Elegy for a Star

CHAPTER SUMMARY - SPOILERS

A wolf’s body, hairless, with twelve snake-like heads, each with a flared hood and venom dripping from their fangs. The backside included four pointed, reptilian tails. It rose out of its prowling stance and began to charge toward the three of them. Gwendolyn drew her sword and hefted her shield, taking a swift breath in and a firm breath out. Her blood quickened, her eyes focused. She was ready, and the three of them charged in return.

The beast fired a barrage of flame at the three of them. Joyona simply barged through it, stubbornly resisting the force of the blast with each step. Gwendolyn had to bring her sword up, splitting the flame in half. In the real world, she knew she would be cooked to cinders, but somehow, here, her gift allowed her to parry just about anything.

With flame coming toward her, Mairaela fired an arrow at the ground, exploding in a burst of light that propelled the archer high into the air. Three arrows were fired midair, slamming into the Huvudorm’s flank just before Mairaela landed upon the rooftops. The explosion that she dodged pushed Gwendolyn sideways, but she managed to maintain her balance and stride.

Joyona met the creature first. Plates of armor on her flank detached and collided with the building beside her, somehow transferring the force and launching the juggernaut sideways. The giantess’ feet slid across the cobblestone floors while her axe hooked into one of the beast’s necks and pulled it to the side. The Huvudorm nearly fell, but Joyona’s slide was cut short by a triplet of jabs from the monster’s tail. They seemed to puncture armor, and Joyona’s axe came free. The warrior fell and rolled to a rest upon the street, bleeding upon the stones.

“Joyona!” Mairaela shouted from the rooftops, but Gwendolyn kept her focus on the threat ahead of her.

Gwendolyn found herself face to face with the monster, steel drawn and ready. One of its mouths launched toward her, and Gwendolyn brought up her shield. The beast’s teeth were about as large as the swordswoman’s shield and clamped down upon it, holding her in place. At the same time a light built in the throat of another head, and Gwendolyn could see the haze of flame forming in its throat.

She turned and slashed upward, cleaving the side of the head attached to her shield. Her cut only went a quarter of the neck deep, and the creature still seemed able to use it. In the same moment, she urged her soul through her blade and saw three phantom afterimages of her strike, each one causing very real harm to the Huvudorm’s neck, until it separated from the body entirely. Blood poured from the wound, splattering Gwendolyn’s armor with red spray. Just as Gwen twisted to avoid fiery harm, a third head bit down onto her leg, trapping her once more. She looked up to see flame building in the other neck. Just as it was released, a volley of arrows, eight in all, struck one at a time into the side of that same head. Each arrow dug into the same spot, splitting the arrow that came before it and digging deeper into the same wound.

Mairaela’s archery would never be less than fascinating, Gwen thought just as the flame jetted from the Huvudorm’s maw and hit the ground beside her. The snake’s fangs came loose from Gwendolyn’s armor and she was thrown to the side from the force of the fiery blast. Rolling across the stones, Gwen finally got her feet under her and slid on her boots the rest of the way. She dragged one hand in front of her for balance before dashing forward once more.

Another head lunged at her and Gwen caught the corners of its mouth in her blade, digging into it before ripping the sword free and splitting its head in half. “Fucker!” Gwendolyn spat as she saw another head lunging at her. Joyona must’ve been up and moving, because the juggernaut leapt into the air and tackled the reaching head to the ground, keeping it pinned while readying her axe once more. Gwendolyn felt a punch in her ribs, turning to see one of the Huvudorm’s tails buried in her side. She twisted, flipping her sword to a backward grip and—with adrenaline numbing the pain—she split the tip of the tail with a pull of her blade. 

Three more stabs were coming her way and one at a time she parried each. Every snap of the creature’s tail that struck her sword caused it to glow with a golden light, brighter and brighter. Gwen tossed her sword into the air and caught it in a normal grip, completing the fall of her sword by slamming it to the ground and unleashing a wave of golden light that sliced through the cobblestones in its path and split the Huvudorm’s side until its guts spilled out across the street.

Its remaining heads struck at Joyona, but the armor that she wore built spikes off of her back that dug into the ground and kept her from losing her footing. Her axe dropped to the ground, forearms bracing in front of her. Metal grew from the sides of her forearms and shifted into a shield the size of a horse. Each head was rebuked by the barricade before Joyona threw the shield forward. The massive wall detached from her armor and slammed into several of the Huvudorm’s heads. She leapt into the air, the massive shield flying toward her and forming a gigantic axe that soared into Joyona’s hands and came down upon the Huvudorm with tremendous, disastrous force.

The beast split in half, the street was cratered, and the closest building began to crumble down with its foundation so ruined. 

Joyona was panting, letting the axe go, only for it to reform into plates of armor that reattached to her body. The building crumbled in the backdrop of Gwen’s vision as she looked at Joyona, then at Mairaela. Pride welled in Gwendolyn’s chest, and as she heard Tess’ running behind her, she turned to greet the woman with a bright smile. Tess looked concerned, but seeing Tess’ expression, she must’ve known that all was well. Her barely restrained joy distracted her from the pain in her ribs, and the warmth of blood running down her side.

The group remained in silence for a time, Mairaela dropping from the rooftop and joining the others. The four of them looked around at one another, beaming smiles except for the taciturn giant, whose smirk betrayed the same level of excitement. Finally, Joyona gave a nod of her head, and Tess, Gwendolyn and Mairaela all gave a victorious scream of joy.