Guardian of the Dream
Part Two - The Flower's Defender
Chapter 3 - Balsa Fights the Flower's Defender
When Torogai returned to Noshir’s hut, she noticed immediately that something was wrong. Two children hugged one another just outside the hut; they were crying. Tanda's sister-in-law, Naka, was embracing them. She was shaking.
"What happened? Tell me!" Torogai demanded as she ran up to Tanda’s family.
Naka pointed at the roof. Her hand shook, just like the rest of her. "A monster that looked like a giant monkey jumped out of there."
Torogai scowled. The door to the hut was shut tight, but she could sense that whatever danger here had already passed... for everyone except her poor apprentice, anyway. "That idiot. Did he try it on his own?"
Chanting a quiet spell, Torogai placed one palm on the door of Noshir’s hut. The door fell open, kicking up a cloud of dust as it landed on the floor inside. The rope barrier that Tanda had made before performing the Soul Call fell completely apart.
Kaya lay in her corner, as she had for many days, unmoving and unresponsive. Tanda was nowhere to be seen. Torogai crouched next to Kaya's pillow and picked up the tool made of zebra grass that Tanda had used in the Soul Call. The tool was burnt and blackened; it fell apart in Torogai's hands.
Torogai stood up and looked through the smoke hole in the roof. Before Torogai broke it on her way in, the barrier that Tanda created had not been damaged. Tanda must have left the hut through the smoke hole.
The smoke hole was more than twice Tanda's height, though. There weren't any footholds in the hut to make it easy to climb up to. That meant Tanda had jumped through it using nothing but the strength in his legs and arms.
Naka had mentioned a large, monkey-like monster.
Torogai could guess what must have happened. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, focused her mind, and chanted a spell to track the disturbance.
Tanda had left the hut recently. The disturbance that Torogai was sensing was still fresh. Torogai ran out of the hut, following Tanda’s trail.
***
Yugno stood on the grassy patch in front of Tanda's hut. "Who knew there was a house in a place like this?” he asked. “I stayed at a village nearby a few days ago, but I didn't know that people lived this far out... though it doesn’t look like anybody is around."
Balsa nodded. "He's either out picking herbs or examining patients. He won't mind our visit, so let's go inside. We can light a fire…"
Balsa touched the doorframe and hesitated. Gooseflesh prickled her arms and legs. She whirled around, readying her spear.
It seemed that Yugno had also received a warning from the Li. He stared at Balsa, wide-eyed with panic.
Balsa felt the threat in the air, but she didn’t answer it with her own form of threat--bloodlust and the desire for a fight. She got the sense that whatever was here was watching them, like a wolf hiding in the shadow of a tree.
The creature Balsa sensed swooped down from the treetops and attacked with such speed that Yugno saw nothing but a black blur. Balsa identified the creature’s shape as human... but she was also certain that this attacker wasn’t human. Not entirely.
The creature went straight for Yugno. Balsa almost sent him flying to get him out of the way in time. She rolled into the grass, then sprang up, facing the creature dead-on.
But then Balsa saw the creature’s face. She paused in her attack and cried out, “Tanda!”
The creature wore Tanda's clothes and had his face, but its expression was inhuman. The white glimmer in the creature’s eyes was like a wolf’s as it prepared to pounce on its prey.
The creature that was not Tanda attacked Balsa, paying no attention at all to her spear. Balsa flipped her spear around, the tip cutting air, and brought the butt of the weapon into the creature’s solar plexus. The creature pivoted, using the heel of its back foot to turn sideways and dodge without halting its attack.
From that position, the creature thrust its right hand at Balsa's face. She leaped away, barely avoiding the strike.
Balsa had no idea what was going on, but she couldn't bring herself to stab something that looked like Tanda with her spear. She knew that her emotions were slowing her movements and cast her spear away. Then she aimed a sweeping kick just above the creature’s knee.
The creature leaped into the air with incredible ease, dodging her kick without effort. The creature kicked at Balsa from above; Balsa only just managed to duck her head out of the way in time. The kick connected with her left shoulder and sent her hurtling backward.
If that kick had landed where it was aimed, Balsa’s spine would have broken--instant death. The creature that looked like Tanda was undoubtedly trying to kill her.
Balsa got some distance between her and the creature, rolling and then standing up in a defensive position. The creature closed the distance, hands extended to grab Balsa’s neck.
Balsa seized both of the creature’s wrists, took one step closer and twisted her entire body around. The creature’s body spun, then fell. The creature was too large and strong to throw far, but getting it off-balance was enough to drop the creature to the ground.
For a moment, the creature was stunned--too stunned to move.
Balsa still had a grip on the creature’s right wrist. She flipped the creature over and pushed down on its back with her knee, keeping it pinned. Compressing that point also made it difficult for the creature to breathe.
The wrist Balsa held twisted horribly. If the creature was Tanda--or any ordinary human--its arm would be broken. The creature shouldn’t be able to move or make a sound.
But the creature writhed and struggled, even though escape seemed impossible.
"Tanda, stop! You'll break your arm!" Balsa shouted. The lump in her gut rose to her throat. She didn’t want to break Tanda’s arm. Cold sweat stood out on her forehead. She felt the bones of Tanda’s arm in her hand--felt it when they were pushed too far...
"Tanda!"
The creature broke free and stood up. Its arm was broken, but it didn’t appear to be in any pain. Balsa gritted her teeth and made her decision. She twisted the broken arm, and with a squelching sound, she dislocated the creature's right shoulder.
At the same time, the creature punched her in the face with its left fist. The pain of a dislocated shoulder should have been overwhelming. Balsa was shocked that the creature was still capable of attacking. She saw stars and noticed a smell like burning in the back of her nose. She almost passed out from the force of the blow.
The creature grappled with Balsa, winding its left hand around her neck. She aimed for the crook of the creature’s elbow with an open palm strike, but missed. With all her strength, Balsa struck the creature’s ear.
With as the creature’s eardrum ruptured, it fell onto its back, shaking violently. The creature slowly collapsed, facing the sky.
Balsa sucked in great gulps of air and shuddered. She’d fought in countless battles, but she’d never experienced anything so terrifying. Her opponent was someone she didn't want to even hurt, let alone kill. She had no idea what to do next.
The creature controlling Tanda’s body forced him up, as if Tanda was being pulled by invisible strings. Balsa frowned severely.
Tanda's unseeing eyes locked on Balsa. A fireball appeared at the tip of his nose. More fireballs appeared to his left and his right and surrounded him.
"Flames, flames, burn and dance…" The spell reverberated through the meadow, more sung than chanted. Balsa recognized Torogai’s voice and turned around.
Torogai rubbed her hands together as she chanted, looking at Tanda out of half-lidded eyes.
The creature twisted and writhed, trying to escape from the flames. The fireballs united, becoming a rope of light. The creature flew through the air with an agonized grunt, as if it had been flicked by a whip. While in the air, the creature took hold of a tree branch, then leaped from tree to tree, disappearing into the mountains.
Balsa was on her knees, drenched in sweat and panting.
The flames in the meadow flickered and went out. Balsa didn't know it, but the flames weren't real. They were an illusion, shown only to the mind's eye through the power of magic weaving.
"Torogai." Balsa wiped the sweat off of her forehead and stood up. "What was that?"
Torogai was also sweating. "Get in the hut, now. You over there, too. I'll make a four-directional barrier inside. Otherwise, it will come again.”
Yugno was shocked silent. Balsa picked up her spear and pushed him into the hut.
No comments:
Post a Comment