Chapter 19

Night began to fall as they made their way further northeast towards the entrance of the ancient ruins. During that first day of travel from the hunting camp, Kara had spent her time breaking down the incomplete slave glyph that was etched into her brother's flesh. She stated often that it would be no more than an ugly scar once she was done, but Silas believed she was trying to convince herself of that fact as much as to reassure Antony.

“Xavi,” Silas said to his familiar, sitting next to him on the bench while he guided Yuki down the trail. “Why did it feel so… wrong in that place? I understand she was disturbed, but that should not have triggered my senses the way it did. What was it?”

“I was wondering when you would ask. It was the process of creating that nasty glyph work that you were feeling. Your power is connected deeply to your soul, master, more so than others. And with your abilities, you are far more sensitive to the workings of soul magic. It is rare to find those capable of such things, but having the ability to sniff it out can save your life. With enough practice and your affinity, you could attain the capability to do so as well, but I do not recommend it. It irreversibly marks your soul and blocks access to the grimoire’s more potent spells. The small trade-off isn’t worth the price.”

Silas was silent for a moment while he absorbed what Xavi had told him. Before he could ask another question, Antony interrupted them from the back.

“Look, a waypoint camp,” pointing to an abandoned outcropping off to the side of the trail. “We should camp there for the evening. We have a long road ahead, and these preset camps will grow scarcer the further we travel.”

Silas looked to Kara for an explanation

She gave him a small smile in return before she answered, “Even this close to the hunting camp, we are still deep in the wilderness of the north. With so many people having to travel further and further for their trade, they set up these waypoints to help ease travel. They are perfectly safe, and I agree, we should stop here for the night.”

Silas nodded, “It’s settled then. I’ll take the first watch tonight. Xavi, get some rest. I don’t want you out tonight; just sleep. We can finish our conversation in the morning.”

Xavi shook his head in protest, “No, master, I’ll take the watch tonight. I need far less sleep than you weak humans do. I will be fine.”

“That wasn’t a request, my friend. We need you in top shape for the next four days, so I need you to sleep.”

Xavi groaned and hopped off the cart, catching himself with his beating wings, “Fine! Stupid human thinks he knows what’s best for me.” He took off toward the camp, leaving them all behind.

Silas forced a laugh at his familiar.

“I’ll get my brother and Yuki settled, and then I’ll join you after,” Kara said, looking at Silas.

“I’ll never say no to company,” working hard to keep the smile off his face.

Antony squinted suspiciously while he looked back and forth between the two. Kara turned to him before he spoke a word and slapped him in the back of the head. “Ouch! What was that for?”

In the distance, Xavi let out a long, loud, high-pitched laugh.

Two hours later, full night had fallen. The bright, full moon hanging in the cloudless sky. The stars sparkled like floating gemstones in a sea of black. Silas had opted not to use his mage light while he patrolled; even the deepest shadows were pierced by the natural illumination. He had been sitting on a boulder, senses stretched out to their maximum, while he studied the soul stone in his hand. The sensation he received from looking into the markings was like peering into the deepest oceans, knowing something was staring back. It was unnerving. It made him feel open and exposed, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He tried to push mana into the stone only to have it rejected as if something was pushing back.

“You seem deep in thought.” Kara teased as she approached, interrupting his musings.

His eyes never leaving the object of his focus, “It’s changed. Since I killed the innkeeper,” He explained. “When he died, I took something from him. Not intentionally, mind you, but I did take something. It has been giving off a low pulse since then, almost like a heartbeat. Every spell I’ve tried has been amplified slightly by it. I feel I should be scared, but if anything, I’m excited about the prospect of a higher level of strength. Is that bad?”

Kara nudged him as she sat, “Well, as long as you don’t go ‘slaughtering the innocent,’ it is its purpose after all.”

“Hmm,” he responded as he looked up at the stars.

“What’s the matter? Not regretting last night already, are you?” She laughed.

He leaned in and kissed her, “Not even for a moment.”

As they sat, Kara smiled back at him and wrapped her arms around his side. "That's a good answer.”

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They sat like that for several minutes without speaking until Silas closed his eyes and tilted his head. Kara noticed the shift and looked up at him, “What do you see?”

He kept his eyes closed, “Something large is moving directly towards us, fairly fast, too. An animal of some sort.”

Kara stood up, focusing on the space between the dimly lit trees, “Should I wake the others?”

He opened his eyes and gave her a sly smile, “What do you say we have some fun, just you and I?”

She turned and kissed him again, “Sounds like a second date to me. And don’t worry… I’ll protect you.” Then she pulled up her half mask and drew her twin blades, “After you.”

He smiled at her, pulled his sword, and began circulating mana and stamina essence.

They stalked forward, weaving through the trees like ghosts in the night. Kara was far quieter than him, but she had told him on multiple occasions that she was still impressed by his movement. Silas led the way to cut off the approaching beast.

A few minutes later, they reached the edge of a rocky clearing. They stood in the shadow of a large corps of trees, unmoving, waiting for the opportunity to ambush their prey. A low growl emanated from the opposite side. Neither moved, knowing it might give away their position. A breeze blew against his face, bringing the stench of blood and rotting meat. He searched for the source of the foul smell but found nothing. Then, as if stepping from the bowels of the abyss, a ten-foot-tall dire wolf moved slowly into the clearing. ‘No, not just a dire wolf, an Elder Dire Wolf,’ he thought.

He looked over at Kara to see her eyes smiling at her prey. She looked over to him for direction. He nodded to the left, and she soundlessly slipped away.

Silas moved forward into the clearing. As soon as he stepped into the moonlit space, the Elder Dire Wolf raised its haunches, bearing its yellow teeth with a deep growl. Its breath reeked of death mana and blood, so potent he could smell it from thirty feet away. Its dark grey and silver fur shimmered in the moonlight as it leaned low and stalked to the side, circling around the edge of the clearing.

Silas mirrored its every step as he waited for it to attack. “Come on now beasty, time to play,” he whispered. As if understanding the challenge, its muscles tensed and it leaped forward, clearing half of the space in an instant. Even with its bulk, the Elder flew through the air with incredible speed and agility, closing the distance to its would be victim. Its huge paws barely touched the stones as it bound toward him. He sidestepped at the last possible moment and slashed out a probing bite across its side. The enormous beast twisted midair and raked him across his invisible shield, sending sparks dancing across his vision.

Surprised, Silas rolled back as it passed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he threw out a green fireball that blasted into its chest, followed by shadowfire. The combination stumbled the unsuspecting beast, covering its fur with a cone of grey and white flames.

Ignoring the flames, the dire wolf shot in again, sending multiple slashes with its giant, chest-sized paws. Silas dodged and parried the deadly blows the best he could, but the massive claws scraped against his shield over and over. It used its jaws to try to catch the arm holding the blade, but Silas shoved stamina essence into his other hand and punched its snout with Hand of the Mountain. It yelped and jumped out of range only to have twin scimitars sink deep into its back, sending a spray of blood across the ground.

Kara laughed as the Elder Dire Wolf tried to shake her off. Its fangs glowed with a deep purple, oozing death mana, as it tried to bite at her, but, with her position, it could not get close. She twisted a blade deeper then a red glow bust to life around her freed hand. She hammered it down directly into its spine between the shoulder blades, dropping the beast to its stomach. Silas used the sword thrust Kara had taught and simultaneously ignited the runes on his blade to spear into its side, piercing through bone to reach its lungs. The beast gulped wet air into its chest as he freed his sword.

The Dire Wolf abruptly pushed off the ground, dislodging Kara from its back, sending her straight into the air. She spun her scimitars around like the fangs of a snake as she fell. The beast raised its bloody mouth and tried to let out a howl, but before it could release the sound, Silas threw his red glowing fist forward while clenching a fireball in his palm. Its throat burst open on contact, showering him in blood and burning flesh. The Elder Dire Wolf’s eyes shot open in surprise only to have the last thing it saw be twin scimitars sliding into its eyes, piercing its brain. It fell to the ground in a heap of burning fur and flesh.

Kara rolled off the limp head of the corpse and slid her swords from its skull. With a flourish, she replaced them on her hips before reaching a hand out to Silas. “I told you I’d protect you,” she said with a smile.

He held her gaze for a quiet moment until they both burst out in laughter. He bumped her extended hand with the back of his and stood up on his own. As soon as he stood, he reached out and pulled her into a kiss. “Now, that was a date to remember. I’ll bet that pelt would make an excellent blanket.”

She looked down at the corpse, “It would if it weren’t burnt,” she laughed. “Next time, try not to burn something so beautiful. It would have made a nice memento. Oh well, there’s always the next one.”

From the surrounding trees, several deep growls rumbled around them. Silas scanned around and counted twenty smaller evolved dire wolves entering the rocky clearing. They all had matching colorings to the slain elder sitting at their feet. “I guess you get your wish sooner rather than later,” Silas said, looking at Kara. “Together?”

She nodded and pulled her blades, “Together.”

As the sun rose, Antony stood with a long stretch. He turned to the cart to see Xavi lying on his back on Yuki’s furry shell, mouth hanging open, snoring away. He chuckled at the sight and searched around the camp for Silas to find him missing. Assuming he was still out, he turned to wake his sister, only to find her bedroll empty. Growing suspicious, he returned to the main road where they left Silas the night before. As he reached the road, he heard laughter in the distance. The two walked side by side from the trees, carrying something large on each of their backs.

“What have you two been up to? And what is that you’re carrying?”

“Dear brother, we have had the most pleasant evening. Do you mind taking these supplies and working your magic with them?” dropping a pile of skins on the ground before him.

“Why are you both covered in blood? And where did these come from? Did you steal them? Wait, are those dire wolf skins? What did I miss?”

Silas stepped forward and dropped his pile next to Kara’s, “Relax, my friend. It is not our blood, and we did not steal anything. There was a small pack we took care of while you slept. No big deal.”

Antony looked up at him in shock after he finished roughly counting the contents, “No big deal? There are at least eleven dire wolf skins here. You mean to tell me you killed eleven evolved dire wolves, and it’s “no big deal.”

“Actually, it was twenty,” patting him on the shoulder as he passed.

Kara smiled and slapped him lightly on the back, “Twenty-one if you include the Elder,” sauntering back to camp next to Silas.

Antony’s eyes bulged in disbelief, “WHAT?”