Emerald's heart thudded loudly in her ears as the terrifying howls resounded throughout the dark woods. They filled her with a wild instinct to run; and her very soul commanded her to get far from the nightmarish beastly cries. She looked around her to find an escape, but had no idea which way to go as they had strayed off the forest path in their haste. She pulled Carol into the frail concealment of a grove of leafless bushes and tried to locate some source of the howls, but just as before, they seemed to come at her from all sides. Trying to force the panic down within, she looked at Carol for help, but her friend had gone rigid with shock and fear, and did nothing but clutch onto Emerald's arm.
"Carol?" Emerald raised her voice to be heard over the howls. "Do you know which way to go?" She was met with Carol's uncomprehending wide stare. She tried again. "Listen! I met your wartcap friend earlier and he's gone to get help. Can you show me which way to go? Please?!"
But Carol's paralysis seemed to grow worse, and her only response was to tighten her hold on Emerald. Desperate to leave behind the threat of the yowling beasts, Emerald bolted ahead, dragging the half-green girl with her.
Emerald ran faster, hoping that they would soon emerge onto the city street but to her utter despair, she found no clearing amid the thickets of bushes and trees. She stopped to catch her breath and dared to feel relief when she realised the complete silencing of the howls. For the moment, she thought that the worst was over; that the beasts were done with their hunt and she might finally be safe.
Her hopes were short lived as she then heard low, throaty growls uttered from somewhere very near her. She strained her eyes to look through the darkness at the shape of the most frightening vision that she had ever encountered. A massive hound-like beast with glowing red eyes, darker than the surrounding night and seeming only a foot less than her height, approached her stealthily. Twin streams of vapour issued from its nostrils. The sight nearly froze her but in the next second, she whipped her head to the side to see another one of them about to close in. Carol whimpered pathetically, and Emerald felt that her arm would break in her friend's crushing grasp.
"Please let go, Carol," she whispered, jerking her hand furiously to break Carol's hold. "You've got to run! Your friends are already on the way. I'll distract these...these... monsters. You need to run and run until you find someone to help you. Don't look back, understand?" she stressed, vigorously shaking Carol until her eyes raised to fasten onto hers. "Go! Now! Run!" She gave the girl a push which sent her stumbling, but maintained her look of fierce command. "I said, NOW!" Faltering for a few seconds, Carol finally seemed to regain independent movement and bolted away from the scene.
Emerald now found herself facing not just two, but five hellish hounds. They slowly converged on her, zeroing in on their prey. A part of her mind not yet numbed with fear wondered why any of these beasts hadn't made a run for Carol. It was still a little comfort to know that her friend was going to make it, even if she didn't. There was no way she could escape these hellhounds, but she decided that if this was to be her end, she would go down fighting. Her hopelessness gave way to new courage. Kneeling down, she retrieved the remaining knives from her boots and planted herself firmly in front of one approaching hound.
The leading hound stopped only feet away from her and bared teeth that glinted like sharp daggers in the pale moonlight. She saw no tongue in its mouth; it was filled instead with a fiery-red glow. Emerald's nascent courage seemed to drain out of her in the face of the beast's surreal features. Unable to stand the terror any longer, she threw a knife hard at it. The blade bit into its foreleg, and the wood once more erupted with howls. A hound to her left charged at her, close enough to take the frantic thrust of her second knife into its chest. But to her horror, the beasts didn't seem to show any signs of weakening. The wounds where the blades had penetrated now ran with a thin stream of fiery-red blood, glowing like molten lava.
"What the hell are these things?!" she thought desperately but then, she shrieked as she was painfully seized from behind, and felt the sickening crunch of fangs chewing through the flesh and bones of her left shoulder. Like a slow burning fire, the pain spread from her shoulder to the rest of her body. Dragged down to her knees, she screamed in shock, and her every agonized effort failed to loosen the grip of the hound's jaws. Her own hot blood spurted from the punctures, weakening her. She had almost closed her eyes in submission; when out of the corner of her fading gaze she saw a flying black shadow streak past her. Within seconds, she felt her shoulder freed from the creature's mouth. Turning her head, she saw the beast lying cut in two, its lava-like blood raising clouds of steam as it poured onto the frozen ground. She managed to roll away from the blood pooling towards her, and looked around to make sense of what had happened. The four remaining hounds had shifted their attention away from her, and were now staring up at a figure balanced on a high branch above them. Clutching her shoulder, she willed herself to focus on her saviour. The moonlight shone on glittering topaz eyes and a fluttering red sash - Prince Nuada.
Emerald slumped to the ground, her wound throbbing painfully. Through the haze of her vision, she caught sight of a long spear in his hand, dripping with red luminescent blood. In the next moment, he had dived in among the hounds and was furiously attacking with movements so swift and skilled, like a fluid shadow stabbing and slashing through the massive beasts. His lance blade dismembered them easily, soon leaving a pile of hacked body parts in a fiery pond of blood. The last thing she saw before succumbing to the welcoming darkness was Prince Nuada very near to her, his face strained with anxiety.
Nuada raised Emerald from the ground to examine the torn flesh of her shoulder, and discovered shattered bone splinters protruding within the deep shreds of her mutilations. Inexplicably, he felt a sharp pain pierce his heart at the sight of her mangled body and her bloodless face. The thought that her eyes may never again gaze at him with avid curiosity in their green depths, distressed him deeply.
"Your Highness," called a timid voice from behind him. It was Uriah, the faun who had fallen behind when Nuada had taken off at the sound of the howls. "You have rid our home of these evil beasts. We are so grateful to you, O brave son of Balor. Your valour gives us strength -" but he was left speechless as Prince Nuada suddenly disappeared with the fallen maiden, in the blink of an eye.
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Sreng lay crumpled on the floor of the green-girl's cottage, in a slick of his blood. Heaving a deep breath, he eased out the dagger thrust into him by Emerald, opening the gap for a heavier stream of blood to flow from his chest. He had been so rapt in his lust for her, so sure of her soft vulnerability that he had dropped his guard. As a werewolf, his body was highly indestructible, with the exception of his heart; and that strange female had very nearly dug her dagger in it, incapacitating him for some time. It was the most disgraceful encounter he'd ever had with a woman.
As he rested to recuperate as best he could, he sensed the loss of connection with his hounds, which surely meant that they were dead.
"Was the woman strong enough," Sreng wondered, "to defeat five gwyllgis?" He needed to find out what had become of them. Pushing himself to his feet, he surveyed the cottage. The green-girl would not be returning here. For him to stay would be dangerous if the woman came back with reinforcements from the BPRD. Though healing fast, he doubted his ability to face the red demon in his present condition. With priorities settled, he quickly donned his armour and went outside. He leaped into a nearby tree, having decided to wait and see if anyone came around to investigate.
An hour into his watch, he heard approaching voices. A number of fae creatures were walking toward the cottage and discussing loudly among themselves.
"The girl swears that there's a dead wolf-man in her cottage," said a wood faun.
"Aye, and that he wore the Fomorian crest on his breast," said another.
Sreng saw that the newcomers consisted of four fauns and two wood nymphs. They were grouped at the cottage entrance, and hesitating to go inside. He enjoyed an instant urge to kill them all to avenge his humiliation, but instead perked his ears when he heard one of them say, "Don't you lot think, we should inform Prince Nuada first? What if that creature ain't dead? Werewolves are hard to kill and I doubt a human would be up to it."
"The prince made away with the lady before I could say anything. But thank the Goddess, he killed those unholy monsters!"
"Let us go inside and get this over with. I must return to my wife, and that poor child needs a healer. No use dawdling here," said one wood nymph, opening the door. Met with the large outline of drying blood and two stained knives discarded on the floor, they stood huddled together at the entrance, not daring to go in.
"He's gone," cried Uriah fearfully. "Let us go back!" The fae retreated as fast as possible, shooting furtive glances about them as they went.
Sreng sat hidden among the high branches, taut with anger. He deduced that the woman was now in the prince's custody, and it would not be easy to get to her. Additionally, he had been ordered to stay away from Prince Nuada. He resolved to accept this night's defeat but when they next met, he would be sure to make her beg for mercy beneath him. She owed much for attempting to kill him. He had amassed valuable news to relay back to his masters, and he was eager to learn what Lord Alpheus planned to do with the information.
Leaping down from the tree in a graceful bound, he made his way to the tunnel that would lead him to the Troll Market.
Author's note: Here's wishing all my readers a lovely (scary) Halloween/ Samhain! Make sure to get treated and beware of the were-creatures that are out there tonight to trick you ^.^
On a less cheery note, updates will be slower from now, as I'm busy and scheduling a long travel plan next month. Of course, lots of reviews might make me write more while I travel :P
Loads of thanks to Flint and Feather for helping me release this chapter today. I love Halloween!