A.S. Sleight Of Hand - Chapter 27

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Cover: arven92.deviantart.com/art/Aza…
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Adult content ahead. Reader discretion advised.

27 – Rain

 

Panting hard in the heavy smoke, Aznor swerved quickly among the burning trees, Razer hard on his heels, roaring ferociously in an attempt to reach for him. After faking his own capture in order to lure the mighty beast, the boy was out of ideas. He didn’t know how to stop her, how to overcome her immense power –and his sheer terror, that drove him onward.

    His legs aching for the tremendous effort, his open wound bleeding and stinging unbearably, his lungs burning with hot, sour air, he felt helpless and lost. He didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was that he had been running for what felt like an eternity now, and Razer still wouldn’t give up pursuing him. The trees standing in the way slowed the blind animal down a little, putting a short distance between her and the boy, but she stubbornly raced onward, drool and blood dripping from her face, anxious to sink her fangs in the flesh of the human who had dared blind her.

    Aznor knew she wouldn’t stop giving chase until she had caught him.

    And she would make sure he paid for what he had done.

    She wouldn’t let him go so easily.

    She wouldn’t simply kill him.

    She would torture him.

    Desperate, his feet racing fast, he uttered a yowl of help at the top of his lungs, but received no answer. Nobody could hear him over the crackling of the fire.

    As he gave in to despair, the world whirling fast around him, the falling hot ash scorching painfully on his skin, he saw a blinding flash in front of him, followed by a tremendous roar.

    The rumble made him lose balance and sent him rolling on the ground. He ended up between two tall, moss-covered rocks. Intimidated, he squatted and hid, listening.

    A lightning had fallen nearby.

    Very close.

    Where was Razer?

    The boy couldn’t see her, this part of the forest was dark. The fire had already passed here, the ground was covered with tumbles of burned soil, ash, and smoke. Razer had probably been disoriented by the loud thunder, losing trace of him.

    Careful not to make noises, he timidly poked his head out of the shelter of the two rocks.

    There seemed to be no one.

    Quietly, Aznor walked out of his hiding place.

    A drop fell from the sky and landed on his head.

    Had it started to rain?

    About time, thought the boy, relieved by the thought of fresh, cool water lowering the unbearable temperature.

    Another drop fell, on his cheek this time.

    The boy flinched when it touched him.

    It wasn’t cold at all.

    On the contrary, it was unnaturally warm.

    Another drop fell on his shoulder where his gash was, his wound stinging painfully when it landed.

    No, that wasn’t water.

    It was drool.

    Terrified, Aznor looked up.

    On top of the two rocks where he had been hiding, stood Razer, her immense body towering above him, her head held high and covered in blood, slobber running from her hungry mouth. The Azaroth was standing very still, only her sensitive ears moving, scanning the surroundings, trying to locate her prey.

    The boy blinked, intimidated.

    She knew he was there, but she didn’t know where exactly.

    Now what do I do? Thought Aznor, swallowing hard.

    If he moved too much, Razer would detect him. If he tried to attack her, she would easily overpower him. If he ran, she would chase him until he fell on the ground, exhausted.

    And then she would slaughter him.

    Shuddering, the boy made some steps behind and turned around.

    The surroundings were pitch black.

    He was afraid of walking any further, he knew there would be something in the road that would obstacle him, producing a noise.

    A lightning illuminated the surroundings for a split second, and thunder followed.

    The shadows ahead of him parted for a moment, revealing a jagged edge.

    Wait a minute, thought Aznor. I know this place.

    Straining his eyes, the boy tried to see better, and to remember.

    He had already seen that straight cliff somewhere.

    Yes, he had.

    Earlier, while he was looking for the pups, he had walked up to a gorge.

    The gorge!

    He remembered the sharp, jagged rocks like teeth and the tiny river flowing at its bottom.

    He gasped with realization.

    He knew what to do now.

    A low growl made him turn around again.

    Razer had angled her ears in his direction, and her sightless eyes seemed to be staring at him from beneath the horrible wounds on her face.

    She had heard him.

    With a furious hiss and a mighty jump, Razer leaped down from the rocks and charged at him at full speed.

    Whipping around, Aznor raced with all his strengths, heading toward the gorge, hoping and praying that his plan would work.

    The edge was drawing closer.

    Fighting back his fear and swallowing hard to contain the waves of pain coming from his deep wounds, the boy kept on going, his muscles aching, begging for some rest.

    But he couldn’t stop.

    Not now.

    He felt Razer’s hot breath on his neck. She was slowly catching up, and she seemed determined to capture him this time.

    Aznor heard the beast roar with fury right behind him, and then he felt her powerful jaws snap a few inches from his racing feet.

    Terrified, he kept on going.

    The edge was closer and closer.

    Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could clearly see the jagged border, and even the other side of the gorge beyond.

    He hoped Razer didn’t realize where they were. The creature hissed angrily behind him, her front legs stretching out, trying to hook on his robe with her sharp claws.

    The edge was right in front of them now. Aznor could see the rocks at the bottom of the gorge. He shivered, intimidated by the high fall.

    But he couldn’t hesitate.

    This was his only chance.

    Now or never.

    Bunching his tired muscles, the boy abandoned the safety of the ground and leaped mightily into the air.

    Beneath him, the gorge yawned like a threatening, gigantic mouth.

    Almost instantly, he heard a roar followed by a swish behind him.

    Razer had jumped too.

    They were both plummeting down now, both heading toward the deadly rocks below, sharp as knives.

    The boy felt cold wind whipping at his face as he fell, making his eyes water. The void beneath his body made his stomach clench as gravity dragged him down.

    This is for you, Yatur!

    Aznor felt a strong tug as the thick tree branch he had got a hold of retracted back onto solid land like a stretched spring. The boy fell with a thud and rolled on the safe ground, well away from the gorge border. Panting hard, he sat on his thighs and stared at the tree growing right on the edge of the ravine, that had just saved his life.

    Razer kept falling down instead, uttering a surprised roar as if she had just realized what had happened.

    Aznor heard a low thud when she landed.

    And then, suddenly, everything became really quiet.

    Timidly, the boy peered over the edge, careful not to slip.

    Razer’s body lay flipped over at the bottom of the gorge, her spine awkwardly twisted, her head smashed against the floor and her fearsome jaws gaping in a mute scream. Her belly had been torn open by the jagged rocks all around her, her bowels exposed in a pool of blood, that was slowly being washed away by the flowing creek.

    She was gone.

    Gone forever.

    All those sleepless nights, all those nightmares, all those lives she had destroyed, were but a terrible memory now.

    Looking up at the grey sky, the boy threw his head back and uttered a yowl of triumph and then wept, overwhelmed by joy.

    As if in response, the clouds thundered one last time and rain finally fell.

    Sobbing noisily, the boy felt cold water mixing with his warm tears, and washing his wound clean.

    It was over! Over at last!

    Walking away from the gorge, rain tapping gently on his shoulders, he looked around, finally free to search for the pups.

    He heard them yap noisily close by and quickly located them, beneath the same tree root he had found them the first time, seeking shelter from the rain. They were huddled against Kaphar, the horse, who was placidly lying down.

    “Ashn’orr!” chirped Rothir as the boy approached.

    The grey pup quickly got up and ran happily toward the human, who knelt down and waited for him with open arms, hugging him tightly as he came into range.

    “I was so worried for you!” said the boy. “Where have you been? What are you doing here?”

    “After the Ashàrrosh attacked, we kind of got lost,” admitted Rothir, lowering his ears. “Shūk’urr realized we’d been going in a circle, so he suggested to stop here and wait for someone to pick us up.”

    Aznor turned toward the paler pup, who grinned timidly.

    “Well done, Uzca,” he said with a smile, then he approached Kaphar, who snorted happily as he came close and knelt down to pick his reins.

    “You’re wounded,” observed Shucur.

    “Yes, I am.”

    “Does it hurt?”

    “Yes.”

    “Will you die?”

    “Maybe.”

    The boy gently led the horse out of his shelter, then grabbed the pups in his arms and loaded them onto the animal, groaning with effort as he strained his wounded limb. A second later, he mounted on himself.

    “Where are we going?” squeaked Rothir, holding one tiny hand on his head to protect himself from the cold rain.

    “Home,” said Aznor, heaving a tired, relieved sigh.

    “Do you know the way?” asked Shucur.

    “No,” he admitted. “But Kaphar does.”

    Patting the horse on the side of his neck, Aznor nudged him onward, away from the gorge and back into the dirt path that would lead them out of the forest at last.

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(Actual Artist's descrption)
Azarian Stories!

The climax is here! This is the final battle 8D And I really loved writing this chapter, it was so... fulfilling
Now, now, Azzy may have defeated Razer, but there's this teeny tiny little problem that he has to solve first.

It's not over just yet!

Enjoy this chapter!

Characters and art (c)