Chapter 8: An Attack Too Far
It was late in a night unlike any other. The stars twinkled in the sky and the moon hung low, and the whole night was quiet. I couldn't sleep though, no matter how peaceful it may be. Something was wrong, but what, I kept asking myself. All things considered, everything was going great. There'd been no attacks for days. It seemed, that maybe, the gods would finally leave us alone.
On that night, I couldn't sleep well, so I decided to take a walk. There was a cold, undesirable feeling in the pit of my stomach, something that I hoped to cure with fresh air. But no matter how much crisp night air I drank down, the cold feeling held strong.
I don't know how long I'd just wandered, but when I came to our fields I noticed a vast silhouette against the moon. "Steed," I smiled, hurrying to him. But, as I drew in closer, I noticed something. At first it was faint and could've just been a deception of my eyes. But then I saw a glint on the Steed's shoulder, and another, infinitely smaller silhouette as well. It was a human, I realized. And he was holding something. A sword? And then I realized. He, this human, had taken Steed hostage. How or why didn't matter. All I knew was that I had to save him. I started to run. My heart began to thump in my chest and my legs hurt, but I didn't stop. When in range, I leapt and grasped the mane that ran down Steed's back in my hands. Muscle's in the horse's back began to tense as I pulled long strands of hair out, but I didn't stop. Even as my hands began to bleed from grasping the coarse fur, I couldn't stop. Not until I reached the man who wanted to kill my family. I didn't know what I was doing, but when I got a footing on Steed's shoulder, I dove forward at the man who'd taken him hostage. The assassin fell suddenly, off of Steed and down to the ground. His bones shattered with a crackled. He was the first person I ever killed.
Back at the town, Duke shifted lazily onto his side. Quiet as mice, the rest of the soldiers emerged from the town's walls and took there positions. There plan was to kill San and Duke. If that failed, they could use Steed as a bargaining chip. One of the assassins crept onto San, over her chest, and stood on her neck. The assassin unsheathed his sword and slowly pressed it to the leopard's throat. Another human was about to kill Duke when Steed's voice boomed over the landscape. The wolf awakened swiftly and, noticing the confused assassin, swept the man into his mouth and killed him with a wet crunch. The one who was to murder San meet a similar fate as the leopard awoke and swiftly dealt with her would be killer. The two remaining soldiers were swiftly killed beneath Steed's hooves, and this time I felt no remorse.
"What happened?" Duke growled.
"Attacks," Steed said solemnly. "These humans…" his voice trailed off. "They came close. If not for Erin they'd of succeeded."
Duke looked at me on my perch at Steed's shoulder and smiled. I smiled back, for once it felt like I had really helped him. But the wolf's blissful gaze quickly changed to a malicious sneer. "I'm sick of this," he growled. "If these bastards want a war, that's what I'll give them."