The Valaxar bellowed something at Toby, its voice so loud that it rattled around Toby’s head. If it was meant to scare him then it had certainly worked, but he refused to shut his eyes. Instead he tried to scramble backwards even as he struggled to draw half-breaths as his body slowly recovered from being winded.
The Valaxar bellowed again, but this time Toby was sure it was laughing at his efforts. It stepped forward, easily making up the distance Toby had opened up, and swung the axe down in a vicious arc.
Toby couldn’t help but flinch and squeeze his eyes close to shut, all his bravery used up… but nothing struck him. Through his slitted eyes he saw a blinding burst of light which was followed by a scream from the Valaxar, a sound much higher pitched than the previous roars.
Toby
