The Heartstone Saga by Archibald Bradford (short novels in english .TXT) 📕

Hands were clapped to breasts as the men, women, and monsters of the Aegis sprinted, hopped, and flew to get it done.

The commander looked down at Nameless, doubled over now as he caught his breath from the mad sprint to the Bastion.

“Aegis Armstrong, you and your bond-mate get inside and get safe. I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you why.”

“Yes sir.” Nameless nodded, saluting quickly before doing as he was told.

Just as he and Milly entered the building though, an explosion of water occurred on one of the upper floors, punching a hole in the wall as it flooded out of the massive old-world structure, drawing several sets of eyes upwards.

Oblivious to this, Nameless and his Minotaur rushed up towards the third floor mess hall, one of the designated muster areas during a city-wide crisis.

Given that Evadne wasn’t likely to stop with just blowing up their apartment, a city-wide crisis seemed likely.

Chapter 36:Run Bunny Run

The muscles in Tiana’s arms flexed as she pulled herself up onto the thick wall around the boarding school, moving quickly to join Myrina and Lilly after the Wolfen’s howl sounded the alarm.

“Our day just turned to shit.” The pack-leader said plainly, an unhappy look on her face as they watched the Ogres in the distance drawing closer.

The group of fifteen giants weren’t being subtle about their approach through the cultivated valley outside of the city, and already people were shouting in alarm and fleeing deeper into Garland.

“I fear the city is being attacked elsewhere.” Myrina noted grimly.

Tiana’s lips pressed thinly together as she counted the charging Tenebrae; they weren’t slowing down, and would be on them in minutes if they did nothing.

“Perhaps. But our fight is here.” The de facto leader in Volka’s absence said decisively.

Myrina nodded in agreement.

She looked over her shoulder at the disparate groups of monsters scrambling to arm themselves and get the children into shelter: it was a mixed bunch of tribes, adding up to just shy of three hundred fighters, less of an army and more of a disorganized mob, really.

But it was all they had.

“Do we have to? That’s a lot of hurt coming our way.” Lilly muttered, not taking her eyes of the giants.

Tiana set her hand on the Wolfen’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Our Dominar has made our task plain Lil. We protect the children. We will meet the Ogres in the open. Separate them from one another and use their rage against them to take them down one at a time.”

“Can we even afford to take them alive?”

They could all feel the ground shaking now with their approach, and with her keen eyes she could see their faces, hungry for blood.

Ogres were not as powerful as Gigas, but they were still far stronger than any individual monster amongst those that had assembled in answer to Volka’s call.

“Until we have no cause for hope, we can’t afford not to.” Tiana snapped back; “Now gather your pack and aid me. Or get the hell out of my way.”

The two of them had butted heads a few times since Volka had dragged the Wolfen to join up with Tiana and her sisters.

Though the Valkyrie had curbed the worst of her self-destructive impulses, Lilly still fought and fucked with as many of the other girls as she could.

The big wolf sighed, but didn’t push it.

“When this is over, you both owe me a drink.”

“If we yet live, I shall give you two.” Myrina promised with a humourless smile.

She stood to her full height and let loose with a reverberating ululation to call her sisters to battle, and a moment later the Wolfen likewise drew in a deep breath and howled at the sky.

Then the two of them followed Tiana’s lead and leapt off the wall to pit themselves against the coming Tenebrae.

__________

On the opposite side of the city, Rebecca’s legs pumped frantically, throwing the bunny girl into a frantic burst of speed.

Even as the street she was on cut sharply to the right, she didn’t slow down.

“I’ve got two!” She shouted out in warning between rapid breaths.

One of the buildings sat at a forty-five degree angle right at the corner, so she threw herself into a leap, twisting in midair to get her legs in position, then hit the wall above the door with both feet as her thighs curled up to store the energy.

A split second later they extended and she threw herself at a right angle from where she had been running, tumbling onto the cobblestone street in a painful roll.

Meanwhile the two Ogres chasing her couldn’t correct their course in time and smashed into each other and the front of the building, tearing the wall down on top of themselves.

“She’s done it! Get on them! Focus on their limbs!”

Nine Aegis cadets, at the direction of Instructor Kavanaugh, surged forwards on either side of Becks and cast their adhesive canisters onto the pile of broken bricks and blue Ogre-flesh in a desperate bid to restrain them as the Tenebrae wrestled with the rubble and each other to get back on their feet and continue their rampage.

Propped up on her elbows, Rebecca watched on with wide eyes, her chest rising and falling in short rapid breaths.

She wasn’t in the least bit tired, too scared to be tired, and she needed to know if the Ogres were okay.

As much as she was terrified of the Tenebrae that they had become, she knew that wasn’t who they really were, and her gentle heart couldn’t bear the thought of them getting hurt while chasing her.

Sparing a moment from overseeing the cadets’ efforts, Kavanaugh reached down and gripped her hand to help her to her feet.

“Any injuries girlie?”

“No. I’m alright.” She replied immediately.

Right after