But Reece suddenly slipped beside him, falling over a branch, face-first into the foliage, and Thor knew he wouldn’t get up in time. Thor stopped beside them, drew his sword, and stood between him and the beast.
“KEEP RUNNING!” Thor yelled over his shoulder to the others, as he stood there, ready to defend Reece.
The beast lunged for him, shrieking, and swung its claw for Thor’s face. Thor ducked and swung his sword at the same time, and the beast let out a horrific shriek as Thor chopped off one of its claws. A green fluid sprayed all over Thor, and he looked up and watched in horror as the beast re-grew its claw just as quickly as it had lost it. It was as if Thor had never injured it.
Thor swallowed. This would be an impossible beast to kill. And now he had angered it.
The beast swiped down with yet another arm, coming out from somewhere else on its body, and swiped Thor hard in the ribs, sending him flying and landing in a clump of trees. The beast then lowered another claw for Thor, and Thor knew he was in trouble.
Elden, O’Connor and the twins rushed forward, and as the beast came down with another claw for Thor, O’Connor fired an arrow into its mouth, lodging in the back of its throat, making it shriek. Elden took his two-handed ax and brought it down on the beast’s back, while Conven and Conval each threw a spear, lodging on each side of its throat. Reece regained his feet and plunged his sword into the beast’s belly. Thor regained his feet and swung his sword at another of the beast’s arms, chopping it off. And Krohn joined them, leaping into the air and sinking his fangs into its throat.
The beast let out shriek after shriek, as they all did more damage than Thor thought possible. It was incredible to Thor that it was still standing, its wings still vibrating. This beast just would not die.
They all watched in horror as, one at a time, the beast reached over and pulled out the spears and swords and the axe lodged in it—and as it did, its injuries all healed before their eyes.
This beast was undefeatable.
The beast leaned back and roared, and all of Thor’s Legion brothers looked up in shock. They had all given it everything they had, and it wouldn’t even dent it.
The beast prepared to lunge at them again, with its razor sharp jaws and claws, and Thor realized there was nothing else they could do. They were all going to die.
“OUT OF THE WAY!” came a sudden scream.
The voice came from behind Thor, and it sounded like the voice of a boy. Thor turned to see a small boy, perhaps eleven, run up behind them, carrying what appeared to be a jug of water. Thor ducked and the boy threw up the water, splashing it all over the beast’s face.
The beast leaned back and screeched, steam rising from its face, reaching up with its claws and tearing at its cheek, its eyes, its head. It shrieked again and again, the noise so loud that Thor had to hold his hands over his ears.
Finally, the beast turned and darted away, back into the jungle, getting lost in the foliage.
They all turned and looked at the boy with a new sense of wonder and appreciation. Dressed in rags, with longish brown hair and bright-green, intelligent eyes, the boy was covered in dirt, and he looked, from his bare feet and dirty hands, as if he lived out here.
Thor had never been more grateful to anyone.
“Weapons won’t hurt a Gathorbeast,” the boy said, rolling his eyes. “Lucky for you I heard the shrieks and was close. If not, you’d be dead by now. Don’t you know that you never confront a Gathorbeast?”
Thor looked at his friends, all at a loss for words.
“We didn’t confront it,” Elden said. “It confronted us.”
“They don’t confront you,” the boy said, “unless you intrude on its territory.”
“What were we supposed to do?” Reece asked.
“Well, never look it in the eye for one,” the boy said. “And if it attacks, lie face down until it leaves you be. And most of all, don’t ever try to run.”
Thor stepped forward and laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“You saved our lives,” he said. “We owe you a great debt.”
The boy shrugged.
“You don’t look like Empire troops,” he said. “You look like you came from somewhere else in the world. So why wouldn’t I help you? You seem to have the markings of that group that came from the ship some days ago.”
Thor and the others exchanged a knowing glance, and turned to the boy.
“Do you know where this group went?” Thor asked.
The boy shrugged.
“It was a large group, and they were carrying a weapon. It seemed heavy: it took all of them to carry it. I tracked them for days. They were easy to track. They were slow-moving. They were also sloppy, and careless. I know where they went, though I didn’t track them much beyond the village. I can bring you there and point you in the right direction, if you like. But not today.”
The others exchanged a puzzled look.
“Why not?” Thor asked.
“Night falls in but a few hours. You can’t be outside after dark.”
“But why?” Reece asked.
The boy looked at him as if he were crazy.
“The Ethabugs,” he said.
Thor stepped forward and looked at the boy. He liked this boy immediately. He was intelligent, earnest, fearless, and had a lot of heart.
“Do you know a place where we can take shelter for the night?”
The boy looked back at Thor, then shrugged, looking uncertain. He stood there, wavering.
“I don’t think I should,” he said. “Grandpa will get mad.”
Krohn suddenly emerged from behind Thor, and walked towards the boy—and the boy’s eyes lit up in delight.
“Wow!” the boy exclaimed.
Krohn licked the boy’s face, again and again, and the boy giggled in delight and reached up and stroked Krohn’s head. Then the boy knelt down, lowered his spear, and hugged Krohn. Krohn seemed to hugged him back, and the boy laughed hysterically.
“What’s his name?” the boy asked. “What is he?”
“His name is Krohn,” Thor said, smiling. “He is a rare white leopard. He comes from the other side of the ocean. From the Ring. Where we are from. He likes you.”
The boy kissed Krohn several times, and finally stood and looked back at Thor.
“Well,” the boy said, wavering, “I guess I can bring you to our village. Hopefully grandpa won’t get too mad. If he does, you’re out of luck. Follow me. We have to hurry. It will be night soon.”
The boy turned and quickly weaved his way through the jungle, and Thor and the others followed. Thor was amazed at the boy’s dexterity, at how well he knew the jungle. It was hard to keep up.
“People come through here from time to time,” the boy said. “The ocean, the tides, it leads them right into the harbor. Some people come from the sea and cut through here, on their way somewhere else. Most of them don’t make it. They get eaten by something or other in the jungle. You guys were lucky. There a lot worse things here than that Gatherbeast.”
Thor swallowed.
“Worse than that? Like what?”
The boy shook his head, continuing to hike.
“You don’t want to know. I’ve seen some pretty awful things here.”
“How long have you been here?” Thor asked, curious.
“My whole life,” the boy said. “My grandpa moved us when I was little.”
“But why here, in this place? Surely there must be more hospitable places.”
“You don’t know the Empire, do you?” the boy asked. “The troops are everywhere. It’s not so easy to stay out of their site. If they ever catch us, they capture us as slaves. They rarely come out here—not this deep in the jungle.”
As they cut through a thick patch of foliage, Thor reached up to brush a leaf out of his way, but the boy turned and shoved Thor’s hand, screaming: