The pair of wulves raced out of the eastern border of the city and transitioned to the desert. The First was a lot faster than Ryza had realized, almost like she was flying as she leaped across the dunes. Ryza wasn’t quite so graceful but she was able to keep up.
As they ran The First was letting out pulses of magic. Sensation’s that sent goosebumps across Ryza’s arms. But it empowered her. Made all her senses laser focus. Looking beyond them, she found the demon. Found the shape of it finally. It had lumbered to a halt, realizing that they were approaching it. It stood on two legs with massive arms to keep it up right.
Its body was covered in a rock like texture. Its head was a like a large block of stone, with two pairs of curving horns one underneath the jaw and the other from the forehead. It had three bright red eyes, two beneath the horns, and a third right in the middle. Its mouth was a cavern of teeth that glowed from deep within its throat like a flame. It was big nearly thirty feet tall.
But more importantly it was old, not as old as the one she’d run into with Alison years ago but this one knew better. Its hide was scarred and some of its horns were duller than others. And it knew a proper threat when it saw one.
The First slid to a halt in front of it, kicking the sand up in a cloud. She growled and barked at the demon, “Leave this place! Leave our lands! This is your only warning!”
The demon took a step back, squaring its shoulders and roared. The heat and air wafted over them, the sand closest to the demon turning to glass. The First was far enough away to avoid the worst of the heat. She jerked her arm out in front of Ryza. “Stay back Ryza. Necromancy is your friend against this.”
“What about you?”
“Fighting demons like this is our specialty,” she said and Ryza took a step back at the explosion of magic. She watched the fur flow over her body. Watched it come through from the wolf’s head she wore. It fused together as she got taller and muscular. But her scent changed in the same way that it did when both halves of The First came together.
Standing almost ten foot tall in their full glory they spread their arms and roared like a challenge to the demon. It shifted, shaking the ground as it came forward and roared right back shaking the ground with the force. The demon rumbled and started charging toward them.
Turning the shovel in her hands she turned and shoved it down into the ground. Raising her hand, she felt her magic seep into the sand, eagerly seeking out old life that once existed in this desert. Taking a deep breath, she swiped her arm and the dead tore their way through the sand.
A veritable legion of the undead rose from the sand to stand around like a routine of bodyguards. The First leaned forward and started running with the spectral creatures at their side.
The demon lumbered forward raising both its massive arms and smashing them down on the sand. The First and a few of the spirits moved but others were crushed to dust underneath the attack. Ryza winced feeling them disappear but she focused on the ones still running.
They leaped onto the arms of the demon climbing its rocky skin. It was too thick for their claws and teeth to break through but they were a nuisance. It moved its arms sweeping them aside but its attention was in the wrong place.
The First sprinted forward and jumped colliding with its chest. The punch made it stumble back almost like collapsing a tower. But it didn’t hit the ground. It managed to just barely catch itself. It reached out toward them but they were already running along its chest and going toward the opposite shoulder.
The demon turned and roared letting out a gout of its heated breath. The First covered their face after it washed over them and their fur singed at the surface. They hissed through it and when the demon was out of breath, they struck again darting this time toward one of its horns.
It started to turn and tried to shake them off when they were jerked back into place. Ryza’s hands were outstretched like a claw. And from around her, several lines of spectral chains extended out of the sand, the links made from arms clinging to one another. It snarled at her and she snarled back tightening her grip.
Sliding down its chest The First jumped grabbing the horn and flipped forward grabbing the tip of the horn. Howling they dug their fingers in and heaved backward. A crack echoed in the desert as they flipped downward holding a big part of the bone. Tossing it into the sand they gnashed their teeth together watching the demon flop backward in pain.
“Ryza can you restrain it more?”
Their voice appeared in Ryza’s mind like a soft echo of their normal but both the man and the woman’s were overlapped in unison. “Yes. What are you going to do?”
“Finish what I started,” they flexed their claws and darted toward the downed creature.
Ryza dropped to her knees and stuck her hands into the ground. Her tail flared and her ears perked up as fur began to crawl across her skin. She stood taller, stronger, and far more animal. Changed and feeling the strength welling up inside her she raised her furry arms and the chains exploded out of the sand.
They wrapped around the limbs and neck of the demon while it was down. Jerking her arms down she pulled until it was down flat in the sands. But she could still feel its strength struggling against the bones. They weren’t sturdy constructs at the core but under the weight of hundreds, they could buy some minutes.
The First leaped forward diving into its chest. They sliced through the rocky skin and it screamed its pain. Their claws dug into its chest until a geyser of dark blood exploded out of its body. It went still against the sand as they tore out another chunk from the demon with their teeth this time. Spitting it onto the ground they hopped back into the sand.
The bones disappeared and Ryza let out an exhausted breath. Her fur and muscle fell away and she looked up lowering her ears. The First walked back to her side returning back to their human form. Except taller and masculine.
He stretched an arm above his head and shut his eyes beneath the wolf’s head. He sniffed the air a few times and turned to face the demon again, “Hm. This one smelled older than it acted.”
Ryza got to her feet slowly and sniffed as well, “Yeah. It acted. For lack of a better phrasing dumb. As if it didn’t know what you were. Even I could tell you were something different when we first met. Beyond my wulf’s notice.”
“Yes. It’s incredibly odd,” he said frowning. “I’ll have to think on this. Are you alright?”
“Never better,” she said getting to her feet. Shaking like a dog waking up she blinked quickly and tapped a hand against her head. Picking up her shovel she leaned against it for a moment and sighed.
“The magic you used. You did it without your shovel.”
“My other half is very powerful. And I’ve been getting better at doing magic while in that form. Staying lucid.”
“I could tell. Impressive. Wulves and mages aren’t that common.”
“I’ve noticed. There aren’t any at home.”
She stood up to her full height and then looked at the corpse of the demon. The dead body felt like home. Walking toward it she reached out and felt her necromancy latch onto it, seeking to bring it back to life and underneath her control.
But then she felt it. A shift in energy from the corpse that was leagues more powerful than the demon had exhibited. Her eyes widened as a shape dug its way out of the demon’s body. She didn’t get a chance to look at it before it jumped. Jerking herself forward Ryza stumbled and thrust her hand forward.
“Look out!”
He spun around transforming in an instant and catching the clawed hand of the demon. It was barely shorter than The First and its skin was smooth grey. More than grey it was like steel. A pair of curved horns extended from its forehead and a pair of long tendrils extended straight back from its skull. It had sharp red plating over its fingers. Its head was a blank black shape, a thin stretch of white that seemed to be a mouth at the base.
The First grunted as the demon planted a hoof into the sand and leaned forward. It raised its free hand and the smile seemed to grow as it swiped at their face. The First’s eyes widened and jerked their head to the side barely avoiding the swipe. Whirling around they grabbed the demon’s wrist and threw it into the sand.
It flipped and landed on its hooves sliding backward. It stood again cracking its neck back and forth. It swung its arm out and scattered sand into the sky. Ryza jumped backward getting out of the sand cloud, but she could sense everything within it. She could sense the pair going back and forth and she suddenly felt very outclassed.
Two shapes shot out of the top of the sand cloud and she knew The First immediately. They floated down while the demon darted after them like a bullet. She could hear something like metal on claws going back and forth as they crashed back into the ground.
Snatching up her shovel she sprinted toward them chanting under her breath. Shoving it forward the ground exploded and she sent a line of spectral chains after them. They grabbed the arms of the demon and she yanked back with the shovel pulling the demon of kilter. And in the process The First’s claws cut deep into its chest.
It hissed looking at the wound. It didn’t bleed but it was scarred. It tilted its head back and forth letting out a sound somewhere between a hiss of steam and the hiss of steel on leather. It walked forward vibrating like a rope filled with tension before focusing on Ryza cocking its head at a sharp angle.
“Ryza don’t move,” The First said in her head. “This one is. Dangerous.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” she mumbled.
The demon continued to stare at her then twitched and looked past them both. At least they guessed it was. They turned quickly on their heal and jumped just as fast as the demon did. It sailed overhead and Ryza scowled but then the scent caught her nose. “No.” She changed, turning into a full wolf, and ran with the shovel in her mouth.
The FIrst crashed into the ground as a dark brown and black wulf approached with a dark grey wolf behind her. They slid to a stop and The First barked at them both shaking their head. The demon landed soon after and made that same hissing noise. The demon looked at Ryza as the brown wulf surged forward.
The demon looked at them and the tendrils whipped toward both wolves. The ground tore open and blood exploded from the chest of the wulves in a spray of red. They stumbled backward before falling against the ground, changing back to their human forms. Grey barked savagely ready to attack again.
“Stephanie!” but Ryza reached out. “Grey stay back!”
The demon’s head spun around 180 degrees and it screamed. Ryza barely had time to raise her shovel when suddenly she was struck and on the ground. She heard the hissing of the demon before it turned into an echoing screech that tore at her eardrums again.
She didn’t feel pain. Or really anything. She was just on the ground numb, most of the numbness concentrating on her chest below her throat. She tried to raise her head. Tried to see Stephanie but she couldn’t. Her head sank back down and finally, her eyes rolled to the back of her and things went dark.
Stumbling forward Ryza’s eyes opened wide. She touched her chest and it felt numb again. Like she felt the pressure but couldn’t feel any sensation. She looked down and saw that she was still wearing her old clothes. Pulling at the shirt she looked at her chest but there was no wound or anything untoward.
She looked back and forth confused at herself than at her hands. She felt her tail swishing and her ears resting down. But then she looked at where she really was. It was dark all around her. The sky a blank canvas like the night sky but without any stars. Just staring at it made her headache.
So she looked at her feet and heard the splash. She looked at what she could only assume was some kind of liquid. It was viscous, clinging to her feet before falling off again. “What the hell is this? This place.”
“Oh. A spellcaster. Don’t get many of your kind here anymore.”
Ryza whirled around for the source of the voice. She turned again and it was gone. There was no source. Even the voice didn’t echo. It just spoke and then was gone. She took a step back her tail swishing back and forth quickly.
“Don’t be afraid. Though I don’t care if you do.”
The voice was strange. Flat. Not that it didn’t sound like a man or a woman but that it didn’t sound human. It sounded like a creature that had never spoken to a living being and was mimicking what it thought they might sound like.
“Who the hell are you. Show yourself!”
Her words echoed in the space to an empty void. It made her skin crawl and made the animal instincts in her red flag. She had to calm them and remain in her own mind. To think properly through this situation that made no sense to her. She took a step back but then the ground beneath her exploded. She flew backward slamming down into the liquid. It clung to her, coated her body, and pulled her into its embrace.
“Struggle little mage. I do enjoy watching you struggle.”
Ryza shoved her hands into the liquid and pushed but was dragged back in. She growled, feeling her teeth growing and eyes glowing. She shoved and broke free of the tar in her wulf form. Stumbling back to her feet she shook and snarled at the sky a dull roar in her throat. Chest heaving, she wiped some of the liquid from her face.
“Oh you broke free? Color me interested.”
“I’ll do more than color you.”
She raised her hand and silver light flooded her eyes. It flooded the immediate area with it scattering the darkness close to her. The liquid at her feet seemed to recoil and grow thin at her feet, evaporating off her fur and clothes. But then pain flared in her chest. She screamed and the light died out as she sank to her knees.
Her throat felt like it was suddenly dry and full of sand. She hacked and choked trying to get her breath back. Her eyes bulged and she finally whimpered as the pain left her. Pressing both hands to the liquid, reverting back to her human and coughed sucking in as much air as she could.
And then she heard it again. Splashing. Then she felt the presence behind her. Felt like a shadow had draped over her back. Worse than that she felt the pressure on her chest and she gasped eyes widening. Her back arched slightly as the pain hovered at the edge of her mind.
“Do you feel that little spellcaster? That pain in your chest? That’s inevitability. I’ll enjoy seeing what becomes of you. The last one that I met was very different. Complained of his brother. I hope your death is more interesting. I’ll be waiting.”
Ryza whipped around and roared swinging her claws but met darkness. Her head jerked back and forth as the pain came back. It was more vicious this time. It radiated from her chest to every inch of her being. And then she sank. She sank into the ichor at her feet until she couldn’t see and everything was numb again.
The Harlequin Library 