Red as Coals: Chapter 1

Seth let his mind wander as his stryx’s footbeats thrummed through the charred landscape. He had only heard tales of the mysterious, almost rabid Stryx wandering the rocky outcrops, but those were wild and absurd enough for him to doubt. Stryx that spat venom like cobras? Or could leap a hundred feet in one bound? Nope, no way. It simply had to be nonsense.

Lilt panted softly under her rider, challenging herself with the steady pace she kept up. The faster they got to the Edge of The World, the faster they could leave. The dry, ash and brimstone filled air caught in her throat and made her chest ache. But all she had to do was keep running, just stay on course, mindlessly running. Once she went far enough Seth will be satisfied and they’ll return to the camp, where there was fresh air and actual foods to eat instead of stringy crag lizards.

Both their reveries were broken as something dull flickered barely fifty feet in front of them. Lilt immediately skidded to a stop. She already stepped on three hot coals sprung from the glowing half hidden pools dotting the gray landscape. Three was enough. She was no longer testing her luck tiptoeing around the little cherry bombs.

Seth jolted, nearly sailing over the raptor’s head at the sudden stop. Gods above, he needed to invest in a saddle. He slid off Lilt’s back and laid a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Easy, easy. It’s okay, I’ll kick it out of the way.” The young boy trotted ahead, trying to keep an eye on the uneven terrain as he followed the glow. He didn’t notice the shine hanging in the air instead of moving closer to the ground until he was almost 20 feet away. Here, confused by its intense light and how high up it was, he slowed, straining his eyes to see through the hazy gas clouds. 

He only realized how wrong the situation was when he had to crane his neck, nearly looking straight up to keep it in his sights. 

The glare seemed to dim for a moment, before brightening intensely. Dull, measured thuds sounded, leaving Seth rooted to his spot. Lilt called to him curiously, now that it was obvious whatever impeded their travels wasn’t a coal.

The light split in two. Bright, glaring lights with pinprick centers. A wicked black beak with equally curved teeth. Most distressing of all however was the strange red… not fluid leaking from the corners of its mouth. 

Stryx that spat venom like cobras. A corrupting blight that flowed freely from its host. Imagining what happened to Grimm the lycan, but so far out, with no other stryx to help him…

“Lilt! Lilt, go! Now now now!” Seth’s panicked scream drove the strange stryx to charge. He ran back to his waiting raptor, now squawking with panic. Two tons of stryx bore down on the poor boy, claws outstretched, fangs bared and rotated forward to shred him apart. All he needed to do was grab onto Lilt’s tail, then he could climb up to safety. The teal beast was bearing down, readying to snap its jaws around his head.

The boy’s raptor ignored orders, launching herself at the beast in the nick of time, allowing him to scramble away. Her aim was true, deft claws sinking into the monster’s shoulder, knocking it off balance and away from her rider. The moment the beast’s legs began to buckle under the extra weight, she leapt away, narrowly avoiding a snap from the stryx’s beak. The maneuver was rough but practiced, and after a heavy landing, the boy mounted and set a fast pace, not glancing back for a second. He didn’t need to. The strange stryx didn’t loose a single cry, not of aggression, fear, or hunger, but its heavy footbeats sounded clear against the hard packed earth. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen! This was just a simple scouting mission! At most, Seth was supposed to watch from a distance, observing the behavior of this strange teal stryx. Now he and Lilt were running for their lives, chased by a monster nearly three times their collective size. A stryx with legs as long as his mount is tall. It would only be a matter of time before they were outpaced on the flat plains, especially with the smoke clouds slowly choking them. How was the beast so tireless in these conditions!

Lilt was running near her top speed, kicking up dirt and gravel to gain space. The smoke was already irritating when she was going at an easy lope, now that she’s running for her life, the ache in her chest grows to a piercing pain. Her breathing was raspy and felt like it was rattling in her chest. She couldn’t go on like this, but turning and fighting wasn’t an option, at least not now. Those few seconds turning around would give the teal stryx all the advantage it needed. Keeping pace would get them run down, she had to find another way.

Turning on her heel, the raptor suddenly changed direction, sweeping her tail wide so the beast couldn’t drag her back. Seth yelped and clung tighter to her neck, and his fearful tremble spurred her to move faster, turning on a dime again. Hah, she was the more agile of the two runners, and like a fleeing antelope she built up her lead again, weaving her way west one sharp turn at a time. The scent of smoke began to dissipate and the sky slowly cleared. The pressure in the raptor’s chest slowly eased, her gasping pants grew quieter, her twists and turns becoming more confident and graceful.

“I can see it!” Seth cried as the camp appeared over the horizon. They were so close! He kicked his heels, and Lilt tapped into the last dregs of her energy, running straight for the outpost. No more tricks or fancy footwork. The red eyed beast’s pace seemed to slow slightly as it saw and smelled the settlement ahead. There the others rested, stryx and sapients in great numbers. 

When Lilt was far away enough that the great stryx couldn’t see the half finished pit trap, she turned, froth dripping down her beak, not unlike the other’s strange red drool. Puffing up her crest and tail, she screeched, daring their attacker to make the next move. Beady red eyes glared, lowering itself for one more charge. Ignoring the others slowly gathering to gawk at the strange beast, it rushed. The raptor spread her limbs defensively, readying her tired muscles. 

When the monster was nearly upon them, it surged forward, seeking to drag its prey down with its claws to finish the game of cat and mouse once and for all. The raptor leapt back, just managing to clear the pitfall. Their aggressor wasn’t as lucky, falling short right at the edge, clawing furiously at the crumbling walls. The soil was too loose to support such a great weight, and soon it grudgingly accepted its fate, circling the bottom and glaring with its coal red eyes.

Tired, half choked from the smoke inhalation, and feeling the adrenaline wearing off, rider and stryx slumped in unison. Seth needed to report the chase asap, and Lilt needed water before she blacked out. Tired, but grateful they made it back without a single scratch on them, they headed deeper into camp.