Never Keep (Sins of the Zodiac #1)

CHAPTER TEN

T he shadow of Ironwraith withdrew overhead as I remained locked in combat in the depths of the no-man’s land which divided the lands of Avanis and Cascada. I bared my teeth as I spun beneath the swiping metal claws of a beast which looked to have once been a bear, its bulk towering over me, its jaws parted in the maddened fury of the twisted creations that roamed the wilds.

Long ago in some madness or genius now forgotten to the dredges of the Endless War, Fae had taken wild beasts and experimented on them, melding their bodies with metallic contraptions imbued with magic. The idea had been to create more warriors to throw into the countless battles, but the reality had been these horrifying beasts which were impossible to control.

They were driven mad by the magic forced into their bodies, unable to die thanks to the potions and spells cast on them with dark magic and the twisted manipulations of Ether. There was no way of utilising them in the war without risking them being unleashed on the armies who deployed them, but somewhere along the line, someone had come up with the idea of placing them in this desolate slice of hell.