Her vision returned as her hearing did. Screams, crying, panic, roars, shouts, the dying neigh of a horse. She startled. Soldiers! Her breaths eased the memory of a village raid back within her. This wasn’t the eastern boundary of Monx.

  Where was she?

  Jule pulled on her arm, finding it stuck. She looked down over herself. A man lay across her, blood soaking through her robe and sticking against her legs. She tried heaving him off, but her back pressed against solid rock and dirt, which crumbled at her slightest movement.

  Her head throbbed, and her vision blurred a moment. Something hard poked against her back, and the ache of it began to set panic in. Every moment, the cries grew louder as her mind cleared.

  Right. She’d gone to Lanria. With Ellio.

  She’d fallen between slabs of earth. Darkness surrounded much of the area. The light before dawn helped her make out the situation but she wished, for once, the day wouldn’t grow lighter. Eight or so meters from the surface, her body wedged between walls of rock and hardened soil. Her head pressed against the wall, making her neck crane from where her back and torso were stuck on a ridge of earth before the crevice got too narrow to escape. Her right leg was pinned into the crevice, her left free aside from the man atop it.

  How the fuck could she get out?

  Would she die down here?

  Where was Ellio? And Ghost?

  Chirps and the crunching of soil made her turn. Sweet Bun made her way towards her. She dug her talons into the solid rock to keep herself steady, but she was a few meters above her, and the space grew too narrow for Sweet Bun to squeeze through to her.

  “Go find—” her head stabbed her throat and broke her sentence. She groaned as her temple pulsed in pain and hot wet dripped over her eye. “Find Ellio.”

  Sweet Bun chirped at her, sticking talons into the soil closer to her and maneuvering another half meter down. Jule waved a hand over herself. “No, go find Ellio. You can’t reach me.”

  “Jule!” Taiga’s voice echoed in the darkness. “Where are you?”

  Sweet Bun called to him, and his face appeared over the edge of the crevice. “Are you hurt?”

  “Me? Or the linlao?” Jule croaked, knowing he meant her.

  “Well enough to talk. Good.” He hauled himself over the edge, gripping stable rocks.

  The ground shook as another roar bellowed. The sound of it reverberated through her and squeezed her head between its claws. She shuddered at the pain, thankful when it returned to the slightly concerning but far less painful throb. Taiga gritted to the noise, holding steady as soil and rock loosened beneath the trembling.

  Dirt fell over her, slightly increasing her panic. If Taiga hadn’t found her, she probably wouldn’t have been able to stifle her scream. “Taiga?”

  “Yeah?” She heard his voice shift as he moved closer to her. His presence eased a smile over her face.

  “Not a fan of being buried alive.”

  A laugh. How comforting. “Who is?”

  The man atop her slid when the earth trembled again, and she heaved the heaviest part of him off. She checked for a pulse, but upon not finding one, she leveraged herself away enough to get her free leg under him and shoved him with all her strength.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  The man’s body slid off and dropped deeper into the crevice, wedging just beneath her. She looked away. She’d seen death before, at Monx’s border. But she found it never got easier. Guilt gripped her only until Sweet Bun sang when Taiga reached her.

  He gave Sweet Bun a pat, checking her over without stopping his descent. “Stay here,” he soothed her.

  She gave a warbled purr in response, following him with her eyes. Taiga’s hand gave way, and he dropped a couple meters before roots shot from the soil and caught his fall. He skidded down beside her, one hand hanging from the root and the other keeping himself steady as he found solid ground for his feet.

  “What’s injured?” He asked, running a hand to her temple and gingerly moving hair from her face.

  “A lot,” Jule groaned. “My leg is stuck. I think a rib or two broke, and my neck is wedged in a way I need help to get out.”

  Taiga nodded, putting a hand to the back of her neck and carefully moving it in a way to free her. Her head pulsed and she squeezed her eyes shut to bear it. A goan escaped her and Taiga soothed her rising panic with a gentle hum.

  A jolt in her leg made her jerk. As she’d tried sitting up, her leg, twisted, couldn’t give any further. Taiga paused her. “Can you stay in this position for a moment?”

  She murmured a “mm-hmm” to him, and he carefully made his way to her leg. She felt his hands wiggle her leg out. Another jolt of pain made him stop.

  “How stuck is it?” She regretted asking as it came out of her mouth.

  A pause. “Well, do you want the truth or…”

  “Wow,” she laughed from sheer disbelief at how blunt he was. “Thanks for the very encouraging words.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Then his hands set back on her leg and he slid her foot out. “Yeah, you’re fine. Just calming your nerves.”

  A prick of annoyance settled over her, but only because he was right. She pulled her leg under her, feeling the tenderness on her ankle and the pain if she set weight on it. “I don’t think I can climb out on this leg.”

  Taiga nodded. “You don’t have to. Put your arms around my neck.”

  She obliged. He slid an arm beneath her thighs and pulled her up to him. She tightened her hold on his neck and wrapped a leg around him. Once she did, he found a spot for his foot and hauled them both up, climbing up to where Sweet Bun awaited.

  Jule pulled herself onto Sweet Bun once Taiga got close enough to do so, and he breathed. “Okay. Have her bring you up. I’m going to help get anyone else trapped.”

  A twinge of fear lit in her, but she stopped herself from asking for his accompaniment. Nonetheless, he noticed it on her face. He smiled one of those calm smiles she found both soothing and annoying. “Ellio is awaiting you at the top. Don’t worry. If you fall back down, I’ll catch you this time.”

  “That last part was entirely unnecessary.” She accepted the attempt to calm her worries.

  He smiled wider. “Just saying.”

  Taiga whispered something to Sweet Bun, patted her, and the linlao whined. Then, gripping her feathers between her fingers, Jule wrapped her legs around the saddle and clung to Sweet Bun as the beast clawed their way out. She took one last glance back down to see Taiga watching them ascend.

  He waved as she and Sweet Bun made it to the surface. Ellio ran to them and pulled her into a tight hug. He trembled, and Jule buried her face into him for a moment, more for his comfort than hers. “I couldn’t find you.”

  She patted his back until he released her. “I’m fine, as always.”

  Once he did, she scanned the area around them. The builders were huddled beneath a tree, several injured and others cradling their children. A boom behind her made Jule turn. Mouse leapt back as the Guardian Spirit, one of the great protectors of the land, smashed a taloned arm into the ground. It boomed when it pounded, and Mouse rolled out of the way.

  He turned towards them, but the distance between Mouse and them was too far to make out any words he said. When the Guardian spun towards where they all stood, her skin crawled as their white, ceramic face oozed pink and stared deep into her being. Just as quickly as the Guardian had turned towards them, it jerked back towards Mouse as he raised his arms up, shouting something and swinging his sword at them.

  “I think he’s… distracting the Guardian Spirit, but…” Ellio trailed off, his hand still holding her arm squeezed to the point of almost uncomfortable.

  When he didn’t finish his sentence, Jule spun back towards Mouse. He ran about the Guardian, spinning around attacks and dodging while luring them further and further from where Ellio and Jule stood. But then he swung his sword down on the Guardian’s tail. He stabbed into their quills and caused the Guardian to cry out.

  “What… is he doing…?” She blinked a few times. Her head still throbbed and her vision blurred. Could she be seeing wrong?

  But no. Mouse sliced his half-metal sword into the belly of the Guardian Spirit. They cried again, back-pedaling before thrusting their mask into his face and howling. As the ground tremored, Mouse struck into the Guardian’s face, stopping it mid-roar.

  He was attacking the Guardian Spirit.

  The most ancient of beings.

  A living god.

  Even crossing paths with one was worthy of a thousand bows and prayers.

  He may not have been human, but Guardian Spirits were revered across every species of people. Even if every one of them died here, how dare he turn against such beings of pure good?

  She sprinted towards him. Ellio yelled her name, but she would not stop. Even as her head throbbed and her vision faded in and out, she ran. Red drooled down her cheek, her ankle clicked and clacked out of place, and every breath tore into her chest. But she ran nonetheless.

  “What are you doing??” Jule screamed at the top of her lungs. Her throat gave out mid-sentence, and the trailing end of ‘doing’ broke into nothing more than a raspy whisper. “Stop!”

  “Jules, slow down, you’re injured!” Ellio came up beside her, putting an arm out and pulling her back. “It’s dangerous.”

  “I’m fine! Why haven’t you done anything to stop him?” She snapped.

  Ellio flinched, wounded by her words. “Because we aren’t like him. A single strike from a Guardian Spirit will kill us, Jules.”

  The sound reasoning stunned her. He wasn’t wrong. Maybe her head really was injured. Brain-damage? Did her sudden anger really make her forget the enormity of rushing into a fight she had zero chance of surviving?

  “Am I actually an idiot?” She muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She brushed it off, a new plan immediately forming. “We need to get Mouse’s attention. We can’t let him continue fighting a Guardian Spirit, no matter the situation.”

  Her vision blurred, her legs weakening. Jule’s knees hit the ground painfully and her mind refocused from darkness. Ellio was in front of her. His eyes scrunched together in worry. “Stop this, please.”

  The ground pounded and shook. The earth shattered and split across the abandoned field. Ellio gripped her arm and kept her steady as she swayed. But she couldn’t stop. Ellio must’ve known too; how incredibly taboo hurting a Guardian Spirit was.

  She dug her palms into the ground and pulled herself up slowly. She wobbled, and Ellio steadied her. When the earth calmed, she ran forward again, gritting against the pain in her chest, her stomach, her ankle, and the ever concerning throb in her head. Her legs jellied beneath her, and every step felt an eternity, the ground slowled her efforts as she ran to Mouse.

  “Jule!” Ellio’s hands wrapped around her and yanked her back.

  Just as they dropped against the ground, the pinks and orange furs of the Guardian’s great arm appeared where they stood. The ground shook and a roar vibrated through them. Her head squeezed between every vibration, her brain bouncing with every rumble. She slammed her hands over her ears as the drumming underbelly of the roar pounded her eardrums.

  When she opened her eyes as the roar subsided, Mouse stood in front of them, swinging his sword in threat to the Guardian. He whirled to them when the Guardian reeled away from him.

  “What the fuck are you doing??” He yelled at them. She thanked him for at least being that loud, as she probably wouldn’t have heard him otherwise.

  Unsure of her own volume, she snapped back, “what are you doing? Do you even have a shred of humanity in you? How could you attack a Guardian Spirit?”

  After a surprising flinch in him, he shot her a glare. “Attacking? I intend to kill them.”

  The words froze both Jule and Ellio.

  How… could he even consider such a thought?

  “What do you mean?” Ellio spoke for her. “You can’t do something like that!”

  “I’m capable enough.”

  “No… that’s not…” Ellio stumbled for words.

  Jule continued for him. “Guardian Spirits are sacred beings.” He should’ve known this, since he was raised by them, right? How could he even consider something like killing them when they raised him? “Killing them goes against the laws of magics and laws of this world. You cannot—”

  “They asked for death.”

  His words stopped her in her tracks. Before she could process the information, he turned from them. “Their soul is trapped with the shell of what they once were. They’ve already corrupted to the point of no return.”

  Mouse took one last glance back at her before gripping his sword tighter and refocusing his gaze back to the Guardian. “They’re already dead.”