There were several thumps behind me as golems dropped off the bridge. I’d hoped Liam and the rest would keep them occupied for a while. No such luck.
More and more golems fell, like muddy rain from the sky. How were there so many? There hadn’t been that many before.
When I looked back, the stag was gone but his message was clear. I needed to get the butterfly creature away from Hector if I wanted my friend’s help.
I didn’t waste time thinking, darting toward Hector. I could consider how the damn golems had multiplied later. For now, I needed to get my friend upright and lucid.
First order of business was that butterfly. I had a feeling it was the biggest reason for Hector’s apparent coma.
I grabbed a rock and tossed it at the butterfly, watching in disbelief as it sailed through the insect’s form as if the butterfly was as substantial as air.
Shit. Not good.
If it wasn’t really there, my job had just gotten a lot more difficult. I had about three seconds to figure out how to free Hector from the creature’s influence before the golems permanently solved all my problems for me.
I grabbed onto a piece of Hector’s trousers, using it to leverage myself onto his reclining body. I scrambled up his massive leg and onto his chest as the golems rushed forward.
I did my best to avoid any of the white strands of the cocoon as I climbed higher. I wasn’t sure if they would affect me, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The last thing I wanted was to become immobilized while the golems tore me apart.
Panic gripped me as one of the golems leapt, catching hold of a foot. I kicked back with the other foot, knocking it away. He slipped off, taking one of my shoes with him.
More and more of them spilled over the edge of the bridge.
There wasn’t a lot of time.
The golems milled in front of Hector, seeming unsure what to do. I didn’t know why the rest hadn’t followed me up here, but I was grateful for the reprieve and space to think.
I reached down and grabbed some of the strands, swearing as they slipped through my hands.
Except one. That one lifted from Hector, snapping out to wrap around my wrist. I fell to my knees, my eyes suddenly heavier than they’d ever been. Even the sun had never made me feel like this, as if staying awake a single moment longer would kill me.
Still, I resisted, knowing if I collapsed now, I was done for. Worse, my friends above would be left to deal with the fallout from my brilliant plan.
I propped myself up with my other hand, my head bowing as I struggled to stay awake.
I touched the strands softly. They shimmered in my othersight. The disconnect between what I felt and what I saw was disconcerting. Just when I thought I’d gotten used to the oddness of seeing a world that no one else could, things like this happened.
I concentrated on feeling the strands. Carefully I plucked at them, willing them to shift, just a bit.
I looked deeper into their soft glow. Ah, there. In the deepest part of them was a small spark, one that I could feel as well as see. I gently grasped it, pulling with my mind as well as my body.
It was like watching a skein of wool caught on the smallest of splinters. Snag it and pull on it enough and eventually it’ll ruin the whole pattern you’re trying to make, turning it into a snarled, fuzzy mess.
That was what I concentrated on doing. Pulling on it until it barely resembled the pattern of before.
A few golems had gotten over whatever fear had kept them from following me, creeping onto Hector with small, awkward leaps.
More. Just a little more.
One of the golems landed beside me, its twig-like hands reaching for me.
I wrenched hard, feeling my mind protest. The skein fell apart, the butterfly dissolving into nothingness and taking its cocoon with it.
Out of the deep abyss, a small spark raced, gathering speed and mass. I fought to get away, knowing when it hit it would feel like a freight train. The light of its magic was searing in its intensity, burning the shape of the stag into my eyeballs.
Hector rolled, unseating me and freeing me from the spell’s clutches. I tumbled onto his lap as a groan rumbled from his chest.
A large hand came up, slapping the golem to him and turning it into a brown stain. Hector’s head lifted and he looked down at me with groggy eyes.
