I heard Astrid murmur above me, “They see us now.” I sensed her ready her bow.
I dropped my whistle another degree lower and there, I felt something. I pulsed out a subsonic tune, pulling, pulling, pulling at the spark. I felt it slowly rise toward me. I started to sweat. I pulled again. Finally, the spark was there, at my fingertips below the earth.
I looked up and saw the todorats had closed the distance between us. I needed them to stomp. I let go of the earth spark for a second and whistled, “Go!” sharply to Owen and Julian. I grabbed the gold spark below me again with a low, rich vibration and watched.
Owen, in his wolf berserker form, leapt over the fence and charged the todorats. His gray muscles rippled and his wolf head howled. He raised his longsword. I heard Astrid gasp next to me. Julian was right behind Owen, moving more slowly and cautiously toward the besy.
The todorats stopped approaching Astrid and me and turned to Owen. The biggest one stepped in front of the other two and raised its arms. Its cloak fell back from its bony fingers and I saw a red bolt building in its hands. Astrid fired and her arrow struck the todorat in its right hand. It dropped the bolt, but didn’t turn away from Owen.
Astrid’s arrow gave Owen enough time to reach the creature though. He slashed his sword at its spindly chest and the todorat danced back. It raised its rear leg to stomp.
That’s what I was watching for. I urged the gold spark in the earth to dance. My subsonic tune was lively and the ground trembled. I added a trill to the whistle and commanded the spark to pull. When the todorat hoof struck, the earth was under my control, and it pulled the stomp into itself. The todorat’s leg froze in place, stuck.
The big todorat’s body jerked, attempting loosen its hoof, and Owen impaled it on the end of his sword. It sagged forward on its forelegs and then toppled over.
Julian, meanwhile, was distracting the two smaller todorats. He feinted thrusts and danced away, staying clear of the kicking hooves. Owen spun away from the dead one and started hacking at the next closest to him.
I kept up my earth whistle, keeping the spark dancing just for me, so when the todorats stomped, the earth sucked their legs into the ground and then released them, tripping them.
Without their greatest weapon, the todorats seemed befuddled. They spun in circles, still trying to stomp. Astrid sent more arrows into them as they twisted around.
Owen slashed the bony arms from the one in front of him and when it reared up, trying to kick him, he leapt high in the air and beheaded it.
Julian hacked at the legs of the last one, his strength battering the larger body. Every slash sent the todorat staggering back. Then, he dove forward and embedded his sword just where its equine chest turned into a human torso. Simultaneously, Astrid fired an arrow directly into its face. Its scream abruptly cut off.
I whistled a low thanks to the gold spark in the earth and released it. I stood, swaying a little. I felt drained.
Owen and Julian stepped around the bodies and walked toward us.
“Don’t let go of your sword,” I called to Owen and he nodded.
When we were all together, I gestured at the bes bodies. “We need to burn these. We also need to find a spot where Owen can sleep for a few hours.”
“I can hike back in this form,” Owen countered.
I looked steadily at him. “It’s four or five hours back to our camp. If you’re a berserker for that long, instead of having to sleep for a few hours, you’ll probably sleep for days. I think that’s a waste of your magic.”
He said “Yeah, you’re right,” and twitched his wolf ears.
Astrid kept staring at him. Finally, she turned her gaze away. At my raised eyebrow, she flushed. “I’ve never seen a berserker before,” she said defensively. “My uncle was a bear berserker, but I never saw him in the form.”
Just then, I heard a voice calling us from the fence. I looked up and saw an older woman, her face wrinkled and grinning, waving her arm at us and calling.
“Uh oh,” I muttered. “I’ll go and talk to her. Julian and Astrid, try to stand in front of Owen. Maybe she didn’t see him.”
“Yeah, and the dead horse monster bodies? Maybe she didn’t see them either,” Astrid answered sarcastically.
“Sure, Very,” Julian answered easily and stood next to Owen, who crouched lower and ducked his head. Astrid stood next to Julian, angling her face away.
I walked over to the woman. She was wearing baggy jeans and a coat with fur at the hood. Her eyes were very excited and she waved her gloved hands, talking rapidly in Russian. I shrugged helplessly, ready to tell her I couldn’t understand her, when I realized that I did. The cuckoo’s gift must work for other languages too.
She stopped gesturing and waited for my answer, “Sorry,” I told her, and motioned for her to speak again.
She said, in English this time, “Thank you. The todorats were here two days ago and stole all my sheep. No one in town believed me. I didn’t know what to do if they came back.”
“You know what they are?” I asked.
“Oh yes, we have many stories about them. I’ve never seen one before, of course,” she added. “Can I help you? Do you need food or shelter?”
I thought quickly. “Yes, actually, if you have a place we can sleep tonight, I would appreciate it. I also need to burn these bodies,” I gestured, “if you have any spare gasoline.”
She agreed and added, “Your berserker is welcome too.”
I waved everyone over and told them we were going to rest here tonight and head back tomorrow. We followed the woman,
