The Landen Village of Agio, Askavi, Kaeleer, Thursday Morning [Fandom Time]
(continued directly from here.)
Jono
//Christ...//
It was difficult to pay attention to the enemy overhead when left and right there were so many bodies. And, really, it wasn't that Jonothon hadn't seen bodies before. But this... he'd go back to Silent Hill willingly if it meant that he would never have to see this again whenever he closed his eyes.
It had been wholesale slaughter.
Jhinka
That was okay. Even if Jono wasn't paying any attention to them, the Jhinka certainly noticed him. In fact, two were flying out of an alleyway right now to make his acquaintance.
"And to think, we thought we were out of survivors!"
Jono
Jono actually slumped at the shoulders a little as he became painfully aware that the voice that he was now hearing was directed at him.
//Trust me, mates, you don't want to do this.//
His hands were out of his pockets. He was more than ready to pull his bandages aside if it came to that, but... Well, he had to try the futile reasoning methods, first and foremost. At least so that he could feel as though he'd tried.
Jhinka
The pair of Jhinka just grinned at each other. "Oh, mate, I think we do..."
They split apart quickly, one going low, the other going high and came diving towards Jono. One had his sword out, the other clutched a wicked looking hook in his hand. Neither looked particularly clean.
Jono
And Jono's reaction to that? Was mostly just a mad scramble to the side, to whatever direction these two didn't seem to be headed, hitting the ground in a roll before scrambling back to his feet again, wide-eyed.
//Don't make me do this. Please don't make me do this.//
Jhinka
"Begging already?" The higher one chuckled nastily. He pulled his blade in and angled it at Jono. "Where's the fun in that?"
Jono
//Wasn't intended to be smart,// Jono replied, casting a quick glance around to see if there was anywhere that he could dodge to from here.
The answer came back a resounding no. Not unless he wanted to do so while tripping over the dead. And he was suddenly very grateful that he couldn't puke.
//I just happen to have a few aversions to killing people when they've got me backed into corners.//
Jhinka
"Funny enough, we don't have the same problem."
They weren't actually diving at Jono yet. It was more a practiced aerial stalk. Why hurry the inevitable when they could play instead?
Jono
//Funny thing about that, innit? Yer not actually backed into any corners.// Jono had an ace up his sleeve with the fire under his bandages, and he knew it. And so the fact that they were apparently playing cat-and-mouse meant that he at least had a little bit of time to crouch down and grope about blindly for something to use as a weapon.
He blanched as his hand brushed over wet, soft flesh, but he kept going. A discarded weapon, anything.
The broken piece of brick that he stumbled across would have to do. He closed it in his hands, and then let it fly. Not the best throw in his life. He was really more a fan of football than baseball, after all. But it would have to do.
Jhinka
The brick actually connected with the lower one's shoulder. He hissed, narrowing his golden eyes at Jono. "So, you do want to play. Good. So do we."
And now they were coming in for real.
Jono
Well, this was it, then. Backed against a wall with bodies to his knees left and right, and playing a game of chicken with a pair that had absolutely no qualms about trying to gut him.
Jonothon pressed his back against that wall, good and solid, and he waited for it. Jonothon was a gambling man, and today the gamble was that they were going to go for the slow, painful death. Cat and mouse. A belly wound, perhaps.
Whichever of the two of them reached him first, they were more than welcome to try.
Jhinka
A belly wound was a blow of choice for the Jhinka. Or a nasty cut to the groin. Eyes perhaps.
Really, they aimed for anything that seemed vulnerable, painful, debilitating, and non-lethal. Much more fun that way.
For them.
Didn't Jono feel better knowing his gamble was going to pay off?
The one who had gotten hit with a brick came in first, raising his weapon to slice at Jono's guts. Hard for him to run when tripping on innards, don't you know.
Jono
But not as difficult to spill innards across the ground when there weren't any innards to speak of, wasn't it? And instead of guts, when that weapon split open Jonothon's bandages, fire billowed out, wrapping itself around the Jhinka's weapon, superheating it in an instant and making it explode right there in his hand.
And if that wasn't enough, more flames shot forward, toward the Jhinka's wings.
Jonothon didn't much care for lethal blows himself. But debilitating, he could do.
Jhinka
The Jhinka would like to cry 'Foul, red flag on the play' at Jono, a) having no innards, and b) being filled with fire.
The first Jhinka screamed shrilly as his hands burned and blistered around his sword. And then it exploded, sending shard of red-hot metal into his chest and face. By the time the flames reached his wings, he barely felt them.
He plummeted to the ground, howling in agony. That didn't stop his friend from swooping to carve off Jono's face.
Jono
Very, very rarely, Jonothon actually found himself thankful that he was filled with fire. This was one of those moments. Maybe it would even last a while, this time around.
His hand reached up and ripped the rest of his bandages away, demonstrating just how much of him was filled with fire. And his friend wasn't going to get it any easier than the first. Not if he was going to insist on attacking him even after seeing that.
This time, the fire was just as much concussive as it was hot, and a column of bright blue flame was hurtling toward the Jhinka with a head-on collision very much in mind.
Jhinka
At first, the Jhinka thought that Jono's flame had missed him, the concussive blast slamming him backwards into a wall. There were several small crunching sounds, as his wings broke in several different places, but at least he was safe from the fire.
His comfort was short-lived as the flames caught up. Fortunately, so was his terrified shriek as he inhaled and the fire took his very breath away.
Jono
Jonothon wasn't about to stick around to see the aftermath. Now that his bandages were hanging like tattered streamers down to his knees, he'd gone from 'goth with issues' to 'walking beacon' all over again. And he'd learned his lesson about that back in Silent Hill.
He zipped his jacket, ducked his head, stepped over the Jhinka that had tried and failed to eviscerate him, and then he ran.
//Plonkers.//
Emma
Even in her altered state, Emma could feel something stirring. The cold, disconnected void where her heart normally beat was filling with anger and loathing, prompting her to run faster.
These weren't her people, and she couldn't afford to care about them right now. First, Karla, and then they had to find a way back out again.
Jhinka
"Shiiiiiiiiiny." Another Jhinka, this one younger that others they'd seen, came flapping out of a window at her. He was small and slight, looking barely old enough to wield the knife he was waving about.
The dried blood on the edge might have suggested otherwise, though. "Mine."
Emma
Emma drew her lips back in a snarl, pushing herself to try and go faster. "Go home, little boy," she managed through gritted teeth. "Auntie Emma doesn't want to play with you today."
Jhinka
"Mine!" He yelled again and dove, knife glinting a bit in the light.
Emma
Damn. Emma swore aloud and dodged to the left, bringing her hands together and raising them up to bash her combined fists down on the back of his head.
Jhinka
Between the weight of her fists and the momentum of her blow, the little Jhinka's skull gave an ominous crack and he went flailing past, thudding into a brick wall of the house behind her.
He slid down, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Emma
Emma took a step back instinctively, mildly confused. Yes, she had to be careful not to break things when in this form, but that was because she lacked tactile sensitivity to know when she was applying too much force. She knew, abstractly, that she was somewhat stronger, but surely she hadn't hit him that hard, to cause that sound. Emma barely knew how to punch someone.
Still, that was a matter to contemplate for another day. Emma spun about, taking off at a run after the rest of the group. It was down, for now, and hopefully wouldn't be bothering her again today. She wasn't going to stand around and make herself bait for any other creatures that thought 'shiny' would be a nice prize.
Tara
Nothing Tara had ever seen had prepared her for this. She fought the urge to vomit as she rushed through the town, unable to fight her urge to pause and see if she could help any of the victims.
The children were the hardest. She could barely see through the tears streaming down her face.
Jhinka
While most of the Jhinka preferred straight on attacks (or, more accurately, vicious aerial attacks from behind), not all of them worked quite so straight forwardly. Some preferred subterfuge and sneakiness to outright attacks.
"Help..." There was a weak cry from the alley. "Someone...please...I can't move my legs. Is anyone there? Please..."
Kennedy
This was... this was... oh, god. It was just all fucked up.
Kennedy had never been called indecisive in her life, but right now she looked absolutely torn, and felt as sick as Tara did even though she was trying not to let it show. Any hesitation she might've had about fighting the jhinka was completely gone now, but the deep-seated impulse to do something to stop some of them from their sick rampage was all mixed up with the desperate urge to throw up and the reality of the job she knew she had to do.
She was almost frozen, moving jerkily like she had to fight the urge to turn and run back, eyes darting between the victims on the streets-- wishing she hadn't looked, every time-- and the building that they were heading for. Because what the hell was she supposed to do? They were here to rescue Karla, she got that-- but was she supposed to just let any more of those poor kids and defenseless people get ripped to pieces?
She felt lost, and unsure, and it was all incredibly unfamiliar, and she hated it. Until she heard someone calling for help, anyway.
"Hear that?" she asked, glancing at Tara.
Tara
Tara froze in place. "Yes," she said, simply, and turned to Kennedy. Hope shimmered across her face. "Do you think -- could it be somebody we could help?"
God, she hoped so. There was too much death.
Kennedy
It was better than feeling like there wasn't anything they could do against that many Jhinka, that was for damn sure. It was something they could do, was the important thing.
"Has to be," Kennedy answered. Even if it was just one person, that was one more they could save, and...
She took a deep breath and reached for Tara's hand with her free one. "Yeah. Come on."
Jhinka
"Help. Oh help." There was a sound like suppressed snickers, but no. It was a choking, wracking sob.
"Please. Oh please. Someone help me."
Kennedy
Yeah, if there'd been any fuzzy spots in Kennedy's resolve? There weren't now, and she was heading toward the source of the voice without a second thought.
Tara
Tara was right behind her, moving as fast as she could without tripping over -- things she really didn't want to trip on.
"We're coming!"
Jhinka
The ruse lasted right until the two of them came into the alley. Then came that choking sob again--except this time, it really did sound like laughter.
"Help, oh help!" The Jhinka in front of them said, raising a hand to his forehead in mock-distress. His companions chortled again. "Works every time," he said. "Well, as long as there are survivors to fool."
Kennedy
"Shit." Kennedy was annoyed with herself more than anything else, and without consciously realizing it she took a step forward, ready to interpose herself between the Jhinka and Tara. Her fingers found the trigger of her loaded crossbow and tensed lightly. "God! Like the rest of what you've been doing isn't sick enough?"
Tara
Tara rested a hand on Kennedy's upper arm, the one she wouldn't need to shoot.
"You," she said hesitantly, "Um. You picked the wrong g-g-girls to try to trick."
It would have sounded more defiant if she'd said it like she meant it.
Jhinka
"Suuuuure we did," the lead Jhinka replied, flaring his wings a bit. They stretched from one side of the alley to the other, dragging slightly across the homes on either side. The sound was very nails on a chalkboard, oddly enough.
"Somehow, I think we did just fine," he said, advancing towards them. His friends leapt up onto the walls and slowly began crawling towards them, mouths open in bright red leers.
Kennedy
Kennedy did a desperate bit of mental assessment-- she'd spent so long training one-on-one that she had to think about this. Two-to-one odds, not horrible all things considered, but that was before factoring in the wings. And she could get a shot off, but was she going to have time to reload?
This was... not good, but she was not going to let them know they'd rattled her pretty badly.
"Got my back, I got yours?" she murmured to Tara.
To the Jhinka she tossed off a more sarcastic reply. "You are entitled to your opinion," she said, and brought her crossbow up to fire, aiming for the lead Jhinka's eye.
Tara
Tara couldn't answer except with a nod that Kennedy would probably never see. She was too busy pushing her telekinesis as far as she could. Rocks, bits of wood, trash people had dropped in the streets -- anything with any projectile worth was flying toward the Jhinkas, and Tara glowed slightly with the effort.
None of it was large enough to kill, or even wound seriously. But she hoped it would be a distraction while Kennedy fired.
Jhinka
The shower of debris spooked the Jhinka a bit. The one to the lead Jhinka's right lost his purchase on the wall, falling and hitting his compatriot, who was already ducking away from the crossbow Kennedy had brought to bear.
The bolt was loosed. The falling Jhinka never even had a chance to see what hit him before the bolt took him in the throat.
His body dragged the first to the ground with him, while the third hissed at Kennedy and leapt.
Kennedy
So much for time to reload (much less congratulate herself for missing her target but getting a good shot in anyway); Kennedy yelped and threw herself backward, fumbling for one of her knives as she fell.
Tara
"Oh my God." Tara threw herself at Kennedy, scrambling to get between her and the jhinka. She was moving purely on instinct and adrenaline, and she'd lost the focus she needed to control the debris; it swirled wildly around them.
One of Kennedy's knives had bounced out of a holster, and she scrabbled for it. If she could get her hands on a weapon, she could slash out.
Jhinka
Swirling wildly or not, the debris was still helpful; the leaping Jhinka flinched to the side in order to avoid getting a large chunk of wood to his face. Rather than landing on Kennedy, he landed beside her in a crouch.
He reached into his waistband for a sharply-bladed knife at the same time the lead Jhinka heaved their friend's body off of himself and stood up.
Kennedy
Kennedy liked knives, just not when there was a good chance they were about to be used on her.
She got one of her own free at the same time and stabbed half-wildly through the swirling debris at the crouching Jhinka's knee. "Tara, the others, look out!"
Tara
Afterward, Tara would never be able to describe exactly how she did what she did next. All she knew was that she reached somehow, halfway remembering a playful conversation with Kennedy about whether she could 'pick her up.'
She hadn't managed much, then, but she hadn't been as angry or as frightened. She shoved at the rear Jhinka with her mind, trying to slam his skull into the alley wall as hard as she could.
If she'd paused to think about what she was doing, she would have been horrified.
Jhinka
Had the Jhinka been angled differently, or had he hit a different section of wall, it was possible that he would have come out of this with nothing more than a concussion and a nasty headache.
Such was not to be.
Tara shoved him, hard. The Jhinka hastily spread his wings, trying to slow himself down and scrabble hard for purchase. For a moment, it seemed like it was working, at least until a fist-sized rock, swept up in the maelstrom of debris, slammed into his innermost wing-strut. His wing crumpled, and the Jhinka turned a bit, clutching his injured wing--and presenting the thinner bone of his temple to a large chunk of masonry, jutting out from the wall.
His head connected to the wall with a sickening crunch as the masonry punched straight through the side of his skull. There was another snap, as yet another wing-strut broke under the impact with the wall. The Jhinka didn't really notice as the pressure from Tara's spell lessened and he slid down the wall, leaving a bright smear of blood behind.
Kennedy
Kennedy's eyes widened when she saw the Jhinka go flying-- she was too occupied to see him impact the wall, or the smear of blood, or she might have maybe thought twice about gritting out, "Nice one, babe!"
The shock of metal hitting bone lanced up the length of her arm, and she realized she'd managed to bury her knife just above the crouching Jhinka's knee. Not quite what she'd been aiming for, but she just needed to buy them a minute to get out of this alley, and there was more than one way to slow him down--
She got both hands on the hilt of the knife and twisted it, hard, pushing upward as she did.
Tara
Nice one, Babe. Tara saw the bright smear of blood on the wall and tasted bile in her throat. She'd just -
She couldn't think about it.
She let the debris drop back to the ground and stood, knife in hand, waiting to see how the second Jhinka would react to Kennedy's attack.
Jhinka
Well, his first reaction was to scream. Loudly. And then collapse to the ground, as his leg informed him that it would no longer be able to support his weight.
Unfortunately, he couldn't just leave it at incoherent screaming. "I'll feast on your eyes!" he howled, even as he tried to stanch the bleeding.
Kennedy
"Ew," Kennedy said curtly, not so much because she was feeling snarky as because she'd managed to spray herself in the face with the Jhinka's blood when she ripped her knife back out of his leg.
She rolled away quickly and got to her feet, gesturing frantically at Tara as she wiped the blade of the knife off on her pants. "Come on, let's move," she blurted out, pausing for a moment to scoop up her crossbow and completely forgetting to take stock of their attackers.
Tara
It was a good thing Kennedy was encouraging her. If she hadn't been, Tara might have just stood rooted to the spot.
"Moving," she said, and stuck her knife into a belt loop. She would have started to run right away, but she needed to make sure Kennedy was with her. "Kennedy!"
Her telekinetic push at the wounded jhinka wasn't as strong as the last one had been, but she hoped it would be enough to give kennedy the time to get away.
Jhinka
This time, her telepathic push was more helpful than not to the Jhinka. It skidded him over to a wall, which he was able to use as a prop to pull himself upright.
His leg was a mess, made even worse by his unintended trip across the ground. It throbbed and bled and he hissed between his teeth anytime something touched the gouge that she'd furrowed in his knee.
Fortunately, he didn't need both legs to fly.
Keeping his bad leg limp (not that it required much effort on his part anyway), he jumped into the air with his good leg. He couldn't really fly in the alleyway, but he could do an odd kind of flutter-hop out of it.
And, of course, once he was out where he could stretch his wings freely, there was nothing to stop him from launching himself in the air to dive at the fleeing females.
Kennedy
Kennedy was all right; she'd only had the wind knocked out of her, but she hadn't been hurt and Tara had gotten her exactly the time she needed to catch up and head out into the open.
That... might not have been the smartest idea, in retrospect, so it was probably a good thing she'd gotten her sword out.
"--stupid of me, shouldn't have fallen for that. So, so dumb," she was saying as she ran.
Tara
"We were trying to help," Tara said, between puffs of breath. "It -- it wasn't our fault they're evil."
Evil. And she'd killed one. Unless he was just really into napping in the alley. It was too much to process.
Uneasily, she glanced back to the alley. Was there a noise?
Jhinka
Perhaps Tara had heard the few wingbeats the remaining Jhinka needed to catch up with them in the air. Or perhaps the occasional moan he couldn't silence.
The one thing they probably would notice was the sudden shower of blood that peppered them as he hovered above their heads, right before arcing and diving down for them, hands crooked into sharp claws.
Kennedy
"Oh, god--"
Pure, wordless instinct had Kennedy whirling and slashing blindly upward, a wild cut that could, for all she could tell, be completely wide of her target. She wasn't thinking, not further than keeping herself between Tara and the Jhinka, and certainly not defensively.
Tara
"Ew."
There was blood dripping down Tara's hair and into her eyes. That fact alone was horrifying, and then she realized Kennedy was slashing at the creature flapping through the air above them. "Kennedy, don't --"
Trying to help, she threw her knife, forsaking magic and just going for a straight toss at the creature's throat.
Which would have been more effective if it wasn't moving.
Jhinka
The knife startled the Jhinka out of his dive as he instinctively flinched to the left. The knife went went flying off into the distance before landing on the ground and sliding a few feet.
Not so lucky the Jhinka. His full-body flinch brought him directly into the path of Kennedy's flailing sword. The cut that had, originally, been too wide, found its mark after all, cutting deeply into the Jhinka's thigh and severing the artery there.
More blood fell and, shortly thereafter, so did he.
Kennedy
Kennedy hadn't been expecting that, and the shock of impact-- not to mention the splatter of hot blood against her face-- jarred her off-balance. She hadn't had time to wrench her sword free from the Jhinka's leg before he fell, and she stumbled badly herself before she remembered to let go of it.
She staggered back, and if she didn't catch herself in time she just might bump into Tara.
Tara
Tara reached out her arms, trying to catch Kennedy before she hurt herself. "Are you okay?" she whispered.
It was a stupid question. She didn't think either of them was okay.
Kennedy
Kennedy's hands came up to rest on Tara's shoulders, and she leaned into her girlfriend for what felt like a very long moment.
"Yeah," she said, trying to sound tougher than she felt right now. "Yeah, I'm okay."
She pulled back to study Tara's face, somehow thinking Tara wouldn't really believe that anyway. "Are you?"
Tara
"I ..." Tara drew a deep, shuddering breath. She was alive, and not wounded, but no, she wasn't okay.
"I will be," she said. Strong like an Amazon. She'd remember that. "Let's get inside."
Kennedy
"You will be. We both will," Kennedy said firmly as she moved to retrieve her sword, a tacit admission that she wasn't actually okay either. "Come on."
If she kept contact with Tara as best she could the entire way, it was for both their sakes, really.
Lucivar
Reaching the building, the students realized that the Ebon-gray shield extended about ten yards away from the two-story stone building. Piled high around the edges were vast mounds of Jhinka dead, blood and gore splashed liberally about the shield's surface. While many had been blown apart by Craft, still others had clearly been crushed against the shield itself, slamming against the barrier five or six deep. There was a deep tunnel off to one side, with more dead Jhinka around the mouth, and some actually within the shield itself.
In the center of the courtyard stood Lucivar. His normally brown skin was an ashy gray, and even yards away and through a shield, he looked exhausted.
Just as they arrived, the shield around the building flickered and died. And did not go back up.
Morton
"Cassidy!" Morton barked. "Shield!"
Cassidy
t was a natural reaction and in response to Morton, Cassidy had brought her strongest Tiger-Eye shield up around her.
Morton
Morton glanced over for just a moment to double-check, and relaxed ever so slightly. One thing he didn't have to worry too much about. Even though he'd definitely keep a corner of his mind on her.
Cassidy
Morton could be assured that until he or Karla -- or, Mother Night, Aaron, told her otherwise, she would be keeping her shield up. She had never seen anything like this and didn't want to become like the other bodies all over the place.
Jhinka would be something she would do some heavy duty research on.
Lucivar
Lucivar vanished his Ebon-gray ring and necklace, calling in his Birthright Red. The ring had been drained already, attacking the Jhinka as they'd tunneled under the shield and tried to poison their water supply, so he was limited to the reserves in his Red necklace.
“Hurry up!” he barked, though his voice lacked much of its usual strength and command. “In here, now!”
Before the Jhinka could finished their dives towards the unprotected courtyard, a Red shield snapped up in it's place. The Jhinkas screamed and hissed in protest, making rude gestures as their prey, both old and new, escaped their grasp.
Lucivar didn’t even bother asking why Morton and the others were there. There was nothing to be spared for useless comments. “Come,” he said, gesturing towards the building. “I’ll take you to her.”
Mari
Whatever the building's purpose had once been, it had been turned into a makeshift hospital. About five hundred people were crammed into it, spread out between several rooms. They lay on the floor, on a few scavenged blankets, on cloaks, skirts, whatever could be found.
The building reeked of blood, of urine, of worse. Not a single person on the floor was free of wounds--most of them bore several, even those who showed signs of Healing. Moans, cries, and whimpered curses filled the air and the pain was almost palpable. Movement upstairs suggested there were yet more above.
A few people, less injured than the others, slowly moved about, doing what little they could to ease the suffering of their friends and neighbors. Though Lucivar had said this was the third day since the trap had sprung and caught them all, there were still some who lacked bandages and splints for their wounds.
One landen female, her arm in a sling, looked up at Lucivar's approach and pointed upstairs.
[Warnings in place for explicit violence and potentially disturbing imagery. NFI, NFB, OOC=love. Text adapted from Chapter Thirteen of Heir to the Shadows. In that nothing like this entry ever happened in the book. List of previous entries can be found here.]
Jono
//Christ...//
It was difficult to pay attention to the enemy overhead when left and right there were so many bodies. And, really, it wasn't that Jonothon hadn't seen bodies before. But this... he'd go back to Silent Hill willingly if it meant that he would never have to see this again whenever he closed his eyes.
It had been wholesale slaughter.
Jhinka
That was okay. Even if Jono wasn't paying any attention to them, the Jhinka certainly noticed him. In fact, two were flying out of an alleyway right now to make his acquaintance.
"And to think, we thought we were out of survivors!"
Jono
Jono actually slumped at the shoulders a little as he became painfully aware that the voice that he was now hearing was directed at him.
//Trust me, mates, you don't want to do this.//
His hands were out of his pockets. He was more than ready to pull his bandages aside if it came to that, but... Well, he had to try the futile reasoning methods, first and foremost. At least so that he could feel as though he'd tried.
Jhinka
The pair of Jhinka just grinned at each other. "Oh, mate, I think we do..."
They split apart quickly, one going low, the other going high and came diving towards Jono. One had his sword out, the other clutched a wicked looking hook in his hand. Neither looked particularly clean.
Jono
And Jono's reaction to that? Was mostly just a mad scramble to the side, to whatever direction these two didn't seem to be headed, hitting the ground in a roll before scrambling back to his feet again, wide-eyed.
//Don't make me do this. Please don't make me do this.//
Jhinka
"Begging already?" The higher one chuckled nastily. He pulled his blade in and angled it at Jono. "Where's the fun in that?"
Jono
//Wasn't intended to be smart,// Jono replied, casting a quick glance around to see if there was anywhere that he could dodge to from here.
The answer came back a resounding no. Not unless he wanted to do so while tripping over the dead. And he was suddenly very grateful that he couldn't puke.
//I just happen to have a few aversions to killing people when they've got me backed into corners.//
Jhinka
"Funny enough, we don't have the same problem."
They weren't actually diving at Jono yet. It was more a practiced aerial stalk. Why hurry the inevitable when they could play instead?
Jono
//Funny thing about that, innit? Yer not actually backed into any corners.// Jono had an ace up his sleeve with the fire under his bandages, and he knew it. And so the fact that they were apparently playing cat-and-mouse meant that he at least had a little bit of time to crouch down and grope about blindly for something to use as a weapon.
He blanched as his hand brushed over wet, soft flesh, but he kept going. A discarded weapon, anything.
The broken piece of brick that he stumbled across would have to do. He closed it in his hands, and then let it fly. Not the best throw in his life. He was really more a fan of football than baseball, after all. But it would have to do.
Jhinka
The brick actually connected with the lower one's shoulder. He hissed, narrowing his golden eyes at Jono. "So, you do want to play. Good. So do we."
And now they were coming in for real.
Jono
Well, this was it, then. Backed against a wall with bodies to his knees left and right, and playing a game of chicken with a pair that had absolutely no qualms about trying to gut him.
Jonothon pressed his back against that wall, good and solid, and he waited for it. Jonothon was a gambling man, and today the gamble was that they were going to go for the slow, painful death. Cat and mouse. A belly wound, perhaps.
Whichever of the two of them reached him first, they were more than welcome to try.
Jhinka
A belly wound was a blow of choice for the Jhinka. Or a nasty cut to the groin. Eyes perhaps.
Really, they aimed for anything that seemed vulnerable, painful, debilitating, and non-lethal. Much more fun that way.
For them.
Didn't Jono feel better knowing his gamble was going to pay off?
The one who had gotten hit with a brick came in first, raising his weapon to slice at Jono's guts. Hard for him to run when tripping on innards, don't you know.
Jono
But not as difficult to spill innards across the ground when there weren't any innards to speak of, wasn't it? And instead of guts, when that weapon split open Jonothon's bandages, fire billowed out, wrapping itself around the Jhinka's weapon, superheating it in an instant and making it explode right there in his hand.
And if that wasn't enough, more flames shot forward, toward the Jhinka's wings.
Jonothon didn't much care for lethal blows himself. But debilitating, he could do.
Jhinka
The Jhinka would like to cry 'Foul, red flag on the play' at Jono, a) having no innards, and b) being filled with fire.
The first Jhinka screamed shrilly as his hands burned and blistered around his sword. And then it exploded, sending shard of red-hot metal into his chest and face. By the time the flames reached his wings, he barely felt them.
He plummeted to the ground, howling in agony. That didn't stop his friend from swooping to carve off Jono's face.
Jono
Very, very rarely, Jonothon actually found himself thankful that he was filled with fire. This was one of those moments. Maybe it would even last a while, this time around.
His hand reached up and ripped the rest of his bandages away, demonstrating just how much of him was filled with fire. And his friend wasn't going to get it any easier than the first. Not if he was going to insist on attacking him even after seeing that.
This time, the fire was just as much concussive as it was hot, and a column of bright blue flame was hurtling toward the Jhinka with a head-on collision very much in mind.
Jhinka
At first, the Jhinka thought that Jono's flame had missed him, the concussive blast slamming him backwards into a wall. There were several small crunching sounds, as his wings broke in several different places, but at least he was safe from the fire.
His comfort was short-lived as the flames caught up. Fortunately, so was his terrified shriek as he inhaled and the fire took his very breath away.
Jono
Jonothon wasn't about to stick around to see the aftermath. Now that his bandages were hanging like tattered streamers down to his knees, he'd gone from 'goth with issues' to 'walking beacon' all over again. And he'd learned his lesson about that back in Silent Hill.
He zipped his jacket, ducked his head, stepped over the Jhinka that had tried and failed to eviscerate him, and then he ran.
//Plonkers.//
Emma
Even in her altered state, Emma could feel something stirring. The cold, disconnected void where her heart normally beat was filling with anger and loathing, prompting her to run faster.
These weren't her people, and she couldn't afford to care about them right now. First, Karla, and then they had to find a way back out again.
Jhinka
"Shiiiiiiiiiny." Another Jhinka, this one younger that others they'd seen, came flapping out of a window at her. He was small and slight, looking barely old enough to wield the knife he was waving about.
The dried blood on the edge might have suggested otherwise, though. "Mine."
Emma
Emma drew her lips back in a snarl, pushing herself to try and go faster. "Go home, little boy," she managed through gritted teeth. "Auntie Emma doesn't want to play with you today."
Jhinka
"Mine!" He yelled again and dove, knife glinting a bit in the light.
Emma
Damn. Emma swore aloud and dodged to the left, bringing her hands together and raising them up to bash her combined fists down on the back of his head.
Jhinka
Between the weight of her fists and the momentum of her blow, the little Jhinka's skull gave an ominous crack and he went flailing past, thudding into a brick wall of the house behind her.
He slid down, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Emma
Emma took a step back instinctively, mildly confused. Yes, she had to be careful not to break things when in this form, but that was because she lacked tactile sensitivity to know when she was applying too much force. She knew, abstractly, that she was somewhat stronger, but surely she hadn't hit him that hard, to cause that sound. Emma barely knew how to punch someone.
Still, that was a matter to contemplate for another day. Emma spun about, taking off at a run after the rest of the group. It was down, for now, and hopefully wouldn't be bothering her again today. She wasn't going to stand around and make herself bait for any other creatures that thought 'shiny' would be a nice prize.
Tara
Nothing Tara had ever seen had prepared her for this. She fought the urge to vomit as she rushed through the town, unable to fight her urge to pause and see if she could help any of the victims.
The children were the hardest. She could barely see through the tears streaming down her face.
Jhinka
While most of the Jhinka preferred straight on attacks (or, more accurately, vicious aerial attacks from behind), not all of them worked quite so straight forwardly. Some preferred subterfuge and sneakiness to outright attacks.
"Help..." There was a weak cry from the alley. "Someone...please...I can't move my legs. Is anyone there? Please..."
Kennedy
This was... this was... oh, god. It was just all fucked up.
Kennedy had never been called indecisive in her life, but right now she looked absolutely torn, and felt as sick as Tara did even though she was trying not to let it show. Any hesitation she might've had about fighting the jhinka was completely gone now, but the deep-seated impulse to do something to stop some of them from their sick rampage was all mixed up with the desperate urge to throw up and the reality of the job she knew she had to do.
She was almost frozen, moving jerkily like she had to fight the urge to turn and run back, eyes darting between the victims on the streets-- wishing she hadn't looked, every time-- and the building that they were heading for. Because what the hell was she supposed to do? They were here to rescue Karla, she got that-- but was she supposed to just let any more of those poor kids and defenseless people get ripped to pieces?
She felt lost, and unsure, and it was all incredibly unfamiliar, and she hated it. Until she heard someone calling for help, anyway.
"Hear that?" she asked, glancing at Tara.
Tara
Tara froze in place. "Yes," she said, simply, and turned to Kennedy. Hope shimmered across her face. "Do you think -- could it be somebody we could help?"
God, she hoped so. There was too much death.
Kennedy
It was better than feeling like there wasn't anything they could do against that many Jhinka, that was for damn sure. It was something they could do, was the important thing.
"Has to be," Kennedy answered. Even if it was just one person, that was one more they could save, and...
She took a deep breath and reached for Tara's hand with her free one. "Yeah. Come on."
Jhinka
"Help. Oh help." There was a sound like suppressed snickers, but no. It was a choking, wracking sob.
"Please. Oh please. Someone help me."
Kennedy
Yeah, if there'd been any fuzzy spots in Kennedy's resolve? There weren't now, and she was heading toward the source of the voice without a second thought.
Tara
Tara was right behind her, moving as fast as she could without tripping over -- things she really didn't want to trip on.
"We're coming!"
Jhinka
The ruse lasted right until the two of them came into the alley. Then came that choking sob again--except this time, it really did sound like laughter.
"Help, oh help!" The Jhinka in front of them said, raising a hand to his forehead in mock-distress. His companions chortled again. "Works every time," he said. "Well, as long as there are survivors to fool."
Kennedy
"Shit." Kennedy was annoyed with herself more than anything else, and without consciously realizing it she took a step forward, ready to interpose herself between the Jhinka and Tara. Her fingers found the trigger of her loaded crossbow and tensed lightly. "God! Like the rest of what you've been doing isn't sick enough?"
Tara
Tara rested a hand on Kennedy's upper arm, the one she wouldn't need to shoot.
"You," she said hesitantly, "Um. You picked the wrong g-g-girls to try to trick."
It would have sounded more defiant if she'd said it like she meant it.
Jhinka
"Suuuuure we did," the lead Jhinka replied, flaring his wings a bit. They stretched from one side of the alley to the other, dragging slightly across the homes on either side. The sound was very nails on a chalkboard, oddly enough.
"Somehow, I think we did just fine," he said, advancing towards them. His friends leapt up onto the walls and slowly began crawling towards them, mouths open in bright red leers.
Kennedy
Kennedy did a desperate bit of mental assessment-- she'd spent so long training one-on-one that she had to think about this. Two-to-one odds, not horrible all things considered, but that was before factoring in the wings. And she could get a shot off, but was she going to have time to reload?
This was... not good, but she was not going to let them know they'd rattled her pretty badly.
"Got my back, I got yours?" she murmured to Tara.
To the Jhinka she tossed off a more sarcastic reply. "You are entitled to your opinion," she said, and brought her crossbow up to fire, aiming for the lead Jhinka's eye.
Tara
Tara couldn't answer except with a nod that Kennedy would probably never see. She was too busy pushing her telekinesis as far as she could. Rocks, bits of wood, trash people had dropped in the streets -- anything with any projectile worth was flying toward the Jhinkas, and Tara glowed slightly with the effort.
None of it was large enough to kill, or even wound seriously. But she hoped it would be a distraction while Kennedy fired.
Jhinka
The shower of debris spooked the Jhinka a bit. The one to the lead Jhinka's right lost his purchase on the wall, falling and hitting his compatriot, who was already ducking away from the crossbow Kennedy had brought to bear.
The bolt was loosed. The falling Jhinka never even had a chance to see what hit him before the bolt took him in the throat.
His body dragged the first to the ground with him, while the third hissed at Kennedy and leapt.
Kennedy
So much for time to reload (much less congratulate herself for missing her target but getting a good shot in anyway); Kennedy yelped and threw herself backward, fumbling for one of her knives as she fell.
Tara
"Oh my God." Tara threw herself at Kennedy, scrambling to get between her and the jhinka. She was moving purely on instinct and adrenaline, and she'd lost the focus she needed to control the debris; it swirled wildly around them.
One of Kennedy's knives had bounced out of a holster, and she scrabbled for it. If she could get her hands on a weapon, she could slash out.
Jhinka
Swirling wildly or not, the debris was still helpful; the leaping Jhinka flinched to the side in order to avoid getting a large chunk of wood to his face. Rather than landing on Kennedy, he landed beside her in a crouch.
He reached into his waistband for a sharply-bladed knife at the same time the lead Jhinka heaved their friend's body off of himself and stood up.
Kennedy
Kennedy liked knives, just not when there was a good chance they were about to be used on her.
She got one of her own free at the same time and stabbed half-wildly through the swirling debris at the crouching Jhinka's knee. "Tara, the others, look out!"
Tara
Afterward, Tara would never be able to describe exactly how she did what she did next. All she knew was that she reached somehow, halfway remembering a playful conversation with Kennedy about whether she could 'pick her up.'
She hadn't managed much, then, but she hadn't been as angry or as frightened. She shoved at the rear Jhinka with her mind, trying to slam his skull into the alley wall as hard as she could.
If she'd paused to think about what she was doing, she would have been horrified.
Jhinka
Had the Jhinka been angled differently, or had he hit a different section of wall, it was possible that he would have come out of this with nothing more than a concussion and a nasty headache.
Such was not to be.
Tara shoved him, hard. The Jhinka hastily spread his wings, trying to slow himself down and scrabble hard for purchase. For a moment, it seemed like it was working, at least until a fist-sized rock, swept up in the maelstrom of debris, slammed into his innermost wing-strut. His wing crumpled, and the Jhinka turned a bit, clutching his injured wing--and presenting the thinner bone of his temple to a large chunk of masonry, jutting out from the wall.
His head connected to the wall with a sickening crunch as the masonry punched straight through the side of his skull. There was another snap, as yet another wing-strut broke under the impact with the wall. The Jhinka didn't really notice as the pressure from Tara's spell lessened and he slid down the wall, leaving a bright smear of blood behind.
Kennedy
Kennedy's eyes widened when she saw the Jhinka go flying-- she was too occupied to see him impact the wall, or the smear of blood, or she might have maybe thought twice about gritting out, "Nice one, babe!"
The shock of metal hitting bone lanced up the length of her arm, and she realized she'd managed to bury her knife just above the crouching Jhinka's knee. Not quite what she'd been aiming for, but she just needed to buy them a minute to get out of this alley, and there was more than one way to slow him down--
She got both hands on the hilt of the knife and twisted it, hard, pushing upward as she did.
Tara
Nice one, Babe. Tara saw the bright smear of blood on the wall and tasted bile in her throat. She'd just -
She couldn't think about it.
She let the debris drop back to the ground and stood, knife in hand, waiting to see how the second Jhinka would react to Kennedy's attack.
Jhinka
Well, his first reaction was to scream. Loudly. And then collapse to the ground, as his leg informed him that it would no longer be able to support his weight.
Unfortunately, he couldn't just leave it at incoherent screaming. "I'll feast on your eyes!" he howled, even as he tried to stanch the bleeding.
Kennedy
"Ew," Kennedy said curtly, not so much because she was feeling snarky as because she'd managed to spray herself in the face with the Jhinka's blood when she ripped her knife back out of his leg.
She rolled away quickly and got to her feet, gesturing frantically at Tara as she wiped the blade of the knife off on her pants. "Come on, let's move," she blurted out, pausing for a moment to scoop up her crossbow and completely forgetting to take stock of their attackers.
Tara
It was a good thing Kennedy was encouraging her. If she hadn't been, Tara might have just stood rooted to the spot.
"Moving," she said, and stuck her knife into a belt loop. She would have started to run right away, but she needed to make sure Kennedy was with her. "Kennedy!"
Her telekinetic push at the wounded jhinka wasn't as strong as the last one had been, but she hoped it would be enough to give kennedy the time to get away.
Jhinka
This time, her telepathic push was more helpful than not to the Jhinka. It skidded him over to a wall, which he was able to use as a prop to pull himself upright.
His leg was a mess, made even worse by his unintended trip across the ground. It throbbed and bled and he hissed between his teeth anytime something touched the gouge that she'd furrowed in his knee.
Fortunately, he didn't need both legs to fly.
Keeping his bad leg limp (not that it required much effort on his part anyway), he jumped into the air with his good leg. He couldn't really fly in the alleyway, but he could do an odd kind of flutter-hop out of it.
And, of course, once he was out where he could stretch his wings freely, there was nothing to stop him from launching himself in the air to dive at the fleeing females.
Kennedy
Kennedy was all right; she'd only had the wind knocked out of her, but she hadn't been hurt and Tara had gotten her exactly the time she needed to catch up and head out into the open.
That... might not have been the smartest idea, in retrospect, so it was probably a good thing she'd gotten her sword out.
"--stupid of me, shouldn't have fallen for that. So, so dumb," she was saying as she ran.
Tara
"We were trying to help," Tara said, between puffs of breath. "It -- it wasn't our fault they're evil."
Evil. And she'd killed one. Unless he was just really into napping in the alley. It was too much to process.
Uneasily, she glanced back to the alley. Was there a noise?
Jhinka
Perhaps Tara had heard the few wingbeats the remaining Jhinka needed to catch up with them in the air. Or perhaps the occasional moan he couldn't silence.
The one thing they probably would notice was the sudden shower of blood that peppered them as he hovered above their heads, right before arcing and diving down for them, hands crooked into sharp claws.
Kennedy
"Oh, god--"
Pure, wordless instinct had Kennedy whirling and slashing blindly upward, a wild cut that could, for all she could tell, be completely wide of her target. She wasn't thinking, not further than keeping herself between Tara and the Jhinka, and certainly not defensively.
Tara
"Ew."
There was blood dripping down Tara's hair and into her eyes. That fact alone was horrifying, and then she realized Kennedy was slashing at the creature flapping through the air above them. "Kennedy, don't --"
Trying to help, she threw her knife, forsaking magic and just going for a straight toss at the creature's throat.
Which would have been more effective if it wasn't moving.
Jhinka
The knife startled the Jhinka out of his dive as he instinctively flinched to the left. The knife went went flying off into the distance before landing on the ground and sliding a few feet.
Not so lucky the Jhinka. His full-body flinch brought him directly into the path of Kennedy's flailing sword. The cut that had, originally, been too wide, found its mark after all, cutting deeply into the Jhinka's thigh and severing the artery there.
More blood fell and, shortly thereafter, so did he.
Kennedy
Kennedy hadn't been expecting that, and the shock of impact-- not to mention the splatter of hot blood against her face-- jarred her off-balance. She hadn't had time to wrench her sword free from the Jhinka's leg before he fell, and she stumbled badly herself before she remembered to let go of it.
She staggered back, and if she didn't catch herself in time she just might bump into Tara.
Tara
Tara reached out her arms, trying to catch Kennedy before she hurt herself. "Are you okay?" she whispered.
It was a stupid question. She didn't think either of them was okay.
Kennedy
Kennedy's hands came up to rest on Tara's shoulders, and she leaned into her girlfriend for what felt like a very long moment.
"Yeah," she said, trying to sound tougher than she felt right now. "Yeah, I'm okay."
She pulled back to study Tara's face, somehow thinking Tara wouldn't really believe that anyway. "Are you?"
Tara
"I ..." Tara drew a deep, shuddering breath. She was alive, and not wounded, but no, she wasn't okay.
"I will be," she said. Strong like an Amazon. She'd remember that. "Let's get inside."
Kennedy
"You will be. We both will," Kennedy said firmly as she moved to retrieve her sword, a tacit admission that she wasn't actually okay either. "Come on."
If she kept contact with Tara as best she could the entire way, it was for both their sakes, really.
Lucivar
Reaching the building, the students realized that the Ebon-gray shield extended about ten yards away from the two-story stone building. Piled high around the edges were vast mounds of Jhinka dead, blood and gore splashed liberally about the shield's surface. While many had been blown apart by Craft, still others had clearly been crushed against the shield itself, slamming against the barrier five or six deep. There was a deep tunnel off to one side, with more dead Jhinka around the mouth, and some actually within the shield itself.
In the center of the courtyard stood Lucivar. His normally brown skin was an ashy gray, and even yards away and through a shield, he looked exhausted.
Just as they arrived, the shield around the building flickered and died. And did not go back up.
Morton
"Cassidy!" Morton barked. "Shield!"
Cassidy
t was a natural reaction and in response to Morton, Cassidy had brought her strongest Tiger-Eye shield up around her.
Morton
Morton glanced over for just a moment to double-check, and relaxed ever so slightly. One thing he didn't have to worry too much about. Even though he'd definitely keep a corner of his mind on her.
Cassidy
Morton could be assured that until he or Karla -- or, Mother Night, Aaron, told her otherwise, she would be keeping her shield up. She had never seen anything like this and didn't want to become like the other bodies all over the place.
Jhinka would be something she would do some heavy duty research on.
Lucivar
Lucivar vanished his Ebon-gray ring and necklace, calling in his Birthright Red. The ring had been drained already, attacking the Jhinka as they'd tunneled under the shield and tried to poison their water supply, so he was limited to the reserves in his Red necklace.
“Hurry up!” he barked, though his voice lacked much of its usual strength and command. “In here, now!”
Before the Jhinka could finished their dives towards the unprotected courtyard, a Red shield snapped up in it's place. The Jhinkas screamed and hissed in protest, making rude gestures as their prey, both old and new, escaped their grasp.
Lucivar didn’t even bother asking why Morton and the others were there. There was nothing to be spared for useless comments. “Come,” he said, gesturing towards the building. “I’ll take you to her.”
Mari
Whatever the building's purpose had once been, it had been turned into a makeshift hospital. About five hundred people were crammed into it, spread out between several rooms. They lay on the floor, on a few scavenged blankets, on cloaks, skirts, whatever could be found.
The building reeked of blood, of urine, of worse. Not a single person on the floor was free of wounds--most of them bore several, even those who showed signs of Healing. Moans, cries, and whimpered curses filled the air and the pain was almost palpable. Movement upstairs suggested there were yet more above.
A few people, less injured than the others, slowly moved about, doing what little they could to ease the suffering of their friends and neighbors. Though Lucivar had said this was the third day since the trap had sprung and caught them all, there were still some who lacked bandages and splints for their wounds.
One landen female, her arm in a sling, looked up at Lucivar's approach and pointed upstairs.
[Warnings in place for explicit violence and potentially disturbing imagery. NFI, NFB, OOC=love. Text adapted from Chapter Thirteen of Heir to the Shadows. In that nothing like this entry ever happened in the book. List of previous entries can be found here.]