WE SPRINTED ACROSS the open grounds, branching off into our designated directions as the Berserkers burst through the treeline. I thought the sight of Stephan and Gabriel was terrifying before, yet to see these…things. Their movements were twitchy and they charged forward as if the only thing they knew was to push forward and kill. It didn’t look like they were capable of retaining anything other than a single, simple direction. This unnerved me more. It meant they weren't fearful; they didn’t hesitate, and though I stayed behind Ethan as he’d commanded, I chanced a look in the others’ direction.
Oh, I wish I hadn’t looked.
I believed in Ethan’s strength and trusted him completely but the sight of the Berserkers trailing after us, and the shrill howls and snarls that sang through the air, cut through my courage like razor wire. In a single motion I’d gathered up my skirt to the thigh and pushed my legs as hard as they could go. It wasn’t the most graceful thing to do but what good were airs and grace and manners when you were getting torn apart?
One of them leapt at me from the side and I yelled, reaching for my dagger. Before I could unstrap the holster clasp, however, it was thrown by a large, dark-furred beast. I gasped, despite recognising the flash of violet as it passed by, and kept running.
There were still plenty left. From the sounds of shifting footsteps at least three followed us. They were so close behind I could smell their acrid breath mingling in with the warm geyser vapours and mountain air. I took another chance to look. Daniel led two in the opposite direction, Ric snarled and snapped somewhere nearby, but as I feared the ones tailing us were too close behind.
Ethan led me up the overgrown road to where our horses still grazed and one of the tailing Berserkers realised what was happening. He panicked and leapt, swiping out at my legs. Thankfully he caught the tough leather of my boot but it was still enough to make me stumble. I yelped and Ethan rounded on them, pushing me onward. He drove his fist into the closest creature’s face and looked back to yell at me.
“GO!” he shouted before another one sank his claws into his arm.
I felt the dagger at my fingers, my locket called out for their blood as it pulsed, but I’d made a promise. Ethan was Eldryn, Ric, a Skinwalker, and I would get in the way. It hurt to finally understand what Ethan had meant before: ‘Once you’re out of the picture we can take them down.’ The only way I could help them would be to run – so I did.
My shoes slipped on the wet grass as I flew to the horse. I let my skirts loose and pulled myself into the saddle with little time to spare. Though he’d waited for me to get my foot off the ground he was off in a second, bolting along the path as fast as he could run. I willed him on. Faster, I thought. Faster.
Despite our progress, the horse had no intention of slowing down, and the chaos around us faded, instead replaced with the calming repetition of pounding hooves. The narrow road in front of us was partially paved, at least, but I didn’t recognise it. Whatever way I’d ridden out of Falloak was certainly not the way we’d ridden in, and the quickly-constricting path was making me nervous. As we rounded a sharp bend the roadside disappeared and the horse whinnied uncertainly. One misstep could send us both tumbling down the rocky hillside to the left of us. I gulped.
Footsteps smashed into the ground behind us. I turned in the saddle and stared one of them in the face, my heart dropping at the sight of his hematite-black eyes. He ran much faster than the others and his movements were different entirely. It took him less than a few breaths to catch up to us, and when he was close enough he flexed his hands readying himself to pounce. I pulled my dagger out of its holster. There was no way I’d made it that far only to fall at the last instant. No way.
I turned back to him, awaiting his attack when he straightened up suddenly, his face awash in disbelief as he stared at me. Before he could utter a word, Ric burst out of the treeline on our right and tackled the man to the ground, halting as he raised his hands and shouted. Both of them looked at me, their mouths agape in a silent warning as a Berserker leapt at me from the same treeline and tore me from the horse.
The dagger slipped out of my grasp as we landed. The speed we fell at propelled us down the hill and knocked us away from each other in a single motion. Though I tried my best to control myself, my head smashed against a rock and the world burst into thousands of stars. My stomach rose as my body dropped into a deep welt and then the world stopped spinning.
Something soft brushed against my cheeks and the exposed skin on my hands and legs like a thousand tiny fingers. I touched the back of my head and felt a bump. I’d hit it, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to send everything spinning. When I opened my eyes the world was dull, its light blocked out by what looked like dark long-grass that stirred in the breeze. Only, there was no breeze. The strings of grass clumped together like matted hair and moved of their own accord, each piece feeling its way around my deadly-still body. I held my breath.
Not far from me someone screamed. It was deep and guttural, though not a voice I recognised. I sat up with a start, poking my head above the plants, and located the source of the noise. The Berserker from before had landed only a few paces from me. He writhed and spasmed, fighting against invisible enemies, black blood leaking from his eyes, nose and ears. At the top of the hill Ethan and Ric stared down at us, and halfway up I spotted my knife part-buried in the patchy grass. As the Berserker screamed again and took a jolted step toward me, I was on my feet, leaping backwards. I looked up at them wondering what in Gehn they were doing, but neither dared to move toward us. They certainly didn’t fear a single Berserker. I followed their gaze to the unsettling black grass surrounding me. It swayed from side to side as if enjoying the theatrics of the creature’s death.
The Berserker launched himself at me for a final time and I leapt out of the grass onto the steep hill, not waiting around to see if he followed. As I reached the top I pressed my forehead against the ground, catching my breath while the world spun around me. A pair of hands lifted me onto my back roughly as the other pulled back my sleeves to the elbow and skirts to the thigh. Gabriel’s face came to mind and I thrashed out automatically.
“Does she have any marks?” Ethan demanded, worrying dominating his voice.
Ric was quiet, despite me kicking out at him as he inspected my legs. I felt his grip loosen around my ankles as he sank back. “Damn it, of all the things…”