Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [16]
In a panic that he might be washed back out to sea, he quickly forms one of his seeker bubbles and gets up to follow it. The bubble moves back toward the beach and then follows the coastline to the left.
Moving as quickly as his wobbly legs will carry him, he makes his way along the coast as he follows the bubble. After ten minutes, he sees a form lying in the surf, far down the beach. Canceling the spell, he breaks into a run and races to Miko’s side. He’s lying face down and doesn’t look to be breathing.
When he reaches his side, he turns him on his back and discovers in relief that he is, in fact, still breathing. Grabbing him under the arms, he begins to pull him up the beach away from the pounding surf.
Laying him in a relative safe spot, he kneels down next to him as he tries to bring him back to consciousness. He tries shaking him and calling his name but that fails to work. Striking him hard across the face twice causes his eyes to snap open. He suddenly begins coughing and then starts vomiting up seawater.
Leaning him on his side, he pats him on the back until the vomiting fit is over. James then helps him to sit up as he continues coughing until his lungs clear.
Through red eyes, he looks around at their surrounding and between coughs asks, “Where are we?”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of people around here.”
Looking around, Miko asks, “Jiron?”
“I don’t know,” James tells him, “haven’t found him yet.” He then looks into Miko’s eyes as he says, “I was too worried about you.”
“Thanks,” he says just as another coughing fit strikes him. When it’s over, he asks, “Think he made it here like we did?”
Shrugging, James answers, “Hope so.” Getting up, he looks around until he locates another clear pool he can use to find Jiron the way he’d found Miko.
Kneeling down again, he concentrates on Jiron, the magic coming a little easier than it had earlier. Having a brief rest, even so short a one has made a difference.
Miko comes over and sits across from him as he watches the water. The image shifts and then they see Jiron. He has his knives in hand and is fighting off three other people who’re attacking him with spears.
James ends the spell and stands up abruptly. The seeker bubble forms and begins to float away from them, back the way he’d come when he had been searching for Miko. He moves to follow it.
“Is he close?” Miko asks as he joins James in following the bubble.
“Don’t know,” James replies as he hurries, almost running as he follows the fast moving bubble. His begins panting as he starts using up what reserve of strength he has left. “But the area he was in looks to be similar to what is here, the same trees and grass anyway,” he explains. “If we’re lucky, he shouldn’t be too far away.”
Running along beside James, he says, “Let’s hope not.”
As they run along the beach after the bubble, they suddenly hear a crashing sound from further inland. They come to a halt when a large lizard-like creature the size of a rhinoceros lurches out onto the beach in front of them.
“What the hell is that?” Miko cries out.
The creature must’ve heard him, it turns its head in their direction and lets out a roar. It pauses only a moment before charging toward them. An answering roar comes from behind them as another of the creatures comes out from within the vegetation.
James takes out one of his slugs from the belt around his waist and propels it at the one in front of them with a touch of magic. It strikes the creature in the foreleg and lodges itself beneath the skin.
Crying out in pain, the creature stumbles slightly and then resumes its course toward them.
“You’re going to have to do better than that!” Miko yells to James when he sees the slug did little to slow it down.
Reaching down, he picks up a stone off the beach the size of a baseball and throws it at the creature, tripling the amount of magic he usually uses with the spell.
This time when the stone hits, it strikes the creature