Page 27 of A Lick of Flame

“And that?” I ask.

“Hy-wolves. They’re hunting.”

“Us?” I ask on a gulp.

Orion shakes his head just as the darkus crashes into our campsite. It’s huge. Bigger than I ever imagined one would be. Almost as big as a dragon. Definitely just as strong and terrifying. It has long, shaggy hair covering its whole body, a long, thick neck, and legs as thick as tree trunks. Its head is small in comparison to the rest of its body, but that doesn’t matter; it’ll stomp us to death in a heartbeat. They’re just so skittish that people have died from darkus attacks. It’s unusual, but it happens. We don’t stand a chance if it comes at us.

Orion shoves me behind him and draws his sword.

“It shouldn’t be here,” I say. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“The realm isn’t what it used to be. The creatures in it aren’t what they used to be, either.”

The darkus takes a step toward us. I can see into its eyes. They aren’t filled with rage as I expected. Some of my tension eases.

Orion holds up his sword. “Go!” he tells the beast in a voice that is sure and true. “I can’t read the beast. I have no idea what it wants or what its intentions are. My powers are…” he sighs, “not what they used to be. If it comes any closer, I’m going to have to kill it.” He sounds upset about the prospect.

I don’t blame him.

The creature walks toward us, and I cringe back. I’ve heard the tales about this particular beast. About people who have stumbled upon a darkus. They get crushed under their huge legs and giant cloven hooves, and I don’t want to be one of them.

“Go!” he yells. “Go now!” He steps toward the darkus; it makes a rumbling noise that is at complete odds with its stance, which is tall and rigid.

The beast lunges and throws one of its massive legs at us. We jump back. I’m not ashamed to say that I yell.

“It doesn’t look angry,” I say.

“It’s afraid,” Orion says in a low voice.

“Of us?”

“No! Of the hy-wolves,” he says.

“What does it want?”

“Help, I think.”

“Help…how?” I sound desperate.

The darkus lunges at us again, thrashing its leg up and down right in front of us in a way that is aggressive, and yet its eyes tell a different story.

“I don’t want to hurt it.” Orion shoves me further behind him. “But I might have to. Stay back and out of harm’s way.”

That’s when I see it; there is a huge stone stuck in the poor animal’s cloven hoof on that leg it keeps kicking toward us. It looks to be stuck fast, and the poor animal must be in terrible pain. Unable to move at the speeds it normally does. Unable to get away from the hy-wolves, which, from the sounds of it, are getting closer and closer.

I can feel the fear radiating off the darkus, its eyes pleading for help. Without another thought, I step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. “We need to help it.”

“It’s a wild animal,” Orion counters, but I can see that he is thinking about it. He even lowers his sword a little.

“We can’t just leave it like this,” I say firmly, pulling my blade from a sheath at my thigh. “We need to help it.” I come in next to the fae.

Orion’s gaze flickers between me and the approaching beast. “I agree.” He nods, holding out his hand. “I’ll do it; you stay back.”

“No,” I insist, stepping closer to Orion. “We'll do it together. We can’t afford to waste any time. You need my help. I can keep it calm while you work.”

“Okay.” He sighs. “We don’t have much choice. Any last words before we risk life and limb?”

“No. Let’s move it. Those hy-wolves aren’t waiting.”

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