It's not enough. Another gruesome hand latches onto the cave mouth and all I can think of is Mavyx down below and how I don't have any fuckingtimeto deal with this monster. How there is no way I'm letting it get at me - no way I'm letting it get at my baby. I yank the dagger from the first hand and plunge it into the flesh of the second.Again and again, I pull it out and stab, pull it out and stab.
The creature tries to mimic my words but they come out higher pitched and frantic. "No you fucking don't! No you fucking don't!"
Finally it's had enough and lets go of the lip of the cave, falling all the way back down with bloodied hands. I watch it fall, its too-long limbs sprawling out, trying to catch hold of something - anything - before it meets the unforgiving ground.
It only manages to grab onto air and lands in an awkward position on a craggy rock. Definitely dead.
"Yes, I fucking do," I hiss, spitting blood from my mouth. I think it's my blood. I think I was biting my lip as I stab-stab-stabbed that monster.
But I don't have time to think about anything at all because Mavyx lets out a horrifying cry which is followed by a terrifying symphony of celebratory whoops and shrieks. I squint my eyes and find him in the dark and-
They've broken his wing.
It's hanging at an unnatural angle. I cover my mouth and try to rein in a sob, gasping "no!" into my palms.
They've broken his wing.They're trying to pull him limb-from-limb.
"Mavyx!" I scream. "Mavyx! MAAVYXX!"
I'm losing my mind. I'm screaming and sobbing. Screaming his name until my throat is raw.
Something dark swoops down from the sky, landing right by where Mavyx is nearly fully covered in rabid mimyckah. Only when it lands do I notice the shape of a Trixikka form and my breath catches in my throat. "Help him! Oh my God, help him! HELP HIM!"
The Trixikka looks up at me briefly and I'm sure it's Tryk. He gets to work, pulling those monsters off of Mavyx, twisting their necks with a sickening crunch and plunging daggers into guts. Shrieks and squeals of pain rend the night air.
"GET HER BACK TO THE VILLAGE!" Mavyx's voice booms as I watch him pant before dispatching a mimyckah with a blade sunk into the side of its neck. "I'll try to lose them in the jungle."
No.
"Mavyx!" I scream, watching Tryk turn and follow my mate's orders. "No, no! Go back and help him!" I say, shaking my head and struggling against the Shadow-Wing as he picks me up. "He's got a broken wing, you need to help him!They broke his fucking wing!"
"Sorry, little female," Tryk murmurs, his strong hold not affected at all by my squirming and pushing. "The Second Spear can handle himself," he says, pushing off from the cave mouth and launching us both into the air.
"No! MAVYX! MAAVYXX!" I wail, trying desperately to wriggle out of his grasp, to go back - todo something.Below, Mavyx seems so small and utterly outnumbered but he breaks free from the swarm of mimyckah and manages to awkwardly flee, limping into the thick of the jungle. I watch him go, tears clouding my vision. He’s quickly followed by seven whooping shadows, seeming excited for the hunt.
"You cannot help him if you fall from the skies, female," Tryk says. "Let me take you to safety and then I will find him again."
I stop my squirming. We are too far and the jungle canopy too dense now for me to see him anyway. All I can do is turn my face into the strange chest of the Shadow-Wing and sob my heart out.
When we finally land, my bawling must wake the whole village. Tryk sets me on my feet but I fall to my knees. "Get him!Go back and get him!" I shriek.
Other Trixikka come to see what all the commotion is about - maybe some human girls are in the mix, too. I don't know, my head is filled with the whooping calls of the mimyckah and the cry of agony my mate made when theybroke him.
I get to my feet and attempt to flee back into the jungle. Someone large stops me with strong arms. "Please, please, please, we have to go help him!We have to!" I'm pretty sure I'm a snotty, tear-stained mess right now but I don't give a fuck. I want my mate back. My man. My Mavyx.
"You won't be going anywhere," the Trixikka who holds me says. I think it's Rynn but I couldn't give a fuck about that either.
"Please," I sob. "Let me go."
In my delirium, I think I get passed to the girls. All around me are hugging arms, someone stroking my hair and shushing me in a motherly way while I continue to bawl.
Trixikka take flight, lead by Rynn and Tryk, and all I can do is wait.
***
He doesn't come back that night.
CHAPTER 25: MAVYX
