Slammed between trees

The planeswalker waved angrily and bore Jodah up into the air. Pure force slammed into him from all directions, battering his body and forcing the air from his lungs. “You are not welcome here,” Freyalise said. From bitter experience, Jodah recognized both the cold, patrician tone and the dangerous mood that produced it.

The pressure around him eased, leaving Jodah to float freely inside a faintly glittering, emerald cloud. Freyalise waved her arm again and sent him hurtling toward the wasted trees of Skyshroud. She pointed to this tree and that, and with each gesture Jodah followed her finger. He shouted and cursed as she dashed him from trunk to trunk, slamming him into the tough wood hard enough to bruise him without breaking him. The beacon box was crushed between his arm and his chest on the second impact, and he left a small cloud of metal bits in his wake.

Freyalise beckoned, and Jodah’s limp body sailed toward the ground. She stopped him several feet in front of her and righted him with a contemptuous shrug, Through pain-slitted eyes Jodah saw Jhoira standing behind the planeswalker. The Ghitu’s body was rigid, her fine features pale with concern.

He forced his swollen, blood-slick lips to form words. “Jhoira,” he said. “Brought help.”

“Help?” Freyalise let out a half-snarled laugh.

Jodah fought to stay conscious. “I have powerful friends,” he said.

***

Planar Chaos, Chapter 16