fast, he unstrapped his bow and placed an arrow ready. As the last Stühoc turned its tooth-filled head back at Kaden, but the arrow was already through its throat and it too was sent to the ground, dead.
With the three of them defeated, Kaden jumped from the top of the truck and pulled his sword out of one and his arrow out of the other. A thick, gray fluid pooled around the bodies of the Stühocs. Their blood smelled like ash and smoke.
“What were you thinking?” Kaden said, scowling.
“They were going to kill you!”
“We've got to get out of here,” he said. “They'll be here any minute.”
“I thought you said they already knew where we were.”
Kaden shook his head. “I suppose I was wrong. More would have attacked me if they were here. Regardless, they are on their way now. We made plenty of noise for them to know exactly where we are.”
Kaden charged back up the path to where they had climbed down and Silas followed.
Through short heaving breaths he pried Kaden for more information. “What were those things?”
“Stühocs, specifically Leapers,” Kaden said. “Some of the more dangerous kind of Stühocs. Not only are they intelligent fighters, they can jump more than twenty feet in the air consistently. It makes them extremely fast.”
“Do you still have the medallion?”
Kaden stopped and turned to Silas. “Yes,” he said. “Silas, there's something you should know.”
He almost didn't want to hear it. The thought of this situation getting worse was unthinkable.
“I didn't think this would be happening the way it is,” Kaden said. “Leapers coming here adds a new problem.”
Silas was silent, waiting for him to continue.
Kaden hesitated searching for the right thing to say.
“Just say it,” Silas said, frustrated.
“The Leapers are led by a powerful Stühoc named Maroke. They are his personal soldiers, and although there are very few of them, they follow him religiously. On top of that, he is the second in command of the entire Stühoc army.”
Again, Silas said nothing, waiting for Kaden to finish.
“If he's here, then we're running out of time to get to the gate.”
“Wait, what?” Silas said. “What gate?”
“That’s why your grandfather was going to the cave in the first place, Silas. This medallion is a key to a gate that leads to another place where you can be safe. That gate is in the cave. We must hurry!”
They were immediately stopped by a shriek somewhere below them. It was the Stühocs. Silas followed Kaden as he ran to the cliff side and crawled on his stomach to peer over the edge. Kaden pulled out a scope from a pouch underneath his cloak.
“Yeah,” he said. “It's Maroke. I don’t see him yet, but he isn’t far. I see a few Leapers, though.”
Silas wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling at the moment. “How many?” he said.
“Too many to take alone. Run.”
Silas looked down at the figures moving in the dark. They were far away, but at their speed, he knew it wouldn't be long until they reached him and his protector.
Chapter Five
Jekyll Rock was an astonishing city named after its mountain fortress, an impenetrable castle carved into the mountainside. The lively city sat at the base of the mountain and a wall surrounded it, protecting the people and the fortress within. The side of the mountain stood as part of its guarded wall while the rest of it was manmade. Sentries marched along the top of the wall and kept watch from various towers around the fortress to keep guard over the city. Any oncoming attack could be seen from miles away, even at night, leaving a surprise assault nearly impossible. More sentries took shelter at an outpost five miles to the east and to the north to light a fire as a warning that enemies were approaching. But this was hardly needed; at least it hadn't been needed for the past seventeen years. But the sentries diligently waited, on guard, as if a legion of soldiers might be marching their way at any moment. Whatever the enemy, they would be ready.
In mid-flight, soaring near the first lookouts in the east, Julian Hobbes flashed the green gem from his wristband a mile before finally flying past. This let them know a friendly was flying in. After another five miles, and in his approach to Jekyll Rock, he was greeted with a salute from soldiers at the wall. Past the wall was a city of people, a people separate from the rest of Marenon.