If Audrey thought the pain of her fingertips getting burnt just from touching the barrier was painful then going through the barrier with her whole body was hell. Her entire body felt like it was roasting over a pit!
This time she was sure not only the clan members heard her scream but every other living thing within a two kilometer radius.
The force the creature used to bash into the barrier caused her to fall over the side and the sword dragged down with her, lengthening the gash. The creature yowled in pain and doubled its efforts in trying to get her off and the sword out.
Audrey's head spun and she felt like throwing up. Not an easy or recommended thing to do while trying to avoid getting bitten. Her feet were barely off the ground but still she did not let go of the sword, she was not sure she could.
It felt like the hilt and the palm of her hands were stuck together. The creature still carried on its wild attempt to dislodge them both but the sword was not coming loose and Audrey had no other choice than to come along for the ride.
A sharp sound came from the other side but she barely registered it with the air whizzing past her ears. Without further warning there was a blast and the beast was thrown sideways with her in tow. She felt the force of the blow and it left her winded although it was not she that got hit directly. The world tumbled in her vision, worse than when she was getting tossed around like a ragdoll, before it all came to a harsh stop.
Blood roared in her ears, and her breath came in shallow and quick as her vision tried to stabilize and her stomach fought a losing war. From the rigidness she felt through the sword and the lack of attention the creature gave her. It was easy to tell that she was not the creature's only priority.
She heard another sharp sound, this time the beast appeared ready and it jumped and maneuvered to avoid it. Along the way her stomach gave out and she threw up. Heavens knew where that landed.
While they were in the air, Audrey got a chance to see what hit the beast as it passed. A blue ball of force the size of one of the monster's paws. She also saw where it had come from. Three male witches and their familiars stood a few meters away, gearing for another shot.
From this distance Audrey could not tell if the three were guards on duty or not. The only thing coursing through her mind was help had arrived. They shot again. The beast avoided it by a wide margin but she barely did. It almost took off her right leg.
She did not know how to feel about that. On one hand she wanted to thank the gods on high but on the other hand that someone finally came and that her leg had not been blown off. On the other hand, she was absolutely terrified that if they did not stop firing they were going to kill her in the process. Something in the back of her head told her that they would not care if they did.
The creature looked at her and a burning flash of cunning malice flickered in its eyes. Audrey's eyes widened and her heart dropped into her stomach. She knew what it was thinking, use the current situation to get rid of the old problem. In other words, use other enemy's attacks to get rid of her. Just her luck, the one time Augusto actually manages to create something with sense!
The three witches fired again and this time instead of avoiding it, the beast ran straight for it. Then at the very last second it turned its left side and exposed her directly to the shot.
She felt the heat first, everything else unfolded in a tenth of a second. The blast hit her right on her side. Audrey felt something crack and the air got knocked out of her harshly. She threw up again. It felt ten times worse than going through the barrier, it felt like being doused in boiling hot oil. And it did the job. She did not even get the chance to scream when the sword broke free and she was knocked back so far she almost touched the barrier again.
She laid motionless on the ground. She must have blacked out at some point due to the impact and the pain because the next time she opened her heavy eyes the grass was on fire and the smoke reeked. That alone made her jolt awake. Which proved to be a mistake.
Immediately she got up, she fell back down, and writhed in pain. The smoke attacked her nose and her lungs and put her in a coughing fit. Tears brought on by pain, smoke and stench fell from her eyes and stung the cuts on her checks. She winced.
She tried to stand up but failed on her first attempt. And the second, and the third. And the one after. Each attempt brought on a new injury discovery and each one was accompanied by fresh pain. Her left side was practically burnt.
The fire was growing and spreading. She needed to get out of its way but how could she when she could not stop coughing, crying and could not even get on her own two feet.
She coughed heavily and threw up again. What came out was bright red. The sudden sound of a crash came from the east side of the barrier and she directed her eyes to that direction.
They found no evidence of the what had caused the disturbance, only the ruby adorned hilt close to a burning bush. Half of the blade was outside the barrier. She painfully crawled towards it. She grabbed it. She was surprised the sword was not destroyed. It was cool to the touch, elegant and pristine as ever save for the dirt on it. The thought that it was enchanted crossed her mind. The fire raged on and she pushed the thought to the back of her mind for later and plunged it into the earth and used it to get on her feet.
She made it out of the flames, only to join the very creature that started this whole mess. The stench was coming from the parts of its body that had been scortched and charred.