Mat’s fingers trailed his dagger as the team walked past the gate into the city and entered the forest.
“Just to warn you,” One of the guards at the gate said, “the monsters have been acting strangely. Don’t stay out too long.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Spring said, summoning her Sword of Eternal Flame. “I think we’ll be fine.”
She still hadn’t managed to merge the jewel from the heist into her sword, but she and Sam were working on it.
It was a difficult procedure, Mat had heard, but he didn’t know how to help her.
The team walked away from the gate and into the deep dark forest.
Mat hadn’t missed it here.
They walked through the underbrush quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention at one time.
They were hunting monsters, not the other way around.
“Have any of you read Theoretical Advancements of Toh?” Sam asked.
All of them stared at him blankly.
“Just trying to break the silence.” Sam murmured. “I thought it was an interesting read.”
“I’m sure you did.” George remarked casually. “Is that where you learnt how to turn my trousers pink?” He asked, gesturing to his still pink clothing.
“Why didn’t you change into another pair?” Mat asked.
“I had perfectly valid reasons for sticking with this pair!” He said defensively.
“Such as?” Spring asked.
“They have more pockets than my other pairs.” George admitted sheepishly.
Mat glanced at Spring and met her eyes, sharing a look of amusement.
Mat held back a grin.
“You look great in them George.” Mat said. “Pink really is your colour.”
“He’s lying to you.” Sam said flatly. “Pink suits you as well as a Mat suits suave confidence when talking to Spring.”
George’s face remained too straight, and Mat could see him biting his lip.
“What’s that meant to imply?” Mat asked.
“That you turn into a puddle every time you speak to Spring.”
Mat’s face burned with embarrassment.
“I – that’s not – I don’t -”
“Yes you do, my love.” Spring said. “But I love that about you.”
Mat tripped over a branch lying on the floor that he hadn’t seen.
George looked excitedly at Sam.
“Come on, that’s got to count!”
“Nope. Absolutely no way. I won fair and square last night. Just because it is a new day doesn’t mean it resets.”
Mat looked at his friends in confusion.
“Have – have you two been betting on me making a fool of myself?” He asked.
George and Sam shared a glance.
“No.” Sam lied obviously.
“Would we ever do that to you?” George asked. “You’re our best friend.”
“Pay them no mind sweetness.” Spring said, taking his hand in hers. “Messing up just shows you care.”
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George rolled his eyes.
“Here we go again.” Sam muttered.
“Do they ever stop?” George asked.
“Would you like to make another bet?” Sam asked. “I bet you fifty spirit coins they won’t stop.”
“No!” George argued. “I’m not going to win that bet.”
“Can you two stop?” Mat asked. “Stopping betting on our relationship.”
“Spring would you like to give him some loving words?” Sam asked innocently.
“Stop bullying him.” Spring said, though she was also keeping in a laugh. “Mat deserves all the love in the world.”
Mat felt like his legs would crumble from beneath him and a happy smile crossed his face.
“I’ll be waiting for my money.” Sam said smugly.
“No way! I never agreed to this.”
“You owe me money from yesterday anyway.” Sam said.
“I know but -”
“Quiet.” Mat said.
Both of them fell silent, hearing the tone in Mat’s voice.
He was clutching the dagger tightly, Spring holding her Sword of Eternal Flame.
Mat gestured to a large shadowy area covered in bushes and vines.
Mat’s eyes were glowing bright yellow as he stared directly at the location he had pointed at.
He held up one finger, alerting them to how many enemies there were.
George took his sword out from the sheathe at his side and Sam pulled out his wand.
Mat nodded at George, then froze time.
Entering the shadowy area, he properly saw the monster that was hunting them.
It reminded Mat of a black bear but had really long arms and legs. It was hanging off of a tree, staring at the other three.
Gritting his teeth, Mat slashed at it with his dagger before rushing away and hiding behind the creature.
Unfreezing time, all of his attacks hit at once, badly injuring the creature already. Blood poured out of it, staining the grass beneath it red.
The bear creature fell to the floor, growling angrily. George slammed into it from above, his wings glistening white like an angel descending from heaven.
The bear blocked the attack with its arm, though the sword still hurt through.
A loud roar of pain echoed through the forest, scaring a flock of rather large birds out of a nearby tree.
Spring appeared next to the monster, slipping her Sword of Eternal Flame into the bear’s ribs.
It’s claws smashed into Spring, sending her flying.
“GEORGE!” Mat cried, but he was already shooting toward Spring. A large crash of lightning shook the earth, ripping through the bear like the wrath of God. Mat ran up to the creature, rolling under its claws as it tried to rip his face off.
His Eyes of the Tiger shone brightly, scanning the bear for any weaknesses.
The bottom of its chest.
It was weaker than the rest of the body and contained a vital Toh channel.
Mat slid beneath it, slashing through its chest with his golden dagger.
Blood covered his face quickly and the monster staggered.
Rather than falling however, it used its long limbs to sprint at Sam with terrifying speed.
“Bottom of the chest!” Mat yelled. “Aim for that!”
A magical wall shot up in front of Sam, blocking the incoming attack.
The bear didn’t seem bothered by this; it reached around with its long arms and grabbed Sam, crushing him slowly.
Mat froze time again, sprinting up to the creature and climbing onto its back. In the still moment, Mat slammed his dagger into its head time after time.
When he unfroze time, the top of the bear’s head exploded, a lump of furry skin smacking into Mat’s face.
Vomit rose up in his throat, spewing all over the bear’s back.
Somehow, it wasn’t dead yet even though its brain was now on show.
Mat plunged his dagger into the pink mass, but the bear still didn’t go down, but let out a loud roar.
“How the hell?” Mat yelled.
George and Spring flew back in, holding their swords tightly.
“Get the bottom of its chest!” Mat shouted.
They acknowledged it, Spring jumping and George flying toward the monster.
Despite being stabbed in the brain the bear knew what was going on, as it let out a shriek and ran away in terror.
Mat was still holding onto its back.
His Toh was running low, as he didn’t feel stable enough to freeze time again. All he could do was hold on.
Spring saw Mat being taken away, anger flaring up inside of her.
She sprinted after it but knew she couldn’t catch up. It was moving so fast that Mat would potentially die if he fell off.
She prayed that he held on.
As she was sprinting after it, George flew past, picking Spring up in one hand. Sam was holding onto his back, orange hair flying in the wind.
“You’ve got to go faster!” Spring demanded. “We can’t lose him. I can’t lose him.”
“We’re not going to.” George promised. Flapping his wings, George sped after the bear.
Mat felt like he would be sick if he froze time again, but he knew he wouldn’t survive the trip for much longer.
Clenching his teeth, he froze time.
His body felt like it was about to burst, but he held onto the frozen moment.
His dagger was lodged in the bear’s back, and Mat was too weak to rip it out.
Letting go of the dagger, he rolled off of it, landing on the floor like a fallen tree.
He crawled away from the bear, time unfreezing as he was doing it.
Pulling his leg close to his body, he barely managed to avoid getting it crushed by the bear’s long leg.
“Stop!” Spring cried, seeing a blue coat and body lying on the ground.
George dropped her and she rushed over to Mat.
He was whimpering on the floor, sick around his mouth.
“My love?” She asked soothingly. His breath was short and made a wheezing sound. She took his hand. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”
She felt a very soft squeeze if her hand.
“Thank the Gods.”
She scanned Mat, feeling his Core. It was empty.
She rested her head against his, whispering soothing words in his ear.
“We need to make sure this location is secure.” George said to Sam.
Spring didn’t move. Mat needed her.
As her head remained connected to his, something unexpected happened.
Their Cores connected.
Some of Spring’s Toh trickled into Mat’s core, quickening his recovery.
“Sorry.” Mat wheezed.
“Shh my love. Just rest okay. You have nothing to apologise for.”
