Page 57 of Whispers of Ruin
Brokk struck the beast down with his sword, and they sidestepped the remains as they hurried back through the jungle in the hopes of helping those who remained. Brokk lifted a leaf out of the way, and Kaylia ducked beneath it as something to her right caused a rustling in the trees.
Brokk rested his hand on her back. If the beasts were in the jungle, watching them, then the movement of the leaf would have given away their location, but they couldn’t exactly hack their way through here. That would be far more noticeable.
When nothing sprang at her, Kaylia inched her way under the leaf, and Brokk followed her through. The leaf settled back into place with a tiny swish that set her teeth on edge.
Creeping further down the path, she rounded a corner and spotted an amsirah woman and witch standing back to back as two beasts circled them. With a flick of her hand, the witch used her powers to throw out a blast of air that flung one of the cats backward.
It bounced across the ground but rebounded swiftly as it leapt to its feet. The witch clasped her spear in both hands and planted her feet apart as she braced for the creature’s attack.
The other cat leapt at the amsirah guard, but the woman ducked its flight and drove her sword up to catch the beast in its belly. She flung the cat over her head as another one emerged from the underbrush and pounced on the guard before she could recover in time to defend herself.
As the cat dragged the woman to the ground, Kaylia and Brokk raced forward. Brokk brought his sword down across the beast’s nape. Kaylia whispered a protective spell while moving her fingers in an intricate pattern that created a wall of air between the other creature and the witch, who didn’t have enough time to cast one herself.
The cat crashed into that wall and hit the ground. Rising, it staggered back as a mewl of confusion issued from it.
With her sword in hand, Kaylia rushed over to join the witch. When Brokk growled, she looked back to see him a few feet away, his eyes narrowed on her.
“Stay close.”
He was only trying to keep her safe, but she had to help. Her barrier would keep the creature at bay for a little bit; she didn’t know how much time they had before it pierced through.
Kaylia stepped beside the witch whose name she couldn’t remember. The woman’s frightened blue eyes searched for her while the cat stalked toward them.
“Where are you?” the witch whispered.
“Beside you.”
The woman twitched a little as Kaylia’s nearness startled her, but she kept her attention on the cat. On the other side of Kaylia’s protective wall, it spit while clawing at the barrier. They didn’t have much time before it succeeded in breaking through, and as much as she hated the idea of killing such a magnificent animal, she would destroy it when it did.
Behind them, Brokk tossed the other cat aside. The guard let out a startled gasp when he seized her arm.
“It’s okay,” Brokk assured her. “It’s us.”
Kaylia realized he’d released the shadows around them when the witch touched her arm and spoke. “Thank you.”
Kaylia smiled at her, but the cat drew her attention again when it emitted a roar, backed up, and crashed into the barrier again. Brokk helped pull the guard to her feet as the cat swiped at the bubble again.
This time, its claws pierced the protective shield, tore it apart, and surged forward. In less than a second, Brokk was at her side as he teleported the few feet separating them.
As soon as the cat sprang, Brokk plunged his sword into the beast’s throat. The witch staggered back as Brokk spun and flung the creature away.
The large cat hit the ground and started to rise before collapsing again. Kaylia stood and stared at the creature as Brokk lowered his sword.
A hush descended over the jungle; she’d never heard it so quiet before, and somehow, the absence of sound was more deafening than all the screams and awful noises; even the thunder had stopped rolling. Holding her breath, she waited for more cries of death, but none came.
Either the creatures had all retreated or been destroyed, and now it was time to discover how much devastation they rained down first.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR
After the attack,Ryker called a halt to their journey to deal with the devastation of the cats’ aggression. After all the bodies were recovered, they learned they’d lost three amsirah and two witches. Ryker didn’t suggest turning back as Brokk believed he might.
“We don’t have a choice. We need more crudue vine too,” Ryker told him as they worked together to set up a new camp near a slow-moving river. “We don’t have much left to save us from the ophidians’ venom.”
“Have you ever been attacked by those cat things before?” Brokk asked.
“No, but there’s no end to the monsters in this realm.”
Brokk hadn’t been here for anywhere near as long as Ryker, but he knew the man was right. “Have you camped here before?”
