I slam into his body and gasp for air. “You will pay for that.” His threat is muffled by the growing storm colliding into us, blowing hair into my eyes and slapping snow into my face.
“Fuck you!” I spin and pummel my hands against him, a scream ripping from my lips.
Icy shards shoot from my palms, plunging into the hobgoblin, tearing clothes and flesh alike.
His eyes widen with shock as he drops to his knees. I totter away, unable to jerk my gaze from the long icicles sticking out of his chest, blood seeping out and dripping onto the white snow around him.
My heart bangs against my rib cage. I’ve never done this before. I recoil, turning toward the second monster just as he lunges at me, his face distorted with rage while he unleashes a terrifying war cry.
Fear mingles with desperation, and I shoot my hands out, already feeling the exhaustion pulsing through my muscles.
“Ice!” I bellow the first word that comes to mind as this creature practically throws himself at me.
A river of white spews out and crashes into him. In a heartbeat, the power swirls around him, freezing him mid-lunge in a block of ice
His mouth hangs open, eyes round as orbs, hands reaching out for me… the frost captured him in a moment of attack, and I don’t want to be here when it melts away in case he miraculously survives.
I stumble backward, everything aching in my arms and legs like I’ve run for half a day. It always hurts to overuse my power, and my labored breaths grow raspy.
My bag sits in the snow several feet away, so I rush over to grab it, my gut twisting with worry.
Not wasting a single moment, I dart from the creatures, needing to get out of here as fast as I can. I glance over my shoulder and my skin crawls at the reality of where I could have ended up tonight.
This whole day has sucked, and I just want it to be over. I sprint away from the two hobgoblins, not stopping even once I reach the village. Close to two-hundred homes huddle at the base of the mountain with a bridge to connect the two sides divided by a river. From up here, the homes resemble white mushrooms with wide roofs and coated in snow. I rush down the hill toward home.
Most windows in the houses I pass are lit, voices streaming out from them where families enjoy a meal and keep warm.
Looking back, I don't find anyone following me, but my gaze rivets on the path coming out of the woods. Shadows and darkness fill the area with menace. I’ll never feel safe again.
I swing left onto a narrow street with cottages and trees coated in white.
My home is the second to last one, a small place, but it’s home and I can hide there. I look over my shoulder, and no one follows.
I burst through the front door and lock it behind me. My heart races as I keep remembering how close I came to death tonight.
“Licia, is something wrong?” Rin asks from the living room. From the corner of my eye, I spot her lounging on the old couch near the fire. She works with the local farms as a helping hand with anything they need. She’s two years younger than me and has no parents. It’s what the three of us living here have in common.
I turn and walk into the room and head straight for the roaring fireplace, warming my frozen hands. Two long couches, both worn and ripped, are covered in smaller knitted blankets. A brown rug covers most of the floorboards, and Rin decorates the walls with flowers she’s dried.
“I want this shitty day to end.” Telling anyone I encountered hobgoblins would raise too many questions. I don’t want to answer how I escaped them, because no one will believe I was the one who defeated them. The guards will spot them while on patrol, word will spread of their demise, and I can simply say I saw nothing on my way home.
“Your lip?” She’s on her feet, standing next to me, studying me. Her blonde hair is tucked under a woolen blue hat, and she’s wearing thick pajamas with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “I’ll get some rags and water to clean you up.”
“It’s alright…” I try to say, but she’s already darted from the room.
Cedar strolls in, glancing down the corridor in Rin’s direction, then he