Ember ran towards the nearest woman. She was pinned down by the mucus. The leech was steadily dragging its body towards her thought it was still far away. It didn't stop the leech from spewing a jet of mucus. She raised her shield blocking it and just as she did with her mother, she kept the shield covering them as she used her small axe to chop away the mucus.

Once the lady was free, she scrambled up from the ground and started running. Ember moved swiftly, blocking a jet aimed at the woman. The woman didn't look back. Ember quickly scanned the area. There were some leeches that were still far away from people pinned down so she focused on the ones she could get to. There was one woman who was screaming and waving what looked like a knife at a leech that was almost on top of her.

Another woman had a leech halfway covering half her body, staring in shock. She decided to go for the fighter. She dashed forward, raising up her shield. She blocked the jets shooting at her while dodging others. She tried not to look at the faces that desperately looked at her as she passed.

I'll come back for you, she silently thought but she wasn't sure if that was true. There was only one of her and while being a Seedling made her naturally stronger, she was still in the body of a slightly malnourished twelve-year-old.

The leech was almost half-way over the knife-waving woman's legs. It hadn't completely covered her, mostly due to the knife. The leech let out a shriek and then jerked its head back. Ember dashed forward and shoved her shield over the woman as the leech spewed out one of its jets.

She shoved the shield against the leeches and then had Mally push spikes from the shields surface. She felt slight resistance and then the spikes pierced into the leech's body.

The leech reared back with a loud shriek that sent a shudder through her body. Immediately, Ember shifted Mally, this time into a sword and shoved it deep into the leech's body. The leech let out a cry and then tried to drop one of its mucus jets over her head, but she already jerked out of the way, having Mally transform into a ball and then back into a sword as she smashed it down on the leech's head.

The knife went through halfway. Ember pulled it out and tried again. This time she decapitated it. The body wiggled around and then flopped down dead. She didn't have time to look at it, because she had garnered several leeches attention and some were turning to her or shooting their jets of mucus at her.

She positioned her shield, blocking most of the projectiles. As before and made the chained axe to break the mucus around the woman while keeping the shield prop. It was slightly annoying having the chain but Mally had to stay whole.

"What the hell are you doing girl?" The woman demanded.

"Saving you," Ember answered.

"You're just a kid."

"A kid that's saving your ass," Ember snapped as she finally broke the knife woman free.

The woman jumped to her feet. "Damn monsters!" Then she was running, but instead of escaping, the woman was running towards the monsters. For a moment, Ember watched her. The woman weaved through the projectiles so quick that Ember had to wonder how she had gotten hit in the first place. The next thing she knew the woman was jumping on top of a leech and stabbing her knife into its head.

Ember could only blink before her attention turned to the next leech. She ran forward, Mally held up in its shield form. Like she had done with the other one, she smashed her shield into it and pushed spikes into its flesh.

This would be easier with magic but if she used it then the guards might notice. She was sure she would be questioned about Mally already and if they saw signs of magic then it was likely that Lord Felis might connect the dots. The man had the inspection ability and if he used it on her then he would definitely discover she was a Seedling.

Mally it is!

The leech shoved her back, using its weight in an attempt to throw her off. It worked. Ember found herself on the ground. She rolled just as a jet of mucus shot in her direction. She raised the shield as another jet of mucus was shot towards her. She shoved forward, bashing the shield against the leech. The leech jerked back just as her spikes pushed out once more.

It reared back its head to spit at her and she quickly transformed Mally. A sharp spear was shoved into the leech's head, pinning its mouth shut. It wiggled frantically, tugging on her arm with such force that she struggled to hold on.

She shifted Mally again and a sword was now in the leech's head and she sliced to the side. Before it could recover, she swung down at the leech, slashing into the top of its head. This time it went limp. Ember moved to the woman, breaking her from the mucus like she had done the others.

"Run," Ember said as soon as the woman was free.

The woman looked at Ember with wide blue eyes. She looked around 19, maybe younger. "Where?"

A quick glance around showed Ember that the field was covered by the giant leeches. While Ember was sure she could dodge the mucus jets, she couldn't guarantee anyone else could.

Where the hell are the guards?

"Do you have a weapon?" Ember asked.

The girl shook her head. Ember looked across the river to the woods. The girl could probably make it there but that's only if no more leeches came out of the river. Then she saw something move in the trees. Her body tensed. Was something else about to attack?

An arrow shot through the air and pierced into one of the leeches. A hunter stepped out from the trees and with him were several loggers with axes and saws. A wave of relief went through her at the sight.

"They shoot mucus that traps you to the ground!" She shouted to them in warning.

Several men stopped at her warning but a few shot forward. Immediately, two were pinned to the ground while another attack one of the leeches, cleaving its head off.

"They're slow so as long as you dodge the mucus you'll be safe. Don't let them crawl on top of you."

"Ember!" She heard a familiar voice shout. "Stay there!"

Ember decided to do just that. Mostly due to the luggage she had at her side. She stayed behind the shield until heavy steps came behind her. Her father ducked down. Ember spread Mally wider to cover them.

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"Are you alright? Where's your mother?" Her father's face was covered in sweat and his axe dripped with blood and mucus. He must have killed one on the way to her.

"Mom escaped and I'm all right." She studied the field.

Their odds were better now that they had more people with weapons, but several people were still getting hit by the mucus.

"It would work better if everyone had a shield, but they should move in teams. Have two people kill the leech while one person breaks people free."

Her father stared at her and then looked at the shield. "Do you think you can get to town?"

She nodded. "But you'll need me here. My shield can help."

Her father frowned.

"You should give him the shield," the woman she saved said, looking around her in fear.

Ember glared at the blue-eyed woman who shrunk back from the look. She tried to calm down. She knew that to the woman it made sense that the 12-year-old gave the shield to the adult.

"No," her father said. "You'll need it to protect yourself." He paused. "Can you keep the shield up while we move."

Ember nodded.

"Stay close." Then they were moving.

Her father moved on the outskirts of the field, stopping in front of fallen men and cutting away the mucus with his axe while Ember shielded him. Each time he told them to find others and move in a group like she had suggested.

After the fourth one her father turned to her, frowning. "Is your arm getting tired?"

"No," she lied.

Her father stared at her and then wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her up and slightly supporting her arm.

Ember stared at him in shock. "I'm heavy."

"You're light," her father countered.

"You can't fight like this."

"Then I won't," her father said and kept carrying her.

The blue-eyed woman looked nervously between them. "Maybe he should-"

"Keep up," her father said, interrupting the woman and then he sped up.

Her father still stopped to break people out of the mucus but avoided the leeches, moving Ember so her shield would block the mucus jets. Finally, they arrived at the destination her father had been moving them towards. It was the hunter that had fired the arrow earlier.

"The guard should arrive soon," the hunter said immediately.

"They should've been here a while ago," Ember spoke up.

The hunter looked at her then at her shield. He then looked at her father. "Yours?"

Her father didn't answer him and looked out at the field. "I need to get my girl out of here and the young woman."

The hunter nodded. "Kill some on the way."

Ember frowned. "I should stay and help."

"You're twelve," her father said.

"I can help."

"Maybe but it's my job to protect you. Let's go."

She tried to protest but her father was already moving, carrying her in one arm.

"Put me down. You can't fight like this."

Her father hesitated but put her down and then they were moving again. They didn't get far before they encountered one of the leeches. Her father didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and swung, decapitating it in one powerful swing. Ember swiftly moved to his left, elongating her shield as another leech shot at them. Behind her the woman let out a squeak but otherwise kept quiet.

Ember changed the shape of the shield and they kept moving. Her father kept low to the ground so Ember could cover them better. Sometimes her dad would stop and kill a leech then free a person while Ember kept the shield up.

Her father gave her a worried look when he saw her arm wobble but Ember ignored it. She would make this stupidly weak body do what she needed. Still her father sped up. They didn't stop as much as before. Her father cleaved through any leech that blocked their way before moving on.

Ember found herself growing more and more tired. Then her hand lowered and she found herself smacked in the throat with the mucus. Her shield slowed down the hit but she still toppled over at the impact.

I can't breathe!

She gasped for air as the mucus tightened around her neck and pinned her to the ground. She clawed at the mucus but realized how futile that was. Was her throat crushed? Was this how she died?

Somehow the thought of dying calmed her and she realized she could still breath though it felt like someone was choking her. Her throat wasn't crushed. How? Was it because Mally took part of the force or was it because of the slight boost to her body from being a Seedling? She wasn't sure but she was okay. Well, except she was trapped.

She could see her father on the side of her. He was fighting two leeches. He cut off the head of one but as he did the other shot another mucus jet at him. It hit his shoulder and he jerked to one side but he didn't fall. His arm was stuck to his side. So he let go of his axe and twisted to grab it in his other hand.

He swung but the strike was sloppy. He was obviously not used to using his left hand.

I have to help.

If her father was hit by another mucus jet then it might be over for them. The woman that was with them had simply fallen to the ground, staring at the battle between the leech and her father.

Ember gritted her teeth in frustration. If she could call Mally this would be solved in a matter of seconds but despite Mally literally being bound to her soul she wasn't able to call it to her. She hadn't managed to strengthened her bond with the weapon enough.

But she had other abilities and she didn't have time to be shy about using them. She called up a small flame in each hand and pressed them against the mucus. She focused on strengthened the flames but making them small. The flames grew hotter, pain stretched across her palms but she kept pushing. The heat rose and her skin began to blister but then she felt the mucus loosened.

Ember grabbed at the mucus and pulled. It stretched and broke. She leapt to her feet and raced to where Mally was. She grabbed the ball up and immediately shifted it into a shield and then her eyes darted to her father. He was still fighting the leech, he managed to get some awkward blows but he was struggling. It looked like he had been hit by another jet of mucus, pinning his foot to the ground.

Ember raced to the leech and slammed her shield against it, pushing spikes out until it dug into the leech. The leech reared back. Her father's sharp axe came down on it, cleaving off its head.

Ember turned to her father. He was okay. They were both okay. Well, almost. Ember turned to the blue-eyed woman.

"Come here and help break this mucus off. I'll shield us."

The girl looked at Ember like she didn't want to do it but she hurried and climbed to her feet. Taking the axe from her father, she began carefully breaking the mucus away. It took longer than Ember liked but her father was free and soon they were running and this time they didn't stop until they reached the farm fields. Only then did the slow down.

Her father stopped and turned to the woman. "Go on ahead."

Ember gave her father a curious look but didn't say anything. The woman nodded and she started to turned to walk away but her father stopped her, his large hand resting on her shoulder.

"Remember, my daughter saved you. There's nothing more you need to say other than that."

The woman looked confused but she nodded.

Her father frowned but nodded and let the girl go. He was quiet until the woman was out of sight and then he turned back to her.

"You need to hide that thing." He nodded to Mally.

Ember nodded and Mally transformed, becoming a belt around her waist. "You know she's going to tell people about it."

"Yeah," her father said, rubbing his forehead.

"We can tell people I borrowed it from Bloom Larisel."

Her father frowned. "No. Lord Felis will start digging if he knows a mage is interested in you. We don't want that sort of attention."

"He'll come when he hears I have a soulbound weapon."

"Yeah," her father said, rubbing at his chin. Then he looked at her. "I'll take you home."

She frowned, not liking the way he said that. "You're planning to come back, aren't you?"

"Got to." He nodded to the field. "There's still people there and we have to make sure that they don't reach the rest of the town."

Ember shuddered at the thought but she hated the idea of her father going back there without her. She looked down at her blistered hands and she knew if she returned, she would be more a hindrance than help. She wanted to at least give him Mally to use but a soulbound weapon wouldn't allow another to hold it unless they died.

Her father followed her gaze to her blistered hands. "Shit." Then he scooped her in his arms and ran home.