Descending Darkness(46)

Chapter Thirteen




Running through the forest, I look back and see the men chasing after me. I open my mind and try to read their thoughts, but there are too many of them. My steps falter as I try to get control again. I push them back and focus entirely on running without tripping. I enter into a clearing and stop. This place looks familiar, but why?

Realization dawns on me. This is the place where I’d been attacked by the gorgoths before…in the dream world with Liam. How did I get here? I start running again but stop when I see the man standing in front of me. I turn to the right: another man. Left: another. I’m completely surrounded. I spin in a circle, counting the men as I turn. Nine to one. That’s not fair at all. The man directly across from me smiles and takes a step forward. The rest of them spread out to cover the open area.

I take a couple steps backward as he moves closer to me. I can’t go too far because the other men are circling around me. He jumps for me and slams into a shield that I put up. “Did you think I’d go easily? Give me a break. Have you guys not learned anything?”

I run toward him and drop the shield. Doing an aerial cartwheel, I call my magic into my limbs and stop in front of him. Easily, I reach out and kick him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious. He falls limply to the ground. I step over his body on the ground and spin in a circle, arms outstretched. “Who’s next?” I challenge.

All the guys start running for me at once. I call my magic to me and push it under me. When the wind picks up, I jump in the air and fly above everyone. All the men slam into each other, grunting in pain as they realize what I’d done. I flip a couple times in the air before landing in the grass behind them.

Slowly all the men, minus the still unconscious one, get up and face me. “Oops,” I say as I pretend to study my nails. “You really should pay more attention to where you’re going.”

Making another group effort, they all start running toward me again…and run straight into my shield. When they all fall to the ground, I walk toward the ones in front of me, keeping eye contact with every step I take. I stop in front of the biggest guy and watch as he stands up. I make sure it is obvious when I look at what he is wearing as he growls at me. “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Black is definitely not your color.” He grunts and punches the shield. It doesn’t budge. “I’d go for more earth tones if I were you.”

I walk along the shield and stop at another man. “You’d think after all this time Dravin would have trained his men a little better, or how about this idea, come after me himself. Come on, is he really that scared of me?” I stare at the man. “Do I look scary to you?” He doesn’t say anything.

I wasn’t expecting him to.

I take a couple steps backward, drop the shield, and throw my hands out again. “I’m really getting tired of these pointless confrontations. Come on, boys. Do your best.”

Two men charge at me. I wait until they get closer to me before I react. The first man swings his arm back to try and punch me. Easy. I duck, and he ends up punching the man behind me. He grabs his nose as blood starts to gush from it. That looks like it hurt. I lean back and kick my leg out, connecting with his chest. Since I am calling magic to me, the man stumbles backward. I flip around and punch the other man in the gut. When he doubles over I hit him in the jaw, knocking him out.

Turning around, I give my attention back to the other man. He punches me in the shoulder, causing me to stagger backward. Ouch. This only spurs on my anger, so I stop toying with him. Jumping a couple feet in the air, with the help of my magic, I bring my elbow down on his neck. Before he can even retaliate, his eyes roll into the back of his head, and he also falls to the ground unconscious.

I face the other men. They are still standing in a line. I quickly count them. There are six left. Not too bad. I point my finger at the one on the end and motion him forward. He looks to the man on his left, who just shrugs his shoulders and looks back toward me. He takes a hesitant step toward me. I walk the rest of the way to him and push my magic back. “Ok, I’ll fight fair now.”

He runs forward, and I stand my ground until he is right in front of me. I take a step to the right, and he runs past me. Do they honestly think I’m just going to let them barrel into me? Idiots. Stopping, he turns around and moves toward me again. I hear the man behind me, but I decide to play dumb. When he swings out to punch me, I duck and take a step backward, letting the other man grab me. Oh, these guys really are dumb. “Gotcha,” he whispers in my ear.

“Ooh, the big bad guy caught the wittle girl. I’m shaking in my boots,” I retort. He starts pulling me backward. Does he really think that I’ll just let him cart me off like this? Where does Dravin get these guys? I lift my right foot and back-kick him in the shins. When he hisses in pain and loosens his grip on me, I swing my head back and whack him in the face. He throws me to the ground, so I jump around and throw my magic at him. His back slams into a large tree, and he falls to the ground and doesn’t get back up.