ground and used this to propel him upwards, jumping from the rest of the stone and landing next to the brother who could not speak. He grabbed him with four of his arms and used the top two to cut through the brother’s limbs with his scorpion claws. They both tore down the centre, tearing him in two as if he had been made of butter! Once he finished tearing apart his kill, he threw away the remains, now splattered and covered in the blood of the brother he had just ripped apart.
The one who couldn’t hear the cries of death, was all that was left, and I didn’t know why, but I had the sense that this might have been the way of things in his first life. But then he first looked to his brothers remains on either side, until finally his angry gaze brought his bloodshot eyes to mine. I could see it in his face. He knew he might not survive this but, in his determination, he wanted to destroy the one thing they were trying to protect…
Me.
This meant that he was soon charging my way, with an angry scream that shook the rubble from the mounds of stone left from the collapsed parts of the temple. Caspian and Clay both reacted but even I knew that they would be too late in reaching him before he could reach me. So, I braced myself, strangely feeling too numb to do much else other than wait for it to come. Because as much as I tried to draw up my power, it just wasn’t happening!
I was backed against the wall with no chance at escape when suddenly something unexpected happened as, when he was only a hairsbreadth away from me, he was suddenly dragged backwards with his face moving further and further away. I half expected to see this was down to one of my saviours but in fact, was astonished when I saw the roots that Matthias controlled had been wrapped around the last brother’s legs. Then he flung him into the wall of rock behind where he was stood, making him hit it hard enough to make a body sized imprint. Then he fell to the ground with an audible thud and into a useless looking heap.
Matthias had saved me, and now I knew there was only one reason why he would do such a thing,
He needed me alive.
As for the witch, with her powers she was already lifting boulders into the air and throwing them at Caspian's Minotaur form as he tried to get closer and closer to her. Which was proving difficult as he continued to find himself battling against the flying obstructions. Massive boulders of rock that he butted with his head, splitting the stone when hit right with the point of his horn.
Clay finally managed to get closer to Matthias, but with every intended hit against him, Matthias used his powers over the roots to prevent the blow. Then he would lash out at Clay, using this fuel of rage from the roots to make him stagger back by the force of it. I could also see the roots were entwined around his legs as if he needed that direct contact with them to help absorb its power.
It made me question even more if he had something to do with this infection in the roots? I even found myself questioning whether it wasn't an infection at all, but in fact some kind of power source that had been stolen from him. One that had somehow made its way into the very earth beneath his feet.
Was it possible?
But looking back to their fight, I saw roots shoot up from the ground all around Clay, momentarily keeping him locked in a cage that tried to cover him and consume him whole. But I could also see that as fast as they were covering him, he in turn was snapping out of their hold. He was breaking branches with all six limbs, kicking them and using his horns to snap the wood and his pincers to do the same.
Matthias looked as if he would soon lose this fight, as he was now being forced to dodge his own weapons, as roots were shooting his way. This was when he bellowed at the witch in another language. She then shook her head and looked fearful, trying to tell him no.
“But the last time it nearly killed me!” she replied in fear, yet he roared out,