31 Chapter 31 - Sacrifice (1/2)

”We are cursed, I swear,” Ella sighed.

”Nope, Becca is the one cursed,” Terri said with a bit of a laugh.

”Always a joke with you,” Sophia said in a similar tone as Ella.

”I got jokes for days,” Terri said with a cheesy grin.

”I think we should Terri in first then. While the Piasa Birds are laughing, we can kill them before they know what happened,” I said with a chuckle.

”I am surrounded by children,” Yue said with an exasperated sigh.

”There is something to be said about laughing in the face of danger,” Katye said with a small smile.

”I knew you were one of us,” Terri laughed as she put an arm around Katye's shoulder.

”Anyways... How does it look, Melissa? We don't have much time before they get here,” Yue asked through the intercom.

”Kiara and I have almost expelled all of the poison, but I still need another hour before I'll have her healed,” Melissa's reply came a minute later.

”Damn,” Yue swore as she pounded the railing.

The seven of us stood in silence as we watched the horizon, waiting for sight of the dragon birds. Ella passed control of the ship back to Yue then changed into her armor with a flash. The others changed into their armor as well and started pulling out their gear.

Sophia had pulled out a cannon that was nearly the same size as her and started filling it with monster cores. Ella passed out a few paper talismans which would greatly increase our strength, speed, and defense, but once they wore off, we wouldn't be able to continue fighting, so we had to plan when we used them properly. Yue woke the ship's formations and put it for the first time into attack mode.

The four white, winged serpents appeared, but instead of wrapping protectively around the ship, they few around aggressively, straying out from the ship, then turning back and testing their limits in the opposite direction. She kept the snakes wrangled in enough, so that they wouldn'd fly directly over the island with the Thunderbirds, so the uninjured one made no attempt to attack them.

”Lesedi...” I started as I thumbed my knives.

”Just stay conscious this time. You aren't light to carry around. I'll make you some new ones when we get back,” she replied as she shouldered her massive hammer.

I chuckled, ”I'll do my best.”

”Well, so much for your first trip to the 'Rift', huh?” Lesedi said to Katye.

”I do imagine it could have gone better,” Katye said, trying to keep her smile.

”We only have to hold out for three more hours,” Yue said, checking her watch.

”Let me go check if they will give us an hour then,” Terri said.

I laughed and knocked her off balance with a light punch to the arm. ”You do that,” I said simply.

”You could fly around in circles to buy us the time, Becca,” Terri chuckled.

”If I thought I could make it through the eyewall alone, I would try to pull them away,” I said more seriously.

”No one blames you, Becca,” Yue said.

”Well, I do,” I said mentally since I would only get a lecture if the others heard.

”Here they come,” Terri said in a somber tone.

They were only small black dots on the horizon, but they were quickly growing in size. Five of us took the launch rope to the top of the zeppelin, leaving behind only Sophia and Yue. Since I took the rope of the far side, I saw Gustavo climbing up the air with a number of powerful jumps and landed on the catwalk a minute after the rest of us.

”Are you sure your ready for this, Katye?” Gustavo asked.

”I don't think there is really any room for debating whether I am or not, I'm afraid,” Katye replied.

”She's got a point, Gus,” Terri said.