Argo grabbed his new spear, dagger, and sling before heading toward the village. Dust kicked up as Drak lumbered closer. The giant towered over him, his wild red mane whipping in the wind like a lion's, patchy beard framing a grin that could curdle milk. He looked every bit the beast, scarred, sweat-slicked, and built like a mountain ready to explode.
''Brother Argo,'' Drak rumbled, clapping a ham-sized hand on his shoulder hard enough to rattle bones. ''Savages coming at us? Let them. I got your back, straight to the Great Beyond.''
Argo arched a brow, heart pounding with the rush of it all. ''Why the brotherhood to a Forsaken like me? The tribe spits when they say my name.''
''I don't see you as such, even if the rest does,'' Drak answered. ''You're a warrior who has honor, and that is rare nowadays, especially living out here in the wilds. Plus, you saved my favorite sister, so there's that.''
Argo chuckled at this. ''My mother taught me everything, and I remember my father standing between us and the Ashen Ones, allowing us to escape.''
''One day we'll wipe them out together!'' the big guy exclaimed. ''They took Tarek the Brave from us, now we'll take everything from those curs!''
''Yes, we will,'' he replied, a fire igniting inside as the redheaded beauty appeared.
''Come on, we need to move before the Urvak's attack Summermarsh,'' Valka suddenly said.
Following that, the three ran down the path that led to the Dead Woods as Aslan, Artemis, and Athena appeared, running close by to keep him safe. Their sudden appearance shocked the siblings, who jumped back but were ignored by the big cats. The Grey Owl's soft voice sounded.
'I'll go scout ahead, we can earn loads of points from this,' she excitedly said.
Argo's head snapped toward the owl as she rushed away laughing, causing him to mutter. ''Erda and her secrets.''
They broke through the treeline, feet pounding onto the road that Drak claimed would lead them to Summermarsh. Valka's gaze flicked back again and again, toward him, his beasts running in stride, and Athena circling high above like a silver shadow.
The road curved downhill, flanked by fields of golden reeds that swayed in the wind, giving off a creepy vibe. Dust kicked up beneath their boots as they ran, the rhythmic thud of footsteps blending with the low rumble of the American Lions' roar that rolled across the open land like thunder.
Argo's eyes burned with focus as he drew the Sky Stone spear. The weapon shimmered faintly, veins of pale blue light pulsing along its shaft. He spun it once, testing its balance, the air hissing around the blade with each turn. ''Let them come,'' he muttered.
Ahead, the road stretched toward a haze of smoke rising on the horizon, Summermarsh. He watched as Valka looked nervous but determined. Drak gave a low whistle, and his beasts surged forward, their muscles rippling beneath fur. Athena cried out from above, a clear, piercing note that cut through the roar of the wind.
Valka tightened her grip on her bow, glancing once more at Argo and Drak. ''No turning back now,'' she said.
Drak's eyes glinted with a hint of a grin. ''Wouldn't dream of it, sister.''
Following that, they charged down the road, three figures framed by dust and sunlight, racing toward whatever storm awaited them at Summermarsh. Athena's cry cut through the air again, sharper this time. Her voice echoed in his mind, calm but edged with warning. 'Six Urvaks ahead. Armed and waiting.'
Argo didn't hesitate. He slipped the sling from his belt, fingers already finding the smooth stones in his pouch. The moment the twisted shapes of the Urvaks emerged from the shimmer of heat on the road, hulking figures with crude axes and hides thick as bark, he was moving.
He spun the sling once, twice, snap! A flash of light streaked forward. The first Urvak's head snapped back with a crack like splitting wood. Another stone followed before the first had fallen, and then a third: three projectiles, three skulls shattered in quick succession. The remaining brutes roared, staggering into a charge, but Argo was already in motion.
He raised his spear, then hurled it with all his strength. The weapon screamed through the air, a streak of azure lightning, and drove straight through the chest of a fourth Urvak. Drak was on the others before their bodies hit the ground. Moments later, Argo's beasts tore into one, dragging it down in a blur of teeth and motion, while he drove his blade through the throat of the last.
Valka loosed two arrows in quick succession, one sinking into an eye, the other into a heart. In seconds, the road was silent again, broken only by the wind as he pulled his spear from the dead Urvak. He exhaled slowly, glancing at the others. ''Six down,'' he said. ''But if there were scouts.''
Drak wiped his blade clean, eyes narrowing toward the horizon. ''Then the real raiding party isn't far behind.''
Above them, Athena circled once, her feathers glinting in the sun. 'We should move,' she urged. 'Summermarsh is close, but not close enough.'
And with that, they were running again, the road stretching endlessly before them, shadows gathering in the distance. The smoke thickened as they crested the final rise, Summermarsh sprawling below like a kicked anthill. Huts burned. Screams rose. Urvak raiders poured through the palisade gaps, axes flashing.
A dozen villagers lay still in the dirt; more fled toward the river. Argo's blood sang. He jumped over the low wood wall, Sky Stone spear humming in his grip. ''For Tarek!'' he roared, voice cracking into something feral.
Drak laughed, a boulder-splitting sound, and charged beside him, war-hammer already spinning. Valka flanked left, twin short blades whispering free, eyes narrowed to slits of green. Aslan hit first and crashed through a knot of Urvaks like a black avalanche. One raider's spear skated off the lion's mane.
Argo watched as the beast's jaws closed, the bone snapped, and the body flew ten feet thanks to the force. Artemis followed, landing on a Urvak's back, claws punching through leather armor, fangs finding throat. 'This one is mine!' she exclaimed, excitement rushing through her.
Blood sprayed in a hot arc. He was already moving, sliding beneath an axe, spear lancing up under ribs. Twist, rip free. Another Urvak lunged; Argo caught the humanoid, yanked the brute off-balance, and drove the butt-spike through an eye. The world narrowed to breath, stone, and the wet music of dying.
Argo spun the spear overhead, blue veins flaring brighter with every heartbeat. A Urvak shaman hurled a crackling bolt of green fire; he met it mid-air, blade splitting the spell in a shower of sparks that scorched his cheek. He landed inside the enemy's guard, spearpoint punching through sternum, out the spine.
The body dropped; Argo rode it down, already seeking the next. Drak waded through three at once. Hammer rose, fell, skulls burst like melons. ''Keep one alive for questions!'' he bellowed, then laughed again when Valka's blade opened a raider's throat in answer.
Valka danced death. She ducked, slashed hamstrings, spun, buried stone in kidneys. A Urvak berserker charged her; she vaulted, boots on his shoulders, blades crossing to scissor his head free. It rolled, tusks clacking. Artemis roared and barreled into a wall of flesh. The cave leopard's paw swatted a warrior into a burning hut; flames swallowed the scream.
Aslan bounded atop a wagon, muscles bunching, then launched onto the Urvak chieftain. The tusked giant swung a two-handed maul; Aslan took the blow on the shoulder, snarled, and ripped the arm away at the elbow. Argo lost count. Ten? Twelve? The spear moved on its own now, a blue comet carving red ruin.
Blood covered his forearms, spattered his face; he tasted iron and grinned like a wolf. An Urvak archer nocked from a rooftop; Athena's shadow streaked overhead. Talons raked; the archer toppled, throat a red necklace. The last raiders broke, fleeing for the reeds. Drak hurled his hammer; it took one between the shoulder blades with a sickening crunch.
Valka's thrown knife pinned another's calf to the earth. Argo sprinted, spear low, and skewered the final runner through the back of the knee, then the spine. Silence fell, broken only by fire and the low, satisfied rumble of the cats. He stood amid the carnage, chest heaving, spear dripping.
Aslan padded over, nudged his hip with a blood-smeared muzzle. Artemis flopped onto her side, tongue lolling, tail flicking. Athena spiraled down to perch on a broken spear-shaft, wings folding like silver cloaks. Drak clapped Argo's shoulder again, gentler this time. ''You fight like the old gods, brother.''
Valka wiped her blades on a fallen banner, green eyes bright. ''Summermarsh owes us; they owe you. But the big one got away, tracks head east.''
Argo rolled his neck, feeling the wildness ebb into a steady burn. He looked at the smoke, the bodies, the cats licking crimson from their paws.
''Let him run," he said, grinning as the survivor would spread the word of the Beast Master.
[Sorry about not uploading a chapter, I've been ill the last few days, throwing up, and can't focus, but I feel better now]