“Noc!” I shrieked. “Get back here!”
He rounded the horse, a vickrant flew low, legs aimed at Noc’s back. They connected, Noc started to fly back but Tor charged forward and with a powerful upward swing, the vickrant exploded.
Both men moved back under cover, Noc finished his clip, dropped his gun and advanced, both hands on the axe, he swung back and forth, tearing through the stream of advancing toilroys.
“This is not,” he grunted on a swing, a toilroy disappeared, “goin’,” another grunt, another swing, another toilroy vanishing, “our way, man,” another grunt, another toilroy gone.
Then the vickrants stopped swooping but this was because the toilroys had surrounded us, closing in from all sides. Salem shifted, pressing me to the rock face as Noc and Tor moved around the horse, Tor at his head, Noc at his flank and they kept fighting. They did this without word and I was cut off from the action.
“Let me help!” I shouted over the horse as I watched them battle on.
“Stay safe!” Tor shouted back.
“Tor! I can help!”
“Safe!” he bellowed.
The toilroys pressed closer, blue sparks flew, dancing around, lighting the surface of the rock but where one evaporated, three more were there, pressing in.
“Gods!” Tor exploded on a mighty swing that took out four toilroys but four more were instantly in their place.
“God damn it!” Noc roared, slashing two toilroys with an axe but three surged in to fill their emptied space.
I watched the advance over Salem’s back as my man, his horse and his twin were forced to close ranks as the toilroys relentlessly pressed in.
We were losing. Losing.
Shit!
I closed my eyes, rested my forehead against Salem’s glossy fur, he pressed closer, pushing my back into the rock and I whispered, “Please, please, please, please, please.”
I heard Tor grunt and then I heard Noc growl.
Then I heard an almighty shriek pierce the air or, I should say, what sounded like about thousands of simultaneous almighty shrieks. I automatically dropped the daggers so I could cover my ears against the loud, hideous, ear-splitting sound, my head snapping back, my eyes shooting open and I saw a pink wave of light washing toward us, blue sparks blazing in its path, so many, the sky lit bright with blue and pink, illuminating everything all around us, saturating it with color so bright, I winced.
Then, suddenly, all went dark and there was nothing. No vickrants, no toilroys, no nothing but the sounds of the sea washing on the shore and our heavy breathing.
“By the Gods,” Tor muttered.
“Holy f**k,” Noc whispered.
I fought to catch my breath as the darkness and silence permeated my consciousness.
Then I ducked under Salem’s neck and cautiously approached Tor. As I did, his body went alert (or, more alert), his arm shot out, caught me at the waist and he yanked me behind him.
“Who’s there?” he called into the darkness.
For several seconds, there was no answer.
“Show yourself!” Tor commanded.
I put my hands to his h*ps and peered around his large frame.
Then my body froze as Tor’s froze under my hands and I felt Noc and Salem go still when a soft, pink light illuminated the space in front of us. The light came from a glowing orb that hung suspended over a woman’s upturned hand.
My mouth dropped open.
The woman aimed her sightless eyes in our direction.