He struck out, running hard.
The thunderstorm built fast, moving quickly toward him. He had no dense forest down here for camouflage.
Chilly water began to sprinkle. It was a welcome relief to keep him alert, considering he’d had little sleep in the last few days. If not for Alifair, he wouldn’t have eaten at all.
Wind whipped through the trees and blew hard in his face.
The Lammogo sounded closer now.
Bosse looked back, and the damn thing had set its wings to drop on him.
He made a fast move, running to his right.
An angry squawk sounded first, and then rapid flapping was his only indication the Lammogo had to fly up and away again.
He ran a hundred yards and switched directions to the left, looking up into the rain coming faster.
That strange thing flapped and turned in a big sweeping circle but dropped lower with each rotation.
Bosse had no idea how to escape something that could fly as fast, maybe faster than he or his wolf could run. But if it landed, could it match his speed on four legs? Possibly, if Krol told the truth about the bottom half being a lion.
With another glance at the predator, his stomach dropped.
Krol’s flying creature had descended enough to fall quickly and grab him no matter which way he ran. He couldn’t reach any type of cover for another twenty or thirty minutes. He’d have to face that creature at some point.
Here it came, dropping quickly.
Bosse spun to his right again.
The Lammogo must be getting better at flying that kind of body. It made a quick twist in the air and stayed on Bosse.
He could feel the creature closing the gap and finally decided to face the attack rather than be hit from behind. He turned to walk backward, watching it come for him.
Titan said,I will fight it.
Dipping down to pick up a rock the size of his head, Bosse said,I trust you to fight any time, but I would feel a coward to hand you the body in an impossible situation. You would be forced to make contact to fight it. Those poisoned claws might stab you. I will do my best to bash its head before it can touch me.
Sounded like a plan, but Titan would know they had little hope of surviving that thing. Bosse hadn’t heard the wolves tracking him for a while now. Maybe wolves couldn’t keep up with a relentless Lammogo.
Rain came down harder, hitting him with water bullets.
The Lammogo finally landed and started trotting toward him. It paid no attention to getting soaked.
Bosse tightened his fingers around the big rock. He had one chance to make this work.
When the Lammogo got within ten feet of him, he slowly moved his loaded hand back, preparing for a hard and fast throw.
Lightning struck nearby, close enough that he got a deep whiff of sulfur and felt energy buzz across his skin.
The Lammogo screeched and shuffled to the side, flapping. It stopped, eyes bulging, then ran back to him as if unable to stop hunting.
Thunder and rain pounded. Lightning popped the ground again. Too close for Bosse’s comfort.
Eyes panicked, the Lammogo took off flying and squawking.
Huh. It’s afraid of lightning.
Bosse dropped the rock and fell to his knees as water hit him like sharp needles. He stayed there for a moment, caught his breath, then got up and started walking to what he hoped was still west. Just because he didn’t hear the wolf shifters howling didn’t mean he was safe. They could have decided to run quietly.
