Before she could respond, Mau suddenly came to a stop behind them, her ears perking up and a growl rising up her throat.
Minx halted, too, turning to the Faleyr. What is it?
Listen, was Mau's only reply.
The trio stood in the shade of the woods neighboring Pandling Grounds, listening for anything out of the ordinary. The Faelyr's sensitive hearing had been the first to pick it up, but Kaleb and Minx were not far behind in sensing the sounds of battle breaking out just ahead, within the confines of the Trading Center.
The sounds of steel rattling against steel, of voices crying out in rage and anguish, began to emanate from the square. Minx turned to Kaleb, wide-eyed. “D-Did they break through? Are they in the square?”
The dragon shifter didn't respond in the affirmative, but the furrowing of his brow and the purpose in his stride was evidence enough that he feared as much.
He didn't make it but a few strides, however.
From a dense cluster of trees to their left, a lone arrow rushed out to meet him, and would have buried itself in his gut if not for the stopping power of his plate armor. Minx immediately prepared her bow, nocking an arrow and dropping to one knee. Mau, too, remained low to the ground, watching the surrounding woods very closely and anticipating another shot.
They didn't have to wait long to find the one responsible. From the shadows emerged a lone, lanky form. Dressed in militant leather armor and draped in dark furs, with a long bow clutched tightly in his fist and a savage smile across his gaunt face, was the hunter. The wild man peered at the trio with unveiled iciness, his bare, leathery feet pounding the forest floor with every forceful stride. “Haven't we met somewhere?” he began with a dark chuckle. “Why, yes, I believe we have, come to think of it!” He motioned to others yet hidden in the shadows, his smile fading and a terrible snarl issuing from his lips. “Lower your weapon, Fae—and all three of you had better not move a muscle.” He nocked a fresh arrow and prepared to draw his bow.
Zuscha archers descended from the treetops to join him, training their bows on the ambushed trio. They crept in from nearly every direction, properly surrounding their prey. Had the three of them attempted to run or resist, they would have taken a flurry of arrows in the space of mere seconds.
Minx squeezed her bow in a death grip. She would have liked their odds better had they only faced a frontward assault. Knowing that the arrows would fly from every direction if she so much as blinked left her mired in dread. We just had to walk straight into their ambush...
“Drop the bow!” ordered the hunter. There was a savage twinkle in his eye; the butcher was longing to discharge his weapon and kill the three of them. It was only through great restraint that he held back—possibly on account of Torrent's orders.
“You want us alive, then?” challenged Minx, lowering her bow with a grimace.
“Me?” shot back the hunter. “No. But someone wants you alive, so don't make this any harder than it needs to be.”
The three of them knew the identity of this “someone” without even having to ask.
It's Torrent, then? He's the one who sent them? asked Minx.
Minx nodded. Looks that way.
Chapter 19
The Zuscha continued to close in, arrows trained on the three of them. Mau remained crouched, her fur bristling and growls welling in her throat. It was clear that the Faelyr was looking for an excuse to lash out, to make a final stand.
Stand down, Mau. It's not worth it. We don't stand a chance. Minx was angrier at herself than at anyone else; no matter how pleasant the morning had been, she should never have let her guard down. At the first whiff of trouble on the wind, the three of them should have halted and better scoped out their surroundings. Instead, they'd walked headlong into a trap and had sprung it good and proper.
Unlike the others, Kaleb appeared unbothered by the ambush. Rather than tense up in anticipation of slaughter, he attempted something like diplomacy. “This isn't really necessary, you know? You've got us surrounded and we aren't fighting back. Why not point those arrows elsewhere—we don't want any accidents happening. If we're truly worth more to you alive than we are dead, that is...”
“Oh, there's no debate about that,” was the hunter's rejoinder. He stood outside the circle of Zuscha, watching their movements carefully. “The master would certainly prefer you alive. That's why we've set an entrapment spell here. When it has been completed, the three of you will drop to the ground, unable to move. You won't die—though you'll wish you had!”
“An entrapment spell?” Minx looked across the forest floor, scanning the soil for signs of the spell. She wasn't especially well-versed in the ways of dark Fae magic, but knew that the Zuscha often relied on entangling sorceries of this kind. The casting of such spells ordinarily entailed marking the target area with special written characters known only to Zuscha spell-crafters. These would be activated by chants in the tongue of the dark Fae by those trained in the noxious arts, and once fully cast, could only be undone by those who had initiated them. Minx thought to find certain of these characters in her surroundings, hopeful that she might delay the spell or even fully interrupt it by interfering with the magical scrawl. The numerous arrows pointed at her proved far too distracting, however.
I know what you're thinking and I like where your head's at... but you were right before. We can't fight back. If you start trying to interrupt the spell, they might just kill us, offered Mau,
