Gwenevere is a child of infinite possibility, and she has five thousand competitors playing her game. For Eliza, Nox, Zola and Bleidd, this means facing down thirteen floors riddled with dragons, cat kingdoms and cabbages. Yet in a world where anyth...
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The beast let out another deep roar that reverberated over the forest.
"Run!" Eliza yelled. "Run!"
Despite her own command, Eliza didn't run. She waited to make sure that the rest of the team was with her. Nox bolted off into the woods, but Zola stood, wielding her spear, and Ajax was grabbing an arrow from his quiver.
Zola glanced over to her. "You should go with vampire boy. You have no weapons. You are not safe."
Eliza didn't bother hiding her exasperation. "I know, but a spear and a bow aren't going to keep you both safe from a dragon! We all need to flee!"
Zola's gaze darted between her and the sky, and finally, the knight gave a curt nod before turning and vanishing into the forest.
Eliza sprinted after her a few dozen yards, but then paused, realizing with horror that she had forgotten about Ajax. She whirled around and saw him standing there, his bow drawn and aimed at the sky. "Ajax, run you idiot!" She called.
But the elf didn't respond.
Eliza felt a strong gust of wind as the dragon swept past overhead. She could easily spot its scaly white hide through the sparse canopy of the forest's edge.
She watched as it dived through the trees.
The sun glinted off it's razor-sharp black talons and the long dark spines that ran down it's spine. She could see the blood vessels in it's massive pale wings as it spread them, closing in on Ajax. Eliza hated feeling so helpless. She rapidly glanced around, looking for a weapon— or even a rock that she might throw at the beast to distract it. Something twinged in her hand, and she shot a look down at it to see strange dark particles formulating in her fist— but there was no time to figure out what they were.
It was too late.
Black talons closed around Ajax before he could even loose his arrow.
And carried him up, as if he were nothing more than a stray sheep.
Eliza found herself unable to move. "No... It... Can't be..."
He was just... Gone. Just like that. So swift, and now he's just... Dead.
She hadn't known Ajax for more than an hour. But seeing someone ripped from life so suddenly, so violently...
If only I hadn't forgotten him and ran after Zola. I should have dragged him with us. Then he would be alive...
Another roar swept over the trees, unlocking her from her trance of terror. She turned and raced off into the forest, not caring where she was going so long as it was in the opposite direction of the dragon. Leaves and earth and moss flew beneath her feet, adrenaline pumping through her body.
