We are halfway across the lands, past the Blanded Region in our rival’s territory. As a code, we never venture out this far, but a wolf shifter back at Rebirth spoke of heinous acts against her own. With or without our help, she was going. Angie too.
“Now, Ethan,” Alex projects from a distance. Beneath me, vibrations quake, and I turn his direction. Heading my way, I see a gloom making lengthening strides on the back of a sizable, freshly turned wolf. Its paws batter the ground with destructive weight, and my balance buckles.
I prepare for an attack as it leaps across the remaining distance and slams down a few feet away, forcing me to roll out of range.
The gloom clings on like a desperate flea to a dog, glaring with disdain before a flaming blade removes its head in one swift strike, sending it plummeting, and I nod at the Fire fay who eliminated it. One less student turned gloom.
Bearing its blackened teeth, the wolf snarls with sludge pouring from its half-decayed snout, and I grin at the challenge. It makes a run for me, and I summon my spear to meet it head-on. Black-like smoke whisks off its fur with eyes holding a deadly gleam. A soulless husk of destruction.
The shifter’s jaw widens as it dips low with the intent of swallowing me whole. But I slide beneath the bite, evading its tar-ish drool. With my spear gripped tightly, I slice through the decaying flesh of its chest, continuing through its stomach and out beneath it as it whimpers in agony from my attack.
Pressing a hand on the shifter’s back leg, golden sigils trace along what is left of its flesh, and I retract. “Explode,” my voice commands. Due to the monstrous beast’s size, my attack is delayed but not ineffective.
Golden light ripples over its fumbling body with whimpers of pain pouring out. I smirk as chunks of rotten meat and blackened blood cover the air as it finally explodes, coating me in sludge, paired with a foul odor clinging to my nostrils.
A ground fay rushes over, reaching for my hand, and I gladly accept it. Fatigue becomes an obstacle for getting past. Once standing, I catch sight of Angie, surrounded by a handful of those vile creatures as another deceased wolf charges towards her back.
“Sam, help Angie!” I order, and he rushes off to assist. Conjuring an oversized hand comprised of soft soil, he catches hold of them and squeezes until sooty blood follows a resounding *pop* of their bones. Those surrounding Angie are no longer a problem.
I follow, but target the beastly gloom instead, and my half-sister yells, “Freeze,” vanishing in a blink.
Timing our joint assault, I launch my spear above the putrid wolf’s massive head, preparing for our coordinated attack. She reappears on its back with a roaring yell, catching my weapon and slamming it deep into the creature’s skull. Yet it continues advancing, bounding my way and flinging her free.
My steps race to catch her, disregarding another set of paws coming up from behind. Terra, the student who is the sole reason for us being here, has shifted. All twenty feet of her rush past me, taking on her putrefied kind.
Terra is much larger than the shadowy wolves we face, and tonight, we couldn’t have been luckier. A blood moon. When lunar wolves shift beneath its mysterious lumines, their magic enhances tenfold. A perk we gravely need.
Launching myself with extended arms, I catch Angie in time, hitting the ground hard but relieved all the same.
“Are you hurt?” I grunt.
“I can heal,” she says, wincing in pain.
My attention returns to Terra, who blasts jets of powerful water from her mouth into the body of our foe. Her fur is aqua blue and white, mimicking a sea of waves. I am thankful we’re beneath a blood moon, and this majestic shifter is on our side, destroying the enemy with ease.
“Terra,” Angie calls, noticing two glooms with their sights set on her.
Without a second thought, vicious paws spring her high, and she crashes down on both, flattening their bodies and leaving a sizable hole from the attack. She prances to us, running her tongue over Angie’s face with a deep huff, making my hair flutter. And it dawns on me.
“She’s your shifter?”
“Yep. Tell anyone and I’ll ensure her teeth rip you apart.” Angie smiles, but we both know there is truth behind it.
We stand and Terra bows in greeting. Placing a hand on hermane, my entire arm becomes drenched in her fur. An Aquatic Lunar Wolf. The first of her kind.
Peering into her royal blue eyes, I nod with gratitude.
Not long after, others gather around, and I relax, finding everyone still alive. Some wear deep scars and bruises, but are here, nonetheless. “Angie, do you have enough magic to heal them?” It’s a big ask since she has been fighting at half strength, but if more enemies arrive, we will require each able body.
She answers by announcing, “Those severely hurt, stand close to me.” But as the three Goddesses of Fate would have it, hundreds of soot-ridden glooms come barreling from the tree line.
Screeching pierces my ears with sounds of metal scraping against glass. Their lightless bodies are wisping shadows. An assortment of tones shimmer over their eyes, hinting at what magic they now wield, and I tug on my reserves.
“Angie, stay and heal who you can. Terra–” She cuts me off with a growl, capturing my expression and hinting she understands her task of protecting Angie.
I retrieve my spear with one last look and rely on my natural gifts. Using my vampirine speed, I vanish, reappearing across the field, meters away from the incoming glooms and their stolen shifters. Alex joins my side, sweat dripping from his brows, and together we share an annoyed look. His battle threads are stained from an uncountable number of enemies slain.
We’ve stacked our abilities before, so if we’re going to wrap this up, it’s now or never.
