Tim scrambled down the hill in a rush, fixing the farmstead in his mind as he raced to get there first.

He’d seen at least a dozen Cyth, but they’d been moving slowly and carefully. They’d also been further away, so he had a chance to make a difference.

If he could get the family out, the Cyth might well leave the rest alone. He didn’t even need to get them far, he just needed to keep them away long enough for Sylvie to arrive.

Airta were fast, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the message to get to them, and then a few more minutes for them to reach the hill and track him down.

Ten minutes total. That was all he needed.

Tim felt the small blossom of hope that he could stop whatever atrocity had been about to happen falter as he heard a shrill scream of pain from further ahead.

Cursing, Tim dug deep and for a brief moment, felt as though he was slipping into the strange mentality of the hunt that the Airta used.

The sensation faded, but Tim found fresh energy driving him forward as he raced through the woods, ignoring the scratch of twigs as they broke against him.

Breaking free from the treeline, Tim’s heart sank as he saw a small group of Cyth had already arrived, and were trying to break into the farmhouse.

A grim-faced farmer was guarding the door inside, a pair of younger men at his back and a stout, ugly dog at his side.

The scream must have been caused by the Cyth arriving, as no blood had been shed yet, though Tim doubted it would be long before that changed.

Wrenching his sword from its sheath, Tim slid to a halt as the closest of the Cyth whirled to face him. The bestial monster had a pair of short horns and a thick snout, but Tim’s eyes were drawn to the length of dark grey wood that had been shaped into a rough club.

Wyrchwood, that’s what Verdan had called it, and he’d said it was a sign of a more advanced group of Cyth.

Thankfully, all five that were present were Cyth Lai, which meant that this was a fight of brawn and guts, and Tim had both in spades.

“Stay back, keep yourselves safe,” Tim called out to the farmer and his sons, his eyes not leaving the Cyth as it bared its teeth at him.

Tim took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he settled into the familiar flow state of battle. Those were innocent folk over there, and he’d be damned before he let anything happen to them.

The Cyth were splitting their attention, which Tim couldn’t allow, so he did the one thing that would make sure they all focused on him.

He charged.

The first Cyth Lai tried to block his swing and grapple him, but Tim deftly avoided the block and slit the monster open from shoulder to hip.

Pushing past the dying creature, Tim rushed to put himself between the Cyth and the farmers, making sure that they’d have to go through him to hurt anyone.

The four Cyth were surprised by his charge and sudden shift of position, but they quickly rallied and rushed him as a group.

Tim felt a strange cool sensation wash over him as he stood defiantly in their path. It felt almost like the feeling of being part of a hunt, but it was different.

Where the hunt was about the pack and bringing them all together, whatever this was instead brought clarity, focus and surety of purpose.

With more precision than he’d ever felt before, Tim swung right as the first Cyth got into his reach, predicting its movements perfectly to send it to the floor with a spray of black blood.

Distantly, Tim marvelled at his own composure as he effortlessly wove between the clubs and claws of the Cyth, striking them down one by one.

As the final Cyth hit the ground, Tim felt the cool sensation drain away, though he instinctually knew it was still there, just within reach, if he needed it again.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Are you hurt, Stranger?” The farmer called out, rushing forward as Tim staggered from the abrupt loss of clarity.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Tim said, shaking his head and waving them away. “Get your family. We need to leave before the rest of them arrive.”

The farmer paled but nodded and hurried back to the house, shouting orders to his sons.

Tim watched them go before letting out a shaky breath. Whatever he’d just done, it had been far more tiring than the brief combat should have been.

He recognised that feeling, though. It had been a while, but it was what he’d felt when he’d stood between the Darjee and Sylvie’s cage.

A soft growl interrupted him, and he looked down to see the farmer’s ugly dog had come over to greet him.

Tim crouched down and absently petted the fraktiri as he waited for the farmer and his family.

The Cyth were coming, but they should have just enough time to get clear.

“We’re ready. Which way should we go?” the farmer called out a minute later, coming back out of the house with his family in tow.

“Go for the city, warn them about the Cyth,” Tim called back, catching sight of distant movement in the trees. They were out of time. “I’ll hold them off here as long as I can. Take your dog as well.”

“He was my neighbours, but the old man died last year. Fenn just watches over everyone now.” The farmer called back as his family started to head west. “Come with us, there’s still time!”

“No, there isn’t,” Tim said, rising to his feet with a last pet of Fenn’s head as the first Cyth Lai came into view. “You should go.”

“Rharth gird your steel and guide you home!” The farmer shouted the old blessing as he fled after his family.

Rharth, patron god of protectors and monster hunters. If there was a god that Tim could call upon in this moment, it would be him.

A low growl sounded as Fenn got to his feet and squared off against the Cyth emerging into the clearing.

“My thoughts exactly,” Tim muttered to himself. “But you should go, Fenn. This isn’t the place for you.”

The ugly hound ignored him, his growl deepening as Cyth brayed their hunting calls and rushed forward as a group.

There were at least twenty of them now, far more than Tim could handle, but he just needed them to focus on him a little while longer.

Backing up slowly toward the farmhouse, Tim let out a sharp whistle. “With me, Fenn. Let’s draw them in nice and close.”

Together they pulled back slowly, keeping the focus of the Cyth on them as the farmer and his family put more ground between them and the Cyth.

At the last moment, Tim turned and sprinted for the door, which still stood open, before wheeling and slamming it in the face of a Cyth that was hot on his heels.

The twisted creature stumbled back before being pushed out of the way as those behind it sought to push through into the farmstead.

Tim used the doorway as a chokepoint, grabbing what he could from around the entrance to help keep the Cyth from simply overrunning him.

Fenn bit and savaged at the legs of any Cyth that filled the doorway, while Tim fought with every ounce of savagery that he had, trying all the while to call on that cool energy from before.

If he could only grasp that clarity once more, they might just survive this.

“Damn it!” Tim roared, punching one of the bestial Cyth in the face and knocking it back. He just couldn’t do it.

Trying to force the issue, Tim found something else instead and grabbed hold, pulling it into him and bringing the world into stark relief.

This wasn’t the cool clarity of before, however, it was the unrestrained savagery and purity of purpose that came from the hunt.

Fresh strength filled Tim’s arms as he rammed his sword through the chest of a Cyth and booted it back into its fellows.

He could feel Fenn by his side, their souls sharing strength and leaving each of them stronger than they were alone.

Nor was Fenn the only thing he could sense.

With an unheard howl that Tim felt deep within, a large black wolf and a slightly smaller white one came charging out of the undergrowth and right into the rear of the Cyth pressed up around the farmhouse.

A Cyth that had been about to climb through a smashed window was ripped free and dragged to the ground by the black wolf before its head was frozen by the breath of the white wolf.

Tim felt the hunt reach out to both of them and tasted their surprise as they joined, sharing their strength with both him and Fenn just as they were strengthened in turn.

Tim had felt this before, but being the focal point of it was a heady experience of unrefined power and he felt his lips curl into a savage grin as he burst out of the door and into the Cyth, cutting and slashing as he went.

The brutal melee dissolved into a blur of Tim, Fenn and the two wolves as they brought down each Cyth in turn until there were none left.

Tim panted, his chest heaving as he stood over the scattered dead Cyth, his heart racing and blood covering him.

As the hunt faded, the pain came in.

The Cyth had hit him countless times, both with clubs and claws, and Tim’s chest and back were a bloody mess.

Staggering back inside, Tim slid into one of the chairs that had survived the fight and winced as he prodded a deep gash in his side.

It wasn’t life threatening, but it would have been if it was any deeper.

A flicker of silver out of the corner of Tim’s eye drew his attention as the black wolf shifted into Blane’s human form.

“How did you do that?” Blane asked, his eyes wide and shocked. “You are human. How did you form a hunt?”

“I don’t know,” Tim said, shrugging slightly before wincing in pain. “I just did it somehow, and formed it with Fenn.”

Thinking of the ugly dog, Tim sat up and looked around, relaxing as he saw him walking around the exterior of the farmhouse, watching the trees.

Fenn had a few nasty claw marks, as well as a mangled ear, but nothing that wouldn’t heal.

“Sit down, you’re a mess,” Blane said, pushing Tim back into the chair and making him grimace in pain. “The rest of the pack is coming, once they’re here, we’ll hunt down the rest of the Cyth while you try and explain your current state to Sylvie.”

Tim sighed and leaned back in the chair with a slight wince. Sylvie was not going to be happy.