Chapter 35 Dylan
Dylan
I'd only just gotten her back, and right before my eyes, she was gone again.
No one could have survived being submerged in water for that long, not even a Witch.
With the Afanc distracted, Lleucu had taken the opportunity to trudge her way through the marsh. Its furry back and soft, padded tail were completely exposed; hitting it there wouldn't have killed it, but Lleucu certainly could do some damage with Manawydan.
Once the beast was distracted by fighting Lleucu, I would take the chance to retrieve Non's body from the water. Maybe there was something or someone I could beg to bring her back to me again.
Manawydan flew through the air and sank into the haunches of the beast, causing a gash to open. It snapped its head towards Lleucu and bounded across the marsh towards her. Seren took her chance, dropping from the branch, launching her spear at the beast, nicking it at the base of its neck.
With the two of them attacking the Afanc, it gave me an opening.
Dropping from the tree, I threw myself into the water. Non's body was barely visible beneath the murky waves, but something had angered the Afanc beneath the water. It turned away from Lleucu and Seren and snapped its teeth towards Non's body.
As I moved closer to the beast, I got a better look at Non's figure beneath the water. She was still moving. But I didn't let myself get carried away, as the movement could have just been caused by the waves crashing against her body.
A few metres out from her, I dove under the water to see things more clearly.
Blood pooled around Non, and her lifeless eyes stared up at nothing. The creature's claws didn’t seemed to have pierce her body anywhere, but she was caged inside its foot.
As I gripped Caledfwlch, ready to hack at the Afanc's foot, black shadows wrapped around Non, covering her entirely. Her power was gone as quickly as it appeared, but when the silt from the floor bed had settled and I could see again, Non had disappeared.
I broke the water's surface and began searching for Non. Everyone else seemed focused on the Afanc. Alaw and Brychan had joined Lleucu and Seren in their attempts to wound the creature. Turning on the spot, I looked everywhere for any sign of Non but couldn't see a damned thing.
Behind me on the bank, Alaw and the other Southern Wielder called my name. Alaw frantically pointed over my head towards the sky.
“Look!” she screamed.
Then we all felt it.
A shot of pure power swept across the marsh like a sonic boom. Each Witch and Wielder was thrown to the ground, and even the Afanc swayed from side to side but managed to stay standing.
Higher than the treetops, a slash sliced through the sky. Shadows that looked like a sheet of glittering black fabric fell away from the cut, revealing an opening.
And from that opening fell Non.
She was very much alive and conscious as she screamed. Her body tumbled, and she flapped her hands at her side in desperation. A glimmer of something caught my eye; in her hand, she held one of her daggers.
Relief washed over me. Whatever god was granting me this boon again was a merciful one. But she wasn't out of danger yet; the speed at which she was falling would kill her if she hit the ground.
My power snapped out in the form of a long tendril of water, and it wrapped around her middle.
It stopped Non from spinning and slowed her fall, but it wasn't strong enough to stop her completely.
With her newfound stability, as she drew closer to the ground, a look of determination settled on her face as she flipped her dagger in her grip.
Non looked from the arm of water around her middle to me and started waving her arms. As she continued falling, I realised that she was pointing to something as she gestured with her dagger.
She was pointing to the Afanc.
I took an educated guess at what she was trying to tell me, but I could have been so wrong. I just hoped she knew what she was doing.
With all my might, I moved my open palm that controlled the water and moved it gradually to the right so that Non was now falling towards the Afanc.
Most of the other Wielders and Witches had joined the others in wearing the beast down, which meant it was distracted and none the wiser that Non was hurtling towards it.
With Non now a few metres above the beast, she pointed to the arm of water around her middle, then dragged her finger across her neck. Kill the water.
Reluctantly, I did as she instructed and pulled my power back. Non's fall sped up significantly, and she gripped her dagger with both hands, readying herself to land.
A scream to my right tore my gaze away from Non momentarily. The rest of the competitors had all turned their attention away from the Afanc to Brychan, who I'd not seen since the trial began.
His bow was in one hand, but there was no arrow nocked in the drawstring.
From the other side of Brychan, Alaw screamed and dropped to her knees.
On the floor, surrounded in blood, was the other Southern Wielder whose name I wished I'd known.
Protruding from her chest was a glowing gold arrow.
There was nothing I could do for the poor girl except hope her soul had an easy voyage down the Defwy, the river of souls.
Turning back to Non, I saw she was less than twenty feet from hitting her mark. My hands twitched at my sides with the want to interfere exactly like they had when I'd watched her the night of the Cyhyraeth attack.
But she needed this win far more than I did. My fate at the end of these trials was already inevitable.
As her boots landed on the diamond-shaped head of the Afanc, Non lifted both her arms above her head and slammed her dagger down into the beast's skull as hard as she could.
Blood sprayed Non from head to toe. She gritted her teeth as she tried desperately to hold on to her dagger; the Afanc thrashed its head from side to side.
It let out a wail that had the others turning from where they'd been fighting with each other.
They all ran in different directions to avoid getting crushed by the beast's enormous body.
It hit the edge of the marsh with a bone-shaking thud, and Non rolled from its head, landing on her back.
I was on her in an instant, closing the space between us in a few long leaps.
Once I reached her, I gripped the front of her habit and lifted her off the ground.
Every instinct in my body wanted me to kiss her.
Although we couldn't see them, I was conscious of the thousands of Witches and Wielders hidden behind the fog, including the Cyngor Blaen.
But then she smiled at me, and my mind emptied.
I dropped her to her feet. Her head tilted down to look at her bloodied hands, but I caught her chin with my knuckle and lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“Fuck it,” I whispered, and without a second thought, I pressed my lips to hers. I thought she'd pull away for a moment, furious with me for deciding to do this in such a public setting. Then Non's hands tangled in my hair as she kissed me back, nipping at my bottom lip.
Her usual sweet taste was overwhelmed by the blood from the Afanc, but truly, I couldn't have cared less. I just needed to kiss her, to feel her strong and very much alive heart pound in her chest as she pressed up against me.
My hands found the backs of her thighs, and without coaxing, she wrapped her strong legs around my middle.
The Afanc could have resurrected and ripped my head off, and I still would have died a happy man. This was everything.
Non broke the kiss first, but she was still smiling from ear to ear. “I'm going to need you to put me down.” She nodded to my hands, which kept her wrapped around my middle.
“Oh...sorry.” I let her down gently and straightened her habit.
As was tradition, a chorus of five Carnyx rang out in unison. Non flinched at their volume and moved closer to me.
“Why are they doing that?” she asked apprehensively.
I took her hand in mine and placed a kiss on her bloodied knuckles. “Because you just won the first trial, cariad.”