Chapter 47 #2
Eldrick turned his attention back north. The ialtóg dug its scrunched snout into the roof, and the werewolves in the storehouse emerged, dashing in various directions. Chaos ensued as Sam and Eldrick reached the fray.
Irritated to find no prey inside the storehouse, the demon fidgeted on its perch, searching, searching, searching—
Its pointed ears flicked back, and all six fathomless black eyes focused on Eldrick. He growled and tightened his grip on his axe. Beside him, Sam mirrored his defensive stance.
The demon crawled using its wings and back legs. It launched, landing with a harsh thud ahead of them. Anise wafted from its greasy fur, roiling Eldrick’s stomach.
Sam attacked, cutting his sword across the ialtóg’s wing. It turned, giving Eldrick the oppurtinuty to step forward to slice through its other wing. This time, the demon whirled and pushed off into the air. Dust billowed upward in a mighty gust.
The demon dove, grasping Eldrick’s shoulders with its taloned feet.
They rose higher and higher into the air.
Eldrick fought, hacking his axe against any inch of the demon he could reach.
Its talons dug deeper into his shoulder, breaking flesh.
He roared, and with one last swing, Eldrick struck his axe deep enough to sever bone.
The demon screeched, releasing him.
Moons, Eldrick fell and fell—
Another force barreled into him from the side right before he hit the ground. Eldrick plopped into a pile of hay. A familiar plum-and-lilac scent, stronger than the sweet grass under him, invaded his senses. He blinked, chest heaving, and found Tovi staring down at him.
“How, in the stars above, did you . . .” Find me. Eldrick didn’t finish his question, too frightened he misunderstood why she’d returned to the Vadon Mountains.
Tovi smirked. “You and Bétar were creating quite a ruckus. Yen and I practically heard it from the Void.”
Eldrick smiled, and it was as if the sun had peeked out of the clouds for the first time after three days of straight rain.
A scream cut through their lighthearted moment. Both of them jumped to their feet. Ahead, a farmer shielded his daughter from the prowling ialtóg.
Arrows—Yennifer’s—fell from the sky and pierced the demon’s flesh. But it didn’t care or notice, six black eyes solely focused on its next meal.
White blurred in Eldrick’s peripheral.
“Tovi!” he snarled.
She sprinted towards the beast, drawing her sword free from the scabbard strapped to her back. The silver glinted in the dim light, and Eldrick chased after her, hands itching for the axe he’d dropped in the scuffle with the ialtóg.
But it was no matter.
Tovi leaped as the beast was distracted and landed on its back. It had no time to react.
With all her might, Tovi whipped her sword ahead and plunged it straight into the demon’s skull. It shuddered, stilled, and crumbled to the ground, Tovi with it.
Darkness peeled away from the demon’s body in small flecks and blew away in the breeze. It rose into the air, whipping around Tovi like the petals of battle circling a warrior queen.
“Well, that was quick work,” Bétar laughed, reuniting with Yennifer in a silent and still embrace.
The farmstead’s werewolves and Eldrick’s makeshift unit gathered together. Gyda carried three stained arrows, and Leif’s sword was soaked in black blood, their kill long gone from the world.
Leif’s attention fixated on Tovi. Eyes narrowed, assessing. Eldrick stepped ahead of her, and Leif blinked as if coming back to himself.
Siv and Sam joined them last, and the Johannes Magu bowed as he greeted Tovi.
“Queen,” he said.
“Sam,” she nodded in return.
Siv smiled, the first crack in her usually serious demeanor. “Talk of today will make its way to the Drabek Village by night’s end. You should journey with us. Stay and recoup, if you’d like.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Leif approached, shoulders tight. “Alpha Johannes is in the village, and I have no doubt Alland and Lindstrom will make an appearance, too.”
Eldrick swallowed a growl, heat scorching through him. The demon’s blood stained Tovi’s leathers as much as it did Leif’s sword. How could he so easily dismiss her help?
Tovi stilled, glancing at Eldrick then back at Siv. “My errand is with Alpha Drengr, nothing more I’m afraid.”
Alpha Drengr, not Eldrick. It sounded wrong on her lips, in her voice. Eldrick’s wolf agreed, growling at the wrongness. Which also implied Tovi’s return south was for politcal reasons.
Before he had a chance to inquire further, Siv beat him to it. “Nonesense. My mothers, the alphas,” the young werewolf sent a glare in Leif’s direction, “of the Drabek Pack, would be delighted to finally meet you.”
Eldrick racked his brain for an excuse, but words died on his tongue.
Tovi, on the other hand, swallowed. “Alright. I’d hate to turn down Drabek hospitality.”
Siv beamed. “Excellent. Let’s hurry, then. You can tell Alpha Drengr your matter on the way there. Oh, lets not forget there’s a festival in two days.”
Wariness and tension brimmed between Eldrick and Tovi, but neither had any room to argue with Siv. Eldrick fisted his hands at his sides, searching for his axe. As he mindlessly scoped out the farmstead, he rallied control and purpose.
He’d traveled this far south to win the Earl vote, and Tovi’s return didn’t change anything.