Chapter 14 Azahara
Azahara
Her body jerked on impact, and a searing pain engulfed her from where the arrow had entered. There was a surge of adrenaline, heightening her sense of awareness and causing the pain to be several degrees more painful.
“Ow, did you pinch me? You could have just—what the—” Kaed pulled away, the tip of the arrow pulling from his chest. It hadn’t penetrated him deeply, but had drawn blood.
Unluckily for Azahara, her eyes trained downward. The arrow had two long, sharp barbs which had only just barely penetrated out of her chest. This was an arrow carved for war and would keep them from dislodging it.
The arrow had sliced through her back, mere inches from her spine, and just above her heart. The pain was severe, and she felt her body twitching uncontrollably.
Kaed’s arms were around her, dragging her to the ground. The sound of arrows piercing the air, whistling, and whooshing above them, confirmed they were indeed under attack.
Azahara knew she would be going into shock soon, and if she didn’t fight it, they were both going to die.
He had all intentions of protecting her, and when he rolled her onto her back and shielded her from the arrows, she let out a cry of pain.
The arrow lodged in her chest bent and tore at her, threatening to widen the point of exit and entry.
“Shit!” Kaed stood and lifted her off the ground. The volley of arrows halted as he darted towards Moondancer and Starlight, who had taken cover behind the grouping of trees.
“Let me down,” she called to him, he had scooped her up and carried her. He didn’t listen to her. “Please, let me down.”
“No, I need to get you out of here.”
“We will.” She felt her lungs tightening, and she wondered if it was possible that she hadn’t been that lucky for nothing major to have been hit.
A steady flow of blood was now pouring from the wound.
She could feel it trailing down her chest, to her stomach, and down to her pants.
Her emotions ran high, and she screamed, “Let me down!”
Kaed stopped just as Starlight and Moondancer stood beside them.
Finally, he obliged. Slowly putting her down on her feet, keeping her steady with his arm. “Break the back of the arrow,” she said, her hands grabbing at Starlight’s reins.
There was no hesitation. Kaed grabbed the closest part of the arrow and the end and broke it off. She bit down on her lip, drawing blood and tasting metal in her mouth.
“We need to get you to Illyan,” Kaed said, moving to assist in getting her onto Moondancer.
“Kaed. I need to ride Starlight.” She stumbled, her mind and body not connecting. She was becoming disoriented, and a scream of anger followed a curse under her breath. “They will shoot us both on Moondancer.” Her words were breathy. “Help me.”
He did, but she could tell there was a daunting dread when he said, “Damn it, what happened? I thought the wards protected—” His voice disappeared as if he had begun walking away from her even though he had stood beside her the entire time.
The wards… what had happened to the wards?
Illyan? She opened her mind to the winnox, searching for their mind.
Illyan… She continued to call for their name, waiting for their window to open.
There were several she passed, but none paid her any mind, and when she realized she was stretching out too far, she pulled herself back and coughed out a choked intake of air.
Kaed had his hand on her leg, his other at her back, as she sat on Starlight. “We need to leave.”
She didn’t argue, and she clicked her heel, Starlight taking the cue.
Her body leaned forward, once again becoming one with him as they shot forward.
His speed was reduced for her safety, but they weren’t trotting.
The arrows that had blasted them earlier came to a stop, at least temporarily.
They were still out there, watching them, which made it that much eerier as the clouds began to creep over their only source of light in the sky.
Moondancer was at her heels, she used the pounding of her hooves to whisper into Starlight’s ear, “We must protect them at all costs.” There was a sickening feeling in her gut, and she could sense that Starlight felt the same.
Azahara was losing a lot of blood; she could feel her skin becoming colder. Her body was becoming weaker. They had to find Illyan, there was no way she’d make riding to another town without dying.
The sound of yelping echoed through the meadow, and what looked like giant fireflies flying around began to edge closer.
They were rounding the lining of trees to bring them back to her home, and they came into better view. They weren’t fireflies, but instead, torches held by several Vaeragi riding horseback.
The Vaeragi were descendants of Giants; centuries of cross-breeding before their eradication nearly two-thousand years ago, created what they see now.
Dark skin, nearly the color of night itself, with markings across their bodies.
They were warriors by trait, and skilled in hunting and combat.
They were gentle unless provoked, never leaving their lands other than to gather goods.
Likely one of the last races to refuse the call after the Wrath of the King, and survive. Unlike the Gorruk, who were beasts that had half a braincell, the Vaeragi were tactful, and smart.
They had attacked them over a week ago in the forest, and Azahara still hadn’t determined why. Had they been the hunting party, and were they the prey?
“Why…” she spat, one of her hands coming off the reins to touch the arrow. Fingers covered in crimson came into her view.
“They are at the house,” Kaed said, pulling Moondancer’s reins. “Starlight, stop.” Starlight reared its head back, waiting for her to tap in agreement, which she did.
Azahara struggled but leaned back. The Vaeragi now saw them, but they weren’t attacking. Why had they been so quick, but now suddenly decided to stop, she could only speculate. Could it be that they were trying to flush us out? She thought.
While her vision was distorted, she could see the dozen or so Vaeragi. None of them had bows and arrows. Which meant there was someone not in their field of view with one, watching them.
Illyan… She tried again, opening the winnox to locate her friend. Why weren’t they responding?
After a beat, her question was answered but not by way of a response. The door opened, letting the bright light of the home burst into the darkness. Scaling out was the largest of the Vaeragi, and in his hand, he held Illyan by their silvery hair.
Her gut wrenched. Starlight stood steady, angling its body to run in the opposite direction if called.
Every possible thought flew by her a mile a minute. Why was this happening? Why wasn’t Illyan using the wether portals to get away? How had they gotten into the wards? Nothing was adding up, and she was beginning to lose sight of any possible outcome that involved them surviving.
He had to survive.
She looked at Kaed, who was equally assessing the situation. There wasn’t a sense he’d given up yet, but everything was falling so perfectly out of place that the result would not be in their favor.
“Kaed,” she said weakly.
His head jerked towards her, worry and sorrow filling his gaze as his eyes trailed to her chest.
“I need you to do something.” She patted Starlight on the side, and he stepped towards Moondancer. “Trust me.” Grabbing his reins from him, she quickly tied a knot to Starlight.
“What are you doing?!” His tone was unhinged.
“Starlight, run, take him.” With a deep breath, she rolled quickly off him just as he began running. Moondancer was pulled roughly, but thanks to her training, she didn’t falter. Their stride met one another as if they were one beast and not two.
Azahara had stumbled getting off Starlight but shakily got to her feet. Only a mere yard from her house, the large Vaeragi tossed Illyan’s body and crossed the distance between them in merely ten steps.
Deep breaths.
Speaking in Vaeragi’s tongue, he spat, “You will pay for what you have done.”
Her gaze never broke as his large hand came at her. She quickly dodged to the side, her hand curling into a fist just before she slammed it into his jaw. Her size didn’t help, it barely made him wince.
His arm swung around, and like dodging a child’s play sword, she jumped backward. They were large, which made them slow. If she hadn’t lost so much blood, she might have had a better chance at taking him out, but for now, she had to try and play cat and mouse.
“Why are you here!?” She spoke in his native tongue; the accent was terrible, but he would understand. Knowing the Vaeragi lived in the mountains her home rested against, she made it a point to understand and speak it in the event they found their paths crossed.
“You took her from me.” His voice was grave, and while the statement should have mirrored pain, there was nothing but anger.
Whenever she took a deep breath, the arrow moved and threatened her life. Knowing that every time she would dodge his oncoming advances, she’d hold her breath.
“Insolence. You come on my land and kill my people and expect no retribution!?” For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard him.
“You attacked us.”
“You brought the Gorruk to my people!” His hand came down, and she sidestepped, her back brushing against his all-too-big arm.
She brought her leg straight up, his downward force and her foot’s trajectory causing more damage to him than the previous blow.
He stumbled backward, his hand gripping at his chin.