The scream made her halt. If she left, then these people would remain unprotected, but she couldn't take on the kind of beasts she saw on her own. But… but she could hold them off.
Lyla was quick to summon her creation magic; she would need weapons if she was going into this. Hiding beside a house that offered a bit of cover, she allowed herself to concentrate for the few seconds she would need
Lyla stepped out with a sword in hand and a blurry mask on her face courtesy of her illusion. It was nothing good, but it would have to suffice, and just in case, she quickly wrapped a handkerchief around the bottom half of her face.
Another scream sounded, and she was quick on her feet to follow. Backup would be here soon, she knew it; she just had to hold on till then.
It was a scary mess. People who wielded enough magic were out trying to protect their families, and she could already see some were hurt, not to mention those already on the ground. She prayed they were alive.
A beast came rushing towards a woman holding a child, its claws ready to strike. She jumped between them, her sword held out to stop it.
"Leave now, head towards the summit grounds," she instructed the woman, "tell everyone to head there."
The woman was quick on her feet, screaming and shouting her orders
The beast before her growled in anger, putting more pressure on the sword. She let it, gritting her teeth to summon enough strength, and just as she almost succumbed, she let go and darted to the side, making it fall face-first on the ground. She didn't wait before stabbing her sword into its neck – twice
About ten people were trying to fight off the creatures; they looked like ordinary citizens, untrained but doing their best. One was too busy fending off a beast to notice the one rushing behind them. She ran, pushing the person to the right. The move resulted in her falling to the ground, and the beast following on top of her.
The man she had saved scrambled to his feet and looked to where he had been standing, where a beast now lay on top of his savior; the person was definitely dead. They had to be; there was no way they could withstand…an arm peeked out from under, and that's when he noticed the sword plunged into the creature's chest and was visible at its back. The person must have positioned the sword up as they fell.
It astonished him
The weight of the beast pressed on her made it hard to breathe; the impact alone had knocked the air out of her. Her back pulsed with pain, but she had to summon her strength to get this thing off her. Rallying her magic, she called enough to throw the beast off while still holding onto the sword.
Lyla found a set of eyes staring down at her in shock and wonder. The man she had pushed away blinked at her as if making sure what he was seeing was real.
"You…how did you…Are you a protector?"
Lyla ignored his question and tried to get on her feet. She winced at the pain but brushed it off; it was not important, not now. The rogue beasts were still attacking, and she wondered where the hel the protectors were. Surely by now, they knew what was happening.
"You," she turned to the man, "I need you and your friends to form a barricade. Move to those houses and stand your ground there, try your best not to allow those things to pass...I'll try and hold them off here," she shouted so all ten could hear.
The ten had seen what happened, how she had sacrificed herself and managed to save herself in the process. She had to be skilled, they concluded, possibly a protector that meant she knew more than them, so they moved to where she had pointed.
Lyla positioned herself at the front, a lone soldier poised to defend with their every breath.
Blondie hunched beside a house as he watched what was ongoing; the beasts somehow identified him as a comrade, so they didn't bother attacking him, but it was advisable to keep well away from the battleground. He witnessed all that had happened, and now, as he looked at the lady standing there on her own, he couldn't help but be curious about who she was
She had skill, he had to admit, clearly trained by the way she moved or held the sword. She was powerful too, the way she flung away the creature; her magic had to be exceptional. He tried to pinpoint if he had seen her before, but whatever was on her face didn't give away who she was, although by her voice, he could tell she was very young.
Lyla steadied her breath and tried not to think of the gaping hole in the wall that was still letting those beasts through. How long would she be able to hold her ground? She could not fight them all off, so she had two options: try to gather enough of a blast that would cause significant damage. The problem with that was she would be terribly drained, and it might not take out all the beasts.
The other was to create a shield that would hold them off, yes, it would be draining, but if she could center the beasts within the shield, together with the hole, she could buy enough time for help to arrive.
She shouted to the ten behind her, "I need one of you to run as fast as you can to the party hall and tell the protectors to hurry. Find the Drakon brothers and tell them, 'She is there.' They will understand. Please hurry"
The creatures had turned their heads towards her.
Lyla had been building her magic for the seconds she stood there; her decision had already been made, and she hoped it would be enough to spare people's lives. She stretched out her hands to her sides, dropping her sword in the process, and a green glow emitted from her, spreading through her body and out of her outstretched hands.
The creatures looked at her curiously, wondering what she was trying to do. Blondie wondered the same.
Lyla let all the power she had been gathering out of her at once, and by the time the creatures registered what was happening, the shield had already been formed around them. They growled and shrieked, ramming themselves into the shield, and she bit down on her teeth to hold on.
The nine behind her stood in shock. To be able to do that, to form such a strong shield, how powerful did this young lady have to be
Lyla struggled against the weight of the creatures. She fed her magic slowly into the shield just as the Paisios had taught her in the few lessons they had had after she had first displayed the skill during the argument with the Keeper. It took years to perfect, the man had said, but since she had already showcased it early, maybe it would be different for her.
Lyla fed it her magic until she could feel her legs shake beneath her, and her arms became a burden to keep up. She was going to collapse soon; she could feel it. This was it; she was going to fail them.
Hands closed on her arm, and she turned to see the man from earlier holding her right arm, steadying it, then came a woman doing the same to her left, and another held her shoulders while the rest just placed their palms where they could
Her body felt less strained, her legs and arms felt stronger, and her breath became even. The beast inside her that had knelt in exhaustion started to rise, and the flow of magic out of her grew.
Lyla understood what they were doing; the nine who had fought, got hurt, and risked their very lives for their people were now feeding her whatever strength in power they had left. She almost choked on the tears that threatened to burst out.
"For Luminara," the man to her right said
"For Luminara," the rest followed
Lyla faced forward and gritted her teeth, "For everyone," she said, and tightened her hold on the shield