“Stop!” Phisola lifted her hand up in front of Eric’s face. Despite her words, there was no alarm in her voice.

“What is it?” He asked in a hushed voice.

“There’s prey up ahead, and I don’t want to alarm it.”

“Is it … dangerous?”

“No, it’s not. Hmm … it is for you, though. You wouldn’t last long against even one of them.”

“Then … I’ll just wait for you here while you deal with it.”

“I could sneak up on them, but then I’d have to use some magic to conceal my presence, which would completely defeat the purpose. We’re here to get some magic, not waste it.”

“Are we talking about those dinos?”

“No, these aren’t dajnos, these are felines. I forgot their name. You know what a feline is, right?”

“A cat.”

“The fuck is a ket?”

Eric closed his eyes with a frown, nodding his head: “I know. I know what a feline is. Are these bigger than dinos?”

“Not taller by much, but they’re very fast. Luckily for us, they have plenty of blood, so even getting one of them will speed things up for, like, a week.”

“Would it be energy efficient if you’d use magic to get one of them?”

Phisola stroked her chin idly while lost in thought: “Hmm … yes, but … then it wouldn’t be much of a gain …”

“By the way, maybe I’m late with this question, but I’ve only realized it just now. How do you know there’s prey out there? Can you hear them?”

“No, I can sense them.”

“Sense like … you can feel them?”

“Yes, I can feel larger creatures if I concentrate. A skilled mage can sense anything that has any magic, and larger animals do have some. They don’t have much of it, but it’s enough for a skilled mage to pick it up.”

“And you can figure out what kind of an animal it is just by that?”

“That takes some experience. You start recognizing magical signatures after you encounter certain creatures several times. But that’s not important now. Stop distracting me with pointless questions, I need to find an efficient way of dealing with these ones. They’re very fast, so they can escape easily.”

“Can I ask just one more question, and then I’ll let you think in peace? Pretty please?”

Phisola looked at Eric, letting out a tired sigh: “Fine. But only one.”

“Can you sense me? Just how you can sense these creatures.”

She looked him in the eyes for a while before answering.

“No.”

“No?”

“No means no.”

“So, I have no magic at all?”

She bonked him with the club so fast that her hand was already back at her side before he felt any pain from it.

“Ouch!”

“I said one question!”

“I was just hoping you’d clarify, that’s all,” Eric responded, rubbing the painful top of his head.

“No, you have no magic at all. You’re just like an insect.”

“So …” Eric’s face got all serious, realizing his mistake on time, “Ok, ok. I understand. I’ll bother you about it later.”

“Good. Now … how do I approach them without them noticing me …” she turned away from him to look in the distance while stroking her chin.

“Maybe we can lure them in somehow?”

“We’d need a lure for that.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Maybe we can catch a small animal first and use it as bait? I don’t see why we need to attack them right now. We can come back once we have the lure.”

“Hmm … that could take too much time … but finding some lure is a good idea …”

She stopped stroking her chin as her mouth twisted into a devilish grin.

“Aren’t you a tasty little morsel?” She said while slowly turning her head towards him.

“What?”

“Why would we need to get some bait when we already have it right here?” Her grin deepened even further.

He looked at her in shock, “No, you can’t be serious. Don’t mess with me like that.”

“I did say you need some training. This is a perfect opportunity for you to face your fears.”

“Fuck that! I’m not as fast as a cat!”

“Quiet down, idiot! They’ll hear you.”

“How big are those things anyway?” He asked in a low voice.

“About this, when they mature,” She said while placing her hand next to her belly button horizontally.

“That’s bigger than any dog back on earth!”

“I’m not asking you to fight them, silly. I just need you to bring them here.”

“While they’re munching on my head?”

“Sure, why not? That would work.”

“Forget it! I’m not faster than a 3-foot-tall cat!”

“You don’t have to outrun them. Look up ahead,” she pointed her club in front of them, “See how the corridor is doing a left turn?”

“So?”

“I’ll get right at that corner and wait for them. You just need to walk a few feet around that corner and get their attention. As soon as you see them notice you, run back, and I’ll get them with my club. They’ll be too focused on you to notice me, and bam, they’re out. They’ll have to slow down to round the corner. That will make them block each other, and I’ll get all of them. I’m not asking you to fight. All you need to do is run back.”

“How fast are those things?”

She turned her free hand upside-down while shaking her head quickly: “And how would I tell you that? How many animals from this world do you know? Not many, I guess. So if I give you a comparison, you won’t understand. They are very fast, but that’s not a problem because you’ll run back sooner than they can catch you.”

“And you’re absolutely certain about that?”

She nodded her head deeply: “Yes.”

“Boy … oh boy …” he huffed heavily, “I’m not against risking my life for a woman … but this is fucking stupid …”

“It’s fiiine,” she brought her hand up, only to turn it down dismissively, “You’re perfectly safe! All you need to do is run a few … fits, as you say.”

Letting out one final huff, he responded with: “… well, fuck me sideways …”

-----

“Ok, are you ready?” Phisola asked in a whisper.

“I think I am.”

“Walk slowly until you see one of them. Don’t go fast, just take it slow, ok? When you see one of them, stop. Wait until they see you, and then run as fast as you can. I’ll be waiting here.”

“Ok, ok. I got it.”

Eric started walking slowly and carefully, as if walking over the frail glass. He stared down the corridor but saw absolutely nothing.

After a few steps, he realized the corridor led to a hall, yet another one in this massive labyrinth. He noticed some bushes there, but nothing besides that.

After a few more steps, he stopped. Not because he saw something but because he started wondering if he was going way too far.

“Hmm … she said just a few steps,” he thought, “But here I am, and there’s nothing there. Hmm … I could run back where I came from in a second or two easily. But if I go forward, it will take another second for me to return, and every second counts. And these are apparently some large cats we’re dealing with, they’re fast. And cats are masterful predators at that. I never liked large dogs, and this is ten times worse. If they get a single bite at me, I’m done. Forget that, one slash with their claws, and I’m fucked. God knows how strong those claws are.”

“Should I go back? There’s no point in me standing here and waiting for something to happen. I did what she said, and it’s not my fault her plan didn’t work. Or …”

“Or was it supposed to work? Maybe she’s just fucking with me yet again. She’s messing with me constantly, so why would it be different this time? Maybe this is just yet another one of her sick …”

Turning his head around, he looked in the direction he came from. There, he saw Phisola sticking her head out, with an extreme shit-eating look on her face, doing her best to hold back laughter with a hand over her mouth.

“You … bitch …”

“Funny, huh?” He said out loud while straightening up, “Really funny.”

Instead of responding, she just continued with her silent laughter.

“You sick fuck. This isn’t something to joke about! You don’t tell people their lives are at risk just to make a joke at their expense!”

Right when he was about to turn back and give her a piece of his mind, he heard a rustle down the corridor. Looking there instinctively, he saw a large feline coming out of the bushes at a walking pace.

“Holy …”

Without thinking, he turned around and started running.

“Fuuuck!”

He ran like crazy as his instincts took over, pumping his legs full of adrenaline and making him sprint like a champion.

“I saw one! I saw one!” he screamed while rounding the corner, using his hands to push himself off the wall so he could exit at full speed.

He didn’t look at Phisola while passing by at all. Had he done so, he’d see her with a twisted grin on her lips, holding the club in both of her hands like a baseball player.

He ran at full speed even after passing her. After a few steps though, he heard something crack behind him. Turning around, he saw Phisola smashing her club straight into the feline’s head from above. It fell to the ground motionless a few feet past her.

But it wasn’t alone. Another feline rounded the corner at about the same time Phisola started pulling her club back. It reacted quickly, slashing right at her with its right paw and a mighty roar.

She ducked down with fascinating speed, avoiding the slash almost effortlessly. With the club back at her side, she swung again, but from below this time. She hit the second feline straight in the jaw, causing yet another cracking sound to ring down the corridor. As soon as she did, she pulled the club back at the identical trajectory it had scored a hit at, but she didn’t hold it against her this time. Instead, the club continued its movement in one reverse motion, making a full circle in the air before hitting the poor creature from above this time.

The fight was over before Eric’s mind could process it all. He just stood in place, staring at the moment-long spectacle before him.

Resting the club on her right shoulder, Phisola looked around the corner.

“Tsk, the third one got away.”