Page 112 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“Yes, we can take a detour,” she says.
“Do that,” I say. “Take a detour and lead everyone to safety.”
Caitlin opens her mouth to say something but another growl echoes through the area, and this time everyone clearly heard it. It’s completely silent all of a sudden. Some of the younger children start crying nervously, while the older ones hold their breaths.
I don’t see what is approaching us, only the shadow of a huge bear. Thank the goddess it’s a light night with the moon shining brightly, so at least whatever this is can’t surprise us out of nowhere.
“Princess!” The warriors come running towards me, positioning themselves in front of the group. I tap the shoulder of the youngest.
“Run ahead and warn Gamma Ita! You probably noticed that something is blocking our link to the others. You need to run, and alert her immediately.”
He nods, and without further questions, runs off.
“You need to go,” I say to Caitlin. A loud growl echoes around us, with the shadow coming closer.
“Run,” I hiss at her. “Get everyone to safety. The guards and I will buy you time!”
“Alana,” Caitlin breathes out.
I know what she thinks, but I don’t have time for that. “The children are the future of your pack, and you are too. If you fall, there will be no tomorrow for Blaine, or for your pack.” I’m just one of the princesses of my father, but Caitlin is the luna of her pack, their only luna.
To my relief, she sees reason too and takes the lead. She orders two of the women to help her lead everyone to safety before disappearing into the night. I’m relieved when I hear their steps getting more silent the more distance they get between them and us.
Meanwhile, the remaining warriors and I keep our attention on what’s coming. None of us talks, as we have no idea what is approaching us. It could be a werebear, though I doubt it. Ros wouldn’t be so tensed if it were a normal werebear.
Another gust of cold wind brushes over me when the creature finally reveals itself, stepping out of the shadow of the trees. This is not a normal werebear, let alone a normal bear. I’m not sure if it’s a bear at all. It’s exactly like the children described it, huge with brown fur and trees coming out of his head. What the hell is this creature?
It draws back one of its huge arms and tries to hit me with it, making me jump backwards. The creature’s slow pace is our only advantage, but other than that… How are we going to beat it!?
It’s massive and strong. One of the warriors lunges towards it, crawling on its back, but whatever he tries to do, it’s to no avail. The creature growls and reaches back, grabbing the man and tossing him against the next tree. He falls down like a lifeless bird and drops to the ground, not moving anymore. “Princess,” one of the warriors cries. “What is this?”
Francis is our most seasoned warrior, so I turn to him. “Take the lead, Francis.”
“Dodging it is our best chance,” he says, furrowing his brows. “I have never seen a being like that before. Stay on alert. Let’s tire the creature out.”
We follow his lead, circling the creature and avoiding its hits, all the while trying to buy us more and more time
I don’t know how long we fight. Time seems to be a foreign concept at the moment, while my body and mind seem to function on their own. My strength and stamina are starting to run thin. The one warrior who got hit is still not moving. One of the other men managed to pull him away so as not to get targeted again. I’m so tired, but I can’t give up yet. The creature doesn’t seem to tire, though. It keeps lunging at us, constantly turning towards the direction of the pack. Each time, one of us tries to distract it again.
The children saw a blue light, so it means it’s enchanted too.
Occasionally I can feel something pushing against my mind, clearly a mind link trying to come through, but the blockade is still up.
Francis keeps yelling commands towards us, telling us to dodge and remain defensive. We remain in our human form to be more agile and, because we are smaller in that form, but I don’t know how long we can keep this up. My arms hurt, and my legs are trembling.
I just don’t feel anything anymore.
“Princess!” Francis yells, when the huge bear creature lunges at me.
I duck my head, but its paw hits my shoulder, making me stumble and drop into the snow.
“Princess, get up! Get up!”
The pain is excruciating, for a moment, blinding me.Alana, don’t give up, Ros yells.You are a warrior. If you give up, then it’s one person less to protect the pack.
I groan, scrambling to my feet before the creature can lunge at me again.
With an angry roar, it turns to the side, his growl almost making the ground beneath us vibrate. One of the warriors loses his balance. I can hear him gasp when the bear grabs him and tosses him against a tree. Snow falls from its leaves on top of the man. He gurgles, blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
