CHAPTER 35

"Nope." She moved past him and pulled open the front door. The nirumbi were so busy scanning the roof that she was able to squeeze off two shots before they fled. Her aim with the rifle was far better, and she slammed the door shut and bolted it.

"Disgusting," Emery remarked as he watched through the window gap.

"Death is never pretty, but sometimes necessary," she told him.

That was a fact that her father had drilled into her since she was little, ever since she could hunt. She had cried the first time she had caught a rabbit on her own. The poor thing had looked terrified when she snapped its neck as her mother had taught her.

"They're eating their own dead." Emery moved away from the window so that Velvet could look. Sure enough, the two she had shot were getting carved up by their brethren as if they were worried the meat would suddenly go bad.

She debated taking another shot at them, but a small group had formed a semi-circle around the front door. They were holding bows, and she knew better than to mess with poisonous arrows. Maybe if she went up top, she could snipe a couple? Over near the barn, a group of them appeared from out of the forest.

"Shit," she muttered, then moved over to Bigfoot. "Uncle Foot? Hey!" She tried slapping him into consciousness. "I really need you to wake up right now!"

"Velvet!" Emery's wings flapped frantically as he backed away from the door. "They're lighting torches!"

She moved to the window and yanked it open. The nearest nirumbi let out a squawk of alarm as she looked down her sights at a trio of nirumbi who were trying to build a fire out of hay from the loft. Smoke was already climbing from the stack when she fired, taking out one of them before slamming the window shut.

"Uncle Foot!" She screamed as she ran to the kitchen window. When she opened it, she could sense the arrow coming at her and dodged. It passed harmlessly through her hair and stuck in the fridge. Ducking down, she pulled the window shut as two more arrows came in.

"What do we do?" Emery's eyes were wide as he hovered before her. "Velvet, we need to run!"

"I'm not leaving without him," she said, looking over at Bigfoot.

"But you can't leave with him." The imp screwed up his features. "Maybe if you open a window, I can lead them away?"

"They're not stupid, they know we're still in here." Frowning, she looked through the gap in the window again. Torches were being lit. The idea of leaving Bigfoot behind made her sick to her stomach, but her feelings wouldn't matter once the flames made it through the wooden walls.

Could the cabin even be set on fire? It was magical in nature and was bigger on the inside. It was something they had never tested for obvious reasons. She said a little prayer as the cheering nirumbi came toward her, their torches held high.

This was her home. It was the only place she had ever known, and now she was going to die inside it.

From the forest, there came a piercing cry that made the hair on her legs stand on end. The sound permeated the house, and Bigfoot shifted uncomfortably on the couch in response.

"What the hell was that?" she asked. It was apparent that the nirumbi didn't know either, because they turned to look outward, the cabin now forgotten.

The cry came again. This time, it sounded like a pair of voices screaming counterpoint to one another, causing her veins to fill with ice. What dreadful creature could conjure such a sound?

The nearest nirumbi carrying a torch turned toward the cabin and came at them. Its beady eyes glistened in the light of the flames as it drew close.

A dark shape crashed into the creature from above. It was a beast with dark skin and powerful wings that flapped mightily. When the newcomer turned to face the cabin, Velvet realized she was looking at a woman with flattened features and pointed ears. Her skin was made of stone, and her lips curled up to reveal a pair of fangs. It was a gargoyle, as beautiful as she was deadly.

The gargoyle trampled the nirumbi into the ground with large talons, then paused when a spear shattered on the back of her neck. She turned her dreadful gaze on a nearby cluster of nirumbi and scowled.

"Wha—

Aghast, Velvet could only watch as the gargoyle barreled into the nirumbi. They scattered like leaves, but the gargoyle snagged a pair of them and flew into the sky. Tiny shrieks filled the air when she dropped them a few seconds later.

Fat snowflakes began to drift across the yard, followed by a thunderclap. The weather had rapidly turned, and the air felt electrified. Velvet realized she was holding her breath.

The nirumbi nocked arrows and held them up, clearly tracking the gargoyle. Velvet debated moving to the roof for a better view, but thoughts of this were dashed when icy spears rained down from above. A pair of women emerged from the forest, causing the nirumbi to panic and switch to their spears.

One of the women had fox ears with a trio of tails whirling behind and wearing a thick white coat. She held a shield made of branches that had been tightly woven together. There were a few arrows protruding from it.

The other was Dana. There were easily twenty arrows sticking out of her, and she collected a couple more plus a spear as she charged into the little men swinging her sword and cutting them apart.

The nirumbi had enough. They let out shrill cries as they broke and ran for the forest. Velvet half-expected her rescuers to let them go, but the fox summoned a volley of ice that caused a momentary whiteout. That shrill cry came again, followed by several thunderclaps. Frost covered the windows, preventing her from seeing anymore, and she backed away from the door.

The storm outside raged for several minutes, then absolute silence. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked.