When Kaz ducked out of the hut, he had to blink against the blaze of light. Unlike the gentle radiance of Lianhua’s orb, and the orange glow that kobolds used to light their dens, Gaoda’s ki light was a brilliant, burning fire. Either it was brighter than it had been before, or Kaz now saw it differently, because he was utterly unable to look directly at it or Gaoda for several seconds.
Which explained why it took him so long to realize what the human male had just pulled from the pouch at his waist. It was only a little larger than the hand that held it, dangling by one of its many legs.
“There were dozens of the things, cousin,” Gaoda boasted. “Like spiders, but with too many legs. Raff and I might have been in trouble if they’d been able to pierce our skin.”
He pointed to the sharp fangs hanging limply open beneath a multitude of shiny black eyes. “These are probably poisonous, though even Raff hasn’t seen one before.”
Kaz stared at it, horror filling him. “Zhiwu.” He looked around, and, seeing that none of the other kobolds were paying attention to them, lifted his muzzle and howled. Instantly, all eyes turned toward him, and Kaz pointed at the creature hanging from the human’s hand. Every one of the kobolds fell back, the apprehension Kaz felt clearly filling them as well. A few turned and ran off, deeper into the den.
Gaoda was staring at him as well, clearly surprised, and not entirely pleased. “Blue! You’re back! But why’d you start howling?”
Kaz motioned toward the broken body of the insect. “That’s a zhiwu. They’re docile creatures, unless attacked. We harvest webs from them that help wounds heal more quickly.”
The human lifted his prize, examining it with a critical eye. “That explains why we were surrounded by them before we even realized they were there. It’s all right though. There were plenty left when we decided we’d done enough. Your lot can still get your webs.”
Kaz shook his head. “That’s not the problem. They’re one of the few creatures in the mountain that can safely be approached, but once attacked, they’re also incredibly persistent. Especially if you kill their young.”
Dawning realization came over Gaoda’s face. “This isn’t an adult? Well, we made it out safely, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”
“They’ll track you down,” Kaz said. “Whole tribes have had to flee after someone killed one. The only way to stop them is to get far enough away, or kill every last one in the nest.”
At this, Gaoda finally stopped to look around at the kobolds surrounding him. They were staring at him, teeth bared, anger and fear clear in their eyes. Gaoda cleared his throat and glanced at Lianhua.
“Cousin, are you feeling well enough to move on? Now that your pet kobold is back, surely we can continue on our way.”
Kaz looked at Lianhua as well. “They’ll kill every kobold in this den,” he told her. “We can flee, but it’s too late for them. The zhiwu are already on the way.”
Howls began to sound, and the kobolds around them scattered. Kaz knew they would be sending the pups and any kobold not able to fight into a cave where they could be protected until the battle was over. Males and females alike would be gathering by the entrances to the den, waiting for the zhiwu to come.
Pilla ran toward them, her long fur flying with the speed of her movement. She skidded to a halt, eyes locked on Gaoda’s prize. Close behind her came Litz, whose orange eyes blazed with fury and triumph as she rounded on Pilla.
“This is your fault,” the brawny female barked. “If you hadn’t allowed these humans to stay, the zhiwu wouldn’t have been angered. Any deaths that come today are on your head!”
Pilla’s ears flattened, but she had no answer for her rival. Litz was right.
Lianhua stepped up behind Pilla. “No one will die.”
Litz glared at her, then motioned to the dead zhiwu. “You know nothing, human! We may well all die! And when we do, we will curse this weak leader with-”
“No one will die,” Lianhua insisted. “This is our doing, and we’ll take care of it. Just keep your people safe.”
She spun on Gaoda. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to stop the zhiwu. If we have to kill them all, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
Gaoda frowned. “But, cousin, you haven’t been feeling well, and they’re just ko-”
“They have hosted us, Gaoda Xiang! By our own tradition, we dishonor ourselves if we bring danger to their home. Should I tell Grandfather you failed to do the honorable thing?” Lianhua asked, glaring.
Gaoda stared at her, clearly conflicted, then, oddly, glanced toward Chi Yincang, who was standing impassively nearby. He laughed nervously. “I… Of course not. I was just worried about you, dear cousin. Perhaps you should stay here while Chi Yincang, Raff, and I go and take care of this little problem. I’m certain these things can’t be that dangerous.”
Lianhua drew in a deep breath, then shook her head. “I won’t.”
“Neither will I,” Pilla said. They all turned to look at her, but she was staring at Litz with fierce determination in her eyes. “I was not wrong to allow the humans to stay, but it was my mistake that I didn’t send a warrior to guide them. This is my responsibility as much as the humans, and I will help correct it.”
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Litz’s lip curled, but this time it was in satisfaction, not anger. “So be it. I will watch over our den while you’re gone, sister.”
Pilla looked beyond the broad body of her challenger, at a squat, powerful male with green-brown fur tinged gray with age. It took a moment, but Kaz recognized the silver-blue eyes and ruff of long, dense fur ringing his neck. It was Bek, the guard who had defended Pilla as Kaz crouched in the shadows.
“Bek, I entrust the males and pups to you. Lead the one well, and keep the other safe,” she told him, and he bowed deeply.
“You will find them as you leave them, my chief,” he growled.
Pilla nodded, and turned back to the humans. “We must hurry. The zhiwu will have found their dead by now, and be on the way here.”
Gaoda and the others nodded, but Lianhua turned to Kaz. “You should stay here,” she told him. “This isn’t your fight, and you’re not…” She trailed off, biting her lip.
He smiled bitterly. “A warrior? No, but I can still fight, if someone will lend me a knife.”
Pilla looked at him sharply, but it was Raff who pulled a short blade from a sheath at his waist and handed it to Kaz.
“A bit sharper than the ones you’re used to, so be careful, eh, Blue?” The big man smiled at Kaz. “Glad t’have you back.”
Kaz tried the edge of the blade gingerly, and found that while it was sharp, it didn’t draw blood, and he was certain that his father’s knife was keener. He nodded his thanks to Raff, and they both turned back to look at Pilla as she stepped away from the group.
Seeing that she had everyone’s attention, the kobold chief took off, and the rest of them followed. They wound through the den, between huts with wary-looking kobolds standing outside, and every eye tracked the copper-furred chief as she passed.
When they reached another entrance, which Kaz recognized as the one he’d first found, Pilla didn’t even pause to speak to the guards standing there, weapons bared. She simply ran on, with the rest of them trailing after her like pups following their den-mother.
After only a few turns, Kaz found himself in tunnels he’d never seen before. They led straight away from the den and the stairs, and Pilla ran for a few minutes, then ducked through a side passage and stopped in a small cavern with only two entrances. She pointed at the one opposite them and said, “The zhiwu nest is that way. They’ll be tracking your scent. Did you come this way?”
Gaoda looked at Raff, who frowned as he examined the cave. “We went through a few caves. I marked ‘em as we passed, so we could find our way back.”
He turned and looked at the wall near the entrance, shook his head, then started for the opposite side. Kaz’s ears perked up as he caught the click and slither of a distant but familiar sound. A moment later, Pilla’s ears lifted as well.
“They come,” she said, and Raff turned back to look at her. Behind him, a dark shape shifted in the darkness. Long and segmented, a hundred legs scrabbled against the stone as it thrust itself forward into the light.
Zhiwu grew a new segment each time they molted. The one Gaoda had brought back to the den had only two segments, making it look like a spider with a dozen legs, instead of the usual eight. Ten round black eyes glistened on the front segment of these, and more and more emerged from the tunnel as the insects ran forward on a countless multitude of skittering legs. Behind the first came a red and black chitinous wave of bugs, each of them four to twelve feet long.
Raff spun, giving a shout as he realized that the insects were nearly upon him. Pulling his sword from its sheath, Kaz saw a gray mist form around his body, but this time he could tell that it was being sucked into the dantian in his chest, where it did, indeed, seem to become thicker, until it poured out through his channels, filling them with power as he swung at the lead zhiwu. The weapon easily sliced through the frontmost monster, severing most of its segments, which began to writhe wildly on the floor, sharp legs thrashing as it whipped around, nearly knocking Raff over.
“The head!” Kaz called. “They don’t die until you crush or cut off the head!”
Raff grunted as he swung again, but his blade slid off the hard chitin that covered the larger segment just behind the zhiwu’s head. “Th’ little ones didn’t do that!”
Kaz just shook his head. Since when were babies the same as adults?
Gaoda, Lianhua, and Chi Yincang were dashing forward now, their surprise wearing off. Pilla was a little behind them, a bright shell of orange ki around her body, and white fire forming around her hands. To Kaz’s shock, three ki bolts lifted into the air, and she flung them much as Lianhua launched hers using her bow. The ki in her channels visibly dimmed as she did so, however, and she staggered slightly before catching herself.
Kaz, seeing a female kobold in danger, ran forward, instinctively placing himself between her and the oncoming zhiwu. More severed segments flailed on the ground, striking at the legs of the humans, and with a shout, Gaoda slammed a glowing hand down on a monster that had been reduced to only the head and two segments. Ki traveled through it, and the head burst in a gory display. The zhiwu collapsed, and behind it, so did a coil of body that had still been moving up until that moment.
Chi Yincang whirled his weapon, but for once, he wasn’t the most effective of the group. His blade was meant for slicing and stabbing, and though he severed zhiwu in a methodical fashion, segment by segment, it was still difficult for him to get the head, thanks to the thicker chitin shielding it. Only when ki traveled through his weapon did it send heads flying, one after another, and Kaz could see that this used more ki than he was able to cycle, and would eventually leave him unable to continue.
Lianhua, too, was struggling. Her arrows of light punched holes into the long bodies of the insects, but unless she struck the head itself, did little to actually slow the things, rarely even detaching a piece of the body.
Pilla was suffering from the same problem, and soon realized that she needed to focus on her shield, rather than the impressive array of ki bolts. Finally, she stopped trying, and simply pulled the small club from her belt and began laying about her, striking at any part of a zhiwu that came near enough to hit. Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough to crack the chitin of the largest ones, so this was only partially effective.
It was Raff who was killing the greatest number of the bugs. He had reversed his weapon, and used the hilt like a club, then flipped it around again to push back the horde with a great sweep of the flat side of the blade. His height and strength allowed him to crush the zhiwu’s heads like eggs, and they began to pile up around him until they were actually getting in his way as he struggled to get around them to attack the ones that swarmed past.
Kaz himself stood between Lianhua and Pilla and the oncoming multitude. Li clung to his fur as he fought desperately, trying to keep any of the things from getting past him. She whistled and hissed, sending him images of herself snapping up the bugs as if they were as small as the one Gaoda had slain, which would have made him laugh if the situation hadn’t seemed so desperate.