Mental note: Convince Eno to play this game.
That probably wasn’t going to happen, but it would be so damn funny.
Play stopped as a strange hooting noise rose from the dense forest just beyond the field. Drayce glanced about to see every child frozen exactly where they were, eyes wide and staring at the tree line. A second later, there was another call, similar to a grunt, but in a different location, closer to the direction of the village.
One of the older children barked something and the rest started running toward the village, leaving the ball where it had last been in play.
Drayce’s heart thudded painfully as he felt about his body. He had no weapons on him except for a small knife. Caelan had asked them all to shed the majority of their gear while they were in Hidden Falls. He didn’t want anyone to believe that they were a threat, but it now meant that he had few options when it came to protecting these kids.
He jogged alongside them, trying to keep an eye on the kids in the lead as well as the older ones who seemed to naturally fall to the rear to protect the others.
Just as the first child was reaching the spot where they cut through the trees to make their way to the village, a scream cut through the air. The leader stopped so sharply he fell onto his backside in the face of the monkey that broke through the undergrowth and swiped one arm at the leader. Another child grabbed the first’s arm and pulled him out of the large monkey’s reach.
Loud grunts, cries, and screams filled the air as more monkeys jumped from the trees and brush along the field. Each one was between three and four feet tall with yellowish-brown fur. Their faces were dominated by long red noses that were lined in blue on either side. But it was nothing compared to their teeth. Each time one screamed, it opened wide an enormous mouth with long yellow fangs and a row of ugly teeth.
With the help of the older children, Drayce got them all gathered in the center of the field and he mentally scrambled for a solution. The troop of what he was guessing were mandrills numbered at least thirty, and they were almost completely circling them. The only escape was to head deeper into the dark forests of the Ordas. He was praying that someone from the village heard the mandrill cries, but he couldn’t stake the lives of the children on it.
He really had no choice.
Palming his knife, he grabbed the hand of the oldest child and pressed the hilt into it. He flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smile and took a couple of steps away from the huddled group, placing himself between them and the largest grouping of the monkeys. He just had to pretend that Caelan had said “toaster.” He refused to believe his fiancé would sacrifice the lives of a dozen kids to protect Drayce’s secret. No fucking way.
With a scream from the alpha of the mandrills, they started racing toward the kids all as one and Drayce shifted. In the blink of an eye, his massive black dragon body was firmly in place between the kids and the attackers. The shouts of surprise were drowned out by Drayce’s own deafening roar. If the village hadn’t heard the cries of the mandrills, they definitely heard that.
Many of the mandrills that had been racing to attack dug claws into the dirt and tried to abruptly turn around, while others maintained their suicidal race to the dragon. Drayce released a long burst of flames, enveloping at least half a dozen. At the same time, he swept his long tail out behind him, knocking over any who were trying to sneak in from the rear. The thick, moist air of the Ordas became tinged with the scent of burned hair and flaming monkey.
With the first wave taken care of, Drayce turned his head to the group of stunned and terrified children, who were now trapped between a dragon and ravenous monkeys. Very carefully, he curled his tail about, herding the children closer to his frame so that he could tuck them protectively under him. When he felt the first little hand touch his leg, he inwardly smiled. They were as safe as he could make them.
The mandrills regrouped and seemed unwilling to admit they were massively outgunned. Sure, they outnumbered him by twenty to one, but he had fire and his teeth were much bigger. He scorched another half dozen and squashed a couple into the dirt, bones giving the most satisfying crunch.
As the attack was broken and the remaining monkeys scattered, a flash of white light caught his eye. Drayce lifted his head and gave a gleeful roar to see Caelan race into the field with his sword drawn. With two lightning-fast slashes, Caelan removed the heads of monkeys, all without slowing in his race to reach Drayce’s side.