Chapter 118: Freezing Doom
While Ashlynn had been engaged in her battle with Tunerk, Imnek had relentlessly attempted to reach Hauke to obtain his iridescent horn.
Virve, however, resolutely stood in the way of the Tuscan leader. Seeing Ashlynn smoothly sever the trunk of one of the Tuscans, even with the loss of her sword, was a powerful reminder that Ashlynn was like Nyrielle’s progeny. The power at her command was far greater than what Virve herself could manifest, and worse, she was likely to get in Ashlynn’s way if she attempted to join the fray.
That didn’t mean that her duties as a guard ended the moment Ashlynn set foot on the battlefield. Instead, as much as she wanted to sink her claws into the man who clubbed Andrus to death, she turned on the last remaining foe, intent on protecting Heila and Hauke.
Placing herself between Imnek and the others provoked the ire of the Tuscan leader who furiously swung his maul at her, treating her much the same way that Tunerk had treated Andrus. Unfortunately for Imnek, Virve was nothing like the young horned soldier out on his first venture to the frozen mountains.
Where Andrus had relied on his advantage in raw speed and precise aim to dash in and strike a blow before darting away, Virve moved with the practiced efficiency of a veteran warrior. Each time the maul swung, she shifted just enough to let it pass, never wasting movement or leaving herself off balance.
Riding the edge of Imnek’s range, each time the maul mist her by a less than a hand’s breadth, she darted back in, her darksteel claws tearing into Imnek’s arms, leaving behind crisscrossing cuts that slowly dyed the Tuscan giant’s fur red before dripping to the ice below, leaving a bloody trail as the pair moved across the ice.
For a moment, it seemed to Hauke and Heila that the powerful Tuscan would be easily defeated. Already, the damage done to his arms had slowed his swings and when he did strike out with the maul, Virve seemed to have an easier time avoiding the rash and impatient blows.
Unfortunately, Imnek’s impatience didn’t get the best of him for long. As soon as he recognized Virve as a genuine threat, he turned his full murderous attention on her. His maul struck out again and again, no longer aiming at her torso but seeking to destroy her limbs any time she extended an arm to swipe at him or stepped forward to advance.
"You need to help her," Heila insisted, tugging on Hauke’s deep blue tunic. "It’s not fair, he’s too much bigger than Virve. Please," she said, her eyes wide and filled with tears after seeing Andrus fall. "She needs your help."
"I know she does," the young Frost Walker said. His voice sounded frightened and frustrated. The Tuscan was even larger than his father and his tusks bore thirteen sharpened horns that spoke of just how many of Hauke’s clansmen he’d killed. The icy aura around him was thick and malicious, as if the spirits of the slain Frost Walkers had become bloodthirsty revenants eager for others to suffer the same cruel fate they had.
"I don’t know how to hurt him without hurting her in the process," Hauke said, wracking his brain for anything he could do that would be useful.
-CRUNCH-