If you guys are having trouble getting to see the fanart, then go to my profile and you'll find my deviantArt link so you can go see the work. updates arent going to be as frequent as they used to be, because school is starting up. i got AP classes, journalism, and xc training after school...so yeah im not going to have a life, but i intend to finish this fic and ill try my best, i promise
as always, read and review!
"Watch out!" Thryn warned, and they ducked as arrows whizzed over their heads. Nod urged Cricket to go faster. The Boggans were screeching in fury at missing their targets, but they were already reloading their bows. The next wave of arrows would have hit them, if not for the branches that criss-crossed in their path.
Cricket flew through the dense foliage with ease, dodging and weaving around obstacles at top speed. The grackles, too big for that kind of travel, flew just above the canopy, their riders sending arrow after arrow down whenever there was an opening. There were at least a dozen of them, and Nod wondered how such a big group had managed to get so far into Leafmen borders.
Three more arrows were sent their way, one of them managing to nick one of Cricket's primary feathers. They were getting to close. All it took was one arrow, and Cricket would be out of commission, and they would be captured. Or worse.
"How good are you at deflecting arrows?" he asked Thryn above the wind.
"I'd do better with a sword."
"Take mine," he offered. "Then maybe we can get out of this alive!"
Thryn raised her quarter staff and unsheathed the sword strapped to Nod's back. It wasn't nearly long enough, but it was all they had.
"You fly, and let me worry about the living and dying," she twisted so they were back to back, and stood in the saddle, planting her feet apart for balance. By standing, Thryn made herself a bigger, more obvious target for the Boggans. Nod could hear the whistling air of the deadly shafts, and had to force himself to face forward. His ears told the story of what went on behind him, for every hissing arrow that came their way, the screech of metal or the thunk of wood would end it's journey. Thryn was blocking every arrow.
Cricket zig-zagged through the branches, trying to shake off their pursuers. Thryn amazingly kept her balance, her concentration unwavered by the hair-pin twists and turns Nod was taking. With all that, she still deflected the arrows that came near them. Yet the Boggans were known to not give up easily, and they seem to have an endless arsenal of missiles.
"I can't keep this up," the girl shouted back to him. "They're gonna hit us eventually!"
"What about close quarters?"
"Too risky, there's more of them than us!"
"Can you catch an arrow, then send it back?"
She would've face palmed if she could, "Show me the invisible bow, genius!"
Wow, he felt like an idiot. An arrow was useless without a bow to fire it. The fear was getting to him, clouding his common sense. Pushing past it, he risked a glance back, just in time to see a Boggan drawing back his arm, aimed directly at Thryn.
"Look out!" he cried, but it was too late. The arrow smacked into his friend's thigh, her face going white with pain, and she let loose a blood-chilling scream. Her legs crumpled and she went tumbling into the forest below.
"Thryn!" Nod reined Cricket to dive, plummeting after her. She didn't have far to fall, and crashed onto a bed of leaves and branches. It held her, but she was already rolling off, too dazed with pain to stop herself or grab on to anything. Nod wrapped his good arm around her waist before she could fall again, and shot away. Boggan arrows tore through the leaves turning them gray, right where they were seconds before.
Thryn slumped into him, moaning with pain, her blood wetting his pant leg. The Boggans were shrieking to each other, and the torrent of arrows intensified. Cricket pumped his wings, but Nod felt his lungs huffing with exertion. The poor bird, who put so much effort into dodging the shafts, was tiring. It wouldn't be long before he began to slow down. Their situation was getting more and more dire.
A buzz by his ear made him turn his head, to meet with the blue-green lenses of Sterling. He had completely forgotten about him. "Thryn!" he shouted into the semi-conscious girl's ear. "You have to send Sterling for help!"
"That won't be necessary, Nod," a deep, familiar voice said beside him. Out of the green, flew a ruby-throated hummingbird, ridden by the Leafmen general himself. Ronin could hide his emotions well, but Nod hazarded a guess: he was relieved to have found them alive, but furious that he found them out here at all.
Normally he wouldn't be so physched to see him, but right now, he looked at Ronin like a guardian angel. That's when he noticed that his second father had come alone, and hopes plummeted as quickly as they had rose.
"Do you know how much I want to kill you right now?!" Ronin snarled.
Nod ducked his head as an arrow whistled past his ear, "You'll have to wait in line! Where's the rescue party?"
"Coming up behind the Boggans," Ronin said, his eyes scanning Thryn's leg, turning angry to concerned. Before he could ask, a shout from behind announced the arrival of the Leafmen platoon, their green arrows cutting the air and dispatching their targets. Nod couldn't help but smile at the reinforcements, yet Ronin only looked apprehensive. He seem to finally take notice of the size on the Boggan group, and Nod realized that when compared, the Leafmen soldiers were outnumbered.
"Keep going, we'll hold them off!" Ronin ordered him, then steered his hummingbird higher, nocking his bowstring, and letting an arrow off with precise aim.
Nod reined Cricket to go faster, but the tired, old bird couldn't speed up much, only get slower. No matter which way he swerved in the forest, the Boggans followed him, despite the Leafmens' best efforts to deter them. Thryn was losing blood, and the Boggans were driving them further and further away from Moonhaven.
All of the sudden, the forest ended and the form of M.K.'s house appeared. Nod didn't realized just how far or long the Boggans had been chasing them. He leaned and Cricket circled the abode, the Boggans and the Leafmen following him like fighter jets. Nod scanned the house and spotted an opening.
"Ronin, the house!" he shouted, hoping the man understood his intention.
"This is no time to visit your girlfriend!" Ronin retorted while catching a shaft, and sending it back to it's owner.
Nod rolled his eyes, "Not that, I mean for shelter!"
"It would be locked," the general replied, his eyes never leaving the battle. "There's no way in!"
"There's a way under!"
Finally, the Leafman leader took him seriously, and Nod pointed to the house. There was an opening to underneath the house, the entrance covered by a lattice panel. The holes would be big enough for the hummingbirds and the sparrow to pass through, but too big for the grackles. Ronin waved a hand, gaining the group's attention and pointed to the lattice panel. The Leafmen and women broke off from their battles, and shot for the opening. Their birds' sleek bodies slipped through the holes and disappeared into darkness.
Ronin and Nod followed, the black birds right on their tail. Sensing safety, Cricket picked up speed, but before he could reach the goal, something heavy landed behind Nod and Thryn, causing the bird to falter. Nod turned in time to see a Boggan, his weapon raised and baring his teeth savagely.
Like a cat who's tail was stepped on, the rose uncoiled from his arm and hissed, it's two, puny leaves splayed out in an attempt to look bigger. Dozens of wicked sharp thorns sprouted from it's stem, and the feral flower struck the Boggan's face, raking them like knives. The monster screamed, blinded by it's blood, and Nod kicked him off his ride.
Relieved of the weight, Cricket made a beeline for safety. He and Sterling slipped through the hole, Nod and Thryn barely making the fit. Darkness swallowed them up, and Cricket crash landed into the damp soil, huffing with exhaustion. Ronin's mount did a more dignified landing.
It was pitch black, despite the light leaking through the lattice and other cracks. Frustrated cawing outside told him that the grackles were unsuccessful at getting in. Nod felt the rose return to it's normal position on his arm, thankfully lacking the thorns that it had moments ago.
It was cold, dark, and damp, but safe, although Nod knew that nothing would stop the Boggans from dismounting and coming in themselves. The other Leafmen had moved further in, and Ronin made the way toward them, slicing through cobwebs with his sword. Nod pulled the birds along with them. Sterling buzzed by his head, and he wondered if dragonflies could see in the dark. Thryn would know.
"Get ready," Ronin ordered when they reached the soldiers. "They'll come after us, and have an advantage with this darkness. Someone light a fire, we can use that against them."
The hissing sound of swords emerging out of their sheaths echoed in the black, as did the scrape of rock against metal, someone trying to light a fire. Just then, a low barking and stomping came from outside. Through the cracks, Nod made out the gray and black fur of Ozzie. He had somehow gotten out, and was leaping at at the birds, scattering them.
Nod smiled. M.K. had inadvertently trained him as an attack dog when she gave him that Boggan chew toy. Now the pug was protecting them. The cawing of grackles retreated, and the happy dog plopped down in front of the lattice panel. Not only had he chased the Boggans off, but now he was guarding them from further attacks.
"Guess we don't have to worry about that anymore," a Leafman muttered.
An agonized groan from Thryn made them turn. She was shifting herself out of Cricket's saddle, putting the weight on her good leg. Her face was tight with pain, and she slid unceremoniously to the floor, biting her lip to hold back a whimper.
Ronin and Nod hurried to her, the general kneeling by the leg. He gently brushed her leg to find the wound, and she hissed at his touch.
"You okay?" Nod asked. He wasn't the best when it came to injuries.
She scowled and managed an almost complete sentence, "Stupid...question."
"I can't see anything," Ronin said. "Keep trying with that fire." he ordered to the men and women behind him, then turned to Thryn. "Where's the arrow?"
"Went right through...didn't lodge."
"Your lucky then. I'm sure you know how painful extracting an arrow can be...but still..."
"Still what?" Nod asked, cursing himself for the tremor in his voice.
"Even if it went right through, there could still be small traces of Rot. If let unattended, it could grow and spread..."
"Then we have to get her to the Queen," Nod finished for him.
"That won't be easy," a Leafwoman spoke up. "Those Boggans will be waiting for us in the trees. Chances of getting through are slim." A spark flew up, and a fire sprang to life, illuminating all the faces, and casting long shadows.
"We have to do something!" the teen cried in frustration. The fear wouldn't die down, even if they were safe from the monsters for now. He was scared for Thryn's life, and struggled to cover it from the adults around him. Thanks to the fire, he couldn't hide his terrified expression in the dark.
"Nod," Thryn whispered, her voice hoarse from the pain. "Your rose is nudging me."
"It's not my-" he began automatically, but stopped when he glanced down. The rose was in fact, nudging Thryn's leg like a worried dog.
The rose felt Silent One's pain, the heat given off by her body reaching the tips of it's roots, and it heard her shallow breaths. It prodded gently, feeling the hot, crimson blood. With a wound, there was way of healing it. All the rose needed was an energy source.
Use Free Spirit's energy? No, that would likely kill him. His bearer still had much to accomplish. Free Spirit was confused, but the rose was urgent, for it felt the Rot brooding inside Silent One's wound. They needed a source!
The plant cast it's senses out, searching for a suitable candidate. There were many Green Ones around them, including Fighting Spirit, but the rose couldn't take their energy unless it was attached to them. Other beings like the Feathered were there, but the rose sensed that the Green Ones would need them later.
Nearby, the rose felt fungi growing in this damp, dark place, with no Sun. It would have to do...though the rose couldn't help but feel like it's pride was taking a blow, if it had to ask fungi for help.
The rose instructed Free Spirit to make physical contact with the fungi. When this was done, the rose began the transfer of energy, pouring it into Silent One's wound. While this was happening, the fungi sneered at the flower.
'You may take our energy now, but you just wait! In the end, you'll be on our side, and the darkness will be your core!'
'No,' the rose said. 'My bearer won't let that happen. He'll seal my fate to save the Queen, rather than destroy her.'
'You can't escape your destiny,' the fungi chided. The fungi was fading fast, but it got the last word before it died. 'History repeats itself.' With that, the fungi faded, it's energy diminished. Silent One's injury was completely healed.
The rose ended the transfer and took it's usual place on Free Spirit's arm. What the fungi had said wouldn't happen. If there was anything good in this world, then it will not happen.
Nod came back to his senses, like he was exiting a dream. Everything felt numb, but he could make out two things.
One: He was clutching a dead, empty husk of some fungus thing, the remains crumbling between his fingers.
And two: Thryn's wound was completely healed. The hole closed up, the blood washed away, and the skin left undisturbed. Not even a scar remained.
He looked to see everybody staring at him with huge, freaked-out expressions, and even the birds had froze in place. Only Sterling acted like nothing had happened, but he did buzz by everybody's head, as if trying to break their trance.
All Nod could say was, "You think that's bad? You shouldv'e seen what it did to the Boggan outside."
this is what authors do best...they give you some answers, but leave you with more questions ;) for all the MK fans, im sorry your not seeing more of her, but she will be a main character in this, its just the plot i have in mind thats the problem...
Review!