Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Of course two snarling beasts would attack them at that moment.
Though maybe it was a mercy; Orla didn’t know everything there was to tell about Owain and how the two of them found themselves tangled up together, physically as well as metaphorically.
And because she had asked him directly, he was going to tell her the full truth, no matter how much it pained him.
But he had to put thoughts of Orla and telling her the truth behind him to focus on the two hounds in front of them.
Hellhounds were larger than a typical hound, and they could grow to be even larger than a horse.
Coats of deepest black were veined with orange red streaks along their large bodies.
Their snarling maws revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth, and they had unparalleled strength.
However, that’s not what concerned Owain the most. The hounds were typically used in Edam during battles.
If these two found him, it was likely that he and Orla were being tracked by Owain’s father.
Slowly, Owain moved to position himself in front of Orla while he whispered to her. “Orla, can you use your vines to hold them?”
He knew her vines wouldn’t hold them for long. Her magic had strengthened, but it wasn’t sufficient to bind the beasts for more than a few moments. Hopefully that was all he would need. Orla sucked in a breath but nodded her head slowly.
Their only saving grace was that the hellhounds had found them while they were in the hot spring.
As their magic was rooted in fire, they didn’t submerge themselves in water unless they absolutely had to.
And since they currently occupied the strip of land they would need to exit the water, the hounds likely wouldn’t swim in after them.
Owain looked around, thinking. Above them was an outcropping of rocks with enough hand and foot holds that they may be able to climb. But they would have to move quickly, and the hounds were definitely faster.
“Do you see those rocks overhead?” Orla turned her head and nodded.
“Good, I need you to climb like hell until you get to the dry rocks at the top. When you get there, can you use your vines to bind the hounds?”
“Yes,” she said it in a hushed whisper.
Owain turned to face her and found that she didn’t look scared, if anything, she looked determined.
Then he remembered Byaslag. Orla had held back a horde of hellhounds with two short swords and little reinforcements while Rhyan fought the Edamish warriors trying to kill them. The battle was legendary, even in Edam.
“On my mark. One, two, three.”
On three, Orla frantically swam towards the rocks, grabbing on to one of the handholds and then another, scrambling up the rocky outcropping.
As she moved, the hounds did too, running around the hot spring towards the top of the rocks.
He had to hope he could get there before them.
Owain followed closely on Orla’s tail but slipped on one of the damp rocks, causing him to slide back towards the water.
Orla pushed herself to get up towards the top of the rocks. Owain hoped she understood his plan, because if she were to bind the hounds, she would have to do it at an exact moment, otherwise the timing would be off, and they would be fighting two hellhounds with no weapons.
Orla made it to the top of the rock face only to look back and see that he was still much farther behind her. The rocks were now slick after she had climbed them and his much larger body was heavier, making it harder for him to gain traction on the slick rocks.
Owain watched helplessly as Orla turned back around. The hounds were nearly on her. She threw out her hands as if to try to bind them, but the binds broke mere seconds after they wrapped around the beasts’ legs.
She pushed herself farther from the ledge of the rocks and threw her hands out again. This time, the vines that she wrapped around the hellhounds had thorns. The hounds both yelped a squeal of pain before breaking free of these vines as well. His heart began to race as panic started to set in.
Owain was scrambling to get to Orla. He heard the hounds yap of pain, but he could still hear them coming for her.
As he pushed up onto the last foot hold, he could see that Orla was stuck.
At her back were rocks that were much too tall for her to climb while naked and wet from the hot spring.
It looked as though she was trying to conjure her magic again, but whatever she was trying wouldn’t come.
Owain continued to try to make his way up the rocks, but he continued to struggle on the slick surface.
The hounds were stalking towards her now. Smells of sulfur and blood permeated the air.
“Run, Orla!” Owain yelled as he continued to struggle to get to her. Fear gripped him as he saw the predicament she was in and helplessness threatened to overcome him as he couldn’t get to her fast enough.
She turned, jumping to try to grab the closest handhold to no avail. She was a good five inches too short to reach it. Owain watched as she tried again, but she was pulled towards the ground, hard. She let out a loud wail when she hit the ground, her face twisted in agony.
One of the hounds had gotten its mouth around Orla’s leg and was dragging her towards the other.
Orla tried to kick and pull, but the scream she let out alerted Owain that she was in too much pain to fight back.
She looked around, her face panicked, searching for a rock or anything she could use to defend herself.
There was nothing. If he didn’t move these beasts were going to kill her.
Using every ounce of his strength, Owain was able to pull himself up to the top of the rocks, his heart pounding with adrenaline as he only had one thought: Get to Orla.
Orla’s leg was in the mouth of one of the hellhounds.
Her eyes were wide, panic clearly showing on every line of her features.
Owain moved without thinking. He raced towards the hound headfirst, ramming his antlers into the beast’s side, knowing that it would do little more than annoy the creature but maybe it would be enough to distract them.
The beast turned, slashing one of its large, clawed paws at Owain, but it didn’t let Orla go.
She screamed in pain as the beast twisted its body, dragging her with it.
Owain dodged out of the way of the massive claws. He was running out of time; Orla was losing so much blood, and now the other hound was stalking towards him. He ran at the beast holding Orla again, aiming for the soft part between its ribs. This time it did drop her to pursue Owain.
Perfect. Owain raced towards the other hound. He had to get them as far away from Orla as possible, otherwise he could accidentally kill her too, but they were faster.
It was now or never. When both hounds were within a few feet of him, he yelled for Orla to bind them.
Raising her hands to summon her power, vines wrapped around both hounds’ legs, momentarily halting their movements.
It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough.
When the vines wrapped around the legs of each hound, Owain unleashed his power.
A loud crack sounded as two bolts of lightning shot from the sky and struck the hounds.
They both yelped in pain before crumpling to the ground.
Owain heaved a sigh of relief before racing back to Orla. He surveyed the damage to her leg. It was mangled; torn down to the bone and bleeding fast.
“Orla, look at me.” Her eyes struggled to focus, and she was clammy from the blood loss. She tried to raise her head but grimaced from the pain. “I’m going to heal you, okay? But you have to stay with me, goddess.”
He didn’t know if she heard him, she didn’t respond, but he moved down to her torn flesh and called his power again. He placed his hands on the bloody wounds on her leg, and slowly, the wounds started to knit back together.
Once her leg was mended, he looked over the rest of her. She winced when he tried to roll her over, and he realized that she had broken her back in the fight with the hound.
“I have to turn you over, Orla. But it’s going to hurt like hell.” She gritted her teeth and nodded. Slowly, he turned her over. Her whimpers of pain lanced his heart. Owain placed his hands up her back before finding the broken area. He touched her, healing her the cracked bones.
“Thank you,” she rasped as she slowly rolled back. She winced. He had healed her, but she would still be sore for a day or two.
“I tried,” she wheezed. “I tried to conjure thorns. Tried to summon them against the hounds but they just… they wouldn’t come.” A haunted look passed over her eyes. As if she were reliving her time in Fontina and the horrors she associated with her magic.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get up here quicker,” he said, searching her gaze to make sure she was okay.
“Yeah, you couldn’t have struck them before I had to rock climb?” There was a hint of a smile on her face. For the first time since she left the palace, she was teasing him.
He shook his head. “Only if you wanted us to get electrocuted as well. We had to be out of the water.”
Finally, they took stock of one another.
Both naked, wet, and covered in blood. Owain had a large gash on his arm, and both their hands were cut up from the climb.
Orla started chuckling at the sight of him before it became a full belly laugh.
It wasn’t comical, but she couldn’t seem to help it.
Owain began to laugh too, the absurdity of their situation not lost on either of them.
Of all the people to save her life, Owain had saved her twice now.
“You are a terrible assassin,” Orla barked between bouts of laughter.
“And you are impossible to kill.” They howled even more at that. Once their laughter subsided, Orla looked at Owain. Really looked at him.
“You were never going to kill me.” It wasn’t a question.
“How could a lowly bastard like me ever kill a goddess.” He smiled at her before reaching out and cupping her cheek.
“So much for a relaxing day, eh?” She laughed again.
They moved from the rocks, slowly making their way down back towards the entrance of the hot spring where they washed off all the blood. When they got back to their camp, they saw the reason one of the hellhounds had been covered in blood. It had killed Owain’s mare.
“We can’t stay here tonight.” Orla nodded in agreement.
“They were your father’s hounds,” she said. “I know his preference for using the beasts to do Edam’s dirty work.”
Rushing to leave, they packed up their camp and mounted the one horse.
If they traveled through the night, they could make it to the inn the following evening.
It would be a hard day’s travel for the horse, but if the hellhounds found them, King Vernon’s warriors would likely not be far behind.
If they could get to Iridaceae, they would be safe.
Orla rode in the front of the horse with Owain behind her.
They cantered through the forest faster than was advisable at such a late hour, but both Owain and Orla were impatient to get to the inn.
Not only would it mean a bed and a hot meal they didn’t have to kill but also that they would meet back up with Chrys and get much-needed updates on what is happening with the kingdom.
Owain held onto Orla’s waist gently, but the shifting of her backside against him as they rode was torture.
He had come so close to kissing her before the hounds appeared, and it had seemed that Orla may have let him.
But he ignored those thoughts with the same intensity that he ignored his growing erection.