Ivor lay pressed flat against the branch, chest tight, every muscle locked as he willed himself not to move.
Below him, the skeleton stood motionless.
Its red-lit eyes stared upward without blinking, empty sockets fixed on the canopy above. The bone sword hung loosely at its side, tip brushing the dirt. For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Ivor waited.
He counted his breaths, slow and shallow, hoping the thing would lose interest and move on. Hoping it would follow the broken trail it had come from and leave the tree behind.
Instead, the skeleton stepped closer.
With a slow, deliberate motion, it lowered the bone sword and let it fall at the base of the trunk. The weapon struck the ground with a dull clatter. Then the skeleton placed both hands against the bark.
And began to climb.
Bone scraped against wood as it hauled itself upward, fingers digging into the bark and tearing free strips as it pulled. It didn't climb carefully, didn't test its holds. It simply dragged itself up with brute strength, joints creaking under its own weight.
The sound sent a cold jolt through Ivor's chest.
He lay a few feet out along the branch, close enough to the trunk. Slowly, he began to crawl forward, inch by inch, keeping his movements controlled. The rough surface scraped his palms and forearms.
Behind him, the scraping grew louder.
Closer.
When the skeleton's skull rose level with the branch, Ivor slid his dagger into his belt.
Then he eased sideways and let himself drop.
His hands caught the branch as his body fell, arms screaming in protest as his damaged shoulder and bicep flared with blinding pain. For a heartbeat, his grip faltered. His fingers slipped, muscles trembling as the strain threatened to tear them loose.
He forced them to hold.
Then he released.
Ivor dropped the rest of the way, bending his knees hard as he hit the ground. Pain shot up his leg, but he stayed upright, already moving.
The bone sword lay where it had fallen.
He grabbed it with both hands and felt its weight immediately. It was heavier than it looked, the balance wrong, the grip rough and uneven against his palms. He adjusted instinctively, dragging it clear of the tree and backing away several steps, putting space between himself and the trunk.
Above him, the skeleton didn't hesitate.
It launched itself from the bark.
Ivor barely reacted in time. He jumped back as the skeleton crashed down where he had stood, the impact shaking the ground beneath his feet. The moment its feet touched earth, Ivor swung.
He put everything he had into the strike.
The bone sword slammed into the skeleton's legs as it landed. The force drove it sideways, one knee buckling as the creature toppled backward, bones clattering heavily against dirt.
Ivor grit his teeth and raised the sword overhead, muscles screaming as he prepared to bring it down and crush the skull in a single desperate blow.
He never got the chance.
The skeleton's other foot flared blue.
Mana surged around it as the limb snapped upward. The kick caught Ivor square in the chest. The impact ripped the air from his lungs and hurled him backward into a nearby tree.
The bone sword tore free from his hands and dropped to the ground.
Ivor hit the trunk hard and slid down, coughing violently as his vision blurred and darkened at the edges. His chest ached and burned from the hit. Through his blurry vision he saw the skeleton pushing itself upright again.
So, he forced himself to move before it could fully stand.
Pain screamed through his chest and shoulder as he staggered sideways, putting distance between them. The skeleton straightened, its damaged leg clicking as it took weight again. Cracks spiderwebbed through the bone just below the knee where his earlier strike had landed.
The bone sword lay a short distance away, half-buried in leaves.
Ivor glanced at it once and dismissed the thought. The weight had thrown him off before, and his arms were already trembling from strain. Picking it up again would slow him down.
Instead, he ran and the skeleton followed.
Ivor limped sideways, keeping the tree between himself and the skeleton, forcing it to adjust its path. Roots snagged at his boots. The ground dipped unevenly beneath his feet. The skeleton followed from the opposite side, red eyes locked on him, its intact leg driving it forward while the damaged one clicked faintly with each step.
He began circling the trees.
Once. Twice.
Then the skeleton stopped.
It didn't circle.
It stared at the trunk separating them.
A faint blue glow crept over its right arm.
Ivor's breath caught.
Mana condensed around the skeleton's fist, coating the bone in a thin, shimmering layer. It drew the arm back and drove it forward in a straight, brutal punch.
The fist slammed into the trunk.
Wood exploded outward. The thinner tree cracked apart with a sharp sound, bark and splinters flying as the trunk folded inward. The skeleton tore its arm free as the tree collapsed, clearing the space between them in an instant.
Ivor leapt backward, barely avoiding the falling mass. He hit the ground hard, rolling through the impact as fragments of bark rained down around him.
The skeleton didn't waste the opening. It turned, stepped to the side, and retrieved its bone sword from the forest floor.
Ivor's fingers tightened around his dagger.
The skeleton sprinted toward him and swung.
The sword cut through the air in a horizontal arc aimed at Ivor's chest. He ducked under it, the blade passing inches over his head, and felt the wind of it tug at his hair. He rolled to the side as the skeleton followed through with a kick.
The mana-coated foot slammed into the ground where he had been, cracking dirt and stone.
Ivor scrambled to his feet, heart hammering.
The skeleton pressed forward, sword moving again. A downward chop. A thrust. Another sweeping cut.
Ivor retreated step by step, twisting and slipping just enough to stay alive. His shoulder screamed every time he moved too sharply. His chest burned with each breath. One mistake would end it.
As the pressure mounted, the familiar sensation surged behind his eyes.