The bird’s talons spread as it descended, each curved claw longer than Luke’s forearm. He froze, staring up at them. He needed to move, to pull Emma out of the way, but his body wouldn’t respond.
Helena’s barrier flared into place just before the claws reached him.
The impact cracked through the clearing, snapping Luke out of his daze. He flinched beneath the translucent blue dome, watching the talons scrape across its surface barely a foot above his face.
Then the bird beat its wings and drove its claws deeper.
Cracks spread through the barrier. Luke tightened his grip on Emma as the whole thing shattered, scattering fragments of blue light around them.
"Garrick!" Helena shouted.
"I’m on it!"
"What the hell is a level 30 elite doing here?"
Garrick lunged between them and the bird, a broad shield appearing on his arm. The talons struck its face with a metallic screech, driving him down onto one knee.
"Get them out of here!"
Helena grabbed Luke’s shoulder. "Move!"
He scrambled upright, pulling Emma with him. Her legs folded almost immediately, and he caught her before she hit the ground.
"I can’t—"
"Put your arm around me."
She clung to his neck while he dragged her toward the trees. Behind them, the bird shrieked, and another impact shook the clearing. Luke stumbled over a root but kept moving, too frightened to look back.
They reached a thick trunk several paces away. He lowered Emma against it and crouched beside her, struggling to catch his breath.
Helena stopped in front of them. A second barrier curved around the tree’s exposed side.
"Stay here."
Luke nodded quickly.
Through the pale light, he could see Garrick forcing himself upright. The bird’s claws were hooked over his shield, its wings beating hard enough to tear loose clumps of grass. He drove a sword toward its belly, but the blade scraped across bronze feathers without sinking in.
Luke focused on the creature.
[Bronzewing Hawk]
[Rank: C]
[Level: 30]
His stomach tightened. A few minutes ago, he had been worried about a level-three boar.
The hawk lunged again. Garrick angled his shield, deflecting its beak into the ground beside him. He slashed at its neck as it pulled back, cutting a thin line through the feathers.
Helena thrust out her hand. A blade of light struck the same spot, drawing blood.
The bird recoiled, then spread its wings to their full width.
"Brace!" she shouted.
Garrick planted his feet. Light spread from his shield, forming a broad wall in front of him.
The hawk’s wings swept forward.
Luke didn’t see what struck the shield, but he heard it. Several sharp impacts rang out in rapid succession. The trees beside Garrick shuddered, and deep cuts appeared across their trunks.
One of them began to lean.
Luke pulled Emma close as the tree crashed into the clearing. Branches scraped across Helena’s barrier, leaving him staring through a tangle of leaves.
"Helena!" Garrick shouted. "I need you over here!"
She glanced toward Luke and Emma, then back at the bird.
For the first time since they had met her, she looked uncertain.
Luke followed her gaze to the dead boar, still lying where they had left it. The hawk had descended directly toward that spot, toward the animal Garrick had kept making squeal loud again and again.
Another crash came from beyond the fallen branches. Garrick staggered into view, blood running down the arm that held his sword.
Luke looked toward the road. The people he had seen hunting earlier were running toward the stronghold. Someone was shouting for a patrol. Perhaps because of the commotion more and more root boars had shown up.
Their spiny backs appeared between the shrubs, some barely visible above the grass. Luke spotted three near the path, then another pair scrambling out of a shallow hollow. They looked frenzied and agitated and the first target in front of them was Luke and Emma.
They shreiked loudly and started charging. Luke pulled Emma against the trunk just as its tusks struck Helena’s barrier.
Blue light rippled across the surface. The creature stumbled back, shaking its head. Before it could charge again, a second boar slammed into the same spot. A third circled toward the side, claws scraping through the roots.
"Helena!"
"I can see them!"
She swept one hand toward the tree. The barrier brightened, forcing the circling boar backward, but the distraction cost her. The hawk’s wing struck Garrick’s shield and drove him to one knee. Its beak plunged toward his exposed shoulder.
Helena snapped her attention back to him. A blade of light struck the bird’s face, making it recoil.
Luke stared at the boars gathering outside their shelter. He could count six now. One was digging beneath the barrier, throwing dirt between its hind legs.
Of course. She had told him they could burrow. He pushed himself upright and helped Emma stand. "Young master, I’m sorry. I am so useless. It is because of me you are hurt. It is because of me-"
"Emma stop. We have time for this later. For now, let’s think what we can do." Luke swallowed, and tried to think even though he was completely freaking out. Then it struck him. These boars couldn’t possibly climb trees? He was not completely sure but this was the best strategy he had.
He looked up. The lowest branch was just above his head, thick enough to hold them both if they could reach it.
"Can you climb?"
Emma followed his gaze. "I can try."
"Use my shoulder."
"But... but... young master..."
"Just shut up and do what I tell you to! We really don’t have the time for this now!" He crouched beside the trunk and laced his fingers together. Emma hesitated, then placed one boot in his hands. A heavy impact rippled across the barrier behind her.
"Go!" Luke pushed as she reached upward. Her fingers caught the branch, but her arms shook under her weight. He straightened, bracing her foot against his shoulder while she hooked an elbow over the wood.
Bark scraped his cheek. His legs trembled.
"Get your knee up."
Emma struggled for another moment before dragging herself onto the branch. She lay across it, breathing hard, then twisted around and reached down.
"Young master."
Luke grabbed her hand, planted a boot against the trunk, and pulled. His foot slipped immediately. He landed hard on one knee. Pain shot up his leg, and Emma nearly slid off the branch trying to hold on to him.
"Let go!" he gasped. "Hold the tree!"
She released him and wrapped both arms around the trunk. Luke scrambled upright. At the base of the barrier, dirt bulged inward. A tusk appeared through the gap, followed by a muddy snout.
He had seconds. There was a knot in the bark near his waist. Luke jammed the toe of his boot against it and jumped, catching the branch with both hands.
For one glorious moment, he thought he had managed it. Then he tried to pull himself up. His arms strained, his boots scraped uselessly against the trunk, and the branch remained exactly where it was.
Fuck his strength attribute. Fuck every afternoon he had spent sitting on his ass in both lives.
Emma seized the back of his coat. "Keep pulling," she said.
Below him, the boar dragged its shoulders through the hole. Luke hauled upward, getting one forearm over the branch. Emma leaned back against the trunk, pulling his coat with both hands.
The boar lunged. Blue light flashed around Luke’s legs. Its tusks struck the barrier generated by his belt, and the force swung him sideways.
He cried out, nearly losing his grip. But his right knee caught the branch.
Luke clung to it and dragged the rest of himself up, landing awkwardly across Emma’s lap. For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Below, the boar rammed the trunk.
The vibration traveled through the wood beneath his stomach.
Luke lifted his head and looked down. The creature backed away, snorting, then attacked the tree again. It could reach the bark beneath his boots, but not the branch.
He pulled his legs up anyway. Thankfully the tree was sturdy enough. It looked like they were safe for now.
Luke barely breathed out when four more root boars dug their way into the barrier, reaching the trunk of the tree. Now instead of one, five root boars were ramming the trunk.