by Clayton Wood
“Took you long enough,” Vi grumbled.
“You’re welcome,” Hunter replied.
The leader tried to speak again, but only a gurgling sound came out, blood dripping from its jaw. It roared, its deep voice barely audible above the sound of the waterfall in the center of the cavern. Vi turned to the beast.
“Stay close,” she told Hunter. Then she charged the leader, leaping into the air and swinging viciously at its head, so fast her mace was a blur. The Ironclad raised an armored forearm to intercept the blow, the mace bouncing off it with a loud crack. Vi used the momentum from the ricochet to spin around, dropping to a crouch and swinging at its knee.
Again, it lowered one forearm, blocking the blow. Then it kicked at Vi with one massive foot.
She dodged the blow, swinging straight upward…right at its chin. It blocked it with another forearm, reaching out with two other hands and grabbing the front of her uniform, picking her up and tossing her backward like a rag doll. She flew into the air, tucking her knees and executing a backflip…and landed right on her feet, her green eyes locked on the leader’s. She smirked.
“Not bad,” she admitted.
Another Ironclad ran at her, and she spun around, whipping her mace in a tight arc and smashing the thing in the temple. It dropped like a stone, sliding on his belly on the rocky ground. Without so much as a pause, she charged at the Ironclad leader, feinting with a swing at its knee, then spinning around in a full circle and clipping the leader’s jaw again, snapping its head to the side. Vi followed with another low swing at the thing’s knee, but it blocked it with one forearm, the mace bouncing off harmlessly.
Hunter saw his chance, and ran up to the leader, gripping the blade of his sword tightly and swinging the hilt the back of the thing’s knee as hard as he could. The blow struck true, and the Ironclad’s knee buckled, sending it stumbling backward.
Vi leapt at the thing, smashing it in the face with a horrible crack.
The leader fell backward, landing in the shallow pool, water shooting upward and outward from the impact. It splashed Hunter, the icy water soaking through his clothes instantly.
“Watch out!” he cried, spotting two more Ironclad rushing at Vi. These had warhammers and carried two shields, like the ones outside.
“Take one,” she ordered, turning to face the one to her right. Hunter ran at the other one, intercepting it before it could get to Vi. It stopped, facing him, its shields raised. It stared at him, its warhammer clutched in one big hand.
Then it lowered its weapon, trying to step around him to get to Vi. Hunter blocked its path, looking for a weak spot in its defenses. But with both shields raised, he didn’t have much of a target.
He heard a thump behind him, followed by a loud crunch, and glanced back to see the other Ironclad on its back, Vi standing over it.
“Any time now,” she grumbled.
Hunter heard a splashing sound, and turned toward it. The Ironclad leader was standing in the pool near the shore, water streaming from its armored body. Its glowing mane cast the water around it in a pale blue hue.
Hunter felt an arm grab him from behind. It was the other Ironclad…the one who hadn’t attacked him. He spun around, tearing away from its grasp. It reached again with its one free arm, trying to grab his sword. He jerked it out of reach, then ducked low, gripping his blade tightly and swinging under the thing’s shields, hitting its right ankle with his cross-guard. It lurched to the right, and he ran right at it, slamming his shoulder into one of its shields. He bounced off, stumbling backward…but the Ironclad, already off-balance, toppled over, landing on its back.
Hunter sprinted forward, leaping on the thing’s chest, then swung his sword overhead, chopping downward at the thing’s face. The cross-guard crushed its left eye, sinking into its socket.
The Ironclad howled, swinging its shield at him, striking him in the left side. He was thrown to the ground, landing on his right shoulder…and nearly impaled himself with his own sword. He grunted, pain shooting through his left shoulder, and struggled to his feet.
The Ironclad leader stood there in the pool facing Vi, the water lapping at its lower legs. It raised one of its four arms, flashing a rapid series of hand signals to the Ironclad Hunter had felled. That Ironclad rose to its feet, backing away, clutching at its ruined eye.
Vi faced the Ironclad leader, her mace gripped in one hand.
The leader stepped backward until he was halfway between the island and the shore. More Ironclad ran out of the tunnels in the cavern, swarming toward Vi, but their leader made a motion with one hand, stopping them in their tracks. Then he gestured at Vi to come forward.
“Time for a swim then,” Vi decided.
She stepped into the pool, the water up to her thighs, and strode slowly toward the Ironclad. The water glowed with the light of its mane and tail, blood dripping from its mouth, staining the water red. It waited, watching silently as Vi approached. She stopped a few feet away from it, circling slowly. Then she burst forward, swinging her mace!
…and stopped, pulling the attack back.
The leader didn’t react to her feint, standing there with its arms at its sides. Vi smirked, continuing to circle. Then she feinted again, lunging forward to swing at his upper thigh, then pulling it back. But then she changed direction, swinging upward – right at its chin. The Ironclad managed to block the blow at the last minute, intercepting it with his forearm. The force of the blow knocked his arm upward, and she swung again, using the ricochet to swing her mace down, then up in a circle over her head, bringing it down toward its face. It blocked the blow again, with the same forearm. The armor there crumpled inward, blood spurting from the exposed flesh underneath.
The leader grunted, backing up a step, then swung one arm through the water, creating a huge wave that struck Vi in the face and chest. It lunged forward then, its arms held out wide to grab her. Vi leapt to the side at the last minute, spinning around and swinging her mace.
It struck the back of the thing’s head with a terrible crack, sending it face-first into the water.
She swung again, striking the back of its head, driving it into the water. She leapt up, chopping downward in another vicious swing, her mace smashing into its skull. Again and again she struck, water flinging off of her mace with each upswing, sparkling in the beams of light coming from high above. Hunter watched, his heart soaring.
Yes!
Then the leader burst out of the water, slamming into Vi and making her stumble backward. She caught her balance – just as it spun around, swinging wildly with two of its arms, using the other two to splash water at her face. At the same time, Hunter saw its leg burst out of the water, its foot slamming into Vi’s chest…right as her mace smashed into its face. She flew backward, plunging beneath the water.
Hunter swore, grabbing his bow from his back. He drew an arrow, aiming for the thing’s head. He let it fly just as the leader lunged at Vi, and the arrow struck its temple, bouncing off its black armor, but jerking its head to the side. The blow slowed the thing long enough for Vi to get out of the way of the thing’s attack.
She faced the beast defiantly, her green eyes almost iridescent as she stared the Ironclad down.
Hunter drew another arrow, aiming at the leader again. He saw movement in his peripheral vision, and turned, spotting more Ironclad entering the chamber. His heart leapt in his throat, half-expecting them to swarm toward Vi, but they just stood near the edge of the cavern, doing nothing.
Why aren’t they attacking?
The leader circled around Vi, its eyes locked on hers. Neither of them made a move for each other, continuing to circle until the leader was standing near the island in the center of the pool, his back to the waterfall.
Hunter strode to the edge of the pool, keeping his arrow on the bowstring. If he could distract it again, while Vi was attacking…
He drew the bowstring back, then fired.
The arrow flew straight and true, shooting over the
pool and striking the leader right in the forehead. Its head snapped back.
Vi rushed forward, leaping at the monster, her mace crashing down on its upturned face.
The Ironclad fell back, its head vanishing into the waterfall behind it.
Vi swung again, her mace disappearing through the waterfall. Again and again she swung, the leader’s arms jerking with each blow.
Then she brought her mace up above her head, heaving downward, her muscles rippling with the effort. Her mace struck with a horrible crunch, the sound echoing through the cavern.
The Ironclad’s arms spasmed once, then again…and then went still.
Vi reached into the waterfall with one hand, pulling the Ironclad’s head back out of it. Its face was utterly destroyed, the center crumpled inward. She stepped behind it, bracing her hips against the island, the waterfall falling around her shoulders. She reached into one of the pockets of her uniform, pulling out a large, serrated knife and bringing it to the thing’s neck. She began sawing at it, the blade cutting slowly but surely into its armor there.
Hunter glanced back at the Ironclad in the room, expecting to see them charging toward the pool to save their leader. But still they just stood there, watching.
Vi’s blade cut through the thing’s armor at last, biting into its flesh, blood spilling down its neck and chest. Still she worked, sawing viciously until the blade was nearly through. Then she put the knife away, grabbing its head with both arms and twisting, then heaving upward.
The Ironclad’s head tore off its shoulders, its body slumping forward into the pool, swallowed whole by the water. Vi stood there before the waterfall, holding its head high above her own, its ruined face displayed for all the other Ironclad to see.
And then her body jerked forward.
She looked down, her eyes wide, her mouth agape. There, protruding from her belly, was a long, silvery blade. It glimmered in the sunlight, blood dripping from its edge.
“Vi!” Hunter screamed.
The blade impaling her lifted upward, taking her with it. She rose through the air, her feet leaving the water, blood pouring down the front of her uniform.
Then the blade jerked back, and she fell into the pool, vanishing beneath the water.
Hunter leaped into the pool. The ice-cold water enveloped his legs, a powerful current pulling him leftward toward the stream emptying the pool. He resisted it, striding forward toward her, his bow clutched in his hands. A bright blue glow appeared behind the waterfall, the blade retracting into the falling water. As he watched, something came out of the waterfall.
A face.
Its skin was jet-black, with all-black eyes supported by high cheekbones. Countless long black tendrils sprouted from its head like hair, rising upward and backward. Most were black, while others glowed bright blue, filled with the same gel as the other Ironclad’s mane. These were much longer than the other antennae, falling backward and downward over its shoulder. As the creature stepped out from behind the waterfall, Hunter saw that it had four slender arms, a sword clutched in each hand. Its body was covered in black armor like the other Ironclad, but it was clearly female, with breasts jutting out of its thorax. The glowing antennae cascaded down its shoulders, draping over its breasts, casting its body in a bright blue hue. Tendrils of glowing blue membrane extended over its arms, even its legs.
The creature emerged from the waterfall, sheathing one sword and stepping down into the pool. It reached its free hand into the water, lifting Vi upward by the neck. Vi’s feet dangled in the air, the other Ironclad’s decapitated head dropping into the pool.
“No!” Hunter cried, nocking an arrow and drawing it back. The creature raised one sword high into the air.
He aimed, then released the arrow.
It shot forward, whizzing toward the thing just as it started its downswing. Then its head jerked backward, the arrow jutting from its face.
It dropped Vi into the pool, stumbling backward, an arrow through its left eye.
The creature let out a horrible roar, gripping the arrow and tearing it from its face. She tossed it aside…just as Vi leapt out of the water, swinging her mace at the thing. Taller even than the Ironclad Vi had beheaded, her mace struck its chest, knocking it back a step. Vi went to swing again, but the creature recovered quickly, swinging its three swords with terrible speed. Vi backpedaled, barely managing to dodge the attacks, blocking a few with her mace before managing to get out of range. But the Ironclad, being much taller, moved through the water more easily, the pool only reaching to its mid-calves. Vi circled, aiming toward the island.
Hunter drew another arrow, waiting for an opening, watching as Vi reached the waterfall.
The Ironclad lunged at Vi, unsheathing its fourth sword and whirling the other three so quickly they were a blur. Again, Vi got out of the way just in time, barely avoiding the rain of lethal blows. She plunged through the waterfall, vanishing behind it. The Ironclad followed, leaping out of the water and crashing through the waterfall.
“Vi!” Hunter cried, striding across the pool toward the island. He reached the waterfall, holding his bow with one hand and plunging the other through the wall of water. He felt the wet rock of the island beyond, and hauled himself through the waterfall, gasping as the ice-cold water drenched him. He passed through, seeing a circular island some fifty feet in diameter, surrounded on all sides by walls of water.
And there, in the center of it, the Ironclad faced Vi, its blades whirling in a murderous dance.
Vi stayed well clear of the Ironclad’s swords, more agile now that she was out of the water. But Hunter couldn’t help noticing that she was hunching over a little, blood still trickling from the wound in her belly. She was moving slower now, though still quick enough to outmaneuver the massive beast…for now.
Suddenly Vi lunged forward, dodging one sword, then blocking two others, somehow managing to get past its attacks. She ducked down, smashing it in the knee with her mace. It buckled, its head jerking forward and downward.
And Vi leapt up at that moment, smashing the Ironclad in the face.
The Ironclad stumbled backward, its arms flailing wildly. Somehow it managed to keep its balance. But Vi wasn’t done; she charged, leaping and swinging her mace into its chest with a loud crack. Again the thing stumbled, and Vi swung again, hitting it in the chest a second time.
The Ironclad fell onto its back, its swords clanging on the rocky ground.
Vi rushed up to it, swinging her mace over and over, smashing it in the chest. The armor there cracked, then caved in, blood dripping from Vi’s mace. Still she attacked, raising her mace high into the air yet again.
The Ironclad roared, kicking Vi in the belly.
Vi cried out, stumbling backward and landing on her back. She gasped for air, clutching at her wounded belly, her eyes wide. The Ironclad got to its feet, lunging toward her.
Hunter grabbed an arrow, nocking it and letting it fly.
It struck the Ironclad in the temple, knocking its head to the side just as it was about to slash at Vi. It stopped, turning to glare at him, its black eyes locked on his.
Vi got to her feet, stumbling backward, still clutching her side with one hand. Blood seeped from between her fingers, dripping onto the rock below. She turned to Hunter.
“Get out of here kid,” she ordered, gritting her teeth. “Grab the head!”
“I’m not leaving you,” Hunter retorted, drawing another arrow. He let it fly, aiming for the wound in its chest. The arrow missed the mark, bouncing off its intact armor.
The Ironclad ignored him, lunging at Vi, its blades whirling.
Vi got her mace up just in time, blocking a few blows, then dodging to the side, barely escaping the beast’s attacks. She was moving much more slowly now, her wound clearly getting the better of her. Still, she managed to avoid the thing’s attacks…until the Ironclad chopped downward with two swords at the same time. Vi raised her mace to block the attacks, but the force of the blows sent her reeling bac
kward, her mace arm going wide.
The Ironclad lunged forward, thrusting her sword right at her!
Vi dodged out of the way with surprising speed, knocking the thing’s arm out of the way, then running in and striking it in the chest with her mace. It howled, stumbling backward…just as Vi switched weapons, drawing her longsword and thrusting right at its heart!
The blade sank into its chest, burying itself deep into the Ironclad’s flesh.
The Ironclad cried out, stumbling backward, somehow managing to keep its balance, its eyes wide, its mouth open in a perfect “O.”
And then it chopped downward with one sword, cutting Vi’s left arm off at the elbow. Her arm fell to the ground, blood pouring from the severed end.
“No!” Hunter screamed.
Vi stumbled backward, staring at the stump of her left arm in disbelief. Blood spurted from it, spraying the ground in front of her.
Hunter rushed up to Vi just as the Ironclad lunged for her, chopping down at her head with one sword. Hunter swung his bow to intercept the blade, managing to deflect it. But the impact knocked the bow out of his hands, sending him stumbling to the side.
The Ironclad’s eyes went to him, and it stepped back, its arms dropping.
“Run!” Hunter cried, getting in between Vi and the Ironclad. “I’ll hold this thing off!”
“But…” Vi began.
“Go, now!” Hunter ordered, shoving her toward the pool as hard as he could. She stumbled backward, striking the waterfall and vanishing beyond it.
He turned then, facing the Ironclad, drawing his longsword from its scabbard. He flipped it around, grabbing it by the blade and striding toward it. The Ironclad stared at him, taking another step back, its eyes going wide, its jaw dropping.
And then he attacked.
He burst forward, sprinting right up to the creature. It raised its blades, and he dropped to the ground at the last minute, sliding between its legs. He swung his sword, the cross-guard smashing into the back of its knee.
The Ironclad buckled, falling onto its back with a thump, its swords clanging on the rock.
