The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [109]
Giogi lanced another zombie, then shouted out, "Mother Lleddew!"
The priestess waved Giogi away. "Stay back!" she warned with a bellow that could have carried to the foot of Spring Hill.
The pack of ghouls surrounding the priestess looked in Giogi's direction. They hissed and screeched as they turned toward the carriage. A large carrion bird swooped toward the carriage as well. Giogi could see bones protruding from its withered wings. He ducked just in time, and the vulture crashed into the trees beyond the clearing.
Olive climbed back out of the carriage's front window, laden with two heavy sacks. "Give me a hand up to the roof," she said.
"What about Mother Lleddew?" Giogi asked.
"She's got some protection of her own. The undead aren't bothering her," Olive huffed. She took a swing at an overzealous zombie with one of the sacks and knocked the monster off its perch on the front carriage wheel. "They're coming after younger prey now-namely us. Give me a boost."
Giogi hefted Olive onto the top of the carriage. The halfling pulled the sling out of her garter and grabbed a handful of ammo pilfered from Uncle Drone's memorial feast. She loaded a golden apple into her sling and whipped it around.
"Have some apple sauce!" she yelled, loosing the fruit down on the crowd of zombies. "Go on, get out of here."
The ripe apple caught an undead square in the forehead, and it toppled backward. By the time it hit the ground, two more apples were zinging with halfling accuracy through the ranks of the undead. Those monsters that came close enough to climb the coach were met by Giogi's merciless foil.
The nobleman parried their clawlike hands and stabbed at them fiercely. Their lack of self-preservation appalled him. At the same time, he worried about his own preservation. Just how long will this magic potion last? he wondered as sweat began breaking out on his forehead. Will I be able to tell right away?
Giogi glanced toward the temple, but Mother Lleddew had abandoned her defense of the stairs. She was heading toward the carriage, wading through the crowd of zombies, jostling them as she went. The creatures paid no more attention to her than they did to each other.
"Giogi! Look out!" Olive cried, snapping an apple at a ghoul that had managed to climb up to the driver's seat. The red missile splattered in the middle of the undead's shredded face, but the ghoul kept coming. A hissing snarl escaped its torn lips and the ghoul leaped on Giogi.
In a moment, the creature had Giogi bent backward, its claws securely fastened on the noble's shoulders. A paralyzing coldness crept from the ghoul's fingers, and Giogi felt himself go numb. His foil fell from his unfeeling fingers and clattered to the driver's seat. The ghoul's ruined mouth smiled and opened, displaying a row of fanglike teeth.
Olive ran across the carriage roof and kicked the monster in the head before it managed to sink its teeth into Giogi's throat. The ghoul loosed its grip, but Giogi was unable to move to balance himself, and he toppled from the driver's seat into the zombie horde below.
A collective "Ah!" of undead delight issued from the mouths of nearby zombies. They fell on top of the man and began pummeling him with their corpse-white hands.
Olive screamed and began pelting the zombies below with apples thrown by hand. A few fell back, but more took their place. The halfling was just wondering if it would be worth risking her life to jump down on top of the fray when something grabbed her ankle.
Olive twisted around. The ghoul who had paralyzed Giogioni had not fallen over with the nobleman. Now the monster was dragging Olive toward the edge of the carriage roof.
"Let me go, you ghoul!" Olive shouted, reaching frantically for the dagger she kept up her sleeve. The ghoul laughed until Olive slashed off its hand at the wrist. She jerked her leg back and gave the undead another kick-sending