with it, but the excessive weight prevents her from really taking off.
It is with a nameless horror that I suddenly see a huge horn impaling her from behind. While the unfortunate woman is still alive, she is being tossed around by the monster to whom this horn belongs.
I discovered my first gortach. An animal as big as a mammoth, but more like a bison and provided with four pairs of horns, or should I say tusks? This mastodon displays a wide jaw full of sharp teeth and waits for the moment to tear the unhappy woman.
“Polly, get to safety and get help for Dall. The three of us can't stay on the ground, we offer too many targets for that monster to see.”
Tormented, Polly flies away and remains stationary a few meters above us. At the sounds that reach us, I realize that the monster is not alone. There are at least three of them. I help Dall to hide from the monster who finishes disemboweling the poor woman. I think quickly about a fallback solution. As I look around, an even greater horror strikes me. A few meters away, a child is looking for his parents. Considering his age, it is obvious that he is unable to take shelter.
I jumped out of the small piece of tent that Dall and I were hiding behind and ran to the child. I catch him in my arms and immediately run back to our shelter.
Alas, it seems that the gortach has seen my maneuver. He plays carelessly with the old woman's body, but nevertheless advances toward us. I hide Dall and the child as best I can. My heart is beating double time. How to save not one, but three people on the ground?
An Erian lands brutally in front of me. He is beautiful. His eyes are silver and his long, thin hair is longer than the usual Erian length. It is, like his wings, an iridescent silver-gray. Gorgeous. He's a little taller than Nixx and right now he's talking to me:
“Sarah, come with me. Right now.”
“It can't be. But take this child.”
And under his amazed look, I turn around, and lift the corner of the tent behind which I hid Dall and the little one. I put the child in his arms.
“Quickly. Please send someone for Dall as soon as possible.”
He hesitates for a split second before flying off with the child in his arms. I can see the gortach a few feet away from us now. I meet his eyes. No doubt, he has seen me and I am his next target. And Dall, right behind me, will also be threatened.
My blood runs cold. I'm not going to let one more innocent person die stupidly. A memory comes back to me, from a news report where a man scared off a lion by shouting louder than it. Not that the fight was even remotely balanced. But more to let the beast know that this is not a good idea.
As soon as this crazy idea crossed my mind, I grabbed a tent peg and rushed towards the gortach, shouting at him with all the strength of my lungs:
‘’YOU DIRTY, FILTHY BUG! YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! YOU LEAVE DALL! YOU LEAVE US ALONE! GET THE FUCK OUT!’’
Strangely, the gortach hesitates and evaluates me.
Ah, you see my daughter, not such a stupid idea after all. You have gained ten seconds of life before you get gored.
Well, the time has come . . . the time of my last breath, I mean. A thought crosses my mind and saddens me deeply; if Polly was right, Nixx might not recover from my death. I pray that she is wrong. Striking the ground with his hoof, the gortach springs up, lowering his head to better align me with his tusks.
As death is advancing toward me, Nixx lands abruptly in front of me and steps in. His longest blade is drawn. I see Lokk, Rymm, and the silver-winged colossus land beside him to face the monster. I feel an Erian land behind me and whisper in my ear:
“Sarah, this is Zakk, let me get you to safety immediately.”
“Not before Dall, he’s injured and can't take off.”
“Yes, we saw it. Amill is getting him back. But let me get you to safety. Nixx won't be fully focused on his fight until I do.”
I turn my back on the impending battle and see that an Erian is evacuating Dall. I move closer to Zakk who immediately wraps his arms around me and raises us to a safe distance.
