BETA READ

 

Date 16th October 3852 A.C.E.

 

Al burst through the door to the den of Victor’s gang, followed by Myst and Nessa.

“What are you doing here?” demanded a shocked man, trying to deepen his voice to hide the tremble in it as he spotted the giant axe that Al carried with him.

“Get Victor for us. Tell him Al’s here.”

The man scurried through a curtained doorway into another room. As he went through, Myst caught a glimpse of a shirtless man lounging in a chair. The man had the stripes of a tiger covering his chest and arms.

Myst whispered to Al and Nessa, “The man with the tiger stripes, he’s one of the people from the docks.”

“Is that so?” asked Al. “That little rat. That is Darius. Victor’s younger brother. He assured me he had nothing to do with the dock attacks.”

A tall man wearing a coat that looked like a lion hide, complete with a fur collar that ran around his neck like a mane, stormed out from the other room. His jaw was clenched, and his acorn eyes stared daggers at Al.

“Ah, Victor!” said Al. “What’s with the cold welcome?”

“What are you doing here, Al?” asked Victor. “Are you looking for trouble?”

“I figured I should return the favour.”

“Is that a threat?”

“We’re long past threats. It has come to my attention that you’re planning to take some of my territory for yourself.”

“And what if I am? From what I understand, you let a newcomer tear up your place and get away with it. Your territory would be better under my control.”

Five men entered from the doorway, including the man who greeted them and Darius.

“What are you going to do now?” asked Victor with a grin on his face. “It’s six against three.”

“Those odds are insulting, I thought you’d be more of a coward,” said Al.

“Enough talking, Al. I should have taken you out a long time ago… Boys, attack!”

While Victor stood back, the five men started running towards them, their hands changing into large, clawed paws as they approached. Al’s sapphire eyes flashed, and a table flew across the room into the men. It knocked one clean off his feet and slowed the others down as they clambered over the table.

“I’ll take two of them,” said Al, readying his hammer. “Nessa, you take another two.”

“I want Darius,” said Myst.

With the extra time Al had given them, Nessa unsheathed the daggers she kept in her hair. Following suit, Myst pulled his axes out from under his coat.

Nessa drew in the first two men. She effortlessly danced around, dodging each attack as they lunged at her. The second two were trying to get close to Al while he continuously used his power to fling items at them. He swung his hammer at one while they were distracted and connected with the man’s chest, knocking him to the ground. Al lifted his hammer above his head and swung it downwards with full force. The sound of his ribs being crushed rung out through the room.

“I remember you,” said Darius. “You were with that pathetic boy at the docks.”

“He wasn’t pathetic,” replied Myst.

Darius snarled at Myst, showing off his canines as they grew into fangs. “We would have killed you that day too if it hadn’t been for Shadow. You were lucky.”

“Looks like you get a second chance. But we have a fair fight now that it’s just you and me.”

Darius clobbered Myst with the back of his paw, sending him flying backwards into some shelves and down onto the ground. “You won’t last long this time.” He swiped at Myst again.

Myst ducked to the side as Darius’ claws missed and scratched across the wall behind him.

“Don’t play with him Darius, finish him off!” said Victor from the other side of the room, away from the fighting.

Myst scrambled to his feet as Darius swung again at him, this time scratching across his arm. The swipe left a scratch across the arm of Myst’s coat but didn’t break the fabric. But it knocked him off balance again and into a table.

“I was picking your pathetic friend’s flesh out of my teeth for days. Hopefully, you won’t be as stringy when I rip your throat out,” said Darius. He lunged at Myst’s neck, baring his fangs as he went for a killing bite.

Rage overtook Myst and he slashed both his axes across as he turned front on to face Darius. The axes sliced across Darius’ neck and chest, killing him. His body dropped and his blood pooled at Myst’s feet as Darius lay limp on the ground.

Myst looked across to Nessa and Al. Nessa had finished off one of the men attacking her and was making small precise cuts over the other man’s torso. While Al looked to be making the final blow on his second attacker. Again, bringing his giant hammer over his head and down toward the ground.

Myst began to run over to offer his help where he could. He made it halfway across the room before being swept off his feet by a huge force and smashed into the wall. The surprise of the attack made him lose grip on both his axes as they went flying across the room. He looked up to see Victor, now completely transformed into a lion, standing overtop him.

Victor roared, his fangs inches from Myst’s face.

Myst tried to use his powers to summon anything that would help him fend off Victor, but his mind was clouded. His head rattled from the impact of Victor’s charge.

Victor lunged at Myst again, this time aiming for his neck.

Myst managed to roll slightly to his side, enough to make Victor miss his neck. But he felt a searing pain as Victor’s fangs dug deep into his right shoulder. He let out a curdling scream as Victor picked him up and flung him across the room.

The room felt darker to Myst as the pain continued to swell through his body. His head pounded as he tried to fight off the darkness clouding his mind. He saw Nessa had finished off her last attacker and was standing next to Al. Watching. But not helping. Why is she standing there? She said she’d have my back if things got out of hand. Why isn’t she helping?

Victor blocked Myst’s view as he slowly encroached on him, his lion form looking larger and larger as he approached. Blood dripped from his fangs.

Myst saw Victor crouch low again, readying to lunge. He raised his forearm and tried to create a shield to stop another crunching bite.

It didn’t work. Myst felt the searing pain of Victor’s fangs digging into his forearm. The fangs scraped across bone as they seamlessly tore through his flesh.

Victor backed off again. Circling and giving out a mighty roar.

Myst’s vision was a complete blur now, he could barely make out the shape of Victor gearing up to take another lunge.

As Victor lunged again, Myst tried one last time to conjure a weapon that would help him. His eyes flashed and an emerald haze surrounded his hand as he thrust a spear up towards Victor.

The spear lodged itself under Victor’s jaw. The force of his lunge pushed the bottom of the spear back against the wall causing it to puncture through the top of his skull. His dead body propped up inches in front of Myst with his fangs still bared.

Without the strength to hold the giant lion’s body up, Myst let it tumble to the side. His eyes became too heavy to keep open any longer and the blurred world around him faded to black as he lay on the ground covered in blood.