Luka followed the map in his head, more than the streets he walked. He only started paying attention, once he crossed into Chinatown. He was looking for a building at the very edge of the area, and found it at the bend of a road curving back in on itself. It was like an overly ambitious cul-de-sac, with a lonely oasis of buildings in the middle.

The walk had taken maybe ten minutes, but it didn’t take more than that for the mood of the city to change. The day had been covered in clouds, but now they seemed to gather together, darkening with the promise of rain. The air thickened, as the pressure grew, until the humidity begged for a thunderstorm.

He was at the lip of the alley, when the drizzle started.

“Fuck,” he muttered, directed at the sky and its terrible timing. Reminding himself that it probably wasn’t a trap, did not make it feel any less trap-like, and the way the storm had rolled in felt exactly like the kind of omen he didn’t want to believe in. As a mage, he fancied himself an expert on what was and wasn’t magic, and the only way omens were a thing, was if wild magic developed precognition. The rain wasn’t enough to derail his magic yet, but it would only be a matter of minutes.

If this really was a trap, and he needed his magic, he had to get inside quickly. The building, the remnants of an abandoned Chinese restaurant, was boarded up. It might have been possible to scale the large wooden planks, but it wouldn’t go unnoticed. He noted the graffiti painted on the inside of the windows, and assumed there was an easier way in. He turned back, headed around the cluster of buildings and into an alley behind them.

He slowed, as he wound around carelessly parked cars, a trend that continued from the parking lot he had left behind. Despite every reassurance he could make to himself, that he would be fine, at least for the next four to five days, he was acutely aware of the rhythmic pounding in his chest, taking his life one beat at a time. Some part of him was still trying to keep track of his heartbeats, even though he knew it was useless. Sometimes, he really did think the decisions he made were foolish. Especially when a voice inside of him, that could only be either reason or anxiety, told him to slow down. The problem, in this case, was that slowing down would give him more time, but it would also surely kill him.

Cracked concrete gave way to thin strips of weed, along the edges of the red brick walls. Nearly every surface within reach was tagged with overlapping graffiti. A few windows had bars or shudders, but the overall impression was that no one had cared about this place for a long time, which wasn’t unusual for any alley, but it did add to his discomfort.

Then, to make matters even worse, the drizzle turned into proper rain. The good news was, that the rain would disrupt the other mages too, but there were no rules against putting a bunch of bullets in him and seeing how long he would last with a limited ability to Heal.

At the end of the alley, he reached the back of the building he had been sent to, along with the metal door that would grant him access. He was close enough to touch it, when he heard a crash behind him. Turning, he faced a line of canine creatures. More wolf than dog, with too many sharp edges for something domestic and a shoulder height that easily reached his waist.

They weren't of the city. These were organic, made of wood and earth and stone, of marble teeth and granite claws. Their eyes glowed with the same yellow light, that trailed through their bodies like shimmering sunlight, but nature mages should have no power here. The small offerings of weeds certainly weren't enough, and even though there was a small park set near the front of the building, it was mostly paved. There was a far larger park less than ten minutes away, but that shouldn't be close enough.

This shouldn't be possible. Of course the same rain that might soon cause Luka to have little to no magic would only strengthen these creatures. The rain was still light, but the pressure in the air made his pulse spike, a distraction he didn’t need right now.

He scanned the buildings for the mage, in case they were hiding on one of the fire escapes, or even a rooftop, but he couldn't see anyone. He called up his magic, and felt it gather under his skin. He knew his best chance was too throw as much magic as possible at them, before the rain crippled him.

Only for a second, he considered doing nothing. Maybe doing nothing was an option, if they weren't meant to kill him. But the gleaming teeth and the claws grating against concrete felt unmistakably threatening.

The rain started falling faster, and he knew he had to act.

The second he made the decision, the beasts started moving in unison. They stalked towards him with a predatory grace that would have been admirable, if he wasn't dangerously outnumbered. Not to mention cornered, as he was pressed in between the walls of three buildings. Already encased in shadow, it became like premature night in the alley, under the heavy, gray clouds. There was a slim opening behind him, and maybe it led out to the street, but he wasn't looking to flee.

Enough metal was within reach, to serve as a lifeline, and he reached out for a gate. He had to sidestep twice, before his fingers could graze the steel. There were four of the creatures and, even though they hadn't been bestowed with the ability to growl, they all bared their teeth. The spell was already primed in his head, and he drew out a sharpened rod. The creatures charged, nearly in sync, and Luka threw up a shield. The rod clattered to the ground, as his concentration wavered, but it was good enough. As long as he got a second to pick it up.

The creatures smashed into his shield, one by one, the force of them pushing him back across the concrete. It took effort to maintain the spell, especially with the rain, but the dogs were tireless.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

He'd made the wrong choice, going for the gate, moving away from the building with electrical wiring running along the wall. He needed that now, to persuade them to stop pouncing him relentlessly. They would hold out longer than him.

Gritting his teeth, Luka threw himself in the other direction, and slammed his hand against the wall. Fortunately, the alley was narrow enough that it worked. He called his magic, pulled electricity out of the wall, and wove it into the shield. Raindrops provoked sparks and sizzles, but the dogs didn't understand, and the Summoner either didn't notice or didn't care. One of them charged, threw itself against the shield in a blinding flash of light. It landed, with a heavy thud, on the ground. The yellow light of the Summoner burned out. The other three backed up and anxiously paced back and forth.

Luka stepped forward, pushing them further back. The rod was still out of his reach, but another step would help.

He knelt down, trying to be quick, but the metal slipped out between his fingers, and one of the creatures jumped off the wall, and launched itself over him. The Summoner knew, that the shield would only cover his front, and knew that he wouldn't be able to defend himself from both sides.

He finally closed his fingers around the rod, but he didn't turn around. Two of the dogs still paced in front of him, and he couldn't take his attention off the shield.

He let the other charge at him from behind, ready to flare his magic at the moment of impact. It wasn't a great plan, as the rod required just a little more range, but there were too many factors in his head and his mind only worked moment by moment. Even flaring his magic, the teeth and claws still managed to dig into his flesh. It could still tear him apart, he would just mend the damage the instant it was inflicted.

He managed to get the rod - spear, really, now that he had his hands on it and could alter it - into its neck, but it didn't matter unless he could shatter the thing inside it that made it alive. It did give him some leverage, to wrench it off his back. He had to drop the shield, while struggling to angle the spear down into the creature's gut and, hopefully, through the heart of it.

He met resistance, and with the snapping teeth he couldn't get enough force behind it. He reached back, raising spikes of concrete from the ground, as the other two attacked. They were both speared, but only one of them lost the yellow glow of magic, as the heart shattered inside it.

Teeth closed around his arm, and he cursed, ripped it free, brought both hands around the metal rod and pushed. He fell back, when the thing died, giving himself a second to breathe.

The last one was struggling to get off the spikes, but it wouldn't be long before it succeeded. He was just about to Heal, when the rain finally let loose. His magic flickered, like a real life glitch, and then it was gone. He had to get up, and he had to stop the final creature, before he bled out.

It was on the other side of the spikes, looking for an opening, but then jumped on top of a car. It could clear the spikes, if it jumped from there, and take Luka down in the same leap.

Instinctively, he threw up a shield, but nothing happened. His magic wasn't responding.

"Come on!" he growled through gritted teeth, while backing away. He shook his hand as if that would help, as if the problem was just a loose connection somewhere in his arm.

The rain kept pouring down with no regard for his complications.

The creature leapt.

Sharp stone dug deep into his flesh, as teeth and claws sank into him. He tried to think, but it was hard when his focus was on the creature and the blood spilling from his arm and shoulder and chest. His instincts told him to stop the bleeding and take care of the pain, but the rain already threatened to put a stop to those efforts. He crashed into the wall, managing to dislodge it, but that only earned him a few seconds of respite and a sore shoulder.

The spear was still buried in the heart of the other, and he couldn't get to it. He had very few moves left, and even less magic.

He needed a plan and fast, but nothing came to him. In the split second he had, before it would leap at him and subsequently tear him apart, his instincts set in and his mind started working again. He jumped to the side, just in time for the claws to slash at his arm, rather than his face. Luka stayed low, while he spun around on the ground to face the beast. It hadn’t anticipated the hard landing, and hit the wall at an awkward angle. It managed to bounce off the wall, but something inside the creature cracked at the impact. It was loud enough and sharp enough to pierce through the white noise of the rain. It sounded like a bone snapping, and maybe it was whatever the equivalence was. Luka guessed wooden logs, as the obvious choice. When it landed, with more grace than was entirely fair, one of the legs hung limp at its side. It wouldn't feel pain, but that didn't mean it could walk on a broken limb.

He backed towards the door. With only one of the dogs left, there was a chance. His hand was slick with blood and rain, and when he got it around the door handle, it nearly slid off the cool metal. He gritted his teeth, watching the dog with half of his attention, while pushing the door open. It didn't budge.

"Fuck," he muttered. It was either locked or blocked, and every nearby window was barred. Luka trailed his fingers against the brick wall, hoping against hope that it would lend him some strength, cancel out just a fraction of the rain pouring over him. If he could access even just an ounce of magic, he might live. If not, well. He'd fight to the death, but he didn't like his odds.

He scrambled in his pocket for a key, a focus, like writing subway stops on walls to travel, and then he fucking prayed. Not to any god in particular, since Mages tended to think they were the gods themselves. The story that their magic came from dragons was wide-spread, but even if that was true, knowing humans, the power was stolen and no dragon god or spirit was going to waste any time or effort on answering his prayers.

He pushed magic into the key, into the door, not sure if it worked. It was actually untethered magic, rather than internal magic. The reason the Council still allowed traveling was probably that it was such a common function, that it barely counted as wild magic. It only triggered the purpose of a specific place or item, nothing more. In the same way that public transportation centers were made to transport people, keys were made to unlock things. The rain drowned out most sounds, so he couldn’t hear if the lock clicked. The dog limped, struggled to adjust to three legs, which was the only reason he still had any time left, and this time, when he pushed, the door gave.

The heavy door slammed in the face of the creature, when Luka let it go and sank to the floor. Diluted blood dripped from him, along with rain water. He had to Heal, but he barely had the energy to make the effort. He wouldn't bleed out for a while. He could give himself a minute to breathe, before he needed to dive deeper into the building, and find the people who were trying to kill him.

Maybe even two.