“They’re in pain,” Emmy whispered into my back.
“There’s something wrong with them,” I returned, raising my axe hand and focusing on the servers. “Stay back,” I ordered, injecting some of my power into the words. “Or I will be forced to shut each of you down.”
In reply, another of the servers threw her axe. I battered it away with my own, re-directing it to the ground a few feet away. Another two axes followed in quick succession, and I knocked each of those away while I raised my other hand, my fingers spread out, power rushing to fill my entire body before exploding out of my extended reach.
The light that filled the clearing would have been overwhelming for Emmy, so I turned and pulled her face against the front of my robes. As my energy hit the servers, I felt a strong clash—my deadly light slamming into a barrier much tougher than any server should have possessed, but still, they were defeated. Their energy waned, and their vessels exploded. I held Emmy where she was, not wanting her to see the ashes that would remain behind. I definitely wanted to put her under duress, but not the kind of duress that she would never forgive me for, and I doubted that my ‘they were going to kill us’ excuse would work.
As the light finally filtered away, I began to move Emmy in the direction of the cave, but both of our feet stalled when a small, mechanical groaning sound floated over to us.
What the fuck?It wasn’t possible.
I turned, shock and disgust slamming through me in equal measure. The creatures were ... putting themselves back together. The specks and pieces that should have been piles on the ground were floating back into place, fitting into now-grotesque-looking faces and figures. Emmy made a noise that indicated she was about to be sick, and I quickly grabbed one of the fallen axes, pushing it into her hands.
“Run,” I ordered, pointing ahead of us. “Get to the cave.”
For once, she didn’t argue with me.
