Dark Empathy by Archibald Bradford (inspiring books for teens TXT) 📕

She picked up the black and purple knife by the sheath.

“Nina, Milly: hold her down.” She said darkly.

Before the angel could react, the Minotaur and Gigas were on top of her.

Erica’s heartstone got a lot of work done that night.

Chapter 26:Crooked Sticks

Even though half of them were burdened with the enormously heavy Vohan, the Amazons led the way through the trees at a brisk pace, and while the Minotaur Helga was more accustomed to running through fields of wild grass, she adapted quickly to the rainforest’s undergrowth and had stamina enough to match the Amazons’.

As Alcaia predicted, there was no way that Adrian could keep up with them, not when the eager Saenga warriors finally had a trail to follow.

Luckily, or perhaps not, Olena had implemented her solution with the broom from the village.

She now zipped along, floating four feet off of the forest floor while Adrian sat behind her doing his best not to throw up whilst the uncomfortable perch crushed his balls.

After a few days of this, he was incredibly sore in some very unfortunate places, but no way would he back down now.

Just like the Amazons, he tasted blood in the air.

It grew easier for him once they exited the forest, no longer was he terrified of catching a stray branch in a moment of inattention on Olena’s part.

Instead he wondered at the terrain around them as they travelled; swaying green grass spread out as far as the eye could see, the sky above was wide open and brilliant blue, with puffy white clouds traveling across its vast expanse, providing the grasslands with the rains that Helga’s herd followed.

The sixty Amazons now followed Helga as she guided them on the unfamiliar terrain towards her herd and within just three days of leaving the village they spotted them at the bottom of a low hill in the distance.

With a forty foot worm monster amongst the Minotaurs, they were hard to miss.

The herd was resting in the grass on the bank of a winding stream, enjoying the sun while munching on the plentiful fodder around them.

The arrival of sixty bloodthirsty warriors had them standing though, and soon another Minotaur stepped out to embrace Helga and welcome her home.

Adrian dismounted from Olena’s broom in time to catch the gist of their conversation.

“-took us ages to get the mean one to sit down, she kept insisting on leaving to chase after the ones that attacked them. It wasn’t until the human stepped in that we were even able to see how badly her injuries are and give her some of Annabel’s milk. Did you find the Aegis already?”

“She did.” Adrian spoke then, injecting as much authority into his voice as he could.

When she turned to face him he realized then what a poor showing he was for the peacekeeping organization; unshaven and wearing the same worn uniform he had arrived in, he did his best to stand tall, despite the agony in his nether regions.

Alcaia interjected herself before the other Minotaur could come to doubt his identity.

“Please, lead us to these Troglodytes. We must know what they know. Though I suspect we can guess most of it.”

Without delay, the Minotaur complied, and soon they stood before fifteen lizard girls, not a one of which was uninjured, all hanging around the unmoving worm.

Clearly the travel through the grasslands had exhausted the enormous creature, its rumbling snores echoing around them.

With one hand gripping her enormous blade, one of the Trog’s knelt next to another who was staring sullenly into a bowl of water with her back to them.

“Bloodletter. Someone approaches.”

The Troglodyte leader turned and took one look at Adrian before her eyes widened and she got to her feet rapidly. Even with bloody bandages around her shoulder and side she still moved faster than he could react.

With a harsh shrieking hiss she bodily tackled him to the ground; the soft grass might have helped to cushion his fall but it did nothing for the claws suddenly digging into his neck.

“You! You did this! You killed my sisters!” She snarled at him, bits of spittle striking his face.

“Release him at once!” Alcaia barked.

In unison the Amazons leveled there spears at the Trogs, who in turn put their backs to the Sandworm, its snoring halting as it began to stir while they brought up their enormous blades defensively.

Though outnumbered, the grim-faced desert monsters were clearly ready for blood.

“S-stop!” Adrian called out, his voice cracking from the sudden stress of the situation; “Stop this Alcaia! You know what they must have gone through, have your people put up their spears!”

The claws in his neck didn’t relent their grip, but they didn’t tear his throat out either, their owner looking to the Amazons.

The warleader and the bloodletter shared a long look, each taking the measure of the other with hard eyes.

“This softskin is with you?”

Alcaia didn’t respond right away, continuing to glare at the other monster girl for another ten seconds or so.

Finally she raised her arm and gave a sharp gesture for her people to lower their weapons.

“He is with the Aegis, the real Aegis. Judging by your reaction, you encountered the ones who killed his team, as we suspected.”

The lizard hissed again, softer now as she turned her face back down to examine Adrian.

“What is the name of the woman who sent you?”

He didn’t answer right away, confused by the question.

“Her name!” She insisted, neither her claws nor her warriors relaxing as she grilled him; “If you are truly with the Aegis, you will know the name of the woman who first came to our digsite!”

It took him a few seconds but he eventually figured out what she wanted to know and why.

“Holt, the first onsite contact was