4. Varyx
VARYX
A storm threatened, the air sticky with energy and winds picking up. I flew high, taking the energy into my body as I passed through it, half-wishing for an enemy I could fight. This work was a tedious necessity to keep the Void Gate sealed, and my heart yearned for an enemy to fight.
It was a foolish wish, one I regretted instantly. An actual incursion by the Voidborn would be a disaster for my island, even if it gave me a satisfying battle.
As though summoned by my thoughts, someone screamed below me.
I looked back to see a Voidborn monstrosity rising toward me.
Like most creatures born of the Void, it wasn’t based on any normal biology—it flew on a dozen wings that beat as fast as a hummingbird’s, carrying a segmented body through the sky faster than physics would allow.
The sickly green body caught the nebula’s light and glistened, and it reached out with writhing tentacles, each ending in a sharp-toothed mouth.
An answer to my misguided prayers, the monster closed quickly, but it wasn’t the source of the scream. Behind it, a human fell down the cliff from the Gate, flailing wildly.
Normally, I wouldn’t have shed any tears. A trespassing human deserved the trouble she got herself into, and I had no time to save her from the consequences of her decision. The Voidborn threat was far more important than any single human life.
But this was not normal. I recognized the human who’d arrived alone, who’d seen me when she shouldn’t be able to. And without an instant’s thought, I knew I would not let her die.
By the time my mind caught up to the decision, I’d already tucked my wings and dived, all but ignoring the many-mouthed monster heading for me.
Caught by surprise by my unexpected response, it reacted too slowly to intercept me, and I shot past it.
Biting tentacles lashed out at me, but none connected.
I returned the compliment with a blast of flame that singed the muddy green shell, though whether it hurt the thing beneath, I couldn’t tell.
Then I was past, diving headlong into the dark waters beside the cliff. I saw my target sinking deeper, the current pulling her down. Her struggles seemed futile, and the panic on her face terrified me. How long could a human hold her breath, anyway?
I didn’t stop to think about the question.
Kicking back, I dove after her, my tail lashing from side to side to give me speed.
In moments, I was close enough to snatch her up and turn back toward the surface.
She didn’t move in my grasp, and I feared I had reached her too late, but I did not let myself consider what that would mean.
I broke the surface of the water with a crash, wings snapping wide to catch the air and carry me upward. This was the most dangerous moment, when the Voidborn creature could pounce before I gained speed or height.
No attack came, no hideous being struck. I struggled skyward, looking around for the ambush I expected. Nothing.
The sky shuddered with Void energy, more than I had ever felt. More than should have gathered during my short time underwater. There was only one explanation, and I didn’t like it.
“The blasted coward gave itself to the storm,” I shouted at the uncaring sky. Clouds formed as I watched, dark and terrible, lightning flickering inside them as the first heavy drops of rain fell. This promised to be the worst Voidstorm in a century, unless I intervened.
Perhaps I could still make it into the heart of the storm, disrupt it, drain it of void energy.
Kill it before it broke over the island.
On my own, I would have tried, but carrying an injured human?
No, it was far too dangerous, and I refused to risk her life.
She needed medical care, not to ride into a storm that might destroy her very existence.
Cursing, I wheeled around to my mountain lair. Thunder boomed as I struggled for control, curling my legs under me and cradling the human to my chest.
Even then, I detected no sign of life. “You had better be only half-dead,” I snarled. “If I’ve wasted this effort saving you, I will…”
I cut off there, unwilling to waste time coming up with a threat.
The storm wind howled, demanding my attention as it tried to throw me onto the rocks.
I twisted and avoided crashing, though a jagged edge of stone caught my side as I lifted myself over the top of the cliff and to my lair’s entrance.
Buffeted by the wind and losing blood from my injury, I barely made it through myself. Once I crossed the threshold, the winds died down, and I flopped to the floor.
“Can’t rest,” I said, snarling. “Not yet.”
I pulled myself up again, careful not to put any weight on the limb carrying the human female, and hobbled toward my sleeping platform. Resting among my hoard helped me heal, so perhaps it would do the same for her?