"I'm just going to have to kill them all; this nest is far too close to mine."
It was not only the most practical solution, but she also just really wanted to eat all of them, not to mention the leftover bones and flesh that they had left lying around.
Leaving the nest alone would've been useful if it were farther away. A large raptor nest could keep weaker creatures from moving through the area, and if she wanted, she could return every now and then to hunt from it.
But these raptors had already sent out groups near the Fall People and near her own nest. If she left them alone, then sooner or later, they would find the trails left by her workers, the scent of the Hive, or one of the smaller units moving around.
So she would clean it out now.
The Direworm shifted under the slope again, and the ground trembled just enough for the raptors near the collapsed opening to lose their footing, causing Lily to make a move of her own.
The ground beneath her cracked as she pushed forward, crossing the distance between herself and the nearest raptor before it could turn properly. Her hand changed as she moved, nails lengthening into claws while the skin over her arm hardened and darkened.
The raptor opened its mouth to screech, but her claws entered through the side of its throat and tore out before the sound could even leave it.
She didn't even stop to watch the creature drop, as another raptor lunged at her from the side, jaws wide, and Lily opened her mouth before it reached her. A burst of black ink shot forward and splashed across its face, causing the creature to stumble, shaking its head as the thick liquid covered its eyes and nostrils.
Lily grabbed it by the head and slammed it into the stone beside her, hard enough to crack the skull and stain the rock with blood.
The Raptorlings were injured, but they could still fight. She could feel pain through them, but not fear; they still wanted to fight, so Lily allowed them to do so.
One Raptorling slipped under a charging raptor and bit into the inside of its leg. It tore the flesh, then moved away as the raptor twisted back to snap at it. That was when Lily released a small static burst from her hand.
The shock wasn't strong enough to kill something that large, but it hit the wound and made the raptor's leg lock for a moment. That moment was enough for the Raptorling to jump onto its side and bite into its neck.
They were too willing to throw themselves into danger if she didn't guide them, but that could be fixed.
A raptor rushed from above, jumping from one of the stone ledges. Lily sensed it before it landed and raised one hand toward it. The air bent slightly as telekinetic force caught its body mid-leap, slamming it into the ground beside her.
More raptors came out from the openings, but they were no longer moving as wildly as before. They felt the fear and doubt in their own victory now that so many of them had died. They were trying to keep her surrounded, but not close enough that she could kill them all at once.
Lily sent her mental energy outward.
It spread through the area like a wave, brushing against the minds of the raptors around her. Deeper inside the nest, there was something that stood out to her.
It was still an animal, but it seemed almost practical. It wasn't thinking at the level of a person, but it understood what was happening; it knew she was dangerous.
'So that's what you're doing.'
She looked at the main opening, and it was clear that they were trying to bait her into a specific path. That made her want to go in even more, but not because they wanted her to. She wanted whatever was smart enough to attempt it.
A larger raptor stepped out from the opening.
It was bigger than the others, almost twice their size, with darker feathers along its neck and a scarred face that looked like something had torn away part of its jaw in the past.
'Not the mind.'
She could tell that much, while it was important, it wasn't the one directing them.
The larger raptor rushed her, and she didn't move back. She let it come close, then shifted her body to the side as it snapped at her. Its teeth cut through the air where her head had been, and she drove her fist into its ribs with enough force to send a tremor through its body.
Surprisingly, it didn't fall from just the first hit; that alone was impressive. Instead, its tail whipped around and struck her side, knocking her a step across the dirt.
That made her eyes widen slightly.
"You're stronger."
The larger raptor tried to press the advantage, but Lily's hair hardened as it moved, strands darkening like thin wires before lashing outward. The hardened hair wrapped around one of its legs and pulled.
It caused the raptor to stumble, and she pressed her hand against its chest as heat gathered in her palm. The burst of flame that came out was not wide, but it was hot and focused.
The raptor screamed as the flames burned into its chest and neck, scarring and ripping apart its skin. It swung its claws toward her, but she caught the limb with one hand and used the other to dig into the burnt flesh.
Then she pulled, causing the wound to open, and the raptor's body buckled under the pain.
Before it could recover, a Raptorling jumped onto its back and bit deep into the side of its neck while another went for its wounded leg. They didn't kill it, but they held it long enough for Lily to finish the job.
She placed her hand over the larger raptor's head and released a condensed burst of energy, causing the head to snap down into the dirt, and the body finally stopped struggling.
The remaining raptors reacted to the large one falling with a mixture of emotions. Some felt fear, others felt more aggressive towards her.
The mind deeper in the nest pushed harder, and Lily felt the shift in the simple thoughts around her. The raptors were afraid now, but that fear was being twisted into action.
'It has some way to influence their mind, what a strange place.'
The Direworm moved again under her command, breaking through the ground near one of the side cracks. The stone split, and the lower edge of the slope collapsed inward. Two raptors fell with it, one crushed under the broken stone, the other dragged down when the Direworm's mouth opened beneath it.
The raptors screamed and scattered away from the broken ground.
Lily used the opening to move toward the main entrance.
She didn't need to kill every raptor outside; she just had to get to the mind that was inside, then killing it might break whatever order they had.
A raptor tried to attack from the side, but Lily turned her hand and sent a line of acid across its face and neck, causing the creature to recoil, claws digging into the dirt as the acid ate through the skin near its eyes.
The injured Raptorling took advantage and bit into the raptor's ankle, dragging it down enough for Lily to step past and crush its head with her foot.
The main opening smelled worse the closer she got.
Old blood, fresh blood, rot, eggs, and much more; but she ignored it and crossed past the entrance.
The inside was wider than she expected, the stone tunnel sloped downward, with claw marks covering the floor and walls. Bones were shoved along the sides, some fresh, some old enough to be half-sunk into the dirt.
There were markings too.
The Raptors had scratched over many of them, but not all. Lily could see carved symbols along one wall, with lines stretching out from them like rays. There were shapes of beasts, human-like figures, and something with many arms standing beneath what looked like a sun.
She slowed slightly as she passed it to observe the markings, but she kept moving as she could feel the mind deeper in.
The raptors behind her did not all follow. Some stayed outside, fighting with the Direworm and trying to reach the Raptorlings. Others came after her, moving along the walls and ceiling of the sloped tunnel where the stone allowed them to grip.
'So annoying, they just don't stop. Like ants.'
Lily released a sharp sonic vibration down the tunnel.
The sound bounced hard in the enclosed space, stronger than it would've been outside. The raptors closest to her faltered, heads jerking as their senses were struck from every direction at once.
She moved while they were disoriented, claws cutting through throat, eye, and chest. She didn't stop to make sure every one of them died, she was certain even if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to follow her.
The tunnel opened into a larger chamber, and there, she finally saw why the nest was so large.
Eggs covered the sides of the chamber, dozens of them, some small and some already cracked open. Younger raptors moved between them, but they backed away the moment she entered.
At the center of the chamber was another raptor.
No, not just another one.
It was larger than the scarred raptor outside, with a long body covered in darker scales and feathers, its head crowned by bony ridges that curved back like uneven horns. Its eyes were focused on her, more aware, and the moment Lily stepped into the chamber, the pressure in the raptors' minds shifted again.
This was the one, as she approached it, the old raptor lowered its head and let out a slow clicking sound. The sound passed through the chamber, and the smaller raptors began moving around the walls.
Lily stared at it.
"So you were the one making this annoying."
It didn't understand the words, but it understood her tone. The old raptor opened its mouth and released a deep cry that shook dust from the old stone ceiling.
"You're definitely going to be a fun meal."