Bastial Sentinels (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 5) (48 page)

“And this one can barely speak common tongue!” the same one complained.

“I’m Cleve,” he said, ignoring the man. “What are your names?”

“Larri.” It was the man who’d complained. He had neat blond hair that would’ve suited a young woman nicely, Cleve thought. It was combed to fall over half his forehead, dancing around his neck from the wind. Sandy stubble lined his cheeks and chin. He was thin and wielded a short sword. Although he’d mentioned their ages, he didn’t look older than Vithos. “How long have you been using that bow?”

“Since I was old enough to shoot an arrow,” Cleve answered. “Can that short sword really cut through a desmarl tentacle?”

“I’m Hahn,” the other said in a clear attempt to interrupt their banter. He had a dark complexion and black hair. The head of his battle ax rested on the grass, its long hilt balanced against his chest. He seemed to regard Cleve with more respect than Larri.

“You’d better hope it can,” Larri said.

“Hi Hahn, I’m Reela, and this is Vithos and Jek.”

“Pleasure.” Hahn shook their hands.

“What’s with your ears?” Larri asked as he shook Reela’s hand. “You half?”

“I am. And Vithos is my half-brother.”

“Didn’t know there were any halfs,” Larri said.

“Is everyone aware of what we need to do?” Jek asked.

“Yes, boy,” Larri said.

“Until we’re more comfortable, I’ll be leading us,” Jek said.

“You?” Larri looked to Vithos, expecting him to object.

“I’m not leader,” Vithos said.

“Yes, me,” Jek confirmed.

“Oh, right. You’re that Sartious mage Raymess brought up in front of us. Marrying his sister.” By Larri’s tone, it was clear he assumed Jek’s position wasn’t earned. “Have you even seen a desmarl before?”

“I led a group that killed ten of them, and there were no psychics with us.” Jek pointed. “Look, the other groups are starting. We can’t let the desmarls in front of us shift over and surprise our allies.” He began marching toward the fog. Cleve took to his side and awaited his command.

“Did any of your men die?” Larri asked.

“No, and neither will any of us. Stay behind me for now.” Jek began to lift his wand, stopping for a breath to ready himself. Then his arm shot forward as he trudged toward the fog. The green cloud parted unnaturally. It was like watching the sea split in half.

Jek grunted. His hands rose to grab hold of the air before him. Heaving, he motioned as if he was prying something open. The tear through the Sartious cloud widened to the width of a house, revealing the ends of two tentacles undulating on the ground, slowly creeping closer with each breath Cleve took.

“Bastial hell,” Larri whispered.

“I figured you’d seen a desmarl before,” Cleve said.

“I have. But I haven’t seen anything like what that boy just did.”

Jek calmly walked forward, continuing to part the cloud before them. More of the monster’s appendages came into view. They were as thick as tree trunks, but green—the same color as the fog.

“Don’t touch the tentacles,” Jek told them, seemingly unworried as they wiggled toward him. “Or they’ll snatch you up and crush your bones quicker than you can scream. Reela and Vithos, can you use psyche at this range, or do you need to be closer to their tiny brains?”

“I don’t know,” Reela said. “I’ve never tried using psyche on any beast that had limbs so far from their bodies.”

“We try.” Vithos stepped forward.

“Don’t try,” Jek said. “We don’t want the desmarl to know we’re here until Cleve can shoot it in the eye. The moment it detects us, its tentacles will flail until they touch something. I’ve seen them grab boulders and break them apart thinking they were food.”

“Vithos means that we’ll just see if it’s possible,” Reela said, joining her brother at the hip. Together, they eased forward with their palms extended.

Jek separated more of the Sartious Energy to reveal a fourth appendage, only this one came from the fog at such an angle that it must’ve been part of another desmarl to their right.

Jek cursed. “I’ve never seen two of them so close together.”

“It’s the damn Elves on the other side,” Larri said. “Pushing all the desmarls toward us has made them cluster.”

“Then we’ll just have to be more careful,” Hahn said.

“I can sense their presence near us.” Reela was excited. “The Bastial Energy coming from their limbs should be enough for us to use psyche on them without being close to their bodies.”

“Then Fatholl’s plan is the best way of killing them,” Jek said. “Is everyone ready? We must move quickly once we’re within their grasp.”

“Hold your britches!” Larri’s eyes were wide. “Are you psychics sure you can do what’s necessary?”

“Can’t know,” Vithos said, “until we try.”

“But Fatholl’s Elves have tested psyche on the desmarls before,” Reela added. “And we’re just as strong as they are. If he says it will work, then it will.”

“Unless he just wants all of us killed,” Larri argued, looking ready to spit in disgust.

“If you’re scared, stay back while we kill these first two,” Hahn told him.

Larri grumbled. He said nothing as he shifted his sword and walked forward to stand with his fellow swordsman.

“We’re ready,” Hahn said.

“Psychics, on the count of three—immense pain.” Jek looked hard into Reela’s eyes, waiting for her nod. He did the same with Vithos. “One…two…three!” Jek sprinted forward, pushing away the Sartious cloud as if a gust of wind had come through.

Reela and Vithos jabbed their palms outward. Three tentacles of the desmarl before them recoiled back into the fog so quickly it was as if they’d vanished. The tentacle of the monster somewhere to their right retracted as well.

“Vithos, keep watch to the right,” Jek said. “Reela—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “It won’t touch us.”

Their group sped forward. Cleve looked deep into the cloud, waiting for the beast’s body to appear as they ran and Jek cleared more and more of the fog. Cleve could hear the chaotic commands of the groups to either side of them, but mixed in were the deep shrieks of desmarls. They didn’t sound in pain. Their cries were of anger and hunger. The loudest one yet came from the monster somewhere in the fog just ahead, a noise like teeth grinding against metal.

With each step, the cloud parted deeper. Cleve kept expecting to see his target, but he found nothing. There were patches of upended grass where the beast’s tentacles must’ve ripped it out with ease. Larri tripped over a mound of dirt and fell with a curse.

“Don’t stop,” Jek said. “The moment we give them a chance, their tentacles will reach out for us. Keep up the pain so their limbs continue retreating.”

It baffled Cleve how long they’d been running without finding the creature’s body. “Could we have run past it?” he asked.

“No, it’s still ahead of us,” Reela said. “I can tell.”

Cleve figured they’d run twenty yards, and he could see another ten yards ahead of them. Still there was nothing.

But then finally, as the cloud continued to clear, the desmarl’s body emerged. It had three tentacles wrapped around itself. They became entangled with its five other arms. The moment it saw them, pure anger surged into its one giant eye. Two rivers of drool poured from the corners of its long, twisted lips. The beast roared, showing four rows of teeth that lined the top and bottom of its mouth. Its body was the same as its head, where its tentacles met—a grotesque sphere of fat as tall as three men standing on each other’s shoulders and as wide as five with their arms outstretched. Spiked flesh along its head dangled downward, jiggling as it began reaching for them.

“Reela!” Jek yelled.

She was unnervingly silent. Cleve had his arrow ready. He aimed at the creature’s eye and let go. But one of its limbs got in the way, taking the arrow deep into its flesh. The tentacle recoiled as the monster shrieked. Another arm was shooting forward. It would make it there before Cleve could draw another arrow.

Hahn shouted and swung his battle ax overhead. It came down onto the limb stretching toward them. Blood exploded, splattering all of them. The desmarl shrieked in pain, but a third tentacle was still coming. The arms seemed separate from each other, as if each had a mind of its own.

Cleve got another arrow ready and watched the eye, ready to shoot as soon as the limbs stopped flailing in front of it. Jek released a fireball at the third tentacle, but it was moving too fast, and the fireball missed high.

Larri jumped in front of Jek and slashed the appendage with an unbalanced swing. It wasn’t enough, the arm recoiling for just a breath before it shot forward again and found Jek’s leg. It lifted the lower half of his body from the ground as Jek flailed to get free. Larri leapt onto the tentacle before it got too high and drove his sword deep into it. The limb quickly retracted, and Larri tumbled backward and lost his weapon, falling on Jek. Both quickly scrambled to their feet.

Reela pushed out both hands and screamed. The desmarl’s tentacles wrapped around its body once more. It started to turn as if to flee. But with its limbs now out of the way, Cleve had a clear shot at its gaping red eye. He held his breath and let the arrow fly. The beast was slow to move—only its tentacles were quick—and the arrow embedded deep into its eye. Immediately, the desmarl became lifeless. Its tentacles spread away from its body, a few flopping about like fish out of water. Cleve paid them no mind as he turned to face the next target.

“It wants kill us!” Vithos yelled, holding out his palm toward the fog. “Getting harder to pain!”

Reela ran to his side and pushed out her hand.

“Now easy,” Vithos said, relaxing.

Jek began clearing the fog. All of them were panting and trying to recoup their energy. Cleve quickly checked his comrades for injuries. There was blood on their clothes and faces, the most on Hahn, but no one seemed to be hurt.

When they waded through enough fog to find the second desmarl, it appeared just like the first, with three of its eight tentacles coiled around itself. But the sight of them sent it into a frenzy. It drooled just like the other beast, only this one couldn’t seem to reach for them. The moment a limb stretched, it quickly recoiled. The creature did nothing but scream in anger. The power of Reela’s and Vithos’ psyche appeared to be too much for it.

With one shot, Cleve ended it.

Jek pushed the fog away from them in every direction. “Anyone see any other tentacles?”

They searched and found nothing.

Feeling the adrenaline drain from him, Cleve drew a long breath.

“What happened, Reela?” Jek asked. “I thought you had its limbs under control?”

“I…got scared. I lost focus.”

“And Larri.” Jek turned to him, folding his arms. “You fell while we were running.”

“I saved you, didn’t I?” he asked rhetorically.

“You wouldn’t have had to if you’d already been in front of me,” Jek said.

“I couldn’t have known the ground was covered with mounds of dirt! Maybe if you’d cleared the fog quicker.”

“No one can clear Sartious Energy quicker than I can.”

The sound of someone vomiting turned everyone’s head. Hahn was on his knees as all the contents of his stomach came out. Reela rubbed his back. As Cleve looked at Jek and Larri once again, he could see the frustration gone from their faces.

“I’m sorry,” Hahn said as soon as he was done.

“The first battle is always the hardest,” Jek said. “And we had to kill two of them. It’ll be easier from now on.”

“It will,” Reela agreed. “I won’t lose my focus again.”

Cleve noticed Larri looking at him. “Those arrows you shot…they were perfect. Were you lucky?”

“No.”

For a breath, Larri regarded him skeptically. But as Cleve stared back, the blond man’s hard expression softened. He smiled, even laughed. “Well.” He slapped his leg. “Let’s kill some more desmarls. Don’t want to fall behind the other groups.”

Chapter 45:

CLEVE

By the end of the day, miles of fog had been cleared, revealing countless desmarl carcasses. But by the next morning, the fog had returned to where it was the day before.

After they’d killed a third desmarl, there appeared to be hardly any risk in the process as long as everyone did his or her part. Reela and Vithos kept the creatures controlled. Jek moved the Sartious Energy, and Cleve shot the beasts in their eyes. Larri and Hahn never even needed to raise their weapons. Cleve learned that other groups had the same success, although they had more archers and swordsmen.

As they cleared the fog and killed more desmarls, Cleve expected to find yesterday’s carcasses. However, by evening, all he’d seen were small traces of the dead desmarls, parts of a tentacle, some teeth, and occasionally a chunk of flesh half buried—crushed into the dirt by something heavy.

Then he realized what it must be.
They’re eating each other’s remains.
He almost couldn’t believe how much could fit into the creatures’ stomachs. One desmarl must’ve outweighed five hundred people. A small group of the monsters could decimate a town in less than a day.