Sir Aldric Thornhaven's Arc

Chapter 4 of 5

The dead young Fel lay in the nest behind Aldric. Outside, the mother filled the cave mouth. She was twice the size of her offspring, black-furred, teeth wet. Her eyes fixed on the men who had killed her young. The only way out was the way she blocked. Aldric raised the heavy sword. He knew it was not enough. She would reach him before he cut deep. His guards pressed to the walls. The mother crept forward, low and slow. Aldric backed a step. His boot struck something hard. The green gem in the nest. It hummed against his heel, its pale light crawling up the cave wall like smoke. A shape dropped from the rise above the cave mouth. Raven landed light behind the mother, daggers already drawn. She had followed the beast down instead of running. "You can't win this straight, Captain," she called. "Split her." Aldric understood. "Draw her eyes," he said. "I take the neck." Raven whistled sharp. The mother twisted toward her. Raven danced back into the light, slashing at the beast's flank, quick as a fly the hand can't catch. The mother swung a paw. Raven was already gone. But the cave was tight. The next swing caught her arm and threw her into the wall. She dropped hard and did not rise fast. The mother turned back to Aldric, her side now open. He had one heartbeat. He drove the heavy sword up under her jaw with both hands. Bone cracked. The beast screamed and reared, wrenching the blade from his grip. She crashed down on the nest. Her weight snapped the green gem beneath her. The stone burst. A wave of cold light rolled through the cave. It struck the mother and she froze mid-thrash, muscles locked, eyes wide. Frost spread across her black fur. For three breaths she stood like grey stone. Then she toppled, dead, the sword still buried in her throat. Silence. Dust and pale sparks drifted down. Aldric pulled his blade free and stood over the body, chest heaving. He crossed to Raven and knelt. She held her arm against her ribs, teeth clenched. "You came back down," he said. "You could have run." "Running left you dead," she said. "Dead men don't pay." But she looked at the shattered gem on the cave floor, and her face changed. The green stone was gone. Only broken shards remained, their light fading. Aldric followed her eyes. The thing that saved them had also destroyed her score. He gathered the largest shard. It still hummed faint, and the frost had not fully melted from the mother's fur. This was no ordinary gem. Whatever slept in it had killed a Fel in one breath. "The den is clear," Aldric said. He closed his fist around the shard. "But this needs answers. And someone in Floeridge will want to know what breaks a stone like this open."