Chapter 7.2. Long journey.
One day Azael got lucky and saw small herd of antelopes. He flew is the sky and tried to hunt down one of them. But just as he was getting close to them, a dark shadow flew towards him. Azael noticed a creature getting closer to him. It was a manticore.
Azael’s eyes locked onto his companions far below, desperation etched into every line of his face. They could only watch helplessly as the manticore closed in, wings pumping furiously to gain height.
Lilith screamed something incoherent up at him, hands reaching out towards a fallen angel, she had no hope of saving him from this high. Kragor bellowed a challenge that went unheard over the wind’s howl – hooves pawing angrily at sand, as if yearning to charge into battle with an enemy far beyond his reach.
Sharr and Cian stood frozen side by side, faces identical masks of horror. Even those who knew better could see the grim acceptance in their eyes: Azael was lost. He was approaching then, but manticore would be catching up to him much faster.
Then lightning flashed from above – searing white, against an endless blue sky. The bolt struck true, blasting through the manticore with a crack, that echoed across the valley, like thunder’s wrath made manifest.
The stricken beast tumbled end over end, scorpion tail thrashing weakly as it plummeted towards rocky earth far below. Azael wheeled about wildly – torn between fleeing further or turning back, to confront this new threat lurking amidst clouds.
– Get down! – screamed Lilith, and he flew towards his companions.
– What happened? – asked Azael with trembling voice.
– I used a spell, – hissed angry Lilith: – From now on stay close, and everyone else be on guard.
Her slaves nodded and they moved forward. For a month, Lilith and her companions trekked across that unforgiving valley, the landscape changing little day to day. The sun beat down relentlessly, from cloudless skies, as they picked their way over endless stretches of rock-strewn earth.
Their water supplies dwindled with every step, forcing them to ration what precious moisture Lilith could conjure through her magic. Rations shrank too – meager portions stretched thin by hunger gnawing at empty bellies like wolves behind bars.
Manticore sightings became more frequent, as they neared the valley’s edge – dark shapes wheeling against distant horizons or perched atop boulders, with predatory eyes gleaming. Several times those deadly beasts stalked near enough for Lilith and her companions to count each lethal barbed hair along scorpion tails.
But through sheer grit and determination, they endured. Sharr used his knowledge of local flora to identify edible plants amidst scrubby duneside growth.
Kragor remained a stalwart presence throughout – lending strength when needed, or simply offering silent solidarity with each labored step forward. And Cian… He seemed almost unchanging in this place – an immovable island, amid churning seas of adversity.
Their arrival at last before that border river felt like stepping from one world into another. Clear waters rushed past beneath a sun-dappled canopy, fish flickering through shallows as if summoned by magic itself. Lilith collapsed onto the bank in sheer relief.
– We did it, – she whispered hoarsely – voice cracking with exhaustion and emotion alike: – By all gods…we actually did it!
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