The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [30]
The captain of the sister knights sprang from her saddle, landed on her feet between the scout and the creature's mouth, and drove her longsword downward with killing force. The razor-sharp edge bit into the tentacle, scoring a deep groove but failing to sever the tough limb.
Still, the wound distracted the monster enough for Colleen to kick against the tendril and squirm free. Brigit jumped backward, grasping her companion's shoulder and jerking the trembling scout roughly to her feet.
"Onto my mare! Quickly!" she barked as the faithful Talloth circled back to the two Llewyrr. The elves stumbled away from the looming horror, not daring to look backward. Colleen steadied herself and reached for the mare's bridle as the steed galloped closer. Suddenly the animal's eyes widened in fright and it reared back.
Without thinking, Brigit pushed Colleen to the side, diving behind her companion as the ground behind them-the place where they had just stood-shook to the impact of a monstrous body. Looking upward in horror, the captain of the knights saw two tentacles reach toward the panicked mare. They seized Talloth's forelegs and pulled, dragging the steed to the ground. One of the tentacles, heavier than the rest, bashed against the mare's neck.
Brigit saw blood spurt and heard the gurgling death of her loyal war-horse, but she forced the pain and grief from her mind. They had to move!
"Run-for all you're worth!" she ordered, bouncing to her feet with the fleet scout at her side. The two elves dashed across the field toward the dark line of the stream, which here flowed between steep banks that were slightly higher than an elf.
They heard a thudding noise behind them again, and then they reached the streambed, flinging themselves from the bank to land in the shallow, gravel-bedded stream.
"This way!" Brigit darted to the left, hearing Colleen behind her. The water barely rose to their ankles, and they sprinted nearly as quickly as they had before.
But not quickly enough. A shadow loomed over them, blocking out the bright sun, the fiery orb that was so yellow, so cheerful that it certainly must be mocking them, Brigit thought in despair. The huge, rounded beast towered above them, reaching forward with tentacles too numerous to count.
Colleen collapsed with a groan of despair, sobbing. Brigit shook her head angrily, ignoring the thunderous voice of hopelessness. Instead, she raised her sword in both hands and prepared to meet the monster squarely.
* * * * *
The High Queen told none of her companions of the goddess's omen, the proud wolf who had spoken to her in the darkest hours of the night. Hanrald mentioned, in the morning, that he had seen the queen sitting beside the dying fire, but that was all. The vision had been for her alone.
Now she pondered the meaning privately as they progressed farther up the valley that, to the best of her memory, would lead them somewhere near Synnoria.
"Are you sure the terrain was this rough?" asked Alicia as, afoot, the companions led their horses higher up the steep, twisting draw. The formerly wide vale had compressed into this ravine in a remarkably short period of time.
"To tell you the truth, it seemed that we rode our horses the whole way," Robyn admitted. "I can't imagine we could have come out this way."
"And look how quickly this stream has dwindled away," observed Hanrald, who had been leading the party up the narrow gully. "There was a lot more water in it a mile back, and yet I haven't seen any tributaries entering the stream since then. How do you explain it being a mere trickle here without the addition of more water?"
"This whole range responds to a detect magic spell," said Keane disgustedly, after examining their surroundings with yet another magical inspection. "I can't tell where any specific effect exists."
The mage disliked walking even more than he loathed riding,