Till Death Do Us Part

30. Till Death Do Us Part

Gawyn gritted his teeth and dodged another attack. His breath was ragged, and he was bleeding from several wounds already. None of them was severe, but mixed with growing fatigue, they made him slower and more sluggish with every passing minute. On the other hand, the monster didn't show any signs of weakness, even though he had already managed to spill his blood several times.

He knew he couldn't count on any help. His most trusted soldiers were already dead, and the Winged Cavalry and Aliyah had their hands full with the flying beasts. A few of the beautiful horses and their raiders already littered the cliff - an unmoving bloody mess.

The movement behind Elinora and her monstrous mount caught his attention, and his eyes went wide.

"Bloody hell!" he gasped and barely managed to jump out of the way of the charging head.

At the top of one of the canyon walls, Zephyr ran high over their heads, with Skylar clinging tightly to his back. He was almost at the edge and wasn't slowing down.

"Stop, you reckless fool!" Gawyn yelled, but it was already too late.

The gryphon jumped off the cliff edge with his wings spread wide. He half soared, half dropped down, trying hard to keep at least a minimum control over his descent. Which wasn't an easy task considering just one of his wings worked adequately. With an almighty shriek, he dived straight at Elinora's monster.

They ended up in a thrashing heap of claws and fangs rolling along the outcrop, dangerously close to the edge, over even a steeper slope down the ravine, where the Winged Cavalry were hiding. Both Skylar and Elinora fell off, landing away from each other.

It took Gawyn whole five heartbeats to get to his wife's side. She looked terrible, covered in blood, scrapes, and bruises, but she was getting up with a painful groan.

"Skylar!" His arms were around her before he realised it, helping her get back to her feet.

She looked up at him and smiled, and it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

"Gawyn! I've made it on time!" She sighed and brushed his cheek with her bloody fingers.

But the serene moment was interrupted by Zephyr's painful howl. The monster managed to pin the gryphon down and was getting ready to snap his jaws around his neck.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Skylar yelled. 

She stepped away from Gawyn and grabbed the gem at her neck.

Her body suddenly turned stiff, as if locked by some invisible power and the bright light filled her eyes. 

The loud rumble shook the earth, and Gawyn swayed on his feet, trying to keep his balance. For a moment, he thought the whole outcrop was breaking off the cliff, and they will all fall to their death. But among all the tremors, Skylar stood unmoving, with light seeping from her wide-open eyes and her dark hair ruffled by the wind.

And then, with a terrible crack, the ground broke, and giant vines shot up. They looked like the roots of some ancient tree. Before Gawyn managed to snap his gaping mouth shut, the plants shot at Elinora's creature and wrapped tightly around it. The monster howled in pain when the veins started squeezing tighter and tighter. The beast thrashed wildly and tried to escape, but the grasp was merciless.

Zephyr managed to slip away from the fight and limped to Gawyn, looking at Skylar with a mixture of worry and fear. And just then, he realised that she was the one moving those vines. Even though she stood there, motionless, the air around her was crackling with power.

Gawyn has always been a sceptic. He always depended on logic and a rational approach to life. But even he couldn't explain what he saw other than magic. It wasn't something foul and repulsing, like what Elinora was doing. It felt somehow beautiful, as if she had a connection with the world around them and worked in perfect harmony with it.