AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He crouches down again, obviously lost. “What do you mean? We got her, didn’t we?”
It wasn’t the right way to explain it, but I haven’t had to explain my thoughts to another person on a hunt in a while. “I mean that lions don’t hunt alone. And since the mutation, they’re every bit as clever as the wolves are. Let’s just hope that none of them have –”
At that moment, the normal sounds of the jungle are split by the deep, rumbling roar of a lion. It’s very close.
And it’s very angry.
11
KIAN
The moment I hear the roar that close, my body snaps into action. First, I need a weapon, something other than the knife at my belt. Then, I need something at my back.
As soon I’ve managed that, I’m going to fight.
With one hand, Amara pulls out the spear she’s been carrying from off her back and readies it. With the other, she puts two fingers to her mouth and gives out a low whistle. She is summoning the pack. It’s a good idea, but will they come in time?
There’s a stirring in the leaves, then a flash of fur going between two trees. It’s difficult to tell exactly how many figures are moving in the darkness. My guess is there are at least four lions, all circling us, all waiting for the chance to attack. I need something to fight them with. Anything.
That’s when I remember the trap the two of us were watching. It’s filled with sharpened wooden spikes. They should be at least long enough to keep the lion’s claws away from me.
I begin to creep toward the pit. There’s another roar, and I know there are more than four lions. At least six, I think.
It would be easy to call a fight like this hopeless. But orcs don’t care about winning or losing. It is better to be torn apart gloriously than to win by treachery.
“What are you doing?” Amara whispers.
“Under the circumstances, I’m going to risk fighting,” I mutter back. I’m just two steps away from the edge of the pit.
That’s when one of the lions leaps at me.
I duck down and roll to the side, barely dodging the swipe of the lion’s claws. She lands on the ground and immediately runs into the underbrush and disappears.
But there’s no time to think. With me on the ground, another lion is already making its own leap. I see it coming for me, but I still don’t have anything to defend myself with. I tense, resolving to at least try to wrestle it away from me.
Amara knocks the lion away from me. It’s remarkable to see her fight. She leaps into the fray with her entire body, bending herself to become a missile and soaring through the air. The moment she and the lioness collide, she strikes, using her teeth, her nails, and the spear all at once in a dizzying display of wild prowess.
But there isn’t time to sit there and be impressed. The other lions are starting to circle closer, and at any moment, one of them will attack me or try to get Amara from behind.
She’s saved me. Now I have to make myself worth saving.
I roll over and reach down into the pit. A few seconds later, I pull up two spears, one for each hand. The wood is hollow but thick, and it’s been sharpened well to a dangerous point.
A lion is charging at me, but it’s alright. I’m on my feet, weapons in hand, and I meet it with a sharp slash of one of the two spears. There’s a spray of blood, and the lion turns away, yelping in pain.
I stand back to back with Amara, who’s repelled the lion she was fighting with. Her spear, like the one in my left hand, is already tipped with blood. I can tell she’ll be far better protection for my blind spot than a tree.
There are roars all around us. They’re preparing something.
“We can survive this, right?” I murmur to her.
“We can certainly put up a good fight.”
And then, suddenly, we’re being charged from all directions.
Once again, my body seems to act entirely on its own. The world is reduced to attacks and counterattacks. I barely see the lions coming at me. Instead, I see their claws and fangs, and I feel the weapons that I have to hit back with. The lions have power and numbers, but the two of us have range. That’s enough to hold our ground.
I swing one of my two spears into the neck of an attacking lion and manage enough power to push them into the side of another lion, making them stumble. Something in my body tells me that I should be swinging something heavier. Something that would take the heads of these lions off clean. A sword, maybe? A hammer?
