No funny business, I just want to write. I've spent all morning painting and my brain can't take the colour anymore. So I'm going to paint it on the inside with fanfic. I'll shut up now.
Chapter 7
Things get serious
Lana and Silver knelt behind a wall. There was a Goriya on the other side, talking to some of the Goriya patrolling on the wall. A fourth was up on a watch tower.
"Oh hell…" the zora heard Silver mutter.
Lana took out some of her knives. They were made of coral and shell, sharpened to a wicked point. She went to throw when Silver placed her jaws around the zora's arm. She didn't bite, but Lana could feel the sharp points of her fangs pressing against her skin. She realised with a shudder that the wolfos could quite as easily bite through her arm as a slab of butter.
"What the hell?"
"Wait you idiot. You kill them now; the whole bloody camp will be on us. We're not deep enough yet." Silver hissed.
The wolfos removed her jaws and watched the sky.
"You take the ones on the wall, I'll take the guard."
"And the tower?"
"We've got it sorted."
Lana growled, watching the wolfos slink away. She was so smug. She thought she was so clever. If it weren't for the fact he were putting Ralis' life in danger, she'd have slapped some sense into the wolfos long ago.
Knives at the ready, she prepared to throw. She saw Silver leap from the shadows, at the same time, an arrow whistled through the air. Quickly threw her knives, catching the Goriya in the neck. They fell, joining their comrade on the ground. Silver looked up from her kill, her jaws stained red. As the creature stood there. Fur stained the colour of night, gore dripping from her jaws. The torn corpse of a monster at her feet, eyes gleaming red in the firelight, she could've been a demon.
Resisting the urge to gag at the sickly sweet smell of blood, Lana joined her. She grimaced as she stepped into a puddle of blood. Bile rose in her throat as she felt its warm wetness on her sole. Unsurprisingly, the wolfos was unaffected.
They crept on, slowly working their way deeper into the compound. Lana could sense the fear and anger in the air. The Goriya had realised they were being hunted.
Link crouched down behind the boulder. His eyes were aching and dry: the effects of using hawkeye for extended periods of time. He rubbed his temple, feeling a migraine building. He could feel Ralis' worried gaze on him. The hero forced himself to smile before taking aim and dispatching another Goriya. He was already beginning to make out Silver and Lana in the grey light. They were doing well.
Silver leapt onto another guard, her jaws tearing into his throat. With a gurgle, he collapsed beneath her and she looked up. Lana was glaring at her in distaste.
"What's your problem?" Silver growled.
Lana just glared.
An arrow hit the patrol Goriya as it approached them on the wall. They were nearly at the centre.
"Time to blow our cover." Silver said.
"You're a monster."
"Problem with that?" Silver snarled as she leapt up onto the wall.
They were what, one corridor from the centre. Four watch towers surrounded the towers. Silver flicked her tail: the signal.
An arrow whistled overhead, its top sparking. Like a shooting star it arced through the sky and thudded into the base of the tower nearest to her. An explosion illuminated the twilight, like a glowing yellow flower it unfurled at the base of the tower. Cries of alarm were heard as the tower rocked precariously. A wall of sound hit Silver's ears, but the wolfos remained unfazed, watching a second arrow fly towards the south pillar. Three more explosions blossomed on the four towers surrounding the centre. Like dominoes they fell, crushing any poor creature in their path. The cries of the dying filled the air. Silver let the sound roll off her. It was them or Hyrule.
Lana looked up at the wolfos. Standing and watching the carnage. The ghost of a smile on her face. Her fur was stained black with mud and crimson with blood. Patches of silver could be seen were the mud had dried and rubbed off. The fires caused by the explosions illuminated her, reflecting in her dark eyes. This was a demon, a monster, no better than those they hunted. Lana took a knife from her belt.
Link fired a few more bomb arrows, aiming them for the northwest side. More explosions to act as distractions.
He took off the mask, his eyes shooting with pain as the magic retreated from his eyes.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ralis asked.
Link nodded, making sure he didn't meet the boy's gaze. He knew his eyes would look bloodshot. Malo hadn't been lying when he said the mask was only for small bursts, half an hour max. Not for a good three or four hours on the trot.
He stood and with Ralis close behind him, crept to the wall. They snuck through the shadows, working their way in. They heard cries of alarm as Goriya rushed northwards. The scent of burning filled the air. Link felt a small hand grasp his. He turned to see Ralis, a hint of fear in his eyes, clasping his hand. Link gripped the hand and smiled. The zora boy smiled back.
They encountered no resistance as they ran past thick wooden walls. The horizontal logs towered over Link's head by a good metre or so. Then Link felt it, shooting down his mental link with Silver. Pain…agonising pain. The shock of it drove him to his knees and he clutched his head. Ralis knelt beside him, eyes wide with fear.
Silver staggered as the knife embedded itself in her chest, hitting the collarbone. It burned like hell. Her pas slipped and she nearly fell off the wall, scrabbling, she yelping as she felt the knife tear through her straining muscle. Now on the wall she turned to Lana. The had knives in her hand, ready to throw more. Her spear was in her other hand. Silver couldn't see anything behind that helmet of hers.
"You traitor!" Silver snarled.
"You're a monster. A demon. You should be put down just like these monsters."
To emphasise her point, she turned and threw a knife into the throat of a Goriya that rounded the corner. He didn't even know what hit him as he slumped to the floor, choking on his own blood.
"Are you insane? Are you trying to get Ralis killed?"
"I can handle it. I don't need the help of demons."
"You don't even know the meaning of the word!"
"You charade as heroes! You're killers! Without this you wouldn't exist! You're just murderers."
"What do you think heroes even are? Heroes are murderers! Mass murderers even! The only difference is we do it to protect people, not because we want to." Silver lifted her head, trying to cry out as the knife grated against bone. "Kill me then. Put me down like the monster I am. Then we'll see where Hyrule is. Because I can tell you, this carnage you see around you. It will be infinitely worse. They won't stop at killing soldiers, they'll kill children, innocents, everyone."
"Not your way." Lana said and threw the knife.
Link forced his eyes open and grabbed his bow. Lana had snapped. The operation was over. He fired at where he had last seen the pair. Then he prayed. He prayed that Din protect her hero, and that Farore sent a wind, to stop what was going to happen.
There was a spark and a metallic clang. The knife fell to the ground, split perfectly in two. And arrow thudded into the ground. Silver smiled, silently thanking Link.
Link turned to Ralis and pointed to the lake, his meaning simple. Ralis nodded.
"Please Link, don't kill her. She doesn't understand."
Link nodded, but if Silver died, if Lana killed her, not even the triforce could protect the zora from his rage.
The boy dipped his head and ran. Link watched him sprint for the edge and dive off the cliff. He didn't move until he heard the faint splash.
No time for subtleties. He stowed his items and shifted into the shape of a wolf. Leaping up onto the walls, he ran across them, heading straight to Silver.
Silver couldn't move, even breathing made the knife pull along her collarbone. She could hear the Goriya running towards them, surrounding them. She just hoped Link had had the sense to flee. Lana glared at arrow as if its very presence offended her.
"He can't help you…any more than you can."
Then they heard it. A cry, a cry of such terror that Lana jumped and the Goriya halted their advance. There was something was coming, and it wasn't very amused.
The sun hadn't risen yet, the grey light turned everything monochrome. It was as if the world were too afraid to wake up and witness the horrors what transpired on its doorstep. An early morning mist rolled in off the lake, turning the compound as silent as a grave. Sounds were muted, figured blurred. It roiled and reared, hiding Silver from view.
"You can't hide demon!"
She threw her knife, but a gust of wind knocked it off course and it instead plunged into the shoulder of a cowering Goriya. Its howls of agony sounded distant, as if heard from underwater.
Lana held her spear, pointy end down: ready to attack. A shape moved through the mist…no…not through…it moved with the mist. The edges of its form faded into nothingness. Its footsteps silent. This was a hunter…something far more powerful than any of the Goriya that surrounded her. This…was death itself…coming for her. For the first time that night, Lana felt true fear.
Silver felt the mist curling around her, mantling her like a hawk her chicks. She could sense him. A hand touched her back and Silver relaxed. Link knelt beside her, examining the wound. The string of courses that reeled off in her mind brought a smile to her face. He was worse than she was. She could almost see every bad-mouthed sailor hang his head in shame and crouch in the corner, crying.
One hand scratched her head comfortingly as the other gripped the knife.
Keep calm he said. Silver began panicking.
Agony blossomed in her chest and she howled in pain. The knife came out smoothly, they were lucky it wasn't serrated. Link threw the weapon away in disgust and clamped a hand over the gushing wound. With the other, he dug into his pouch and retrieved a bottle of red potion. He took out a bowl and pulled out the stopped with his teeth. Pouring the potion into the bowl, he pushed it to Silver to drink. As she did so, he took out a piece of linen for patching holes and soaked it in the potion. The knife had severed an artery. He could feel the blood seeping through his gloves and soaking his fingers. Holding the rag next to his hand, he quickly pressed it against the wound. It began to close, slowly. The artery healed over, the skin stitched it back together. Silver sagged, her energy drained. Once the healing had finished, Silver sank down. Link patted her neck.
"You're not seriously asking me to run." She exclaimed.
Link chuckled.
"That is not funny."
Link stood, melting into his wolf form.
"Do you think she'll work it out?"
The wolf shrugged.
"Yeah, she is a little isn't she?"
Then the wolf was gone, lost in the swirling mist.
"Where are you?" Lana cried into the mist.
A shadow moved in the corner of her eye.
"Come out and face me demon."
She heard a cry behind her, more shadows were moving in the grey mist. A gurgle signalled the death of another Goriya. The hunter was working his way to her. She could feel it.
Link attacked the Goriya, outside the sphere of mist. Their leader hadn't come yet, but he hoped he would come. After a while, Silver joined him, having recovered from her umpteenth near-death experience. Ilia was going to kill him…again. They left Lana flailing in fear in the mist for a while. In fact, they almost forgot she was there by the time the surviving Goriya fled.
"Shouldn't we deal with Lana?" Silver asked.
Link looked back at the mist. The mist was annoyed, or rather about as annoyed as mist could be, considering it wasn't alive. Link returned to his hylian form. He entered the mist and approached Lana.
Lana could sense them. Sense their anger. They wanted to kill her. They were going to tear her to pieces. A hand clamped over her shoulder and she screamed, lashing out. A another hand, rough with dried blood, grabbed her wrist. When Lana dared open her eyes, she saw Link, looking ever so slightly confused.
"You!" Lana spat, wrenching from his grasp and backing up. "Who the hell are you?"
Link blinked. Unsure how to answer. In the end, he opened his arms.
"You're a monster."
Link sighed. He silently ordered the mist to return, albeit to look natural. Slowly, It began to fade, as is blown away by a morning breeze. The sun was peeking her head over the horizon, as if looking to see if it were over yet.
Lana saw Silver, standing back. Ralis was missing.
"What have you done with Ralis?"
"Link sent him back. When you attacked me he aborted the mission and sent him home. Unlike you, he was genuinely worried for his safety."
Link shot a glance at the wolfos, but she ignored him.
"You're lying. I bet he's lying dead somewhere."
Link held up his hands for peace. He really didn't want Lana to attack again. Instead he walked forward. Lana backed up spear held at him.
Link reached forward and she pressed the spear against his chest. Link simply pointed to her arm. Slowly, he turned her right arm to reveal the zora sapphire. Lana glared, pushing the spear deeper. It tore through the chain mail, the tip now pressing against his skin. Silver took a step forward.
"Tell me then."
Link tapped the sapphire.
An arrow whistled towards the hero. Link grabbed the spear and lifted it, spinning behind it. The arrow lodged into the spear haft, quivering like a snake tail.
But another came from behind, he heard its whistle and dodged but not fast enough. I buried itself in Link's right shoulder blade. He cried out, whirling around. Tears welled in his eyes as the pain came. Drawing his sword he turned to face the attacker. The leader of the Goriya stood before them. He was huge, bigger than Link. His fur was the colour of dried blood and his man was thick. His fur was lighter in areas, tracing thick scars. A huge bow the size of a small tree was in his hand. A snarl pulled his lips back revealing sharp teeth. Half an ear was missing. His tail was thick, and judging by the light emanating from it, he knew it could turn sharp as steel for an attack.
Link snarled, and the leader snarled back.
"Link." Silver took a step forward but more Goriya surrounded her. Some held bows, others boomerangs. The majority had triangular short swords at their belt.
Things had just gotten very, very serious.
Ok, this is longer than I expected and I'm sorry for the weird way I'm writing it. But well, no writing apart from essays for a month will do that to an author. I might update earlier or I might not. But either way, I'll see you all next week. Enjoy! ^-^
