Gertha held my spear, the tip pointed to the sky, then placed the butt on the ground, leaning against it with her legs spread at shoulder width.

  “We’ll cross the river walking like crabs. Tullen, you’ll be at the front holding your spear like I am. It’ll make you more stable. The rest of us will be in a line behind you, each person holding onto the one in front. Then we’ll make our way across, one step at a time.” She stood up straight and twirled the spear in her hands briefly before stabbing it back into the ground.

  “Yes, I’ve seen crossings like this before. We must make sure the water doesn’t cover our thighs or is too fast. Or we get swept away,” Sila said.

  “Melrisia, can you not lift us across?” Sayo asked.

  Gertha paused for a moment, sighing, “No child, I can’t…work like that anymore.”

  “Since Rolvh?” Sayo asked, her voice soft.

  Gertha glared at Sayo for the briefest moment before her expression turned solemn.

  “Something like that.” She whispered.

  Silence hung in the air like a morning mist for a few moments; you could cut the tension with a dull blade. I wanted to get across as quickly as possible so we could find Eggs. We didn’t have time to fall into melancholic memories, so I decided to break the tension and refocus us with the reliable method of making myself seem stupid.

  “What order should we go in? Me, Gertha, Sayo, then Sila?”

  “I figured we’d go in descending size and weight order. Why else would I put the armoured man at the front?” Gertha said.

  I shrugged, “Makes sense. Let’s get going then, the water looks slow for now.” I grabbed my spear from the ground. “Besides, I need to find Eggs.”

  “Of course!” Sila said, and he joined me.

  Sayo and Gertha said nothing more as they walked over to, and with that, I took my first side step into the river.

  I was expecting the cold, fresh sensation of water leaking into my armour, soaking my clothing underneath. Instead, I felt absolutely nothing other than the force of the water gently pushing against me. My armour was perfectly sealed like a drinking skin. A tingle of excitement shot up my back. That was impossible; the very best blacksmiths and armourers in Avandun have never achieved perfect seals against liquids. Armour was usually thick, heavy and cumbersome to cope with a strike from one of those bastard Lizards. I heard the subtle intake of breath from the others as they joined me in the water. Sila then placed his hands on my pauldrons, his grip tight.

  “Everyone ready?” I called.

  “Get a move on!” Gertha shouted back.

  “Here it goes!” I replied, and I moved the spearbutt along the bottom of the river as far right as I could, leaning forward so that it took my weight.

  “Stepping!” I called and took a sidestep with my right leg, letting my foot rest as securely as a moving river would allow, then moved my left leg. I needed to make sure that both my feet and the spear butt formed a rough triangle, as this would give me stability. I smiled for a brief second, remembering the lattice of triangles Peevan used to mark on the floor for me to practice my footwork across.

  I waited a few moments as I heard splashes that told me the others were slowly making their way across.

  “You ready?” I shouted.

  “Yes!”

  “Let’s go!”

  “MOVE!”

  The others cried in unison, although Gertha was the loudest by far. So I moved again, in that slow ponderous way, spearbutt shift, step, step and repeat. We’d been at it for maybe five minutes when I thought I saw something dark dart underneath the water. It could be a fish, or even the shadow of a bird overhead. I resolved to move as fast as possible and get us out of the river. I moved the spear, then my legs, then the spear, then my legs. Our progress was slow and painfully awkward. I kept looking up in the sky, hopeful for a sign of Eggs and fearful that a passing Dragon would spot us in our state of vulnerability. The silence was broken when Sila tapped one of my pauldrons.

  “A tree must have fallen into the water upstream,” Sila said.

  “What makes you say that?” I asked.

  “I saw a trunk floating round the corner there far ahead.” He pointed upstream, and I followed his gesture. There was nothing in the water, unless you counted leaves or fish.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “I see no tree trunk,” I said.

  “But it was right there-”

  A man-sized, scaled beast exploded out of the water, its head was flattened with a broad snout, and it opened fins that resembled wings that were as wide as six of me. It darted forward at me, and on instinct, I pulled the lower end of my spear towards me so the sharp tip was in line with the creature. It curled to the right and slipped under the water's surface, and I caught a glimpse of a dark shape disappearing behind us.

  “RAITHON!” Sayo shouted. The water threatened to take me off balance, but I took a half squatting position to lower my centre, allowing me to place the spear butt nearer the riverbank. I didn’t know what the fuck a Raithon was, but I judged it probably wasn’t too friendly, and stabbing the little bastard would go a long way to making my day less of a life-threatening pain in the arse.

  There was another explosive movement to my left, as the Raithon sprang from the water, this time going for Sila, but it was warded off by a sweep of one of Sayo’s blades, which drew bright green blood from the beast. It howled and disappeared under the water yet again.

  “THEY AMBUSH, TRY TO PICK YOU APART ONE BY ONE,” Sayo shouted.

  The Raithon jumped out at me from ahead, but this time I was ready for a surprise, and I rammed the spear tip forward, catching it under the jaw and punching through flesh. Green blood spurted out, mingling in the water like paint being rinsed from a brush.

  “I GOT IT!” I called, pulling the spear free.

  “RAITHON’S TRAVEL IN-” Sayo was cut off as four more eruptions from the river revealed more of those bastard things.

  Sila released me from his grip, presumably to grab his weapons, but my world lurched as a result, and I fell backwards, the water flying upward from around me like a geyser as I held my breath on instinct. I fought to try and stand when I started being battered by leathery fins, and one Raithon tried to plunge its fangs into my shoulder, coiling a tail around my torso, just underneath my armpits. Fortunately, my armour held fast, and I saw the markings starting to glow, but I couldn’t move my arms into the proper position to strike back at the Raithon. There was thrashing all around me as the others fought in similar predicaments, but my heart was in my mouth. I had armour that would protect me against creatures like this. If just one of the Raithons got lucky, it would be the end of one of my friends. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

  I needed this bloody Raithon off me. NOW!

  All at once, the markings on my armour lost their glow and reverted to their usual state, and as they faded, I was, for a brief moment, covered in lightning. The Raithon spasmed while the others continued to thrash around before it fell backwards, its eyes burned out of their sockets.

  I whirled around, spear at the ready, as I saw Sayo impale a Raithon on one of her blades as she sliced the other across its throat, showering her in green blood. Gertha had made it to the riverbank, the Raithon she’d been tangling with being dragged after her with an unseen force.

  Sila was facedown in the water, slowly floating away from me; there was no sign of the Raithon he’d been facing. I grabbed him under the arms with one arm while using my spear to help steady us. I pulled him backwards, freeing his face from the water and slowly pulled him toward the riverbank.

  “NO!” Sayo screamed, and she waded toward us, sheathing one of her blades to grab his other arm and joined me in pulling him to the edge.

  We reached the bank, exhausted. Together, Sayo and I pulled Sila up until we were a good ten feet from the water's edge. His eyes were shut, and he wasn’t moving; he looked almost peaceful with his hair plastered across his face. I saw the tips of his hair were singed, and minor pale marks were traced across his skin like tree branches…or lightning strikes. My heart fell.

  This was my fault. My armour had somehow harmed him as well as the Raithon I'd been trying to escape from.

  Sayo fell to her knees, calling Sila’s name and shaking him. I noticed Gertha running over, a green bloody mess behind her and she was covered in viscera.

  “He’s not breathing!” Sayo cried.

  “NO! NO NO, NOT AGAIN.” Gertha wailed.

  “Move,” I commanded and threw my spear down, taking off my helm and gloves. I placed two fingers against his neck, where the artery that ran up was. I was taught where such lifelines ran so that I could sever them, but they could also tell you much about a person’s health. I couldn’t feel the pulse of his heart, but he hadn’t been in the water long enough to drown. So something had stopped his heart.

  “No matter what you hear, do not interfere,” I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible.

  I knelt to his side with my knees spread, interlocked my fingers and placed them on the lower half of Sila’s sternum. Then, keeping my arms straight, I drove down by about two-thirds of a palm's width, as Peevan had taught me, then brought my hands up, and did this twice for every second that passed.

  Twenty seconds passed, and already my arms were burning. I felt and heard something crack in Sila’s chest as I kept the movement going.

  “What? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?” Sayo screamed, and she leapt at me. Gertha caught her and pulled her back.

  “HE KNOWS HOW. HE’S HELPING.” Gertha shouted and pulled her Hold Daughter close.

  “Live you fucker, live.” I snarled, as a bead of sweat dropped from my forehead onto Sila’s sodden chest. My arms were screaming at me, but I wouldn’t let up. Sila was unmoving.

  I beseeched all the Gods I could think of.

  “Physic, help me.”

  Sila shook as I compressed his chest.

  “Hunter, save this man for a better death.”

  Sayo wailed. My arms were on fire as I continued the movement.

  “Godbody, let him serve a better, more selfless purpose.”

  Gertha sobbed, and Sila’s chest cracked twice in quick succession.

  Frustrated, I renewed my efforts, snarling as I increased the rate of my actions.

  “Mummer. Stop fucking with me, and I’m yours.” I spat. Knowing it wouldn’t work.

  Sila coughed and spluttered riverwater straight into my face. I was wide-mouthed in shock and started choking myself as the water then went down my own throat.

  At the edges of my hearing, there was a whisper of a laugh.