straight
for Ruby. Steed’s sword came up to meet him and sliced though his
thin frame from hip to shoulder, crosswise. It was fortunate he’d
flown in low, that was rarely the case.
“ Idiot,” the second gray
fairy muttered.
As the first lowered her hand, Anvil took a
knee to steady his shot and threw lightning at the water sprites.
He’d been battle-trained to fight the fey. I hoped the rest of my
guard knew better than to use much magic. Rhys and Rider moved to
cover our backs and Chevelle shifted to my left side. The fey split
into approximately three lines, hovering high over our heads,
hovering just above us, and at ground level.
It was a brilliant tactic. The largest were
on foot, coming at us with magic and weapons. While we were busy
chopping them down, the airborne line came at us in formation,
while the highest fey took turns swooping in to dive-bomb
unexpectedly. Swords flashed, dust flew, wings sang. It was
complete and utter chaos.
A robust ginger-skinned male with auburn hair
and orange-brown wings came at me with a half sword and I parried,
then cut through his chest on the back swing. As he fell, a
gorgeous lithe female, who might have passed for an elf if not for
the thin cerulean wings, shrieked a battle cry and leapt in a kick
at my face. I dodged and spun, knowing better than to grab her, as
she turned to face me. Over her shoulder, I could see Rhys, still
struggling with dual frost monsters, who now had hold of his
staff.
Chevelle had closed ranks behind me, covering
the attack. The fairy flung two knives at me, which I dared not
dodge for Chevelle’s sake, and spun into another kick. I deflected
one of the knives with my sword and held the other with the
smallest amount of magic I could release, which happened to be far
too much and shattered the blade. The distraction caused me to
neglect the kick, and it landed directly over my healing rib. By
then I was just pissed.
I punched her square in the nose and brought
the knife from my hip up to plant in her chest. When I moved to
return to the line, I saw the strangest thing. Standing in the
center of a triangle formed by Grey, Steed, and Rider stood a
glorious red-headed fury. True and steady, she swung her whip in
sharp circles around the lot of them. There was no particular
pattern, up and over, around, back, down. Sometimes swirling above
them several times before returning to cover the others. Each time
a fairy came in for attack, it met with a sword or risked being
tangled by whip, which brought the fliers down neatly for a knife
to the gut.
It was inspired, as the rest of us were
vulnerable to the air strikes. It made me wonder if that was the
reason she chose the weapon. And then I inhaled, which made me
wonder if Veil had known about my broken rib.
I edged in between Chevelle, who had amassed
an impressive pile of fey corpses, and Anvil, who had efficiently
removed the threat of water sprites before they’d had a chance to
flood the hall. Two large shadow stalkers rushed forward and I
raised my blade to strike. I caught one in the side but they were
fast, and the other dodged the blow completely. As I pulled back,
Chevelle sliced through the second with deadly accuracy before
turning to deflect a jade fairy’s blade. I finished off the shadow
stalker just as the advance fell.
The handful of fey that remained were
airborne, alternately lunging toward Ruby and then feigning back at
her strike.
“ Bring them down,” I
commanded, surprised at my own vehemence. “I want this over
with.”
My guard responded by surrounding Ruby in a
large, loose circle. They watched the air as two russet fey dived
simultaneously. Grey struck one with a miniscule amount of energy,
causing it to bounce into the flight path of the second. Off guard,
the second was caught by Ruby’s whip and slung to the ground by an
ankle. Steed sliced its throat. Recovered, the first tried to
rebound but was speared through the chest by Rider.
One of the remaining
for Ruby. Steed’s sword came up to meet him and sliced though his
thin frame from hip to shoulder, crosswise. It was fortunate he’d
flown in low, that was rarely the case.
“ Idiot,” the second gray
fairy muttered.
As the first lowered her hand, Anvil took a
knee to steady his shot and threw lightning at the water sprites.
He’d been battle-trained to fight the fey. I hoped the rest of my
guard knew better than to use much magic. Rhys and Rider moved to
cover our backs and Chevelle shifted to my left side. The fey split
into approximately three lines, hovering high over our heads,
hovering just above us, and at ground level.
It was a brilliant tactic. The largest were
on foot, coming at us with magic and weapons. While we were busy
chopping them down, the airborne line came at us in formation,
while the highest fey took turns swooping in to dive-bomb
unexpectedly. Swords flashed, dust flew, wings sang. It was
complete and utter chaos.
A robust ginger-skinned male with auburn hair
and orange-brown wings came at me with a half sword and I parried,
then cut through his chest on the back swing. As he fell, a
gorgeous lithe female, who might have passed for an elf if not for
the thin cerulean wings, shrieked a battle cry and leapt in a kick
at my face. I dodged and spun, knowing better than to grab her, as
she turned to face me. Over her shoulder, I could see Rhys, still
struggling with dual frost monsters, who now had hold of his
staff.
Chevelle had closed ranks behind me, covering
the attack. The fairy flung two knives at me, which I dared not
dodge for Chevelle’s sake, and spun into another kick. I deflected
one of the knives with my sword and held the other with the
smallest amount of magic I could release, which happened to be far
too much and shattered the blade. The distraction caused me to
neglect the kick, and it landed directly over my healing rib. By
then I was just pissed.
I punched her square in the nose and brought
the knife from my hip up to plant in her chest. When I moved to
return to the line, I saw the strangest thing. Standing in the
center of a triangle formed by Grey, Steed, and Rider stood a
glorious red-headed fury. True and steady, she swung her whip in
sharp circles around the lot of them. There was no particular
pattern, up and over, around, back, down. Sometimes swirling above
them several times before returning to cover the others. Each time
a fairy came in for attack, it met with a sword or risked being
tangled by whip, which brought the fliers down neatly for a knife
to the gut.
It was inspired, as the rest of us were
vulnerable to the air strikes. It made me wonder if that was the
reason she chose the weapon. And then I inhaled, which made me
wonder if Veil had known about my broken rib.
I edged in between Chevelle, who had amassed
an impressive pile of fey corpses, and Anvil, who had efficiently
removed the threat of water sprites before they’d had a chance to
flood the hall. Two large shadow stalkers rushed forward and I
raised my blade to strike. I caught one in the side but they were
fast, and the other dodged the blow completely. As I pulled back,
Chevelle sliced through the second with deadly accuracy before
turning to deflect a jade fairy’s blade. I finished off the shadow
stalker just as the advance fell.
The handful of fey that remained were
airborne, alternately lunging toward Ruby and then feigning back at
her strike.
“ Bring them down,” I
commanded, surprised at my own vehemence. “I want this over
with.”
My guard responded by surrounding Ruby in a
large, loose circle. They watched the air as two russet fey dived
simultaneously. Grey struck one with a miniscule amount of energy,
causing it to bounce into the flight path of the second. Off guard,
the second was caught by Ruby’s whip and slung to the ground by an
ankle. Steed sliced its throat. Recovered, the first tried to
rebound but was speared through the chest by Rider.
One of the remaining
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