Murmurs rippled through the soldiers at the ridgeline.
“In the ‘oly Pontifarch’s name,” someone said.
“What the ‘ell is that?”
Xerxes’ countenance fell as he saw something white, moving at a speed that surpassed anything human or animal. Even a Seer could run faster than a horse, but this thing was moving faster than any Seer.
“Come on, Sergeant,” Xerxes muttered.
The rough terrain didn’t cause any problems for the Abhorrent, whose multitude of many-segmented legs moved with wave-like rhythm as it navigated easily through the boulders and ravines.
As Tamharu, Ap, and Goran neared the ridge, the Abhorrent closed in on them.
The buzz among the soldiers had died down, and the only sound to be heard above the faint breeze was the creak of armor and the scrape of gauntlets against weapon hilts.
“Nock arrows,” said Captain Ishki.
Xerxes’ throat tightened as he watched the Abhorrent getting closer and closer.
“Seer Xerxes, fall back,” Captain Ishki said.
Dammit, he thought, not wanting to leave the ridge in such a tense moment. But he complied, trotting back toward where Sergeant Aniskipel was still tending to Bel.
“What’s going on?” Aniskipel asked.
“Abhorrent is chasing Sergeant Tamharu, Ap, and Goran.”
“Fucking ‘ell,” the surgeon muttered.
“How’s Bel?”
“Not sure. Don’t think she ‘as a fever. None of the wounds seem really bad, but smelling salts aren’t doing much. Don’t know if there’s much else to do but wait.”
From the line of soldiers on the ridge, a chorus of shocked exclamations arose. Xerxes looked over, but had no way of seeing what was going on further below.
“Loose arrows!” Captain Ishki said. “Keep firing!”
Twangs rang out as the archers sent arrows flying downward, then prepared to shoot again.
Xerxes’ heart pounded in his chest. What was happening?
“They’re not going to make it,” a soldier said loudly.
“They’ll make it,” another responded.
“I don’t know….” a third added.
“Get ready for shock fighting,” Captain Ishki yelled. “Squad One, get those shields up! Seer Gandash, get back and wait to cast a spell on my mark.”
More bowstring twangs rang out.
Xerxes could see soldiers stepping back from the ridgeline. He subconsciously put his hand down to Bel’s shoulder and clasped it tightly.
“Make room for Tamharu and Ap!” Captain Ishki shouted, herself backing away from the ridge.
Xerxes saw Sergeant Tamharu scramble over the ridgeline. He was panting, covered in sweat, and his eyes shone with terror. Right behind him came Private Ap, who looked equally terrified.
“Shields together!” Tamharu shouted as he lunged forward.
Three ribbonlike streaks of white appeared, flailing as they descended on Ap. He shouted in fear as two latched onto his leg, and one of them stabbed into his shoulder.
“NO!” Tamharu yelled, jumping back with his sword raised.
It was too late. Ap disappeared over the edge of the ridge.
“More arrows!” Captain Ishki yelled. “Then get back behind Squad One.”
“Ap’s in the way!” a soldier blurted, but he was the only one who refrained from shooting. Then the archers backed up.
By this point, Tamharu, who led Squad One, was part of the line. “Stay tight! Don’t let this thing through!”
“Captain,” Gandash said, “should I—”
“No, wait for my mark!”
Xerxes saw the white hair and ghastly pale skin of the Abhorrent woman as she climbed up. The right side of her face looked hideous where Xerxes had punched her. Her eye had been completely destroyed, and much of her disgusting skin was burned or melted away. In addition, there were numerous arrows sticking out of her, which she grabbed one by one and threw to the side. And yet, none of those things seemed to hamper her movement.
“Grk ba’ya melam!” she said in that grating voice. “Grk ba’ya melam-oth!”
The Squad One soldiers held their position.
She continued to rise up, her spindly legs stabbing into the earth of the ridge crest as she heaved herself onto the flat ground, all the while repeating the same incomprehensible words as before, albeit with slight variations in vocabulary or tone. Along with her came that indescribable stench that caused the nose hairs to tingle.
Xerxes’ instinct was to turn and run. Instead, he took a breath, stood, and lowered his hand to his component pouch.
But then the creature’s eyes seemed to lock onto him, and she smiled and began moving in his direction. A wave of dizziness swept through him, forcing him to step backward. He tripped over Bel, landing on his rear and nearly tumbling onto his back.
Almost in concert with his fall, the Abhorrent woman stopped moving, and the grin faded from her face. Then she moved forward, only for her spindly front legs to lose their grip. She faltered, and half fell.
“The henbane’s working!” a soldier shouted.
“More arrows!” Captain Ishki cried.
About half of the archers had the presence of mind to fire again, with only about five of the arrows plunking into the Abhorrent’s maggot-colored skin. Growling, she got back to her feet, only to sway sharply to the side, nearly toppling over. Then she spat out some words in her bizarre language, before spinning and making what looked like a drunken dash back the way she’d come, leaping over the ridgeline and disappearing from sight.
The entire camp was filled with silence. Even Captain Ishki just stood there breathing hard, a haunted look on her face. Off to the side, a soldier made a gagging noise.
Moments ticked by, and then people started moving again.
“Keep it together, Squad One!” Sergeant Tamharu yelled. “Let’s get Ap back to safety. Forward!”
“Seer Gandash,” the captain said, “hold your position.”
The Squad One soldiers started inching toward the ridge.
Xerxes clambered back to his feet and looked quickly down at this component pouch, worried that he’d spilled some of his crabnickel powder when tripping over Bel. He hadn’t.
Tamharu led Squad One forward, taking the final cubit or two at a near crawl.