Telari's Arc

Chapter 4 of 11

The blue light spread. Soldiers who had fallen now pushed off the ground. Telari counted the arrows in her quiver. Five left. She could not waste one. The leader stood at the center, arms raised, mouth open and glowing. She had to drop it before her arrows ran dry. Katt was already charging him. The blacksmith who had mended her arrows all winter did not wait. He cut through two rising soldiers and reached the tall leader. His longsword swung hard. The leader caught the blade against its forearm and shoved him back into the dirt. Telari drew. The camp swirled with pale bodies. If she loosed now, a reeling soldier might cross the shot. She held. The leader turned its glowing mouth toward Katt on the ground. It meant to raise the dead again, right beside him. "Leia!" Telari called. The grey lion tore across the camp. She hit two soldiers and knocked them wide, clearing the ground between Telari and the leader. The small white lion drove in from the other side and dragged a third away from Katt. For one breath, the lane was open. Telari loosed. The arrow took the leader through its open, glowing throat. The blue light choked and died. She nocked again and fired. This shot punched into its chest. The tall creature staggered. Three arrows left. Katt rolled to his feet. He drove his longsword up through the leader's ribs before it could steady. The creature shuddered and folded. The blue light went out for good. Without the leader, the risen soldiers slowed. Their heads sagged. Their weapons dropped. One by one they crumpled back to the ground and did not move again. Leia stood over the last of them, growling low, then went still. Telari lowered her bow. Her hands shook. Three arrows rattled in the quiver. The camp lay quiet under the guttering torches. Katt pulled his sword free and wiped it on the dead leader's cloak. A shallow cut bled along his arm. He looked at her across the bodies and gave one short nod. "Clean shot," he said. "Right down the throat." "You gave me the target," she said. "You held him still." The white lion trotted to her and pressed against her leg. Leia limped over and sat, breathing hard. Telari knelt and ran her hand down the grey lion's flank. No fresh wounds. Just tired muscle. She rose and studied the leader's body. Whatever it had been, it was ordinary meat now. But it had come this deep into the forest for a reason she still did not know. Something had sent it. Something had wanted the dead of these woods on their feet. "We should search the camp," Telari said. "Before we head home." She thought of her watchtower, high above the trees, and how far the quiet had already stretched. "I want to know who sent them."