Engines & Demons - The Undestined

Chapter 40i

Tahlia had felt her own body tense at the mention of the bone pit and its deep black waters. Then calmness settled on her at the realisation that there was in fact someone nearby who could help them. She would just have to hope that Brefoir was not as handy with a sword as Tasker claimed.

She took a deep breath.

And screamed.

Tasker gave her a fierce look, and the second he took his eyes off her brother, Grifford pounced. The blow he aimed at Tasker's face almost landed, but the older boy raised his arm swiftly, as though he held a rail-shield, and knocked the fist away. Then he stepped aside, and as Grifford's momentum carried him forward, he lifted his sword to strike.

Tahlia screamed again. Brefoir clamped his hand over her mouth, but her noise had done its work.

From beneath the water tower came a ripping sound, and Tasker, his arm still raised to strike at her brother, was suddenly pulled into the air, a gnarled claw clamped about his sword arm. At that moment, Tahlia bit ferociously into Brefoir's hand, causing him to jerk it away. She elbowed him in the stomach and he stumbled backwards, the point of his sword scraping sharply at the side of her neck. The squire cursed and lunged towards her, but he too was swiftly plucked from his feet.

There was a frenzied lapping of water as the Pit-master raised the two boys clear of the mist, the torn tragasaur tarps flapping about its long limbs. It made no other sound, but Tahlia could hear the wet writhing of the red tentacles between its bulbous body sections.

* * *

Dak stood staring up at the two boys suddenly hanging above her, and she did not see Grifford move as he swung around to punch the third squire. The boy was still holding her arm, and just like her, was staring upwards at his two stricken comrades. The blow landed in his stomach, and he reeled backwards as the air was forced out of him. Tahlia was already moving, disappearing into the mist, and Grifford did not wait, following swiftly after.

Dak continued to stare upwards, until Tasker's voice jerked her from her daze.

"Let me go, beast!"

Dak watched him struggling in the Pit-master's indefatigable grip, trying to force apart its thick fingers with his free hand. As though feeling her gaze, he looked down at her.

"I will kill you all!" he hissed, and it was those words that forced her to flee, running into the mist after Tahlia and Grifford. "I will kill you!" came the near hysterical shout from behind her. "I will kill..." Tasker's final bellow of rage was suddenly cut short.

Dak, who had reached the krodillis vines hanging over the entrance to the terrace, turned back to the horrifying scene behind her. More slithering sounds were coming from the mist that still shrouded the Pit-master. Something red tentacled and sinuous was crawling up the gnarled beam of the arm that still gripped Tasker tightly. It reached the whorled lump where it bent like the warped bole of a tree, and continued up towards the squire.

"Right," he hissed and reached to his belt with his free hand to pull the knife there from its sheath.

With a thudding of fear in her chest, Dak turned and pushed her way out through the krodillis vine.

* * * * *

Gefry was still engrossed in the imagined retributions he intended to inflict on Grifford and his sister. He only realised that he was not paying any attention to the hedge of the gardens when the distant scream broke him from his reverie. He stood up from his hiding place and listened again. He heard an angry voice shouting, but he could not make out the words. Then there was no further sound.