Page 35 of Rook of Ruin
White flashes among the brown grain. I launch myself towards it, meeting the monstrous white wolf with my blade, slicing into its side. It lands gracefully, its sharp dark eyes sizing me up. Black blood weeps out from its wound onto its stark white fur, making it look even more deadly. The massive beast releasesan unnaturally high-pitched howl, and goosebumps ripple down my body.
Mags gasps. “Roggenwolf.”
Demon wolf. I just struck a fucking demon that will devour anyone but especially loves to prey on children. Shit.
“Mags, don’t stop. Just keep going towards the village!”
I don’t dare remove my eyes from it. If it runs for them, I’ll put myself between them again. An unsettling notion runs down my spine—how does one kill a demon?Fuck it. I’ll kill it with my bare hands if I have to.
The Roggenwolf shows its razor-sharp teeth and snarls. It paces in front of me, looking for a weakness, an opening, its steely claws gripping at the earth below.
“Alright, fucker,” I growl and bare my teeth back at it. The Roggenwolf charges, snapping its jaw. I keep still until its teeth are too close. Pivoting swiftly, I cut into the same side as before. It manages to chomp down on my leg, ripping into my skirt and flesh, taking me down and then pulling me towards the untamed field. Excruciating pain pulses through my body. Crying out, I stab the side of its monstrous face, taking a black eye. Its mouth frees my leg for a moment, shaking its large head.
I heal myself quickly and scramble up. The Roggenwolf jumps, clawing at my left arm, leaving a deep gash almost to the bone and pulling me down beneath it again.Heal. I slice through its belly and right leg, black blood pouring out as it makes one final attempt, going for my throat. I use all my strength to slice further into its belly, black putrid intestines falling onto the ground. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and bile rises in my throat from the stench of the monster.
Gripping my knife, listening to the sounds of movement, another white beast dashes into the clearing. I try to dive away, but its giant body shoves me, claws ripping into my back.Heal. Stumbling up, another claw slices through my shoulder.Heal.Growling murderously, I lash out with my knife, slicing into its leg, momentarily halting the creature’s attack and healing myself again while my blood-soaked body slides forward. Off balance and injured, the monster uses its weight against me. Spinning around, I bring my knife down, piercing its giant body and then side stepping while pulling my knife out of the beast as it roars in pain.
Moving off to the side, expecting a counterattack, I realize I’ve been fighting two monstrous white creatures who were working together.Well, shit. One of the monsters is limping furiously, and I’ve made a deep gash across the other’s back. I curl my lip as the one with a gash charges. Its quick reflexes prevent me from hitting its head as it snaps, targeting my dominant hand holding the knife. I punch out with my left, connecting with its soft fur and iron face. The sharp points from my brace enter its face, and the force breaks my knuckles. I move with my right, carving across the top of its neck, hitting bone and almost decapitating it.
Heal. I’m ready for the next one. It starts to limp away, and I charge at it. If I let it go, it will hunt again. I practically land on top of it, holding on to its fur as it tries to turn its head and bite into my flesh. I pierce through its thick fur and skin again and again as the wild beast goes down. The smell of rotten decay hits my nostrils, its insides spilling out. In my mind, I know it’s dead, but I can’t stop myself from stabbing it over and over again. My body is slick with red and black blood, and I react instantly to the sound of movement in the field behind me. I whip around, raising my knife and stabbing out, hitting brown leather. I gasp, dropping my knife as Alec grabs a hold of my bloody body.
He holds me, and I clutch him. No tears, no words. The only light is between us, our braces softly glowing, creating shadows from the dead. He pulls back, searching me for wounds, andI see large gashes down the side of his arm and a massive laceration on his face. I heal him, leaving only blood.
“Are you alright?” His fingers touch my face, and I nod. “Liam is hurt badly.”
Picking my knife back up, I move from Alec to the calm steed, who holds Liam slumped over on the saddle. Liam’s breath is ragged, and he is covered in black and red blood. I check his body over, healing him quickly. Fuck, he’s lost too much blood. He manages to hold on to the reins, but his body is unable to sit fully straight.
I hold on to the right side of Artho’s reins, cautiously walking. Alec guards our backs. The soft noise of wispy movement and low grunts from several fast-moving beasts creates a tightness in my chest.
I whisper, “Liam you have a baby girl now. Go to her.” Before he can argue, I push into Artho’s side and click my tongue. Artho takes off in a slow gait, and I silently swear to give him a bushel of apples later.
Alec nods and pulls an extra dagger from his boot that I place in my dominant hand, moving my knife to my left. Both wielding weapons in each hand, we go back-to-back, moving as quickly and as silently as possible. White fur pounces from the left, and Alec steps forward, stabbing out. The Roggenwolf goes down, and another one takes its place. I slice through its neck, killing it instantly. We work easily together. Alec moves with such ease and grace, his muscles accentuating every thrust with his daggers, his whole body a vicious fucking weapon.
Savage claws strike his shoulder, digging in, pulling him away from me. He breaks free from the Roggenwolf’s grasp, slicing into an artery, black blood pouring from the killing blow. He staggers, and my brace glows brighter while I begin to heal him until a Roggenwolf leaps up from the field. I turn to meet the monster, but the sharp claws smash against the sheer blackdome Alec wraps around me. Standing outside his shield, Alec straightens, baring his teeth and snarling, his eyes now bright silver in the low light of his brace. The Roggenwolf whines, blood pouring out of its nose, mouth, and eyes. A muddled crash occurs as five more monsters stumble out from the field, black blood seeping out. Alec’s brace becomes brighter as he uses his power to enter and destroy the minds of the demons surrounding us.
He turns his back to me, facing the field, where another large beast falls. I push against his immobile shield, trying to heal the rest of him. Pushing my power out, the walls of his impenetrable dome vibrate but hold.
“Let me out. Let me help you!” His brace glows even brighter as he ignores me. Thick black wisps, similar to smoke, start moving from Alec’s feet and curling up around his legs. They unfurl, testing the ground, and lift him up, his feet dangling.
“Let me out!” I’m screaming, my palms pushing against the shield around me. The daggers drop from his hands as the black wisps move up his body, lifting him higher.No. My heart plummets. He’s going to fucking destroy himself.
“Let go! What are you doing?!” My fists hit his shield as the black wisps move farther up his arms, curling and tightening, as if moving to suffocate him. “Alec, let go! You have to let go!” The wisps swell, and just as I think they are going to kill him, they let his body down slowly until he stands.
His shield goes down, and I stumble forward, healing the rest of his shoulder. “Alec?” I whisper, unsure how many more violent creatures are out in the field. “Alec?” I whisper again, approaching cautiously till I see his face. My mouth drops in a silent scream. Black blood is seeping out of his nose, and his irises have disappeared into the white layer of his eyes, completely gone. His brace is still glowing.Shit.Not even bothering to see what’s left of my skirt, I sheath my knife. Gently,I take a hold of his face. Instead of waking up from the trance, his knees buckle, and he falls, taking me down with him.
We land with the side of his head on my chest, and I sit up, pulling his body with mine so his head is cradled in my lap. “Alec, I’m here. I’ve got you. Just let them go.” I push a few strands of hair off his face.Fuck. “Please wake up. I need you to let go.” I don’t dare drop the dagger in my right hand, so I switch it into my left and take his arm. His white gold, onyx, and black diamond brace is glowing so brightly, I want to rip it off, but if I do, he might not come back from wherever his mind is. I take a deep breath and try to heal him. Heal his mind, his body.Nothing.Again, I try healing, my brace burning bright. I’m supposed to be a powerful healer. I’m fucking weak.
“Listen, you ass. I need you to stop. You’ve done enough.”Nothing.“Please come back to me,” I beg him as I keep trying to heal him. Black tears fall from his eyes. “Alec, fucking let go.”Heal.I bend my face over his, hoping he can see me through those cloudy eyes. “I promise that I won’t make your life miserable ever again. I won’t even call you an ass.” I try again.Nothing.My brace gives off an even brighter light. “Alec, please.” Tears drop from my face and onto his. I try again and again. Nothing. He begins coughing, so I pull his torso and head towards my chest, black blood spilling from his mouth.
Panic ebbs its way into my mind. It’s Matron all over again. I couldn’t heal her. I can’t heal him. I’m powerless.Heal,damnit. Nothing.“I need you.” I can’t let him go. I can’t let him die.
White fur comes into view in front of us.Fuck. The Roggenwolf paces back and forth as four more come out from the fields. “Alec, if there was ever a time to wake the fuck up, it’s now.” He doesn’t respond.Heal.He begins to shake, as if in shock. I grip my dagger and shift my body, readying for an attack. Tears softly stream down my face, but I bare my teethto the monsters. My voice goes low and deadly. “You’re fucking dead.”Heal, damn it!
Don’t fail him. I can’t let him die. I care too much to let him go.
Unyielding power bubbles beneath my skin, and sparks appear in the air, turning into little sun bursts, then pull together, forming a ball. One Roggenwolf gets curious and touches it with its nose. The light quickly consumes its body, leaving nothing but ash. The monsters pull back and edge farther away from us. My brace is so bright, it lights the area like the sun. I hug Alec’s body, covering him with mine the best I can, as an explosion of light pushes out around us.
Leaning back, I look down to see Alec is still out, black liquid weeping out of his body.Heal him.This time, the black liquid slows to a stop. Relief overwhelms me, and a hysterical laugh escapes my lips. I look around to see we are sitting in a vast circle of flattened grain, dead bodies with white fur scattered all around us. I rip off a small piece off the rags I’m wearing and tenderly wipe the blood from Alec’s face and neck. I watch him for a moment while he breathes, and my heart flutters.
