Atomic Mage by Garrett Carter (short books for teens txt) 📕

He was slightly surprised as she was handling her own if a little less grace than her little run through the woods had led him to believe she had.

He noticed two of the slavers were already down with their throats torn out, the other two were barely hanging on as Mina performed a swipe to the neck of the slaver to her right which the man barely got out of the way of.

The one to her left slammed a wooden baton into her already injured abdomen as she tried to shift away from the blow and evidently overtaxed her injured body and stumbled.

Cade heard Mina's loud pained roar as the hit knocking the wind out of her.

He noted the familiar sound wondering how close he had been dropped to the raid as he got back to the event unfolding before him.

Mina had dropped to her hands and knees after the slaver's brutal strike gasping painfully.

As the man drew back to knock her out with a look of savage glee written on his face the jaguar woman Mina had saved had recovered and with a roar of her own latched onto the gleeful slavers neck with her claws and savagely tore the throat out of the surprised slaver.

The jaguar woman pulled Mina to her feet and turned to fend off the last man of the group that had been dragging her to the circle as Mina collected herself.

Suddenly Mina and her savior stiffened as none other than Rista walked around a hut.

"We were looking for you little Mina", Rista said in a sing-song voice, the same look of glee on her face as the gurgling slaver had as he bleed out at Mina and the unknown jaguar woman's feet.

"You are worth more to us than all these other kitty cats combined, though they will fill my coin purse just the same. So how about you give up and submit to me and at all least your family will live. Continue to fight me and more will die."

Cades face burned with rage at Ristas glee at the thought of killing and torturing more of the jaguar folk.

He watched as the jaguar women fought the orc slaver's mind magic and was amazed as Mina's face cleared as the mind mage slaver visibly flinched.

The second jaguar woman looking to Mina and uttered a muted word that sounded like "run" to his ears thought he couldn't be sure.

His assumption was proven right as Mina took off out of the village in a sprint breathlessly swearing vengeance on the orc slaver as she disappeared into the tree line.

What followed were flashes of Mina running through the forest with the slavers hot on her heels.

The pained breathing and the grimace on her face told him she wouldn't last too much longer.

The protruding arrows still lodged in her abdomen causing her to stumble every few steps as her flight through the thick trees jostled them.

Luck was with her though as she stumbled to a halt as she spooked an animal, eerily similar to a boar, that took off to her left.

Her head swiveled to the right as she saw a depression hidden behind a tree root.

A look of relief flashed across her face before a shout was heard behind her.

Jumping over the root and laying down Mina disappeared from his sight.

Cade watched with a grin her pursuers take a sharp left after the spooked pig's loud thrashing.

His grin widened despite himself at the woman's ingenuity and quick thinking, Cade found himself proud of the woman's escape for some odd reason.

Curious at the strange emotion for a complete stranger, hee filed it away for later introspection as he continued his memory viewing.

After the pursuit had faded into the jungle he watched Mina reappear and gingerly rise from her impromptu fox hole.

She grimaced in pain as she looked around her cautiously before she continued into the jungle.

Moving to the next memory that looked to be happening hours to a day later hee watched as Mina sat against a large tree applying a paste to her arrow wounds, a grimace on her face as she applied the salve around the protruding shafts.

Even he was startled as the only warning he got was a soft growl that escaped her mouth.

Mina suddenly froze as rope flashed around the tree and jerked her head back into it with a less than gentle thunk.

Cade suspected with trepidation that she had been caught by the slavers but was proven wrong as the mismatched group from earlier came into view.

Their swagger and bluster causing him to snort as he held back his mirth, as they clearly had no idea who they were messing with.

Walking up to the restrained Mina who still had the rope around her neck and two of the bandits restraining her arms the large man from the bottom of the pile began to monolog.

Cade rolled his eyes hard enough to pull a muscle as the idiot began his spiel.

"You must be who Ristas fellas were after earlier she will be tickled when we bring you to her, could use a little spending money ehh boys?"

Dark chuckles answered the question as Mina let out a choked growl.

"Let's get her back to camp for the night and we will give Rista her prized tomorrow."

Cade watched as they bound Mina's hands inside of a thick leather bag one of the bandits provided.

Another tied her ankles together hobbling her feet, while another tied a rope around her neck.

"Don't want to forget this mouth