Gaia's Secret (22 page)

What was he thinking? I tried to scream at
him, but no sound came. The monster took a single powerful swipe,
but Alex rolled away and jumped to his feet, sweeping his blade
around himself. His sword jarred into the beast’s chest with a
thud
, grazing its thick, leathered skin. Alex leapt away,
the monster’s enormous fangs snapping at the space he had stood
just seconds before.

Those same jaws snapped me back to my senses.
I reached for my dagger and started towards Alex. I didn’t know
how, but I wasn’t leaving him alone. Not with this creature.

“Get back!” he yelled.

“You need help!”

But before I was able to go far, a flash of
white light shot out from the end of Alex’s sword. It hit its
target and enveloped the beast, absorbing into its skin. The
creature tensed, eyes shut tight, its entire body contracting as it
curled into itself. It flexed in a surge of rage, eyes burning, and
the white light rebounded in all directions. Alex dodged a beam and
I dropped to the ground as one flew inches over my head, blasting
the rock wall behind me into shreds.

Dust and debris fell everywhere as the
monster lifted its nose to the air and opened its jaws. The night
filled with a horrible scream; layers of dissonant sound blared,
compressed in one voice. My soul turned to ice as my ears tried to
block out the horror that filled them.

“You can’t kill a barghest with magic!”
Cicero leapt over me, his sword in his hands. “What are you
thinking? You’ll get us all killed! Sonya, get Daria out of
here.”

Sonya gripped my arm and pulled me back into
the shelter as Alex and Cicero darted forward, blades extended.

“We have to help them!” I yelled.

“You’re not doing anything.”

The creature tried to rush past Alex to get
to me, but Alex jabbed at the beast’s leg. It leapt in the air and
landed behind him. Alex spun around with his blade, but creature’s
hind deflected it.

“How am I supposed to kill this thing?” Alex
shouted, barely missing the beast’s jaws as they ground into the
earth where his feet had been.

“With the skill you’re
supposed
to
have.” Cicero brandished his sword.

I felt a surge of Alex’s irritation as he
rolled across the ground, thrusting his sword at the beast’s
underbelly. He missed as it leapt and landed closer to where I was
standing, right inside the doorway.

“Well, are you going to help me or not?” Alex
panted.

“I’m still thinking about it,” Cicero
smirked. “That beam almost blew my head off.”

“Stay where you are.” Sonya released my arm
and busied herself beside me, an arrow ready on her bow; her eyes
locked on the beast.

“Sonya?” Cicero glanced back at his wife.

I felt a surge of strength and saw a flash of
steel as Cicero bounded toward the monster. His movements were so
quick and fluid my eyes could barely keep pace. Pure enjoyment
filtered through me. There was a loud clang, and one of the beast’s
bloodied claws sailed through the air, landing at my feet with
tufts of wiry hair and bloodied skin still attached.

“Nice of you to help,” shouted Alex. “I was
beginning to think you’d lost your nerve.”

“My nerves aren’t nearly as fickle as your
focus when—” Cicero dodged a claw “—a certain person is
around.”

The beast was furious, thrashing its head in
the air, trying to get at the Cicero. But Cicero was too fast. He
charged at the monster with a powerful yell, and at the last
second, dropped to his feet, sliding beneath it with his sword and
emerging on the other side, unscathed. The tip of Cicero’s blade
was dripping with fresh black blood.

The monster’s agony coursed through me as it
let out another bloodcurdling scream.

“I was focused! How was I supposed to know
not to use magic?” Alex yelled at his father as he charged the
wounded monster. Only this time, it sideswiped him and Alex went
flying through the air.

“I think,” Cicero shouted at his son, dodging
the large fangs he had jumped in front of, “that I need to take
more interest—” Cicero brought his sword down, sending another claw
sailing through the air “—in your education. Or were you just
showing off?”

I couldn’t believe they were arguing right
now. The beast was injured. Why didn’t they just finish it off?

“No, I was—“ Alex started.

“Now!” Sonya yelled.

Together, Alex and Cicero jumped clear of the
beast and the roof above me burst into flame. The beast charged,
and Sonya shoved me from behind through a back window.

Air and light exploded as a wave of heat
wrapped around me. I flew through the air and hit the ground, hard.
Pain exploded through my spine and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.
The fire roared in my ears, its heat wafting over my skin, but I
couldn’t move. It took a moment for my lungs to start working
again, but when they did, they kept choking and coughing on the
smoke and rot. It was like breathing in an ashtray. When I glanced
up, a fire blazed where the building had stood.

Where were the Del Contes?

Coughing, I scrambled to my feet, searching
for the others, when another burst of fire shot from the flames. It
knocked me over again, shoving me to the ground, except this time,
I didn’t stop falling.

Round and round I went, sliding down a steep
decline. My hands grabbed at the ground, trying to find something
to hold on to, but every small branch and vine gave way and slid
down with me.

I stopped sliding and was thrown on moist,
flat ground. This time when I breathed in, I swallowed mud and
soggy leaves. Choking, I spit the mud from my mouth. My entire body
ached, each pulse sending sharp pains through my skull.

With a groan, I opened my eyes and staggered
to my feet.

Everything was dark. The trees here were so
thick, I was surprised I hadn’t run into one. And there was no
trace of Alex, Sonya, or Cicero anywhere.

I was alone.

I couldn’t have rolled that far. All I needed
was to climb back up the hill. I could feel my way back. The Del
Contes would wait for me.

A stiff chill trickled down my spine and I
ripped my dagger from my belt and scanned the shadows.

Something was here with me, hiding.

My eyes darted between the shadows, searching
for the source of rage, but I couldn’t see anything. I took a step
back into the soft earth, the pounding in my ears faster as
adrenaline surged through me. My back grazed against something and
I jumped.

It was just a tree. Relieved, I slid around
with my back to it, my eyes glued to the shadows as I clutched my
dagger in my sweaty palm. I slid around a little faster now, my
breathing easier. I was about to leave the tree and start up the
hill when I caught a whiff of rotted flesh.

My blood froze.

I stared at a wall of fangs, blood dripping
from each sharp point. Its red eyes burned with violence as a
guttural growl rattled the earth.

“Daria, get down!” screamed a voice behind
me.

I dropped as something whished over my head,
and a howl of fury filled the night. There was a flash of silver,
and then a dark shadow leapt over me.

One by one, more barghests emerged from the
shadows, fangs barred. Alex was my only barricade between life and
death, but if he was afraid, he didn’t show it.

I was too horrified to move.

Alex’s movements were swift as he used his
surroundings to propel him. He rolled along the ground, jumping to
his feet just in time to slash his blade across the jaw of another
hungry mouth.

Cicero darted past me from somewhere, joining
Alex’s battle. Father and son moved fast, plunging into the pit of
death with a ferocity that was both astonishing and frightening.
And they didn’t slow.

Arrows flew past me from somewhere in the
shadows. I couldn’t see Sonya anywhere, but her arrows never
stopped coming. They didn’t kill, but disabled enough barghests to
give Alex and Cicero an advantage.

“Can’t you start another fire?” I screamed at
the darkness.

“There’s nothing to burn,” replied Sonya’s
voice from somewhere, sending more arrows into the horde.

Alex’s sword was still reverberating from
impact when another monster lifted its head behind him, preparing
to strike. And Alex hadn’t noticed. I screamed at him but no one
heard over the din of the battle.

My anxiety spiked, my heart raced. If
anything happened to him…

Time slowed to a halt.

The others were frozen in movement; each
vibration in Alex’s blade was sluggish, its oscillations traceable
with my naked eye. The beast behind him had leapt and was suspended
in air, gaining ground inch by inch as its slow-moving jaws hinged
opened.

The burning in my palm startled me from
paralysis. My dagger.

With a flick of my wrist, I hurled it across
the clearing at the beast with open jaws.

End over end it flew, splitting through the
air and the horde, until it sunk into the beast’s skull with a loud
crack
.

With a shock of immense pain, time returned
to normal.

The pain faded as fast as it had come, and
the creature fell to the ground with a thud, dead.

Alex’s sword was still reverberating in his
hands as he looked back at me. I could feel his shock as easily as
I could see it on his face, but he quickly returned his focus to
the next attacking dog.

Red points of light flickered off in the
distance. There were more. Without the ability to start a fire,
we’d never get out of here alive. There were too many of them.

Sonya started pulling my arms behind me, away
from Alex.

“What are you doing?” I tried to shake
free.

Another dull thud sounded. Alex had downed
another beast, pulling his sword from its abdomen, its entrails
spilling on the ground. Another one landed with a thud as Cicero
split open its throat, black blood spraying the earth.

Sharp pain suddenly seared through me—one so
sharp it buckled my legs beneath me. Sonya’s grip was the only
thing keeping me on my feet. At first I thought I’d been attacked,
but when I glanced down, I couldn’t find any wounds. When I looked
back, Alex was clutching his left arm to his chest, his white
sleeve slowly changing to black.

“Alex! Sonya, let go!” I yanked and pulled
against Sonya. “Alex is hurt!”

I could feel him struggling to ignore his
wound.

Sonya fought against me. “We have to get you
out of here.”

“I’m not leaving…”

My voice trailed as the air around us
convulsed. The wind was fierce, ripping up dust and dried foliage
from the ground, whipping my hair in my face. But there was no
sound. The wind gained momentum and force, forming a vortex right
in the middle of the massacre.

And still, there was no sound.

Everyone froze—even the beasts halted,
bewildered by this strange silent vortex.

Without warning, the vortex contracted and
exploded. A deep sonorous boom blasted forth, ramming into my frame
as it barreled through the forest, flattening the beasts, pinning
them to the ground.

But we were all still standing. Whatever had
affected the beasts did nothing to us.

“What in Gaia’s name…?” Cicero’s forehead
creased as he glanced around. “Alex! Get back!”

Alex’s blade was still in the air as he and
Cicero ran toward us. Once they were a few feet from me, a soft
white glow appeared in the space where the vortex had been. The
glow was moving. The air itself began to take on a soft sheen as
the glow spread and diffused, flattening out across an invisible
barrier, arching around our predators that had begun to stir.

We looked to each other; no one knew what was
happening.

“Run!” Alex yelled.

He grabbed my hand, holding his sword with
his wounded one, and yanked me after him. We sprinted up the hill,
his parents on our heels.

“Are you all right?” I panted, my lungs
burning trying to keep pace with him.

“Fine.”

I knew he was lying.

“What is that—” I huffed “—thing back
there?”

“Some sort of shield.” His breath was
ragged.

I didn’t have enough air to ask more
questions, and I was certain he didn’t have enough energy to
respond. His pain was acute; his energy was fading quickly despite
his forced determination.

We sprinted hard. My legs burned, my lungs
heaved so hard I thought they’d collapse. We ducked beneath low
branches, leapt over thick roots and vines. I had no idea how Alex
was running so fast. Sonya and Cicero passed us and ran ahead,
their panic filtering through me. We ran past the burning building,
the smell of rot and death still thick in the air.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Red eyes below were blazing with fury, locked
behind the strange wall of light that was beginning to fade.
Whatever it was gave us just enough time to get away, but I knew
once that wall fell, those beasts would catch up to us, and
fast.

We sprinted through the forest. Alex still
gripped my hand in his, pulling me after him as his parents led the
way. Twigs stung my face and arms, sometimes pulling out my hair. A
chorus of that horrible screaming filled the night, renewing my
strength to run. The barrier must have dropped.

And then Cicero and Sonya stopped.

We were standing on the edge of a low cliff.
The river glittered far below, the silken thread carving into the
black forest. The sound of the hounds behind us grew louder and
louder. I could almost hear the tearing of the trees and the thud
of their enormous paws as they stampeded through the woods. We were
trapped. We’d never get away in time.

Alex stared hard at me. “Hold your
breath.”

Before I could figure out what he meant, I
was jerked forward and falling through the air. Ice-cold water
engulfed me, choking off my scream as I swallowed it. A thousand
tiny pricks stung the open wounds in my skin. I fought for air as I
struggled to swim upward, weighed down by my saturated cloak.