Page 53 of Mystery of Magic

“What is that?” I asked, unnerved by the misshapen monster before me.

The horrible creature’s presence cast a shadow over the entire area. It appeared to be trapped in a malevolent transition, its humanoid form misshapen and unsettling. The sight of it sent a shiver down my spine and my hand moved to my Sica blade.

This abomination possessed an eerie mix of human and feline features that defied explanation. Its eyes were the most unnerving, with tufts of fur sprouting from patches of skin, giving them a sinister, feral quality. Those catlike eyes locked onto us, radiating malice and a hunger that sent a tremor of fear through my core.

Its fingers, or what used to be fingers, were now curved claws that glistened in the dim light. The demon hybrid, despite its grotesque appearance, still wore dirty jeans and a white t-shirt, a stark contrast to its monstrous form. The ordinary clothing combined with its nightmarish form only added to the surreal horror of the moment.

On one side of its face, whiskers sprouted like an unholy mockery of a beard, and its head was an oval-shaped nightmare, adorned with more tufts of yellow fur. It was as if the creature was a twisted experiment, a fusion of two worlds gone terribly wrong.

“I think it’s a Haure hybrid. I haven’t seen one topside in twenty years.” Daryn’s Sica blade gleamed in the darkness as he prepared to protect us.

“What is a Haure?” I whispered as the creature’s glowing eyes darted around the parking lot.

“They are a battle demon and look like humanoid leopards. They aren’t super intelligent, which is why the king rarely sends them, but they are sturdy.”

“It looks deranged, as if it’s not sure what it’s doing.”

Daryn nodded. “The Haure are usually so hungry they attack without a second thought. They are meat eaters and they will consume anything that moves. This one’s hesitation must be from it’s human side, not that it looks like there is much left of it.”

The creature turned its face to the heavens and let out a blood-curdling scream. There was nothing but pain and regret in that tortured shriek and my chest squeezed. “Can we help it? The hybrids were human. There is no way someone chose that.”

Daryn cocked his head to the side as if considering my request. “I don’t know. There may not be enough humanity left in that thing to save it. But if it attacks, then it’s over. I won’t risk your life.”

The demon hybrid, a grotesque fusion of the supernatural and the mundane, howled once more before it lunged at us with an eerie, feral grace. It moved with a sinister swiftness that made my heart race even faster. Daryn stood firm, his Sica blade gleaming in the dim light, ready to remove the abomination.

As the creature closed the distance, it unleashed a blood-curdling shriek that sent a shiver down my spine. It was a sound that defied nature, a chorus of anguish and malevolence combined into one, and it reverberated through the air as the forest seemed to hold its breath.

Daryn, with his unwavering determination and gazelle-like agility, met the demon hybrid head-on. His movements were precise and controlled as he parried the creature’s slashing claws with his blade. Each clash sent sparks flying, like embers from a roaring fire.

The demon hybrid’s eyes, with their tufts of fur and feral intensity, bore into Daryn with a ravenous hunger. But he remained a force of strength and bravery, and held his ground, refusing to be intimidated. His athletic build and martial prowess served as a barrier between me and the relentless onslaught.

When the Haure attempted to get past Daryn, his Sica flashedin the air, slicing the hybrid’s stomach. It fell to the ground with a scream that sounded more human than demon and curled into the fetal position as if it were an injured child.

Daryn wiped his blade on his pants, then sheathed it. “It’s not acting like a demon.” He grabbed the silver cuffs clipped to his belt and snapped them on the hybrid’s wrists, causing it to hiss, he created a magical tether and waited for the hybrid to partially heal, though the process was far slower than it would be for a pure-blood.

I moved to stand beside him as he held the hybrid’s leash. “You are going to take it back to base, aren’t you?”

“I owe it to the hybrids to try to save them. If we can find out how they are being infected, we may be able to stop it.”

“What now?” I asked.

“We take our friend back to base and see if we can find out who his master is.”

Daryn pulled on the glowing rope in his hand. The motion made the hybrid’s arms raise slightly behind his back and it growled. It staggered to its feet though, and Daryn cautiously led it back to the vehicle. He unlocked the back and motioned for the creature to get into the backseat of the SUV. When it refused, he sent a pulse of magic through the tether and the creature shrieked.

We waited while it clumsily sat on the back. I didn’t want to complain, but I wasn’t looking forward to sitting in front of that thing.

Once Daryn shut the door, he created a shield between the backseat and the front and I gave him a quick smile. “Thank you.”

“I said I would try and save it. I didn’t say I trusted it.”

We both got into the vehicle, but as soon as we closed the door, I had to crack my window. In an enclosed space, the creature’s scent permeated the contained space quickly, and the odor was less than pleasant.

The smell was like nothing I had ever encountered before, anoverwhelming odor that felt as if it came from the depths of some unholy abyss. The smell of rot, decay, and malevolence was an olfactory assault on the senses that made my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat.

Nausea swept over me like a tidal wave, and I clamped my hand over my mouth, desperate to contain the rising sickness. I could feel the bile burning in the back of my throat, threatening to spill over.

Daryn’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, his jaw set in a grim line as he tried to navigate our escape. The smell was unbearable, emanating from the demon hybrid, which sat quietly in the back seat. With every mile that separated us from the forest, I prayed that the stench would dissipate, and I could finally quell the nausea that threatened to consume me.

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