Dragon Blood [Alonia's Queenslayer #2]

19

Eli climbed up the tree nearest to the clearing, snapping several branches in the process. She was pretty good at climbing trees, but it had been a while since she climbed one. The bark was rough and it dug into her palms mercilessly, and the top branches were very far away, so it gave her some trouble. She didn't distribute her weight evenly, and the first branch snapped when she tried to pull herself up with it, nearly falling onto Lyari, who was hiding behind a large thorn bush. After several more minutes of struggle, Eli was safely on a branch, sitting so that the tree trunk was between herself and the clearing.

"They'll be here in ten minutes, so stay quiet and still, let the birds you disturbed return," Lyari said, and Eli didn't bother replying. She just kept still, as Lyari said, keeping her breathing slow and shallow. Soon after, a tiny red bird landed on the same branch she was sitting on, approaching to inspect her. It even climbed onto her lap, before Eli heard voices coming from the clearing, so she had to stop watching the bird.

A group consisting of all women entered the clearing from the opposite side, their eyes trained on a small wooden platform that sat in the middle, on in sitting a shiny necklace. The first time Eli had seen that necklace, she barely contained herself from just running for it and grabbing it. It was a shiny, beautiful thing, several diamonds glimmering along its length. Apart from that, Lyari confirmed its magical aura was very strong. He said he'd have to study it further to determine exactly what it did, but he knew it was a very rare, very powerful item.

The woman that appeared to be their warrior had a small shield and a short sword, along with some light armour. Eli felt like she could take her on. She couldn't really judge their mage, but considering the fact they had made it all the way there, the mage was probably good. Their problem would be the fact that once the group got the necklace, the game would be over. The navigator and the leader would also be able to fight, so it would be four against two. They also didn't know whether the necklace would magically transport the group somewhere- that would be terrible, and they'd never have a chance to get it then, but Lyari assured her that such magic wasn't worth the effort.

The group seemed weary, approaching the necklace with slow, deliberate steps. Their warrior and mage went first, carefully approaching the necklace. As soon as the mage touched it, Lyari gave her the signal to attack- a simple bird call.

Eli leapt out of the tree, swing down off a branch and landing in a roll. She rolled right over some sharp twigs and stones, but she endured the pain and got to her feet, rushing towards the group, her heart beating furiously.

The plan was for Eli to charge at them alone, while Lyari worked from the tree cover. Eli decided Lyari was trustworthy enough, and went along with the plan, drawing her sword as the mage and the warrior stared at her in shock.

As soon as they recovered, the mage threw the necklace behind her over to their leader.

"Run! We'll hold him off!"

Well, Eli and Lyari didn't plan for that.

"I'll take these two, you go after the necklace!" Lyari's voice rang out from behind Eli, and two thick roots suddenly emerged from the ground, wrapping around the warrior and mage. Eli was very shocked at that use of magic, but she didn't let her emotions control her, instead running right after their leader, who was already disappearing behind the cover of the trees.

It had been a while since she last ran, and she was glad for the opportunity to stretch her legs. She felt like a hunter, and the thrill of the hunt felt amazing, with adrenaline rushing through her veins, her eyes focused on her prey, feeling unstoppable.

Eli's eyes were sharp, and she was very fast, so it didn't take her long to catch up to the leader. She was completely tunnel-vision focused on her, and when she was close enough to tackle her, the leader threw the necklace away.