The qas̆pa rushed toward him, its hips swaying back and forth like a hula girl and Erin shrank back as a pair of frigid, bony fingers latched onto his jaw.The eyes loomed mere inches in front of him, and in their pale light, he finally saw the qas̆pa’s face.She was…breathtaking.With delicate eyelashes, fine features, and golden hair that rippled down her back like a waterfall in spring, the qas̆pa made Marilyn Monroe look dumpy.
She was so beautiful that for a moment, he forgot to be afraid, forgot to do anything but bask in the presence of the divine creature that had graced his life. And then she spoke, her breath laced with the scent of human flesh, and she slipped right back over the Vicky Mendoza Diagonal. “Yes…you shall join with us.” Her tongue flickered out and Erin squirmed as she licked the top of his forehead, but his struggles were pointless; the being held his jaw in an iron grip.
Satisfied with her taste of him, the qas̆pa stood up and turned back to the fire. She stalked over to the pit and began wrestling with the spit. The scorched body of the farmer was reluctant to slide off, but the being persevered until the body slid off, landing half in the flames and half on the dirty ground. It caught fire instantly, the fat in the body combusting like a grain on a hot summer day, but the qas̆pa simply ignored it as she dragged the burning body over to the door and flung it open.
Erin was in a full-fledged panic. Ignoring the ropes that tightened around his wrists, cutting off the circulation, he snatched up the dagger and sawed at his bindings frantically. The blood still dripping down his hand made things difficult, but he was determined. The rope frayed and then succumbed to his desperation-fueled strength. The qas̆pa still hadn’t returned, so with his hand freed, it didn’t take him long to remove the restraints around his ankles too, and he staggered to his feet.
He nearly passed out as he stood up, for the throbbing in his head swelled to previously unparalleled heights. Feeling his face gingerly, he realized he had a deep cut on the left side of his cheek, swollen and crusty. Got to get that healed. His hand reached for his bag, stocked with a standard-issued healing potion, but found nothing but air. Right. She took my stuff.
His gaze swept across the dark room, looking for his belongings when a low groan rumbled beside him. “Dannu, are you up?” Clutching the knight tight in his fingers, he bent down and began to saw through the ropes, though he kept an eye fixed on the single door that led in and out of the cabin. Should I make a break for it? His scrambled mind couldn’t latch on a plan, but Erin knew that simply staggering out of the door would likely get him nowhere.
He’d only managed to free the soldier’s hands, when the door creaked open again. Instinct took over, and Erin half-stumbled, half-fell back against the wall. Clutching his hands in front of him, he hid the knife beneath his palms and prayed that in the darkness the qas̆pa wouldn’t notice.
She stalked past him with nary a glance, her arms full of kindling, and bent low over the fire. Taking advantage of her distraction, he hacked desperately at Dannu’s bindings as the soldier began to stir, still only half-awake.
“Marrraah?” Erin tossed himself back against the wall as the words slurred out of the soldier’s move. The qas̆pa swung her head, and the glowing yellow eyes fixed on them again. “Oh? More food awakes? But which one, which one to eat?” She walked over to them, her hips swaying violently, and stared down at the soldier. Her cute, button nose wrinkled. “This one smells last tasty. I should save him…no,” the qas̆pa shook her head violently, “No dessert before dinner,” she giggled. Her hand shot forward, and she grabbed Dannu by the throat.
The soldier jerked awake, screaming as her nails dug into his flesh, and Erin could only watch in horror. Except…his hand without his bidding moved as, finding a courage he didn’t know he possessed, Erin swung the knife toward her jugular.
Perhaps the qas̆pa saw the blade coming or perhaps it was nothing more than pure chance that caused the being to lift her head at that moment. In any case, Erin’s blade whistled harmlessly in front of her eyes. It nicked the tip of her nose, removing nothing but a strip of skin, before crashing into the hand that was currently locked around Dannu’s throat. Blood welled around the blade as it cut deep into her flesh, but the blade came to a hard stop when it hit the bone, lacking the strength a sword would provide.
With a hiss, the qas̆pa dropped Dannu and turned on him. Bloody strips of skin tore free as he desperately yanked back on the knife, but she returned the favor in kind. Her long claws raked across his chest, slicing through the boiled leather armor as if it was nothing more than wax paper.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The force of her blow tossed him backward and his head smashed into the wall. His vision flickered as blinding pain shot through him. The qas̆pa followed up with a second swipe of her hand, her nails poised to carve a ragged canyon across his body, but his instincts saved him again. Barely conscious, he rolled to his side, fairly avoiding her blow, and catapulted to his feet, still clutching the bloody knife.
He stabbed forward blindly as she lashed out again, and a howl of pain echoed through the cabin as his knife pierced through her palm. Erin wrenched it to the side with a quick turn of his wrist and sprang forward, swinging wildly with his other hand. His blow caught her square in the solar plexus and she staggered backward, dragging the dagger out of his hand.
Left unarmed, Erin could do nothing but pursue her, aiming another blow straight at her throat, but his moment of opportunity had closed. With a scream of rage, the qas̆pa snatched his wrist out of the air and twisted. His arm cracked beneath the pressure, but not before his entire body was turned sideways like a corn husk in a tornado. He landed on the ground with a crack, and his efforts to rise were thwarted as a heavy foot rested on his chest and pressed down. “Food should not bite,” she snarled. Her foot hit the side of his head, and the darkness returned.
When he woke up again, Erin couldn’t say how long he’d been out, but things had changed. He shivered as the cold air brushed against his bare skin. His tattered leather armor was gone, and so too were the clothes beneath it, leaving him as naked as the day he’d been born. Fresh ropes had been tight around his arms and legs, and his arms were stretched above his head like he was about ready to do a high dive into a pool. The only good news was that he hadn’t yet been mounted on the spit, nor was there any sign of the qas̆pa.
He tried not to shiver as his face pressed against the cold, hard ground, but it was a losing battle and the tremors took hold as his body fought ineffectually against the barely heated air of the small cabin.
“Psst.”
As his teeth chattered against each other, the noise didn’t register at first.
“You okay?” The voice behind him echoed again, slightly louder this time.
Erin struggled feebly to flop himself over, but his limbs failed him. “Is that you, Dannu?”
Hope surged in his heart as he heard a cautious footstep behind him, and then the cabin door flung open, slamming against the wooden wall with a thud. A gust of cold air laced with snowflakes stormed through the room, assaulting his body, and with it came the heavy clomps of the qas̆pa. A moment later, he felt her claws dig into his torso and she flipped him over.
Erin tried not to squirm as he stared directly into her face. The torn tip of her nose had already healed, and her hands too showed no sign of the damage he’d wrought. Once again, she was a stunning image of beauty, and he found his worry easing. Why am I fighting this angel?
The qas̆pa picked him up, and as her claws pierced his skin, the sudden burst of pain brought him back to his senses. Erin squirmed frantically, fighting against the bonds with all his strength, even as the ropes dug tighter and tighter into his flesh as she approached the iron spit. And then, something changed.
Erin thought he’d been in pain before.His head had hurt worse than it ever had in his life before.His chest was torn and bleeding from her claws, his circulation was cut off in his arms and legs, and, quite frankly, he felt like he’d been flogged within an inch of his life.
But the pain he’d experienced up till then withered and died in the face of the inferno that flooded through his veins. He was only loosely aware of the screams that tore his throat to shreds, and even less aware of the pain that followed as the qas̆pa, taken by surprise, dropped him back on the ground.
He writhed across the frigid planks, as a burning consumed him from the inside it, a burning which no water could put out.
Regaining her courage, the qas̆pa lashed out with her foot, aiming at his ribs. But her screams joined his as the floor rose around him and intersected her attack.
She pulled back with an angry hiss, looking at the treacherous wood, and for the first time that day her fingers curled in a spell. With a flick of her wrist, the wood shrank back into the floor and she approached Erin cautiously.
The pain within was still overwhelming, but it had subsided ever so slightly when the floor had risen to protect him. This time, he reached out on purpose, begging the wood to shield him.
The qas̆pa tumbled on her back as the floor fled beneath her feet, swirling like liquid as it formed a bubble around him. She landed deftly, and an angry snarl marred her angelic features as she approached. Her clawed fingers writhed like snakes as she fired one spell after another, tearing the wood away from his bottom.
Erin, not really understanding what was happening, could only beg the wood to come back to him, though he noticed that the fire in his body ebbed with each answered request. Back and forth they pulled, a nonsensical tug of war that he slowly realized the witch was winning. I can’t just turtle up.
As panic seized his heart, the fire in his veins reignited. This time, when the qas̆pa pulled the protective shield of wood away, he let her take it. This time, he willed it toward her.
A savage smirk spread across the qas̆pa’s face as the wood abandoned her prey, surging toward her like a slow-moving tsunami. But then it didn’t stop. The smirk slipped as she raised her hands and commanded the wood to halt, but she was too late. Propelled by Erin’s will, a sharp spike extended from the floor and pierced through her torso. Tossed against the cabin’s wall, the spike held her in place as the wood flowed around her, fusing her in place. She struggled desperately, her will pushing it back with a strength Erin could not truly match, but the blow to her heart was too much to overcome. Slowly, her struggles weakened and then they ceased.