Thor looked around at the apprehensive faces of his brothers, who were spread out from each other, and he realized that now it was time for him to assume his role as leader, make them feel as if they were being confidently led, and put them at ease.
“Just stick close together and we’ll be fine,” Thor commanded. “One never knows what might come out at us in these parts.”
The others, respecting Thor’s command, listened to him immediately and tightened their formation, all of them riding much closer together. They all became more alert, on edge, as an odd, high-pitched wind howled through the open desert. Thor had heard stories about this wasteland. He didn’t want his men to be another victim of it.
They rode for hours in silence, and as the second sun grew long in the sky, on the horizon there appeared the first glimpse of fertile land again. Thor exhaled with relief. They had made it without incident.
“Mind if I stop?” Reece asked.
The others turned and looked at him and Reece gestured over to a small cave, nestled in a huge boulder in the empty landscape.
“Got a go,” he said, “I can’t hold it any longer.”
Thor shrugged.
“Do what you have to,” he said.
Thor sat there, on his horse, impatient in the heat of this place, as a large thorn bush went rolling past him with a loud, rustling noise. He flinched. He was too on-edge. This place was eerie. All around him his men bore arms, on guard. He was relieved to see that he was not the only one being cautious.
“So what do you think will become of the Ring?” Elden asked Thor. “Do you think Gareth’s men will-”
A shriek cut through the air, and Thor immediately dismounted, as did the others, drew his sword, and sprinted for the cave. The shriek came from inside. It was Reece’s.
Reece came flying out of the cave, running at full speed, and as he did, Thor spotted a strange animal stuck to his arm. Reece flailed, shrieking, and Thor finally realized what it was: a Forsyth, the largest and deadliest spider in the Ring. Black and furry and covered in red spots, it had twelve legs, and its body span stretched over Reece’s entire arm, from his forearm to his shoulder. It clung to him, not letting go, despite Reece’s frantic efforts to brush it off.
Thor ran to Reece and grabbed the insect with both hands, yanking its furry arms with all its might, trying to pry it off. But it did no good.
Thor drew his dagger and plunged it into the head of the beast.
The beast screamed, then let out an awful hissing noise, and reached up with one of its tentacles to try to grab Thor’s hand. Thor slashed the beast again and again, and his brothers came running up and slashed it, too. Finally, it let go of Reece and turned to the others, opening its small mouth and spitting out a liquid right for them.
Thor dodged it, but the liquid grazed the arm of one of his Legion brothers, and he screamed and clutched it, smoke rising from his sleeve as the acid ate away at it.
The beast dropped to the desert floor and scurried away. A few Legion hurled daggers at it, but it went too fast for them to hit. In moments, it was gone.
Reece clutched his arm, bent over in agony, and Thor draped an arm over his shoulder.
“You okay?” Thor asked.
Reece bit his lip and shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said.
Thor looked down and saw the wound-and was aghast. There was a large, circular spot on Thor’s arm, and the wound was deep, oozing green puss and blood. O’Connor, beside him, tore a piece of linen from his shirt with his teeth and wrapped it around Reece’s arm to staunch the bleeding.
“The venom of a Forsyth is toxic,” Elden said grimly, analyzing the wound. “It will spread through his system. It will paralyze him. If we don’t get him help soon, he’s finished.”
Thor looked over at Reece, who looked more pale than he’d ever seen and who started to shake.
Before Thor could react, suddenly there came a noise, a distinct clicking noise, and he looked over with the others and his heart stopped.
From out of the cave there slowly crawled another Forsyth, pausing at the entrance, then slowly creeping towards him.
Thor and his brothers slowly backed up, one step at a time, Thor helping Reece.
“On your horses!” Thor commanded. “Let’s get out of here. Now!”
It was the first time Thor had ever commanded his fellow Legion members, and strangely enough, it had come to him naturally. He did not seek a leadership role, but it felt comfortable to him, and he felt that he could help the others, who were paralyzed with fear, by taking charge for them.
As it crept closer, they all mounted their horses-all except one. A Legion boy, a couple of years older than Thor, who Thor did not know, the one whose arm had been sprayed. He defied Thor’s orders and stayed put.
“I will not run from an insect!” he yelled.
He reached into his waist, took out a short spear, and hurled it at the beast.
But before he could even release the spear, the Forsyth sprang into motion. It was the fastest thing Thor had ever seen, and in a split second it was in the air, lunging for the boy.
The boy, to his credit, reacted quickly-all of his training in The Hundred must have sank in. He leapt up onto his horse a second before the thing got his leg; it missed him, but it kept flying and instead clung to the leg of his horse.
The horse neighed and pranced and kicked its legs, as the beast wrapped itself around him and would not let go.
After a moment, the horse let out an awful shriek, then stiffened and fell over on its side, the boy still on it.
The boy struggled, but could not dismount in time; he found himself falling with the horse, the horse landing on top of him and crushing his leg. The boy shrieked in agony.
Thor jumped off his horse, dagger in hand, ready to plunge it into the Forsyth, but before he could reach it, an arrow sailed past him, through the air, and landed right into the center of the beast. It let out an awful scream, and acid sprayed everywhere; luckily, the acid was blocked by the horse, and it ate away at the horse’s skin instantly.
Thor looked back to see O’Connor holding his bow.
“Nice work,” Thor said to him. “Give me a hand!”
The others all rushed over to him, helping to pry the boy, moaning in pain, out from underneath the horse. Conven slung him over his shoulder, and draped him across his horse.
Before they could all remount, suddenly, a noise rose up, and Thor’s heart stopped as he looked over to see a dozen more of those things appear at the entrance of the cave. They all paused, then slowly began to inch forward.
Before Thor could issue another command, Elden let out a battle cry and burst into action. He charged forward fearlessly, right for the mouth of the cave. Thor wondered what he was doing-it seemed like suicide-until he saw him lift his huge war hammer high overhead with both hands, and smash it into a boulder perched atop the entrance to the cave.
There came a great rumbling, and boulders rolled down and covered the mouth the cave, crushing several of the Forsyths and blocking the others.
They all looked to Elden with gratitude and pride.
“Nice work,” Thor said. “You saved our lives.”
Elden shrugged and slid the hammer back into his horse’s saddle.
Without waiting another moment, Thor draped Reece, now limp, over the back of his horse, and they all remounted and rode, intent on getting Reece help and on getting as far away from this place as possible.
*
Thor and his contingent rode into Sulpa at a gallop, their leisurely journey having now become a race against time. With each passing second Thor felt increasing panic for Reece, who rode with him on his horse, behind him, clutching onto Thor’s shoulders weakly. Thor prayed that it was not too late for his best friend, whose hands were now icy cold to the touch. He shook violently behind him, and Thor knew how toxic the venom must be, spreading through his system. He hoped with all he had that someone in this village had medicine to help him.