Jin's ability screamed warning half a second before he saw it.Movement in the tall grass.Low, stalking.Converging on her position.
"She doesn't see it," Kenji said, already reaching for his weapon.
Jin was already moving, spurring his horse forward.They were too far away.Even at a gallop, they'd be too late."MOVE!"he shouted, knowing she probably couldn't hear him yet.
The woman spun toward his voice, and he saw her face—young, frightened, confused.
She thoughttheywere the threat.
She raised her ridiculous stick as they charged toward her, backing up...toward the hidden monster.
The creatures with her reacted first.
The golden-eyed things swarmed, fast as lightning, hitting the monster before it could pounce.They were shockingly effective—coordinated, fearless, driving it back with claws and what looked like choking clouds of spores from their manes.
By the time Jin and Kenji reached her, the monster was retreating, and the woman was white-faced and shaking, surrounded by her protectors.
One of them still held a blue bulb in its hollow body.
Jin reined to a stop.His eyes swept the area—more movement in the grass, but distant.They had minutes, maybe.
The woman stared at him, clutching her stick.Her dress was velvet.Her boots were good leather.She looked like she'd walked out of a wealthy merchant's house and into a nightmare.
"You're bleeding," he said, noting the fresh scratch on her arm.All business.No time for niceties.
Kenji was staring at the creatures."Whatarethose?"
"They're dandelions," the woman said breathlessly.Her voice was shaky but clear."They were helping me get..."She gestured at the scattered blue bulbs.
Jin's attention snapped to the bulbs, then to the shield wall in the distance with its obvious damage, then back to her.
She wasn't insane.She was desperate.
"How long?"he asked.
"How long what?"
"Until your shield fails completely."
Her eyes widened slightly.She understood he wasn't judging—just gathering information."I...I don't know exactly.A day?Maybe less?"She looked past him at the shield."There was a monster this morning.It kept hitting the same spot."
Jin nodded.That matched what he was seeing.The damage was severe.She'd been right to come out here, weather be damned.
"How many bulbs do you need?"His lieutenant, Kenji, had circled around on his horse, keeping watch on the grass.
"Twenty-five," she said."I have...maybe fifteen?"
Jin did the math quickly.Twenty-five would hold a damaged shield for maybe two weeks.Not ideal, but enough to give her breathing room."Get twenty-five.We leave at twenty-five."
Not a suggestion.An order.
She looked like she might argue for half a second, then just nodded and turned back to gathering.
The creatures—dandelions, she'd called them—resumed their work immediately.They bounded into the grass with renewed purpose, their hollow bodies perfect for carrying the glowing bulbs back.
One of them was limping slightly, Jin noticed.Fresh gouges along its flank.
"These things fight?"Kenji asked, watching them with open fascination.
