Chapter 67 Attack at the cabin

Chapter 67 Attack at the cabin
The silence that followed the snapping sound of the tripwire was almost choking. It wasn't a peaceful quiet; it was the indrawn breath of a predator before the pounce.

Inside the cabin, the air became instantly poisonous with tension.

"Kill the lights," Estava commanded, her voice low.

Julian scrambled to douse the oil lamp. The cabin plunged into firelit gloom, the dancing shadows stretching and warping against the log walls.

"Aleera, back corner with the girl. Stay low," Estava barked. "Julian, front window. Don't expose yourself. Just watch. If you see eyes that reflect red, don't bother yelling, just stab at them."

Julian gripped his piece of rebar, and crouched by the grimy front window. Aleera scuttled to the corner, pulling Sylvia into the deepest shadows behind the crates.

I stayed where I was, kneeling on the floor between Vesper’s knees as he sat on the edge of the cot. His hands were gripping my shoulders now, not for support, but as a conduit. I could feel the heat of his energy pouring into me, a raw, primal fuel mingling with the unstable violet hum beneath my own skin.

"Talk to me," I whispered, looking up at his bruised face. His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed in intense concentration. Sweat beaded on his upper lip despite the cold room.

"They're testing the north quadrant," Vesper murmured, his voice distant. "Goblins. Maybe low-level Fae under Hera's control. They're throwing themselves against the barrier, trying to find a soft spot."

A low, vibrating thrum started outside. It sounded like two rough surfaces grinding against each other.

Outside the window, a flash of sickly green light illuminated the trees for a split second, followed by a high-pitched, chittering shriek that was abruptly cut off.

"One down," Estava noted grimly from her position by the door. Her staff was glowing with a steady pulse. "My wards fried it. But they’ll learn. They’ll start bunching up, trying to overwhelm a single point."

"I'm reinforcing the north," Vesper grunted, his grip on my shoulders tightening until it was almost painful. A shudder ran through his body as he mentally pushed his Alpha authority outward.

I watched him even though I couldn't really understand what he was doing, terrified by the toll it was taking. He should have been in a hospital bed, not psychically trying to hold a fortress together. Every breath he took was shallow and guarded.

"Vesper, you're burning up," I said, feeling the intense heat radiating from his hands through my jacket.

"I'm fine," he lied, his jaw locked tight. "Just stay ready, Sylvania. If they break through the outer ring, they'll be on the porch in seconds. You're the last line."

Another flash outside, this one brighter, accompanied by a sizzling sound like bacon hitting a hot pan. Then another. And another. The shrieks outside multiplied, a chorus of frustrated, pain-filled scavengers battering against an invisible wall.

It was a siege.

Hours passed in agonizing increments. The fire burned down to embers, casting a deep red glow over the room. Vesper didn't move from his perch on the edge of the cot, though his tremors grew worse. He was acting as a living battery for the wards, draining his own healing reserves to keep the monsters at bay.

I sat by the hearth, my good hand resting on the cool stone, trying to keep my own power locked down behind the iron wall in my mind. It was harder now. The proximity of the enemy, the threat to Sylvia, the sight of Vesper suffering—it all stoked the hot, seductive rage that Hera’s seed thrived on.

Let me out, the whisper promised in the back of my skull. I can burn them all away. It would be so easy.

I bit my tongue until I tasted the coppery tang of blood, using the pain to ground myself in the cold reality of control.

Around 3:00 AM, the rhythm of the attack changed.

The chittering shrieks stopped. The flashing lights ceased. The woods went silent again.

Vesper’s eyes snapped open. His green irises were blown wide, almost black in the dim light.

"They stopped pushing," he said, his voice tight.

"Regrouping?" Julian whispered from the window.

"No," Estava said, stepping away from the door, raising her staff high. "Focusing."

A massive BOOM shook the cabin to its foundations, sending dust raining down from the ceiling beams. Aleera screamed.

"The front door!" Julian yelled, scrambling backward as the heavy wooden door bowed inward under a tremendous impact.

The wards flared bright blue along the doorframe, holding the wood together, but cracks of light appeared in the magical seal.

"A Troll," Vesper snarled, trying to stand and failing, falling back onto the cot with a gasp of agony. "They brought heavy hitters."

Another BOOM and the door splintered around the hinges.

"Sylvania!" Estava shouted at me. "Center stage! Now!"

I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline flooding my system, temporarily drowning out the ache in my shoulder. I moved to the center of the room, facing the buckling door.

Not anger, I told myself desperately. Not rage. Protection.

I pictured Sylvia in the corner. I pictured the wall in my mind.

The door exploded inward.

A massive gray shape filled the frame, roaring in triumph. It was bigger than the one in the sewer, its skin covered in thick, armored hide.

It stepped over the threshold.

I didn't blast it immediately.

I took my time before thrusting my good hand forward, palm open, and pushed.

I shoved the violet energy out in a thick, viscous wave. It was heavy, and agonizingly slow compared to the lightning, and it felt like I was trying to move a mountain with my mind.

The wave hit the Troll. It didn't explode backward. Instead, it stopped mid-stride, as if it had walked into a wall of invisible gelatin. It roared in confusion, pushing against the pressure, its clawed feet sliding on the wooden floorboards.

"Push him out!" Vesper roared from the cot, his voice raw.

I gritted my teeth, sweat pouring down my face. I poured everything I had into the push. The violet light thickened, pulsing with a deep, resonant thrum.

Slowly, painfully, the Troll began to slide backward. Inch by inch. Out of the doorway. Onto the porch.

It swiped at the air, trying to claw through the energy, but I held the wall.

Once it was clear of the threshold, Estava slammed the butt of her staff onto the floor.

"Repair!" she bellowed in the ancient tongue.

The wards on the doorframe flared blindingly bright. The splintered wood groaned and snapped back into place, sealing the doorway just as the Troll lunged forward again. It slammed into the renewed barrier with a howl of frustration.

I collapsed onto my knees, gasping, my arm shaking so badly I had to cradle it against my chest.

It hadn't been spectacular, neither was it easy. But at least the monster was outside, and we were inside.

Silence fell inside the cabin again, save for our ragged breathing.

Slowly, I turned my head toward the corner. Sylvia had poked her head out from behind the crates. She was staring at me. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the dying embers of the fire.

She didn't look less terrified. But it was a different kind of terror.

"Did you see that, Lil-bit?" I whispered, my voice shaking. "I made him leave. I didn't hurt him. I just made him leave."

She didn't answer. She just slowly pulled the blanket back over her head, disappearing into the shadows.

"It's almost dawn," Estava noted, looking out the grimy window at the graying sky. The attacks outside had ceased with the rising sun.

She turned to look at me, then at Vesper, who was slumped on the cot, gray-faced and barely conscious again.

"That was the probing attack," the old seer said grimly. "They know our strength now. They know Vesper is crippled, and they know you are hesitant to unleash the full fury."

She looked up at the ceiling, toward the sky that would soon hold the Onyx Moon.

"Tonight, they won't send Trolls to knock on the door. Tonight, Hera would most likely come herself."