Chapter 36 #2
Two hundred yards into the trees, Jackson stopped so fast Rhaz almost ran into him. The wolf stood motionless, his ears forward, nose lifted. The scent was stronger here. A putrid mix of rot, blood, and decay. The smell coated the inside of his mouth, and Rhaz put the back of his hand to his lips.
Anon wrinkled his nose. “Charming.”
Jackson growled low and dangerous. Rhaz looked around but saw nothing, only trees. Moonlight filtered through the branches onto the underbrush. Everything was quiet, no night birds, or insects. Nothing moved.
“Where is it?” Anon whispered.
Jackson’s growl deepened before he looked up.
Rhaz followed his gaze. “It’s in the trees.”
Anon’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh my…”
The Sarian dropped from above.
Branches shattered apart as the creature crashed through the canopy directly toward them. For one instant, Rhaz saw nothing but claws and teeth until the thing hit the ground where they’d been standing. The impact shook the forest floor.
Anon vanished with his vampire speed as Rhaz leaped backward. Jackson managed to lunge sideways.
The Sarian let out a guttural clicking sound, then a screeching scream.
It was unlike anything found in nature. Its body was huge, easily the size of a large truck.
Eight powerful limbs struck the earth, its red eyes glowing in the darkness—too many eyes—and for some reason every one of them locked onto Rhaz.
The thing was hideous, a monstrous spider-like creature.
It’s hide was hairless and grey, with a few dark patches.
He didn’t have time to examine it further. The thing charged him.
Rhaz jumped out of the way, and one of the Sarian’s talons sliced through the space where his chest had been an instant earlier. The trunk of a pine tree exploded behind him, wood flying everywhere.
Anon appeared beside the creature and drove a fallen branch toward its head like a spear. The Sarian whipped around, its jaws snapping after the vampire, but Anon disappeared again.
“Rude!” the vampire shouted from somewhere behind it.
Jackson struck next. The wolf slammed into one of the creature’s rear legs, and the Sarian stumbled, but only for a moment. Yet it was enough.
Anon came at it again, this time with a sword he had strapped around his waist. The Sarian shrieked, the sound making the trees tremble, before it ran.
“Don’t let it get away!” Rhaz shouted.
Jackson was already moving as Anon streaked ahead. The Sarian crashed through the undergrowth in front of them.
Anon suddenly appeared beside Rhaz. “Lake. Yes, the lake. Hurry.”
“I need to shift.”
“Good,” Anon said, and poof—he was gone.
The creature was fast, but Anon was faster. It bounded over fallen logs up ahead, tore through brush, and leaped across a small gully. And kept moving away from Rhaz.
Did it sense what he was?
Rhaz kept running, watching the thing with his dragon’s sight. Jackson darted in front of it, snapping at it and forcing the Sarian to turn. They were herding it toward the lake, where Rhaz would strike the final blow.
Anon appeared and disappeared in blurs of motion. Each attack nudged the Sarian farther west, toward the water, right where they wanted it.
They were almost there when the Sarian wheeled around. Jackson was too close, and a massive talon struck him. The wolf yelped, his body rolling across the forest floor.
Rhaz’s heart lurched as the Sarian charged—not toward Jackson, but past him.
It was running again.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Rhaz shifted and hoped he had enough room to take flight. As soon as he did, smoke filled the air, and he spit fire at the Sarian. The ball of flame flew through the trees and struck it in the hind end.
The Sarian screamed in pain and picked up its pace, its hide now blackened.
Stubborn thing, Ezrel said.
Yes, Rhaz agreed, and caught the scent of water. The lake was close. Very close.
He headed after the Sarian on foot and noticed the trees begin to thin. A good thing, or he’d have trouble getting through them. Up ahead, moonlight reflected through the branches as the Sarian burst into a clearing.
The lake spread before them.
Perfect.
Rhaz broke through the trees as the creature skidded to a halt at the water’s edge. It was boxed in between him and the lake.
Anon emerged from the darkness to its left. Jackson limped into view on its right.
The Sarian looked from one hunter to the next and began making that odd clicking noise again. It knew it was trapped and charged straight at Rhaz.
He and Ezrel both smiled. Thank you.
Fire exploded from his mouth, not a simple blast, but a torrent.
The Sarian disappeared beneath a wall of flame and shrieked. It thrashed as it burned, its limbs smashing through brush and saplings as it fought to escape.
The fire spread instantly. Dry grass ignited and shrubs caught, then the base of a tree, the pitch in its bark snapping and popping.
Anon watched the flames race across the ground. “There’s the forest fire.”
Rhaz ignored him and poured more fire into the Sarian. The creature staggered, then collapsed, its legs twitching once, twice, then stilled.
Silence settled over the clearing other than the sound of crackling fire. The thing was dead.
Unfortunately, several trees were burning now and more would follow. Smoke climbed into the night sky.
Jackson shifted back into human form and sat heavily on a fallen log. Blood ran down one arm. “Is it dead?”
“I believe so,” Anon said. “And the surrounding forest is attempting to join it. Rhaz, hurry!”
Rhaz looked around. The fire was spreading faster than he liked.
“You know,” Anon drawled, “we could really use someone with a supernatural affinity for water!”
He glared at him as Anon smiled and motioned at him to lift off.
Rhaz gave the vampire a nod as flames erupted around him and he took to the air. He had a Nemthra to fetch.