It knocked Askold back, throwing him violently onto the ground. He sprang to his feet and brought his sword down on the bug, releasing green fluid that splattered onto his shirt.
He held his sword up and looked at the slime stuck to the blade and then down at himself. “Yuck! I hate this place, you guys. Let’s find Ojore and never come back.”
“Good job,” Benny praised as he lowered his sword once more.
Aurora nodded her head at Askold as if in approval and trotted over to him, nudging his side. Askold hesitantly patted her fluffy head in return. He looked up at Benny and smiled.
“More will likely come. Stay alert,” Vira said, turning around and starting to walk up the path again.
Benny followed Vira as they wound along the winding trail, while Aurora trotted happily beside Askold. Benny let out a sigh of relief as the owls started hooting again.
The swamps felt endless,and the musky air only thickened the further they walked. Benny’s legs ached from this trip, and he scolded himself for wearing too heavy clothing as the humid air clung to his skin, causing sweat to bead down his neck. He had taken off his jacket an hour earlier and now had to hold the damn thing.
Askold wasn’t doing any better behind him, as Benny kept hearing his muttered curses every few minutes.
The owls were increasingly loud and pounding against Benny’s head until suddenly, they stopped.
Everyone froze, and Benny felt his blood run cold as the thrumming sound of buzzing began, growing steadily louder.
Sephyr flew down and shifted forms. “There’s a swarm headed this way!”
“What do we do?” Askold shouted as he drew his sword and frantically looked into the trees. “Which way?”
Sephyr pointed, and the hanging moss began to sway as the wind picked up. “We fight with everything we have.” Her claws extended.
Three mosquitoes blew through the swamp and surrounded Vira. She spun around them and sliced through the air, killing two of them quickly, green entrails splattering all over her.
More burst through and began swarming from above, darkening the already dim sky and watching, as if learning their movements. Benny held onto his sword, feeling it slip through his sweat-slicked hands.
Aurora screamed and kicked in the air as one tried to land on her back. Askold lunged forward and stabbed the insect, piercing it with his blade and pulling it back out with slick slime coating the metal.
The mosquitoes began to pulse in unison, as if angered by their fallen.
And then they descended.
Sephyr and Vira wove through the monstrous bugs, killing them one by one. Benny swung his sword around himself. He tried not only to protect himself but also Aurora.
The tiny Unipaca screamed and kicked her legs wildly, hitting the mosquitoes and producing loud crunching sounds as her feet made contact with them.
Benny struggled to see around himself, as everywhere he looked was blocked by brown, spindly legs with transparent wings. He heard Askold scream, and he wildly turned, striking through the bugs as he pushed himself closer to his friend.
Askold was lying on the ground as a mosquito pierced his chest. Benny heard a loud sucking sound and saw Askold’s red blood sucked into its proboscis. He ran forward and kicked the bug off his chest, causing it to crunch on his boot and fly across the water.
Aurora let out another scream as a bright light blinded everyone,followed by a pulsing sound and a shimmering, high-pitched note.
The mosquitoes stopped attacking and buzzed around them.
Benny glanced at Aurora, whose horn blazed with a metallic blue beam shooting directly into the sky. The mosquitoes, as if lured by the light, flew into it and burned themselves to dust. Loud zapping and popping sounds erupted around them as grime rained from the sky. He held his hand over his mouth and nose, trying to protect his lungs from the dirty air.
Benny quickly reached for the jacket he had thrown onto the ground and tossed it over Askold’s face, protecting him from the particles as he writhed in pain. Green gore surrounded them, soaking into the gravel pathway below.
He looked back at Aurora, her bright light shining like a beacon, and saw that she was beginning togrow.
“What’s going on?” he heard Askold gasp from under the jacket.
Benny said breathlessly, “Aurora’s saving us.”
As the last of the insects flew into the light, the buzzing sound stopped, and Aurora’s horn faded. Benny stared in awe at the fully transformed Unipaca. She was more than twice the size of a stag, and her horn had grown another few inches in length. Her chrome, floral patterns now scattered over her thighs.
