I walk to the ball of fabric and lift it from the ground. It’s a pair of black pants with the legs cut off around the knees. I’m positive they’re the same pants that Tela had on the last time I saw her. I toss them to the ground and hurry back to Larn.
“This is definitely Tela’s cavern,” I say, “but she’s not here.”
“Let’s get Sash and come back inside to wait,” he replies.
“Dark,” I call out to extinguish the grubs.
Running my hand along the wall, I follow Larn through the tunnel. When we reach the end, the relentless storm is still in full force outside. Larn leans his head out the entrance and looks back and forth a few times. Confident that no Murkovin are nearby, he steps outside. After facing the slope that Sash climbed up, he squints at the top of the hill.
“Sash is gone,” he says to me.
Chapter 37
I fly out of the tunnel and look up the hill. Scouring the slope, I search for any sign of Sash in the shallow washes or behind boulders. Through the shroud of dark, I don’t spot her anywhere.
“Let’s go to the top,” I say to Larn. “Maybe she’s on the other side.”
After a quick check of the valley around us, Larn and I slosh up the steep slope. In the continuing onslaught of rain, we both lose our footing and slip to our knees. Using our hands to claw through the mud, we grapple our way towards the top.
“Sash,” I call out in a loud whisper when we near the crest.
We pause for a moment to see if she appears from the other side. Larn glances over his shoulder to make sure no one is behind us and then we scurry the rest of the way up the hill. Trying to find Sash, I immediately aim my eyes down the slope on the other side.
“Chase,” Larn says. “Look over there.”
I focus my eyes in the direction that Larn points. The backside of the hill we’re on slants down to a narrow valley. On the far side of the basin, the ground rises again to another small hill. On top of that knoll, under ominous churning clouds, Sash and a Murkovin woman are locked in furious combat. Each time their spears clash, a sharp clang rings out through the rain. I’ve seen Sash butcher three Murkovin in a matter of seconds, but in this battle, she can’t seem to get the upper hand.
The woman is a little taller than Sash. Other than that, they’re built almost exactly the same. The only distinct difference between them is that the woman’s long hair is laced with the ivory of a Murkovin instead of the scarlet that highlights Sash’s mane. It’s hard to tell for sure in the dark, but their facial features seem eerily similar. Every move they make, every attack and block, contains the same strength and agility. They could easily be mistaken for sisters.
“She needs help!” I blurt out.
“Let’s go!” Larn says.
We jump to our feet and storm down the backside of the hill. Swinging his head back and forth, Larn watches out for Murkovin while I keep my eyes trained on Sash. She thrusts her spear at the woman’s stomach, but the woman bounds backwards and avoids the tip. The woman counter-attacks with a jab of her weapon at Sash’s head.
As Sash catapults her spear up to block, she karate kicks one foot at the woman’s knees. The woman leaps over Sash’s foot, lands firmly in the mud, and fires a fist at Sash’s jaw. Sash catches the hand in hers, but a knee to Sash’s groin sends her stumbling backwards.
Off-balance on the slick dirt, Sash smacks the shaft of her spear against the side of the woman’s head. The woman staggers a few steps to her side while Sash regains her footing. Larn and I reach the small valley below them and race across the open space towards the hill they’re on.
Plotting their next moves, Sash and the woman crouch and stare at one another. At the exact same moment, they both lean forward and flare into light. A split-second later, Sash and the woman reappear on the opposite sides of each other.
With our mouths dropping open, Larn and I slide to a stop halfway through the valley. It’s almost beyond my comprehension that they blended their light from a virtual standstill. Even more amazing, they instantly came out of the beams after traveling only a few yards.
Now ten feet apart, Sash and the woman whirl towards one another. Although they both coil again, neither one attacks. They’re gasping for breath, obviously exhausted from a fight that seems unwinnable for either one.
“Look out!” Larn yells.
He grabs my shirt and hurls me to the ground. When I splash to the mud, Larn pivots his body to avoid a spear that was aimed at my back. As the attacking Murkovin tries to stop, he skims across the wet ground. Larn rivets his weapon into the creature’s back. After driving him to the dirt, Larn rips his spear out of the body and then drills it back down into the Murkovin’s skull. Out of the dark, a second beast speeds at Larn from behind.
Popping to my knees, I lunge my weapon at the second Murkovin. He arcs his spear over his head and swats the shaft of mine down to the ground. As Larn spins in the direction of the brute, the Murkovin plows his shoulder into Larn’s gut. With the Murkovin on top, they both topple to the wet ground beside me.
Larn grabs the Murkovin’s arms, but the brute hammers his forehead into Larn’s face. As blood spews from Larn’s nose, I rifle my spear at the side of the Murkovin’s head. Ducking under it, he shoves his weapon backwards at me. A fire ignites in my thigh when he bores the point through the muscle and all the way to the
