Chapter 18

In the air, Yaro had no advantage. She had nothing to brace against to throw her weight, nothing to hide behind or use as a weapon, not even dust to kick up and throw in the enemies eyes. But up where she flew, so high and so close, broiled the sea of fire encasing the world like a bubble. Up near the heat, she could feed, she could channel, and her whips and her breath became deadly hot. 

The six began the assault, hurling booming gales; the humi on the backs of the tsohtsi shot their thunderspears at her. They would have hit her, she knew, if it weren’t for the sudden gusts of wind throwing them mere scales away from her. They had aim, but it seemed fate wanted Yaro to be the victor. She took the opportunity and let go of the wind, tucking her wings in and letting the momentum carry her. They flew up to her, slowing down in the same way, keeping pace with her to avoid her whips. They did as she expected.

She took a deep breath. Time slowed their spears deafening as they narrowly missed her. They had to have missed. She turned, opening her wings at a painfully awkward angle and let the wind rush above and not below them. The sudden jolt sent her in the opposite direction, her sails rippling and threatening to pull from her bones. The pain would be endured, she endured the loss of her feathers as the, now too close, assailants tore at her with their pole-spears. 

They did not have time to cap them into normal spears, to fight a melee fight in the air was ridiculous. Those whips she had, they were threats at best, they must have thought. Yaro jerked, her body suddenly flying perpendicular and into a female humi and male tsohtsi. The eyes of the humi were wide with fear, the tsohtsi placid as yaro skewered them both. Her horns impaled the humi and claws raked the tsohtsi’s wings, bending and cracking them. The bird fell, a franticness about them that seemed to say they did not care that they plummeted to their doom. Yaro’s head snapped uncontrollably, the sudden weight sending them into a twirling where the center balance was at her crown

Blood spun with them, covering the white of her skin to look like she was the same crimson of her scales. She pushed at the dead humi, prongs of her horns holding onto them tighter than they should have. Altitude fell away, that warmth of the fire sea being replaced with cold blood spitting on her. And the Yon-bound other two still assaulted her with thunder. One of the shots hit her flesh-crown, tearing a hole into the knee of the corpse, ripping the leg free and sending them into a new kind of tumult. I don’t have time for this. 

With one more push, she freed herself and one long horn of the corpse, sending them falling with its ride. She took the moment to right herself, catching the wind in a favorable way to not strain her wings further.

She felt the other two, her eyes still crying with the blood spatter. They’d gained some distance to be behind her, assailing her with thunderspears that fate refused to allow accuracy. They would do better to pinch her, but they had to have been at least somewhat unsettled by the violent loss of their comrades. She’d killed again...

A crack hit her wing, more feathers stinging as they ripped free. That maneuver would not work again, it would be expected, and now she was not sure she’d be able to pull it off at all. Fighting clouded all other options, they would not let her have any other outcome. She dove, knowing they, though they could, would not catch up with her. If she could make it into the trees, she might be able to force them into a closer means of combat, if not let her escape. 

Screaming came behind her. One of the humi came at her with an aura so putrid with rage, Yaro thought she’d swallowed barbed wire. Maybe they want revenge? That would be easiest. She swallowed. I’ve killed before. Creatures kill all the time in nature. But it feels wrong, something is wrong. Is that… a voice? Somewhere far, forgotten. She shook, turning to end another.

Just like the first, she quickly dispatched them. They became snared in her whips, strangled with blisters as they fell like stones. Another swallow. This was the way the world worked. Wasn’t it? Kill or be killed.

She leapt from the corpses, eyeing the third, ready to end them as well. Her hands felt cold and the flames dissipated. The third had flown far back and down, so far Yaro nearly missed them. Victory jeered from afar; the killing would not stop. She could tell it was them, it only made sense it was them. They and four others. To Yon with them.

Two days passed. Yaro had been in the thermals, the ring pulling harder and harder as she flew closer and closer. Her pursuers did not leave and did not fully engage with her. They would occasionally send one in to harry her, dragging her down. She would balk and take a gust to lift herself even higher up. The heat so high in the sky was but a hot shower to her, but not so to the humi and tsohtsi.

On the dawn of the second day, the force of four increased to ten. Leading them soared a large drake, its wingspan like that of a small cloud. It flew confidently, an arrow pointed at Yaro, ready to be released. This was neither right nor typical. Pursuers had never chased her for days on end before, let alone reinforce their numbers. There was something wrong with them, she knew, something more than chasing a small monster gnawed at their needs.

With the bolstering of her doom, they drew close, ready to take her down. She would not let them, she could not, she had to find out who the ring led to. The ring nearly pulled from her finger now, she could not let them take her. Fighting from necessity had always been the way. They were far better off letting her fly away, they’d never see her again.

The force grew close. I’m strong, resourceful… but the jaws of death are opening over my neck. I’m sure I could take some down… but ten? No. Twenty. Anyone would fall to those numbers. Those Yon-bound humi were all riding the backs of tsohtsi. A sinewey humi in all black rode the drake, eyes like small coals staring into her. She hissed in response, though they would likely not hear nor see it.

She would fight her way out of this.

She turned, ready to face them and fight like a thousand Tukk soldiers, her cause just. Before she could reach them, her whips ready and snapping, that humi had grabbed her with a force she’d never felt before. She, with hair snapping like her whips, stood on the back of the drake, arms outstretched with gloves like obsidian, and she grabbed her. 

The force of her ethereal hands crushed Yaro’s wings. Yaro screamed, the pain sharp and brilliant. Her vision dimmed and it became hard to breathe. She fell into numbness. She fell. Her mind went fuzzy, thoughts of her past starting like a slow boat ride and slowly speeding up into a blur. Am I dying? No, not yet. I have to get a hold of myself. I have some time before hitting the ground. I have time to figure out a way out. There had to be a way out. I don’t have the time to die like this.

The force kept their distance, following her down, surely keeping an eye on her to ensure she met her end. They were smart to not try and engage her again, even a snake without its body can still bite.

She fell. Thoughts assailed her, thoughts about her goal, how far she's come, how close the ring is telling her they are. She couldn't be caught here, not now, not yet. Her fist clenched around the ring. Her eyes burned. She did not know why.

Below here was nothing but sand, trees far off in the distance. Nothing would break her fall. There were no trees nor city for her to escape into even if she did survive. This really would be the end for her?

The ground grew closer and closer. She angled herself, falling towards dark spots in the distance. They were so small, so far off, she doubted she would make it. The chance, the only chance she had, had to become reality. They meandered towards her, the dark spots taking shape into diamonds. There were dozens of them, far larger than she’d thought from so high up. buildings, they were the size of buildings. Huge pitch creatures casting even larger shadows across the dunes left behind a storm. I have no idea what they are, if they’re even alive. Maybe some mega structure or machines? I have to take the chance. They’re coming, I see the blue flashing…

That blue, something about it felt... warming. Comforting. It called to her, filling her mind with a peace she’d felt before. She could not remember this peace, it was part of that missing chunk. Other peace it called to her, things from the thieves' house. Even, from before. No, not before, there could not be peace from there. The blue said there was, reminded her of that time. It was so long ago, so minor to the grand scheme of things. She cried then, alone and fearful of it. Then, he came back, bringing with him a kind of milk. She drank and he cooed, telling her how strong she was. She smiled, but that thing in her heart stirred, that feeling that this would not last. It never did. The blue was wrong, there was not peace, there could never be peace. Yaro shook her head.

She broke from it then, eyes forward and to her goal of those dark creatures. They pulled at her mind, that blue peace still calling to her. She did not listen this time, fully focused on that miniscule chance of survival.

With their attempt failed, they came in close, to kill her at their expense. Flying failed, no amount of maneuvering could best them, only to continue to fall. The whips burned from the tattoos. Their formation was so rigid, unwavering distances between them and practiced calm. They sent two, left and right of the drake, after her. She spun, her whips pulling close and turning her into an untouchable spear of fire. They did not come closer, but let forth great crashes of their thunderspears. The torrent of fire made a kind of air vortex around her, twisting the gusts of winds and diverting them away. They fired again, this war of attrition not in their favor, she would not let them know. Her skin burned, but she was safe. Healing remained an option, if she made it out of this conscious enough to do so.

After the third shot, they backed off, rejoining the force in their exact positions. Four came then, their thunderspears capped and aimed to impale. Yaro screamed, kicking at two of the spears and grabbing the others. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was more luck, but she managed in that brief instance to divert all four blows simultaneously, watching each come in at half the time. The two that she grabbed, she pulled in, trying to pull the riders free. 

They let go.

They had made a mistake, allowing her weapons. They might have saved their own lives, but now she would be more prepared for further attacks. She swung at the four, all backing off and returning to their positions. Meniachle laughter burst from her.

She turned to see how far she’d come. The dark figure rushed up to greet her and she slammed into it. Again, that time dilation saved her, she managed to contort her body to create as much drag as possible, using one hand, dropping one spear to pull out a wing. She kicked the spear end of the other, letting forth that thunder below her, holding her to an absurd slowness. Ribs broke and serrated the scream covered in viscera.

The force circled above her like buzzards. They watched, their auras cold and stringent. They must have hoped she was dead. Everything was pain, the world dark and moist. The world pulsed steadily, a heart beat of a living organism.

She peaked from her hiding spot. She knew she shouldn't, that she should just play dead. But these people, their offness worried her. Would they let her disappear like this? She had a feeling they wouldn’t.

They encircled her, each passing off a sphere of water and a pull on her mind from one to another. The humi did not get off of the tsohtsi as she had hoped, nor did they come close to engage any longer. They’re trying to stall me. Do they need even more reinforcements? If they’re that afraid… I’ll prove them right to be.

She realized they were trying to stall her, to wait for even more reinforcements. If they were that afraid, she would prove them right. 

She roared as she emerged, covered in blood and fat. She lunged at one, mindful of where the others were. One tried to twist her mind from one angle, another shot a thunderspear. She resisted and avoided the spear, it crashed into the beast beside her. She jumped over the tsohtsi, grabbing the humi on its back. He wore a blue fabric that prevented her claw from piercing it. The blue orb tried to bend her mind as the shards of watery glass shattered in her palm. The humi was wrenched of and both fell onto the back of the beast. The tsohtsi tried to grab her in its talons. Instead, Yaro grabbed each talon in her hands, crushed them under her grip, and slammed it into the ground. 

Another pair swopped down and pulled the humi onto another tsotsi’s back and ascended back up with the others. They kept a greater distance, one Yaro could not jump to. Still, Yaro lashed the tsohtsi's legs with her whip, pulling it crashing into the ground. She pounced at the humi with the blue orb. A gale from a thunderspear gouged her side, but she pinned him. Another orb released its mental grip as it crushed in her hand. Another tsohtsi raked her back, lifting her away and throwing her across the beast. She slid, the slope threatening to send her off. The creature was so large, she grabbed onto it and stopped herself.

The two humi that lost their rides both tried to grab her mind. They were so strong, she couldn't hold them back. They commanded her to fall, to release the whip. She did. A tsohtsi pinned her to the ground, the humi on top lashing her limbs to the beast with enhanced ethereal hands.

She struggled against the beast. Screams rang until her vocal cords sang. Nothing she did broke her bonds, their strength dwarfed her. Her ethereal hand, her muscles, all failed. They pinned her with a weight she had no hope to struggle against. Her heart raced faster than she could fall.

Tears welled in her eyes. I can’t let them take me. The others still flew in the air holding thunderspears, ready to hurl them at her if she tried to escape. The two on the ground kept her mind. What do I do? Despite everything, I’m just going to fail. And for why? Because I exist? The world truly is a vile place.

Her body slowed, the burns on her skin peeled, the loss of blood finally sapping her. What could she do? She needed to find him, she needed to… She tried to perform the same burst of flame she had to keep them away before. The two hurled their spears, binding her hands closed in a dark liquid. The scream came out in a voiceless plea. The liquid molded around her hands, chilling them, freezing them. Her whole body began to chill, her mind telling her she was cold and unable to move.

This was the end.