Chapter 13
"We're almost there, hurry up Tal," said Ebbitt.
"Go without me; get out, save yourselves," replied Tal.
"No come on Tal you can't fight them alone no matter how good you are," said Sathar.
"It'll give you time to escape now go! I'll catch up," Tal said hurriedly.
"Tal please just run with us, there's no shame in that, it's a tactical retreat," Gref pleaded.
"No the beast will take care of this. . ." said Tal stonily rubbing his sunstone.
"Are you insane!?! You can't control it!" Gref shouted.
"Let's go Gref, let him do what he has to do," Ebbitt soothed pulling the boy away.
"No I won't let him!" shouted Gref struggling out of his great uncle's grip and running to Tal.
"He has already started to change! If you don't go he'll kill you too!" Ebbitt yelled running after him.
"GREF GO, NOW," Tal said in an unnatural voice
"You've heard him now get moving, boy!" Ebbitt said pulling Gref away from Tal.
"Look there they are shadow formation Alpha! Sunstones at the ready shoot to kill."
"Ready"
"Tal!"
"Aim"
"Tal!"
"Fir. . .What in Light's nam. . .ARRGGHH!!!"
"TAAALLL!"
"Tal, Tal, Tal wake up!" Milla whispered shaking his shoulders lightly.
Tal continued to toss in his sleep and only pulled out of his dream when Milla slapped him. Tal shot up in a sweat, his eyes wild and frantically surveying the area. Then he saw Milla and with inhuman strength rolled her over in the snow and pinned her down with his knees on her chest. Then he whipped out his metal knife and held it to Milla throat. Tal let out an inhuman roar and pressed the knife further into Milla's neck and drew a small trickle of blood. Droplets of blood trickled down Milla's neck but she didn't flinch.
She just continued to stare at Tal's eyes wondering where the real Tal had gone. After a few moments of paused hostility Tal looked up and started to sniff the air. At this point Milla realized he somehow had turned wild like a berserker in a rage. Milla conceded that Tal was no longer himself and decided to free him from whatever he had turned into by fighting him. Whatever Tal was sniffing distracted him. Tal rose slowly and continued to sniff the air, slackening the pressure of his knife on Milla's throat.
Milla took the opportunity and grabbed the knife and spun to her feet. The beast that was Tal seemed surprised but amused at the same time. It looked at Milla with an intense glare. The bright red eyes bore into Milla with deep hostility. Milla challenged the beasts glare with her own unblinking.
The contenders circled each other. Sizing up one another. Milla kept low with Tal knife in her hand and her Talon slowly unraveling. Tal was doing the same except he was more like an animal sidestepping on his knuckles and the balls of his feet. Tal had no weapon but decided to let a snarl escape his mouth. When doing this Milla noticed that he was slowly changing. His arms were lengthening and his hair was spiking itself up and growing down his neck in a kind of mohawk. The beast was also growing small but distinctly sharp fangs and his nails were getting longer and sharper.
After a minute of circling Milla struck first. Launching her Talon on the beast. The nail remained a crystal and extended towards Tal's exposed neck. Milla at that point had received a wave of déjà vu. Flashes of her memories replayed of the night she had slew Arla the shield mother. The beast having seen her hesitation moved in towards her easily ducking the nail with its inhuman speed. Milla having shaken off the memory realized her mistake. The beast was mere inches away from her stomach and was about to slash her across the chest when the nail came back into the battle and deeply cut the beast over where its ribs should be.
The beast let out a yelp of surprise rather than a yelp of pain. It jumped back and peeled away the fabric that was covering the wound. Milla curiously observed what the creature was doing when she realized that she had scored the first hit. Her victory was short lived when she noticed that the cut was healing itself. Milla stared in shock. How was she to beat a creature that could regenerate? The beast looked at her face and noticed the shock. It stood erect and let out what seemed like a laugh. It then walked over to Milla and blew on her face. Milla having no time to react felt herself getting drowsy her vision blurred and she dropped her knife. The Talon on her finger retracted and her legs gave way. Milla was out cold.
The beast then picked her up with one hand and held her level with his face. It inspected Milla cocking an eyebrow and titling its head to the side when the scent it had smelt before caught his attention once again. The beast dropped Milla and started to sniff the air. A creature was approaching, no five creatures. Their scent told the beast that they would be trouble. The creature then looked down at Milla as if he was deciding whether to leave his new claim or protect it from other predators.
"We're almost there, hurry up Tal," said Ebbitt.
"Go without me; get out, save yourselves," replied Tal.
"No come on Tal you can't fight them alone no matter how good you are," said Sathar.
"It'll give you time to escape now go! I'll catch up," Tal said hurriedly.
"Tal please just run with us, there's no shame in that, it's a tactical retreat," Gref pleaded.
"No the beast will take care of this. . ." said Tal stonily rubbing his sunstone.
"Are you insane!?! You can't control it!" Gref shouted.
"Let's go Gref, let him do what he has to do," Ebbitt soothed pulling the boy away.
"No I won't let him!" shouted Gref struggling out of his great uncle's grip and running to Tal.
"He has already started to change! If you don't go he'll kill you too!" Ebbitt yelled running after him.
"GREF GO, NOW," Tal said in an unnatural voice
"You've heard him now get moving, boy!" Ebbitt said pulling Gref away from Tal.
"Look there they are shadow formation Alpha! Sunstones at the ready shoot to kill."
"Ready"
"Tal!"
"Aim"
"Tal!"
"Fir. . .What in Light's nam. . .ARRGGHH!!!"
"TAAALLL!"
"Tal, Tal, Tal wake up!" Milla whispered shaking his shoulders lightly.
Tal continued to toss in his sleep and only pulled out of his dream when Milla slapped him. Tal shot up in a sweat, his eyes wild and frantically surveying the area. Then he saw Milla and with inhuman strength rolled her over in the snow and pinned her down with his knees on her chest. Then he whipped out his metal knife and held it to Milla throat. Tal let out an inhuman roar and pressed the knife further into Milla's neck and drew a small trickle of blood. Droplets of blood trickled down Milla's neck but she didn't flinch.
She just continued to stare at Tal's eyes wondering where the real Tal had gone. After a few moments of paused hostility Tal looked up and started to sniff the air. At this point Milla realized he somehow had turned wild like a berserker in a rage. Milla conceded that Tal was no longer himself and decided to free him from whatever he had turned into by fighting him. Whatever Tal was sniffing distracted him. Tal rose slowly and continued to sniff the air, slackening the pressure of his knife on Milla's throat.
Milla took the opportunity and grabbed the knife and spun to her feet. The beast that was Tal seemed surprised but amused at the same time. It looked at Milla with an intense glare. The bright red eyes bore into Milla with deep hostility. Milla challenged the beasts glare with her own unblinking.
The contenders circled each other. Sizing up one another. Milla kept low with Tal knife in her hand and her Talon slowly unraveling. Tal was doing the same except he was more like an animal sidestepping on his knuckles and the balls of his feet. Tal had no weapon but decided to let a snarl escape his mouth. When doing this Milla noticed that he was slowly changing. His arms were lengthening and his hair was spiking itself up and growing down his neck in a kind of mohawk. The beast was also growing small but distinctly sharp fangs and his nails were getting longer and sharper.
After a minute of circling Milla struck first. Launching her Talon on the beast. The nail remained a crystal and extended towards Tal's exposed neck. Milla at that point had received a wave of déjà vu. Flashes of her memories replayed of the night she had slew Arla the shield mother. The beast having seen her hesitation moved in towards her easily ducking the nail with its inhuman speed. Milla having shaken off the memory realized her mistake. The beast was mere inches away from her stomach and was about to slash her across the chest when the nail came back into the battle and deeply cut the beast over where its ribs should be.
The beast let out a yelp of surprise rather than a yelp of pain. It jumped back and peeled away the fabric that was covering the wound. Milla curiously observed what the creature was doing when she realized that she had scored the first hit. Her victory was short lived when she noticed that the cut was healing itself. Milla stared in shock. How was she to beat a creature that could regenerate? The beast looked at her face and noticed the shock. It stood erect and let out what seemed like a laugh. It then walked over to Milla and blew on her face. Milla having no time to react felt herself getting drowsy her vision blurred and she dropped her knife. The Talon on her finger retracted and her legs gave way. Milla was out cold.
The beast then picked her up with one hand and held her level with his face. It inspected Milla cocking an eyebrow and titling its head to the side when the scent it had smelt before caught his attention once again. The beast dropped Milla and started to sniff the air. A creature was approaching, no five creatures. Their scent told the beast that they would be trouble. The creature then looked down at Milla as if he was deciding whether to leave his new claim or protect it from other predators.