Macha's Journey

Before the shaft hit the ground, the two melee fighters charged at him.

Tyr sidestepped the heavy tetsubo and parried the axe away. The heavy weapon crashed to the ground, creating a large crater where it landed. He then whipped his lance around and used the b.u.t.t of his weapon to fling dirt into the woman"s face. While she had her eyes closed, his legs glowed with a silver light and he kicked her across the field away from him.

When the fighting began, Aži flew up into the air. His throat glowed red and he blew a continuous line of fire on the ground to keep the woman out of the fight.

The man growled as he punched Tyr in the chest which a silver fist. Tyr"s armor made a crunching sound from the impact and he staggered back, quickly regaining his footing.

The tetsubo swung at his head with incredible speed, but he crouched down dodging the attack. The force of the air caused Tyr"s hair to blow to one side. He swept his lance out in an attempt to trip the man, but the opponent jumped to avoid the attack.

The crossbow was reloaded and Tyr saw the arbalist aim it at him. Winds wrapped around Tyr"s body and he shot out this hand to grab the tetsubo wielding man"s ear. With a hard yank, he pulled the man so his body blocked the magical bolt that flew towards him. The whooshing air of the bolt stopped when it hit the man in his heart.

Tyr threw the dead man on the ground.

The woman screamed as she jumped through the wall of flame, back into the fight, "Nooo!" Her eyes turned cold and seethed with rage at Tyr.

The head of her axe had fire glowing on its blade. She spun around, the momentum put more force into her blow and the blade flew towards Tyr"s neck. Tyr hooked his lance"s shaft under the axe"s head, blocking the blade. His feet skidded across the ground creating trails of dust to fly into the night.

The woman spun around and elbowed him in the chest twice, followed by a punch to the face.

???"? ????, he thought. Not many people could keep up with his speed. It was a pity that they decided to attack him.

As she hit him in the face, he used one of his lances to impale her thigh into the ground. She screamed with pain.

He then ran towards the arbalist, who was raising the reloaded weapon. Tyr"s spear pierced the knocked bolt and went through the man"s eye. Tyr spun around and threw his lance through the woman"s neck to finish the fight.

The moment the crossbow fired, the boar charged at Macha. Its hooves crushed the autumn leaves and kicked up clouds of dirt. Macha had her daggers out but dodged the boar"s first charge. Macha spun around to face the boar as it circled around. The boar"s hooves stomped the ground creating deep tracks in the ground.

The boar had picked up speed and Macha could not get out of the way. She used her daggers to block the metal tusks that tried to pierce her chest.

The force caused her to tumble across the dirt. The world was spinning. Macha focused her vision in time to recognize the boar"s form charging at her again. She was sprawled on the ground, so she dropped her daggers and caught the tusks before they impaled her.

The boar thrashed its head and Macha flew around, her feet dragging along the ground. Macha"s hands slipped, and she flew towards her daggers.

Tyr watched the woman"s head fall to the ground, and he looked over to where Macha was. He witnessed the giant boar rear up onto its hind legs, ready to trample her under its hooves. Tyr dashed to pick up a lance, but he knew he would not make it in time.

Aži flew over to Macha and blew a breath of fire. The flames blocked Tyr"s view.

Macha looked up and saw the boar"s front hooves aimed at her head. She grabbed the daggers which lay on the ground next to her. Leaping up, Macha used both hands to stab deep into the boar"s chest. The animal gave a loud squeal into the night.

Aži"s hot flames circled around her and she felt the boar"s weight falling down on her. The smell of burnt hair and flesh filled her nostrils. She dodged to the side, but her legs were trapped beneath the boar"s heavy body. She heard the boar breath out one more time and its eyes glazed over.

When the flames cleared out of the way, Tyr could not spot Macha. He only saw the charred boar with smoke rising from its back. Tyr ran over screaming Macha"s name. Fear clenched his heart, and he regretted bringing her with him.

"I"m here!" Macha called, "I need help. I"m trapped." The boar"s weight was crushing her legs, and she was pinned beneath it.

Tyr rounded the boar"s corpse and found Macha lying on the ground. He heaved the animal off of her and she pulled her legs out. Tyr grabbed her and gave her a hug. "Are you all right?" his distress evident in his voice.

"Yes. I have a few cuts and sc.r.a.pes, but nothing compared to when I fought Constanza." Macha tried to inspect her arms and legs, but Tyr was blocking her view. He was checking her body to make sure she wasn"t bleeding seriously.

Macha noticed the dead body of the woman who Tyr decapitated. The woman"s body didn"t fall to the ground but stood pinned to the ground. Her body leaned against one of Tyr"s lances. Macha looked away and felt queasy. She shuddered.

Tyr"s eyes moved to what Macha looked at. "Do you think you can keep traveling for tonight? I don"t want to stay here anymore." Tyr remembered the first time he killed another person. He had nightmares about hearing their last breath and seeing the light fade from their eyes.

Macha nodded her head.

****

The two traveled throughout the night. Tyr tried to make light conversation, but Macha preferred not to talk. Daylight rose on the horizon when he decided to stop traveling. The ride had been awkward and he hoped some rest would relax her high strung nerves.

They reached a narrow stream that created a relaxing trickle. He hoped the sound would help her to fall asleep. After making camp, he said he would keep watch. She did not appear overly upset after the attack, but he wanted her to relax before they continued.

Macha felt sluggish and it was hard for her to keep her eyelids open. The adrenaline from the night"s fight had left her and now her mind demanded rest. When Tyr told her to lay down, she did not argue. With slow heavy movements, she rolled out her blanket. As soon as her body collapsed onto the soft wool, she quickly fell asleep.

Her dreams started off pleasant and Tyr gazed at her relaxed face. This was the first time he watched her sleep since she was sick in his bed. He thought she was enjoying whatever dream she had because she gave a soft giggle. He pulled out his blanket and covered her sleeping body with it.

A little while later, her brows furrowed, and she moved her head from side to side. The movements caused the leaves under her blanket to crunch, which got Tyr"s attention. A tear ran down her cheek and she breathed with deep heavy breaths.

Tyr strode over to her side and woke her up. "Macha," he crooned, "Macha wake up." He gently patted her shoulder. He did not want her stuck in whatever nightmare she was in.

Macha"s eyes flitted open. She blinked furiously and looked around, trying to remember where she was. A look of terror crossed her face, and she felt disorientated. She had been dreaming of the woman"s dismembered head and the smell of burning flesh.

She stared into Tyr"s clear green eyes and remembered they were traveling to his parent"s estate. She touched the corners of her eyes and her fingertips found the tear tracks trailed down her cheeks. She recalled that she was having a horrific nightmare. Lowering her lashes, she confessed, "I had a bad dream. Thanks for waking me." She sat up and smoothed back her hair. It was embarra.s.sing to be found crying in her sleep, so she fiddled with her blanket.

"I know," he did not want to press the subject unless she wished to talk about it. He seated himself beside her and rolled a smooth rock in his hands. The cool stone gave him something to focus on since he was never good with words. He figured his presence might help to calm her.

"It was about the people we fought last night," she added in a soft voice. She stole a glance at Tyr and saw him looking at the stone in his hand.

He remained silent, unsure what he should say. Macha was the sort of woman who would say whatever bothered her, so if she wanted to chat about something she would.

"Do you ever have nightmares about the things and people you killed?" She asked in a faint voice.