Page 34 of Outcast Fae
You only have to run faster than the slowest person.
They were fine with letting those beasts eat Daniella.Assholes!The crude human insult was perfectly appropriate for them.
“Daniella, run faster,” I yelled as I stopped right above her, pulling the spear back, and aiming it toward the closest creature just as it took a giant leap toward Daniella.
I threw the spear, putting all my weight into it. It flew fast and true and hit its mark, sinking into the beast’s side. The beast yelped, tripping over its gangly legs before crashing against a boulder. Its ferocious maw snapped at the air, trying to reach the embedded spear while its legs pistoned, kicking up dirt.
The second beast snarled, its amber eyes connecting with mine, making me feel its promise for revenge. A shudder went down my spine as I realized these were no dumb beasts. Their eyes were calculating, and I had a feeling they wouldn’t stop, not until we were clamped between those massive jaws.
Cacani!
I whirled, flew past Daniella, and stopped next to a rocky outcrop.
“Faster, faster!” I urged her at the same time that I picked up a fist-sized rock and hurled it at the creature.
The animal dodged, lithely swerving to one side and avoiding it. Nonetheless, I bought Daniella some time. I picked up two more rocks, aimed carefully and threw the first one. The animal swerved again, and as it did so, I threw the next rock. It hit the beast between the eyes. It stopped and shook its head, disoriented.
Jumping off the outcrop, I turned in midair and flew up the hillside, quickly catching up with Daniella.
She was panting, holding her side as she ran up the rocky terrain.
“We’re almost there,” I said, coming up behind her and hooking my arm under hers. Flying low, I gave her a boost.
Elon and Wally had reached the top and were screaming in unison. “Help! Somebody help us!”
These stupid boys hadn’t learned a thing. Meadow Song and Silver Bear were not going to come to our rescue. For all we knew, they weren’t paying attention. They hadn’t even bothered to scold us with their disembodied voices or annoy us with their therapy sessions this morning.
I threw a quick glance over my shoulder to discover that both beasts were again in pursuit. The one I’d injured was running with the spear stuck in its side, limping slightly, while the other one was foaming at the mouth, looking more savage than before.
They were gaining on us, and they were angry.
“Faster, Daniella,” I urged again, but it seemed her legs were incapable of giving more—not even to save her life.
Clenching my teeth, I beat my wings to their limit. Pain shot across my back muscles, but I ignored it. Half pushing, half carrying Daniella, we cleared the top of the hill and reached the cave.
She collapsed on the ground, taking me down with her and saving my life at the same time as one of the beasts launched and soared over our heads. Jaw snapping, it gave a frustrated, guttural growl deep in its throat.
Elon and Wally scurried backward under the arched roof of the cave. Wally was holding his walking stick, brandishing it at the beast, while electricity danced between Elon’s fingers, slowly accumulating and growing for a better attack, though not fast enough.
I scrambled to my feet, pulled Daniella up, and pushed her out of the way just as the second beast appeared in front of us.
Face to face, the beast was terrible. Like the red wolves of Faerie, but ten times bigger. And there was no forgiveness in its eyes.
I walked backward, staring at the snarling animal as it stalked in our direction. Behind me, Daniella whimpered, her face pressed against my folded wings.
We’re dead.
The snarling stopped abruptly. The beasts paused and exchanged wary glances as if in silent communication. Their ears folded back and their jaws closed as they scented the air.
Daniella peered over my shoulder, breathing raggedly through to her mouth. To our left, Elon and Wally stood still as statues, the electricity in Elon’s hands making crackling sounds.
Why had they stopped?
There was no way they were afraid of us—not with their massive muscular bodies, and sharp teeth and claws. The one I had hit had blood running down one of its front legs, but the wound appeared to have healed already. These creatures were tough and possessed by some kind of magic if they could heal so fast.
A scraping sound came from within the cave. I peered in its direction out of the corner of my eye and saw Vaughn walking out, his injured leg dragging behind him.
His face was drenched in sweat, and he was swaying on his feet. As he was, he shouldn’t have appeared threatening, but he did. Very much so.
