rattled off a series of heavy punches into the beast’s shoulders.
She felt the bone crunching under the weight of those blows, but again, the beast seemed unbothered and launched a backhand that forced the young woman to retreat.
The bear went on the offensive, and it attacked with ferocity, moving to tackle the woman. Hanaleisa scrambled back, nearly tripping over an exposed root, then getting caught against a birch stand.
She cried out in fear as the beast fell over her, or started to, until a mighty sword flashed in the moonlight above and behind it, coming down powerfully across the bear’s right shoulder and driving through.
The undead beast howled and pursued the dodging Hanaleisa, crashing into the birch stand and taking the whole of it down beneath its bulky, tumbling form. It bit and slashed as if it had its enemy secured, but Hanaleisa was gone, out the side, rolling away.
The bear tried to follow, but Temberle moved fast behind it, relentlessly smashing at it with his heavy greatsword. He chopped away chunks of flesh, sending maggots flying and smashing bones to powder.
Still the beast came on, on all fours and down low, closing on Hanaleisa.
She fought away her revulsion and panic. She placed her back against a solid tree and curled her legs, and as the beast neared, jaws open to bite at her, she kicked out repeatedly, her heel smashing the snout again and again.
Still the beast drove in, and still Temberle smashed at it, and Hanaleisa kept on kicking. The top jaw and snout broke away, hanging to the side, but still the animated corpse bore down!
At the last moment, Hanaleisa threw herself to the side and backward into a roll. She came around to her feet, every instinct telling her to run away.
She denied her fear.
The bear turned on Temberle ferociously. His sword crashed down across its collarbone, but the monster swatted it with such strength that it tore the sword from Temberle’s hand and sent it flying away.
Up rose the monster to its full height, its arms raised to the sky, ready to drop down upon the unarmed warrior.
Hanaleisa leaped upon its back and with the momentum of her charge, with every bit of focus and concentration, with all the strength of her years of training as a monk behind her strike, drove her hand—index and middle fingers extended like a blade—at the back of the beast’s head.
She felt her fingers break through the skull. She retracted and punched again and again, pulverizing the bone, driving her fingers into the beast’s brain and tearing pieces out.
The bear swung around and Hanaleisa went flying into the trees, crashing hard through a close pair of young elms, bouncing from oneto the other, her momentum pushing her so she fell to the ground right behind them.
But as she slid down the narrowing gap, her ankle caught. Desperate, she looked at the approaching monster.
She saw the sword descend behind it, atop its skull, splitting the head in half and driving down the creature’s neck.
And still it kept coming! Hanaleisa’s eyes widened with horror. She couldn’t free her foot!
But it was only the undead beast’s momentum that propelled it forward, and it crashed into the elms and fell to the side.
Hanaleisa breathed easier. Temberle rushed up and helped her free her foot, then helped her stand. She was sore in a dozen places—her shoulder was surely bruised.
But the beast was dead—again.
“What evil has come to these woods?” the young woman asked.
“I don’t …” Temberle started to answer, but he stopped. Both he and his sister shivered, their eyes going wide in surprise. A sudden coldness filled the air around them.
They heard a hissing sound, perhaps laughter, and jumped back to back into a defensive posture, as they had been trained. The chill passed, and the laughter receded.
In the firelight of their nearby camp, they saw a shadowy figure drift away.
“What was that?” Temberle asked. “We should go back,” Hanaleisa breathlessly
She felt the bone crunching under the weight of those blows, but again, the beast seemed unbothered and launched a backhand that forced the young woman to retreat.
The bear went on the offensive, and it attacked with ferocity, moving to tackle the woman. Hanaleisa scrambled back, nearly tripping over an exposed root, then getting caught against a birch stand.
She cried out in fear as the beast fell over her, or started to, until a mighty sword flashed in the moonlight above and behind it, coming down powerfully across the bear’s right shoulder and driving through.
The undead beast howled and pursued the dodging Hanaleisa, crashing into the birch stand and taking the whole of it down beneath its bulky, tumbling form. It bit and slashed as if it had its enemy secured, but Hanaleisa was gone, out the side, rolling away.
The bear tried to follow, but Temberle moved fast behind it, relentlessly smashing at it with his heavy greatsword. He chopped away chunks of flesh, sending maggots flying and smashing bones to powder.
Still the beast came on, on all fours and down low, closing on Hanaleisa.
She fought away her revulsion and panic. She placed her back against a solid tree and curled her legs, and as the beast neared, jaws open to bite at her, she kicked out repeatedly, her heel smashing the snout again and again.
Still the beast drove in, and still Temberle smashed at it, and Hanaleisa kept on kicking. The top jaw and snout broke away, hanging to the side, but still the animated corpse bore down!
At the last moment, Hanaleisa threw herself to the side and backward into a roll. She came around to her feet, every instinct telling her to run away.
She denied her fear.
The bear turned on Temberle ferociously. His sword crashed down across its collarbone, but the monster swatted it with such strength that it tore the sword from Temberle’s hand and sent it flying away.
Up rose the monster to its full height, its arms raised to the sky, ready to drop down upon the unarmed warrior.
Hanaleisa leaped upon its back and with the momentum of her charge, with every bit of focus and concentration, with all the strength of her years of training as a monk behind her strike, drove her hand—index and middle fingers extended like a blade—at the back of the beast’s head.
She felt her fingers break through the skull. She retracted and punched again and again, pulverizing the bone, driving her fingers into the beast’s brain and tearing pieces out.
The bear swung around and Hanaleisa went flying into the trees, crashing hard through a close pair of young elms, bouncing from oneto the other, her momentum pushing her so she fell to the ground right behind them.
But as she slid down the narrowing gap, her ankle caught. Desperate, she looked at the approaching monster.
She saw the sword descend behind it, atop its skull, splitting the head in half and driving down the creature’s neck.
And still it kept coming! Hanaleisa’s eyes widened with horror. She couldn’t free her foot!
But it was only the undead beast’s momentum that propelled it forward, and it crashed into the elms and fell to the side.
Hanaleisa breathed easier. Temberle rushed up and helped her free her foot, then helped her stand. She was sore in a dozen places—her shoulder was surely bruised.
But the beast was dead—again.
“What evil has come to these woods?” the young woman asked.
“I don’t …” Temberle started to answer, but he stopped. Both he and his sister shivered, their eyes going wide in surprise. A sudden coldness filled the air around them.
They heard a hissing sound, perhaps laughter, and jumped back to back into a defensive posture, as they had been trained. The chill passed, and the laughter receded.
In the firelight of their nearby camp, they saw a shadowy figure drift away.
“What was that?” Temberle asked. “We should go back,” Hanaleisa breathlessly
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