9 | Heir (III)

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Nyxis's scream joined the roar of the wind against his ears as he grappled for something to hold on to

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Nyxis's scream joined the roar of the wind against his ears as he grappled for something to hold on to. A hand gripped June's collar while the other clung into the krou's neck fur for dear life.

Sahili sped for the clouds with the winged girl closely at their tail. The girl rose a few feet higher and flapped her wings, sending a great gust of wind that drove Nyxis's hair off his face. His form almost slipped off Sahili's back but the krou adjusted her body enough to steady him.

"Fly towards Eldan, Sahili," Nyxis glanced at the mass of colorful canopies dotting the whole expanse of Dwanzeig. "He will know what to do."

The cat yowled in agreement, flapped her wings, and sped north. A haze of green whizzed towards Nyxis. He threw a shield up just as the spell exploded against it. Hurry, Sahili.

Nyxis ran through the list of offensive spells he knew and crossed them off one by one. The air crackled and the smell of cloth burning wafted in the air. The girl folded her wings as she skillfully evaded his spells with twirls and maneuvers. Nyxis cursed. She's trained for both aerial and terrain battle and for both magical and weapon-aided combat.

Had she battled a human before? Probably not, considering she fell for the vial-throw. It's the oldest trick in the book for humans. Nyxis grinned.

He'd fight like a human then.

His mind scrolled through the list of jinxes, hexes, and curses he had learned over the years. Some of them were harmless like most jinxes while some could be destructive like most curses. Something to buy them time, maybe. Nyxis still had to keep his hands clean.

The girl flapped her wings again. Something metallic glinted in the air as it sped towards Nyxis. His awe dried when one dart slammed into his shield and shattered it to pieces. Whoa. Okay. Wasn't expecting that.

Damn, what a woman.

Nyxis flattened himself on Sahili's back as the krou swerved left and right to avoid the torrent of darts from the girl's wings. What in Pidmena's breeches were those? Nyxis chanted faster than he normally would. A spell formed on his fingers, bright and swirling. The clause sped out of his lips and with a grunt, he lobbed it at the girl.

As expected, she tried dodging it but it followed her flight. Nyxis grinned. Adding a homing clause—another old trick in the human book.

The spell hit the girl in the shoulder. She hissed then moved to attack when she exploded in a mass of feathers. A squawking vulkraine replaced the girl's airspace. It tried flapping its short wings.

Vulkraine couldn't fly. Nyxis wagged his fingers as the vulkraine dropped from the sky and rushed towards the bulging canopies. A fading cluck almost sounded like a curse being screamed at him. Good riddance.

Sahili dove and Nyxis left his stomach in the sky. His grip on the krou's fur tightened. The wind tore at his hair as Sahili tucked her massive wings. Gods of Calaris, Nyxis's hair was going to be worse than Pidmena's punishment when he disembarked.

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