The Wicked Born

Chapter 5

Dacre whipped his head in the direction of Tabitha's voice to find her breaking out of the thick line of trees, a large and ancient sword wielded in between her small hands. He didn't know whether the thick pines were swaying because of the small wind that rolled through the night sky or because of the unyielding power that exuded from the witch that was sprinting from the tree line. He stared in amazement for her for a moment, watching her thigh muscles strain against the fabric of her pants as she pumped her legs hard to reach him. It took him a moment to process what exactly it was that she yelled at him, but it was too late by the time his mind finally was able to make out what she was demanding. "Get down!" she'd roared.

Dacre fell forward at the force of whatever it was that had hit him in the back. Moments later, his mind registered a searing pain that ran across his shoulder blades as he lay face down in the dirt. The jagged rock that he'd picked up only moments before lay beside him, forgotten and as useless as he'd expected it to be from whatever attack he was about to endure. The taste of copper filled his mouth before he even noticed the fact that he'd bitten into his tongue hard when he fell.

Dacre groaned and lifted his right arm up and over his shoulders to feel exactly what it was that was hurting him so badly. A blind panic cleaved any rational thought from his mind when he touched his back between his shoulder blades and his hand came away with a thick, wet sheen of his own blood.

With two shaky arms, Dacre managed to push himself up to a kneeling position. He blinked a couple times trying to clear whatever hallucination he was having at the moment, because there was no way that whatever was going on around him was real. When a few seconds had passed and the scene in front of him only became more vivid with each passing moment, he knew that there was no chance of him walking away from this alive.

Tabitha was circling around Dacre's kneeling form with her back toward him the entire time, facing the two monsters that were vying to get their hands on him and she was successfully keeping them at bay. Her knees were bent, and her sword rested at an angle over the top of her left shoulder. The sword she wielded, he noticed, was as plain as it was ancient, but he knew it for what it truly was: in her capable hands, it was a deadly metal snake ready to strike at any moment's notice. He didn't have to see her face to know that her features held a sneer that would send any sane mortal running in the opposite direction. But these things were no mere mortals. That much was known for fact.

Helios creatures, a small voice piped up from the back of Dacre's mind. He racked his brain for more information that he'd heard about them, all while keeping his eyes on the back of the witch that was possessively circling around him for fear that if he looked at either of the monsters then he would throw up. Thick white, alabaster skin. Pale enough to see the blood running its course through their veins underneath. They were tall, too; they could grow to be 10 feet once they reach maturity. A quick glance at either of the creatures would confirm that that's what they are.

They feed on human flesh, that small voice mused once more in his thoughts. His let his mind wander wildly for a moment, considering if they would stop at killing and eating him or if they don't discriminate enough to not chase and eat witch flesh either. He quickly shoved the thought down until it was nothing more than a dark thread in the back of his skull, ready for him to yank back up into his awareness at a moments notice.

Dacre tried and failed to stand to his feet. The searing pain that had embedded itself into his back was both enough that make him want to faint and also the only physical tether to this world to keep him from doing just that. If he fainted, then he would be defenseless if Tabitha falls. He squeezed his eyes shut hard, willing his mind to stay here and not wander off into the dark depths of unconsciousness from the pain.