章 553: A Promise
Alaron turned just in time to see Taran lift the helpless scientist from the water. It seemed the monster had been mixing with the other flying beasts, using the sun to shield his movement.
The haughty nobleman had been biding his time, hoping that the sudden attack by the wolf would finish off the Guardian and save him the trouble. When that had failed, he had waited until Alaron's back was turned to strike.
Able to catch Dania mid-stroke, the abomination lifted the woman into the air. She flailed helplessly, her free arm grasping at the air in a fruitless effort to escape Taran's clutches.
The uneven motion did work to keep her captor off-balance, and Taran struggled to maintain his injured leg and the woman attached to it under his control.
'No!' Alaron stepped into the lake only to hear the angry fizz of the black froth forming at his feet. He was covered in monster blood and the magical water quickly protested. Not that Alaron had time to swim into position anyway.
Instead, he stepped back and then took a running leap. While it did not have as much grace and power as Alaron would have liked, it did the job of getting him to the slick surface of the underboat.
His feet slid across the submerged deck, sending a spray of water onto the surface to the lake. But he paid no attention to the tiny sun-filled droplets around him. His hand had already reached into his cloak to draw a bow.
Alaron nocked an exceptionally large arrowhead and trained his aim on the enemy. He could not afford to miss.
The arrow sung through the air, cutting it with a high pitched hum. 'Please,' Alaron held his breath as he hoped that his compensation for the bat's erratic movements had been enough.
Otherwise, he could very easily kill the person he was trying to save.
The metal tip dug deep into Taran's left leg before passing through the other side. At last fully severed, the claw-like foot fell free of the monster's body along with woman it was holding.
Dania screamed, her cry cut short as she plunged beneath the water. When her head broke the surface again, it collided with a rope being tossed in her direction. The scientist looked around in a daze.
"Grab on!" Alaron yelled.
Coming to her senses, Dania grabbed the lifeline and kicked her feet to propel her to the underboat.
Above, fetid blood poured from Taran's wound, causing the water below to billow into a black froth. It seemed close to bursting from the indignity of the corruption forced upon it.
The abomination faltered, thrown off-balance by the sudden change in its weight and its distribution. He crashed into the beach, shaking the ground and causing a ripple of waves to wash away from the shore line.
The flow of water covered Dania for a moment, threatening to hold her under as her wet clothes continued to drag her down.
But just as she had given up hope of seeing the surface, the rope went slack and two strong arms pulled her onto the underboat's deck.
"Get in! He's coming back!" Alaron pushed her toward the hole. He pulled a sword and watched the shore in anticipation of Taran's next move.
Wet and shivering, Dania scrambled into the hatch and down the ladder. To her shock and surprise, the Guardian came down immediately after her.
He slammed shut the roof and fastened the latch. In a bulb in the cabin, two liquids mixed together to light up the confined space and the woman's distressed face.
"I thought you were going to somehow get it floating into the lake!" Dania squealed.
If they had been able to get out into the open water, then maybe they could have maneuvered the boat low enough to escape the flying abominations. Now they were just sitting ducks.
With a loud clang, the underboat lurched to one side, knocking the two people from their feet and into the rowing benches.
"I couldn't get us out. There wasn't time." Alaron held onto the bench closest to him, preparing for another hit.
Scratching at the hatch's door, Taran unsuccessfully tried to reach the people inside. Then, after a pause, another large crash put a dent into the top of the underboat. The ship's frame bent slightly with a groan. Dania's eyes went wide.
"So we are just supposed to wait here until Taran pries open the boat like a barrel of lard?" Dania tried not to panic, but their options were few.
"Don't be silly. I don't think he can use his hands or talons to pry anything open. I think he is grabbing boulders to crush us." Alaron smiled as if he had proposed an amicable solution.
"What?!" Dania was frustrated beyond all measure, but Alaron did not seem to notice.
"If I were him, I would get rocks from down the beach, carry them here and then drop them on the ship until it breaks. Hopefully he is not as smart as I am though." The Guardian looked at the dent, a dark expression appearing on his face.
He didn't want to tell Dania, but they seemed to have gained a small leak in their water craft. It wasn't enough to fill the boat for many hours, but a few more of those breaches would be a real problem.
Another eerily long moment of silence passed. Then something crashed against the hatch, jerking the boat toward the ice barrier. Suddenly free of the rocky bottom, the the boat rocked left and right.
"Seems Taran did the work for us," Alaron said brightly. "Now what?"
There was a splash beside them, sending the large boat bobbing. It seemed the vampire was not finished with his prey.
Dania rose from the bench and hurried to the front of the ship. Looking through two eye holes covered in yellowish glass, she calculated the depth of the water and their current location quickly.
"Can you row?" the scientist asked as she took up the bench opposite where he lay.
Alaron counted the seven rowing benches on each side. He was strong, but not that strong. "I can row, but can you?"
"I don't see much of an option. We need to get slightly farther out if we don't want to crash against the shoreline." Dania's words urged the Guardian into action. With his last bit of strength, he gave as many strokes as he could, with the occasional splash around them as Taran volleyed boulders at them.
"That's enough," Dania announced at last. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead yet she didn't complain. She leapt from the bench and headed to the captain's chair. After looking through the eye hole and confirming their location. Dania began pulling levers and spinning wheels.
A sound of rushing water filled Alaron's ears. "What are you doing?!"
"The tanks need a certain amount of water for the boat to sink. I just hope I calculated correctly." Dania left out the part that she had never actually done this before and was giving her best guess.
There was no need for an extra burden on the pale Guardian. Eventually the water sound stopped and the boat settled into a comfortable spot below the water's surface. For now, they were safe.
Alaron laid down on his rowing bench and wiped his brow. He was feeling very feverish, and he felt it was more than just the exertion of having to pull both his weight and the scientist's in getting the boat into position.
"Don't close your eyes!" Dania ordered.
The Guardian had not even realized he was doing so. And when did Dania get so close to him? Last he had seen she was still at the front of the ship.
"Let me take a look at your leg."
"What? Are you a doctor?" Alaron joked weakly. His voice sounded strange.
"I'm the best you have got right now, I'm afraid." Dania's tense expression made Alaron sigh. Taking that as permission, she pulled back his tattered trousers and gasped.
"This isn't a regular wound. One of the creatures got you." She tried to say the words evenly, but the fear in her voice was evident.
The calf muscle was nearly shredded. 'How had he been able to walk at all?' Dania wondered. From the wound, small purple veins were already snaking around Alaron's leg in an attempt to take over. However, they seemed, at least for the time being, to have not moved beyond his lower leg.
"This is bad," she admitted.
The Guardian pulled out a large knife and handed it to the woman. "You want me to amputate your leg?" she asked in shock. Dania tried to hand back the weapon. "I can't!"
"If I thought that would stop the poison, I would force you to do it. It is the least I deserve for all the trouble I cause. But there is also this..."
With great effort, Alaron tilted his head. The two puncture wounds were seeping purple ooze.
"Surely you are like Yumeto and you will be fine!" Dania's voice cracked as she dared to hope.
"I've no magical blood in me, only the Fate's potion. I don't know what will win." His eyes focused on the woman, flashing with silver.
"The poison cannot win; You cannot let it." Tears streamed down Dania's face.
"I shall fight my best, my dear," he answered tenderly, "but if not...if I start to turn...promise me that you will shove that knife into me before I can kill you. I would rather face the Maker again than have your blood on my hands."
Dania opened and shut her mouth many times to spout all of her objections. At last she sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
"I promise. But you won't turn."
"I hope you are right."
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