From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(11)
The shaking of the ground increased again and Valor had to fight to keep his footing. Valorous let out a loud snort of unease and she felt the horse tense beneath her as the ground below them exploded in a shower of rocks and dust. The horse lunged to the side and Jala had to grab the saddle to keep her seat. She could hear the snarls and ringing metal that told her the shifter had attacked once more but she could see nothing through the cloud of choking dust around her. The Arovanni continued to dance away tossing his head in frustration at the shaking ground.
Jala tried to grab the reins to force him back toward the fight but something latched onto her wrist as she moved. Pain lanced through her as she looked down at the thick black tentacle that circled her arm. Another wrapped around her ankle and she felt herself torn from the saddle. Valorous let out a furious scream as the tentacles pulled her up into the air.
Not tentacles, roots, she corrected herself. Her gaze flicked to the gnarled trees for half a breath as she tried to assess her situation. The ground where they had been fighting moments before was a rubble strewn waste. Dozens of black roots waved in the air below her seeking anything they could grasp. Valor had shifted his fighting away from the cliff to avoid the roots and his back was now exposed to the smaller demons that crouched with bloodlust clear in their eyes.
The pain on her wrist grew more intense and she had to fight back a scream. That wouldn’t help Valor at all now. He needed to focus on the shifter and she needed to solve her own dilemma without distracting him. Her eyes watered as she examined the root on her arm as best she could. They had lifted her unevenly and she was balanced with her head tilted toward the unforgiving black rocks below with most of her weight supported by the root entrapping her ankle. From what she could tell, the roots were coated in a sort of slime, that judging by the burning on her wrist, was acidic.
She swallowed heavily. “Well, at least when the acid burns through and they drop me, I won’t have to worry about being crippled,” she whispered, her imagination providing her with a splendid image of her body lying broken on the rocks below. “Use every advantage,” she whispered, repeating a lesson Neph had pounded into her skull over and over. The only advantage she had as far as she could see was height now. Her view of the battle was perfect. “Help Valor kill it and this spell will end,” she whispered as the roots pulled at her, stretching her body to a painful angle. “Then die horribly on the rocks below as the roots vanish,” she added in a pained growl. Options were limited, though, and helping Valor seemed the best course available.
The leather on her boot was giving away and she could feel the acid reaching her skin there. Jala inhaled deeply and tried to summon her power but concentration had never been her strongest virtue and it was nearly lost in the pain now. The pressure on her body increased again and she felt her ankle give with a sickening pop. A gasp of pain exploded from her lips and she had to fight back tears. Training with Neph had been painful, or so she had thought. In reality she hadn’t really known what pain was until now, she realized.
The roots shifted their hold on her once again and she found herself staring straight down at the ground. The pressure on her wrist fell away and her heart rose to her throat as she swung free, dangling from her broken ankle. Spots danced before her eyes as the pain ripped through her. “Don’t faint, fight. Don’t pull a Rivana. Don’t fail Valor as you did Finn,” Jala hissed through clenched teeth. She summoned her power once more, her eyes locked on the Shifter below. Another of Neph’s lessons sprang to mind and she was praying it would work. Though who she was praying to, she couldn’t really say at this point. She supposed it was anyone that would listen. Valor had noticed her predicament and she willed him to ignore her and keep fighting. His right hand flicked toward the roots that held her as the Shifter surged in again.
Jala released her spell just as the creature’s jaws opened to bite. Everything blurred together as the Shifter’s huge clawed hand hit Valor full in the chest. Despite her wish for him to ignore her, he had been distracted. His boots dug trenches in the ground as he was forced back, but he managed to keep his feet as their combined magics took effect. The shifter staggered back clutching its skull as her spell unleashed and the roots holding her hostage crumbled beneath her. She began to plummet, the black rocks racing up to meet her. A sob broke from her lips as the wind whistled in her ears and then she was slowing. The wind cradled against her, easing her plummet to a gentle descent. Jala forced her eyes open once more as she dropped gently to the ground beside Valor. Her ankle gave at once and his arm was around her supporting her weight in an instant.
“Nice catch,” she whispered, the spots once again dancing in her eyes. The pain was making her light-headed and nauseous.
“Nice, whatever the hell you did to him.” Valor replied motioning feebly toward the still twitching Shifter that lay sprawled on the ground several feet from them.
“I healed him,” Jala gasped with a faint chuckle at the bitter irony of that. It didn’t seem fair that her healing was sporadic when she tried to use it to help her and Valor, but she could use it to kill with. Valor gave her a puzzled look but didn’t question her. The countless bruises and pains were fraying her wits and it must have shown on her face. Hoof beats sounded faintly as Valorous returned snorting his displeasure at both of them. Valor motioned him closer and Jala grabbed onto the saddle to support herself. Nodding his thanks, Valor stepped back and bent, bracing his hands on his knees, his shoulders shaking with his ragged breathing.