The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [19]
In the last moment of its life, the orc noticed the azmyth bat coming at it silently. The orc shifted defensively against the movement, raising its club.
Xuxa knew the orc probably hadn't even identified what she was at the time she struck. Not wanting to take a chance on the opportunity presented her, Xuxa screamed again. The sound waves bounced back at her, bringing the orc into clearest focus for her bat senses.
She twisted in the air violently, bringing her twin tails stabbing into flesh while her fangs sank deeply into the orc's throat. In a flicker, she unleashed the lightning charge bottled up inside her.
Overcome by the onslaught, the orc tumbled to the ground, smoke rising from its twitching body, unable to even manage its own death throes.
Xuxa frantically beat against the wind to gain altitude quickly. She swooped around, circling the tree where she had left Jaeleen. Her keen eyes picked the woman out of the darkness.
Jaeleen leveled the hand crossbow. Her hard eyes projected anticipation.
Miss, Xuxa promised in a whispering voice in the woman's mind, and I won't.
Jaeleen snarled an oath and lifted the weapon clear. "Have I ever told you how much I hate flying rodents?"
Xuxa flew to the top of the tree and took up her search for Baylee again. She remained aware of Jaeleen below. The woman scurried for Baylee's shovel and dropped into the hole the ranger had dug. The shovel's blade bit cleanly into the dark earth.
Xuxa shifted along the branch. She could neither sense nor see Baylee, though she was aware of the orcs as they pursued something through the forest.
Then her attention was divided as the shovel Jaeleen wielded so vigorously broke through into hollow space. The azmyth bat peered down.
Jaeleen dropped to her hands and knees, tossing the shovel to one side. She dug frantically into the earth, enlarging the hole she'd made.
Xuxa felt anxious. Baylee had been so close to the prize he had sought. Now it appeared he was to lose not only that prize, but perhaps his life as well because of the treacherous woman below.
And even as she thought it, Xuxa knew that Baylee would probably never see it that way. She threw herself into the air.
3
Baylee ran along a thick-boled branch twenty feet above the forest floor. Moonlight splintered through the leaves and limbs in brief flashes.
"There!" an orc yelled in one of the few words the ranger recognized. Harsh clucking followed as other orcs took up renewed pursuit.
A spear slashed through the trees, burying itself in a tree trunk in front of Baylee. He slapped it away with his free arm and kept moving.
Measuring his stride, Baylee hit the last bit of safe footing he guessed that he had on the rapidly thinning branch. He flexed his knees, riding out the spring of the limb as it bent, then threw himself forward. Graceful as he'd become over the years since his teaching in the Tangled Trees, he knew he only grasped a fraction of the woodland elves' skills in their chosen terrain.
The branch had little spring to give, so he didn't gain height, but it did allow him to leap toward the branch on the next tree he'd selected. His boots hit the rough bark and skidded. For a moment he thought he might slip and fall, then his feet found the friction point. He stood, swayed on bent legs, then turned to face his foes.
Four orcs twenty paces away searched the trees for him. Their rheumy eyes glistened sickly in the dark.
Changing his stance to properly bring his target into view, Baylee drew the arrow he had ready on the string, braced into place by his finger. The shaft felt surprisingly true and straight for an orcish weapon. The grain of the wood slid along his skin, speaking volumes of skill of the arrow's making. The fletchings brushed feather light against his cheek and remained stiff and aligned. He guessed that the bow and arrows were stolen, and not long ago at that.
Both