“Oh, yeah. My mom used to use the snowflake analogy. No two are exactly alike—like witches.”
“What is yours?” Azi asked. “Your specialty.”
The sadness that rolled off her then was pungent and thick. “No idea. My magic was stolen before I could figure it out. But I always felt a predilection toward—”
A shrill howl filled the air. We all froze.
Van glanced back toward the path. “What was that?”
“That…” Sam said and grasped the other girl’s arm. A tuft of gray lifted into the air, barely visible against the darkness. “…was definitely a problem. You remember those dog-things back at your apartment?”
“But—” She poked a finger in my direction. “He killed it!”
There was a rustle in the trees a few feet away, followed by another, much closer, howl. As Sam screamed, “Run!” several carnivi broke through the trees. We scattered, and Van let go of a terrified shriek. She scrambled to the left just as the first one touched down, inches from where she’d been.
“Keep moving!” Azi rushed forward and, with a snarl, threw my body at the carnivus. We both careened sideways. This gave Van a chance to move farther out of the way. Until the demon got the stone, the girl was under its protection.
“There are at least three,” Sam cried. She ducked as another exploded from the brush and sailed overhead. It landed with an earthshattering thump, and let out an otherworldly howl.
The one beneath me reared and snapped its powerful jaw, but thankfully Azi missed the attack. It wrapped my arms around the thing’s hulking neck and twisted. It wasn’t enough. The beast was too strong, and it bucked us off.
Movement to our left caught my attention, and Sam screamed. One had her cornered, teeth bared and saliva dripping. It advanced slowly, herding her toward the open end of the path.
Azi sprang to action. It lunged to my feet, shouldered our own carnivus aside, and dove for Sam’s. My body crashed into the monster, and it felt like my bones came dangerously close to shattering as we were knocked apart upon hitting the ground again.
As I’d hoped, the carnivus switched focus and turned. It rushed me, and Azi’s excitement flooded my system. These things were different. The demon couldn’t pull sustenance from them, or the Trackers, but the fight was something the demon craved almost as much as feeding.
Searing pain erupted as the monster’s teeth clamped onto my arm. It tore a scream of rage from my throat that only made Azi more determined to take it down. It balled my fist and delivered a series of thunderous blows to the creature’s rock-hard head. An enraged roar filled the air, and one of the others flew at me, knocking my body away from the semi-injured beast, almost protectively.
No. This wasn’t right. Carnivi weren’t herd animals. They didn’t hunt in packs. They were lone creatures, set to a task by their master. They’d been used in the great wars, but had to be used in small numbers because of their habit of ripping each other apart.
It let out a roar and charged. The impact took me down just as Azi righted us. Another flash of pain struck as teeth once again pierced my flesh. This time it was my left shoulder, and the wound was much deeper than the first. Azi dropped to my knees, and my breath seized for a moment as the carnivus let go. It growled and came in for another bite. But Azi was furious. Enraged. It grabbed hold of the thing’s neck and twisted, this time aided not only by its desire to see its quest through to the end, but by anger. This lesser beast had attacked it. Azirak, a royal of hell.
A muffled grunt, followed by a wholly satisfying snap, and the carnivus went limp in my arms.
“Jax,” Sam screamed. The third carnivus had her backed against a thick tree as she pushed Van behind her.
Azi rose, irritated by how Sam had addressed it, but infuriated by the carnivus. It crossed to it in three long steps and latched on to the beast, digging my fingers into handfuls of scaly flesh. With a jerk, it tore the monster from in front of Sam and spun it the opposite way—conveniently just as the last remaining one came bounding toward is. They crashed together, and an otherworldly yelp sounded from the beast.
The demon rushed into action and grabbed Sam’s wrist. “We must move!”
Azi took off, deeper into the woods, dragging Sam behind. She stumbled after, with Van following close at her heels. Another howl, much too close for comfort, bellowed through the darkness, and Azi picked up the pace. But Sam was unable to keep up. She cursed and tripped, hitting the ground with a jarring thud.
I stopped short and, under the demon’s command, hefted her onto her feet as Van collided with us. The demon was heading back to the entrance.
Back to the car.
If you leave without getting what Van wants, she won’t get you the stone. You’ll be screwing yourself—and Sam. Don’t even think about it.