Its feathers dripping in polluted mana tainted its whole body black. Its right talon grabbed his left shoulder. Its claws dug deep, dyeing his white tunic red. Piercing and excruciating pain coursed from the wound as a cackling, high pitched roar bursted from its beak. The horse almost fell back from the pull as Adrian held on tightly on the reins, resisting the pull.
"Adrian!"
The winged damned continued flapping his wings, dragging him upwards. The horse neighed loudly and lifted its two legs upward, tilting them both. Tessa held on to Adrian. Gritting his teeth whilst in pain, Adrian whipped the reins hard, causing the poor horse to react.
"Curses!"
Tess gripped around his neck to prevent herself from falling. Adrian let his left hand free of the reins and gripped the talon skewering his left shoulder. He bit his lip and concentrated the mana on his left hand, fighting the urge to black out. Once enough mana was concentrated, a command is the only one left to let the flames burst. He gritted his teeth.
"In the Name of Illua the Great One—Burn!"
Blue flames erupted from his hand and burned the demon. The beast cried an ear deafening screech as the blue flames crept upward., letting go of its hold. The horse neighed As Adrian held its reins once more and whipped it, regaining its momentum. Adrian glimpsed back for a while as he witnessed the winged damned fall on the ground, burning in blue flames. He focused back on the front as his eyesight grew blurry. His left side felt. Beads of sweat poured down from his pale face. He felt his mana and strength got drained from ambush as well as the flames he used. As much as he is exhausted after rushing back from the hunt upon learning of the situation, he cannot afford to grow weak with the current circumstances.
The horse continued galloping ahead. Tessa's face contorted in discomfort on her position and the continuous galloping didn't help with relieving the on and off contractions on her back. Hazily, she opened her eyes, looking at Adrian and his skewered, crimson tainted shoulder
"A-Adrian....y-your wound…"
Adrian gazed at her, his face sweating profusely and his eyes a bit weary. Yet he smiled at her and held her once again.
"I-I'm fine honey. W-We're almost there!"
The beasts that followed them decreased in number. Some began to lose balance and bump into each other, their bodies clashing in a bloody mess. Others become disoriented while in the chase and collide their bodies against the trees. More added to the chase yet the collision and waning mind degradation became more frequent, as if an unknown power began interfering in their chase against them. Tessa just held on to Adrian's neck and buried her face,
The couple continued running forward without stopping, till they felt no one was in their tail. They. Soon, they stopped at a lone cabin near a lake. Adrian pulled the reins, prompting the animal to stop.
Adrian went down first then carefully caught Tessa as she mounted down.
"Stay here." He told the horse. He then guided Tessa and hurriedly went near the door, knocking with urgency.
"Hello?! Is there anyone there?!"
He knocked once more, but more urgent.
"P-Please! We have a laboring mother here!"
Tessa went limp for a while, as her face paled. Fluid gushed down like a waterfall. Her breath labored.
"A-Adrian…the b-baby…"
Adrian paled as Tessa looked at her with weary eyes. Horror reflected upon Adrian's eyes as he knocked once more with more urgency upon realization.
"Please! We don't have much time—!"
Before he could finish, the door opened, revealing a lady in a green blouse, black corset and long black skirt. Her brown hair with light streaks of gray can be observed along with the faint lines on her face, depicting her age. She looked at them as Adrian assisted her ailing, limping, wife, her heart aching at the sight.
"P-Please…h-help us."
"Goodness gracious! Come in, we don't have much time."
Seeing the urgency of the situation, she immediately let them in and assisted Tessa. She called on her daughter as she led them both inside a room.
"Olivia! Come assist here! We need help here!"
A dark-haired young lass in a beige tunic and brown skirt appeared. The elderly woman scolded her.
"Quick! Time is of the essence!"
Olivia quickly understood the situation and disappeared once more.
The two carefully laid Tessa down on the white mattress and immediately elevated her head. . Tessa lied down limply as her breaths labored. A sheen of liquid glistened under the orange light, as she's close to collapsing anytime.
"How long has she been like this?"
"Since this morning."
"She's been laboring for almost half a day? Why would you to put your wife at such a risk especially at this hour—-"
The elderly lady spared him a glance only to notice his current state: hair disheveled; a hole on the left shoulder, blood-stained clothes, and his face screaming exhaustion. She bit her inside lip and clicked her tongue.
"You're in a not so good state yourself. We'll deal with you later."
The young lass appeared once more, carrying a water basin with fresh towels and bandages hanging on her shoulders. She then disappeared once more then went back with a basket filled with fresh herbs and a gourd.
"Quick, make her drink water. She's terribly exhausted. She needs energy to keep pushing the baby."
Olivia obliged as she hurriedly went to Tessa's side and supported her head, helping her sip water from the gourd. She lifted her languid eyes and sipped water slowly. She then dropped her head on the soft headrest, her eyes unstable. The matron, on the other hand, did what she could by removing all the obstacles that may hinder the baby from coming out and prepared the area of receiving. She then glanced at Adrian, who was looking at his wife's torment.
"It would be better if you go beside her. She needs your strength as of this moment."
Adrian's eyes trembled for a while before doing what she said with much resolve. Taking a piece of the towel, he hurried to her side and wiped the lather pooling on her forehead. He clasped her hand in support, asking her to hold on tight.
Tessa's eyes opened half-liddedly and looked at the visage of the person beside her, the strong, rough, hands that always kept her safe.
"A-Adrian…"
A sharp wave of excruciating pain hit her, causing her to push and utter a strained groan.
"You're 6 cm dilated. Now don't you go sleeping on me, mother. You can rest once this is over okay? We just have to keep pushing when I say so."
Tessa's eyes remained closed. Deep tonal groans reverberated as another wave of torment washed over her.
"Don't fight the waves and the pressure. Let it flow."
Adrian caressed her arm and support and kissed her hands. As Tessa focused on the terrifying situation she was in, another wave of suffering, with much heavier pressure than the last two, engulfed her, but this time, there was a dire need to push out the being inside. She let out a bearing down sound as she grunted heavily.
"You're doing a great job, Tess! Don't fight the pressure. Let it flow out."
She then felt an intense pressure on her lower back. Imagining the turbulent waters waiting to be gushed out, she pushed with all her might and let out a harsh exhalation.
"You're doing great, mother! Almost there!"
Tears and sweat flowed, and the pressure just got stronger. She wanted to rest for a while yet she felt the head will come back once she did so. Her heart heavy crying out in anguish and all the complex emotions rising up, she pushed out with all the remaining strength she had.
Silence ensued for a while. Tessa lay her head on the headrest, heaving. A cry of a child pierced through the silence.