Ch 30 – Nothing like a good jog through the underhalls while fleeing for your life.

As we entered the underground room, the details of our assignment became no clearer. I carefully scanned what turned out to be a large crypt lined with sarcophagi partially inset into the walls. Each one was surrounded by artifacts and ancient relics, many made of gold or tarnished silver and lined with jewels—all untouched. Mir frowned upon those who would vandalize such a sacred ground.

Even just being here made me feel nervous. Though I was certain that the professor had received the arbiter’s blessing. The class would have not made it past the first session otherwise.

We shuffled forward as quickly as we dared, taking care to stay quiet. One of my hands gripped the dagger tighter as we passed by each sarcophagus, each lit by an unceasing torch. Not that I was scared or anything, of course. It merely seemed prudent to stay cautious, given the situation.

And here I thought my classes were odd…

“How long does this normally take?” I pondered aloud.

Just ahead of me, Lilis shrugged. “Depends.”

“On?”

“On whatever we end up needing to do,” she grumbled back in a quiet voice.

“But what if we end up late to your next class?”

Lilis paused, and glanced toward me. “This is the only class I have scheduled today.”

“Oh.” Her ominous words didn’t bode well.

“Now be quiet,” she chastised.

I huffed, my lips curving down into a scowl. I wasn’t being loud. We moved further in, ignoring the temptuous gleam of gold and gems and down a narrow hall that led to another open room full of enclosed corpses—this one with three doorways opposite us. Predictably, Lilis stopped, eyeing them for any apparent clues on which way to go.

“The rest of the crypt is practically a maze,” she whispered over to me. “Though I’ve thankfully been through here enough times to have an idea of where to go. Stay close, and be ready for a fight. Likely from either other students or some type of beast. Whatever it is, they’ll come hard and fast.”

I had to stop myself from snorting at the unintentional innuendo. Keeping a straight face, I nodded, not taking my eyes off the three entrances. Lilis led the way forward, choosing the left side. As we approached, a brief flash of light filled the room, and a chalice containing two clear, glass spheres appeared upon a small stand. In front of it was a plaque that read “Protect your valuables, and you will find the way forward.”

Lilis let out a sigh as she reached for one, quickly pocketing it. I dubiously followed her example, eyeing the object for a moment. Other than glowing, the glass didn’t appear to have any other purpose; likely just a fragile object with a purely symbolic purpose.

Without a word, Lilis strode toward the first entrance, with me hurrying to catch up a moment later. She moved through the arched doorway, and just before I stepped through, a large stone slab slammed downward behind her, just barely a few inches from my face. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t help but careen backwards, nearly tripping on my own two feet. I swirled around to face the other way, expecting some kind of ambush. Instead, all that met me was total silence.

And of course, Lilis was now completely separated from me and nowhere to be seen. I huffed.

Leaning against the stone, my heart took a few seconds to calm itself, after which, I felt along the slab blocking my path. Much as I expected, it was thick and immutable; no amount of pushing or shoving budged it even a hair. Worse, a frantic search found nothing in the room that seemed to be any sort of switch.

Nor did I find anything else of apparent use. While I could linger longer, it only made sense to assume that separating us was quite intentional and that staying here longer would be the wrong move. I grumbled under my breath as I moved toward the middle hall, half expecting it to close behind me as I entered. The stone slab hovering above didn’t budge, however. I gave it a momentary glare before quietly easing my way down the passage.

The hall was narrow and dark, the crumbling bricks towering over and around me. I peeked carefully around each corner, expecting that the next one would be where something would assuredly jump out at me. Yet as I made my way down the oddly-winding passages, choosing directions almost at random, it stayed eerily quiet.

After over ten minutes of nothing, I feared that the winding halls were taking me in circles and tried to pay closer attention to my relative direction. It was then that I heard the first wolf-like howl, followed by two others—all of them seemingly from behind me. I paused, a dagger out and ready.

If you’re going to show back up, now would be a great time, Lilis.

I bit my lip. Why was I yearning for her presence? Surely I didn’t miss her? I let out another huff.

Whatever the howls were from, I knew that they wouldn’t be normal wolves. Either some kind of abomination or something worse. I eased slowly forward, hoping to find a spot to defend myself. I was under no illusions that the beasts wouldn’t find me. It was up to me to keep the odds in my favor. Running was a poor option—they would assuredly be faster than me. Nor did I want to end up with one flanking around from the front or back.

The narrow halls were thankfully somewhat to my advantage, at least. The beasts were probably much too big to walk side by side, and the frequent corners gave me a means to make better use of my shorter range.

Another howl echoed around me from behind, and I couldn’t help but flinch. This time, it was a lot closer. Given that they obviously already had my trail, I decided it was time to pick up the pace. One of my hands shook, and I clamped down on it. Now wasn’t the time for panic to take me.

I could do this, I tried to convince myself. My physical form may have changed, but I was still myself in the ways that mattered most. I didn’t need magic to kill a few wolves. The two daggers were plenty.

A growl echoed behind me, and I took a deep breath. Rather than rushing forward, I slowed, still hoping to find something that would provide an advantage.

As the hall opened up into a wide room, I realized I had to stop. An open area like that would be suicide if they caught me in there. I turned, facing the hall to my back, and quietly edged forward until I reached a corner. Any moment now, one of the beasts would reveal itself. Crouching, I held my breath, my blade at the ready.

Then a large, four legged figure covered in brown fur rushed around the corner, and I stabbed forward. It yelped as the sharp blade pierced through the side of its jaw, and I sliced through its flesh. I followed with another quick jab, now aiming for the beast’s eye. A blur of fur swiped into my arm, clawing deep into my flesh.

I winced, managing a step back as I did my best to keep a level head. The dagger clattered to the floor, though I thankfully had the presence of mind to pull out the second one, immediately slicing it through the air with my other arm. The beast dodged easily backward, proving that they were far smarter and faster than I’d hoped.

With an unblinking gaze, I pressed the attack forward, knowing that I had to end this quickly, if I hoped to end it at all. Blood pooled on the floor as I luckily struck the large wolf again.

As I did, I realized in the back of my mind just what I was fighting.

This creature was no ‘beast.’ It was a werewolf. And I had a sinking suspicion that I knew them. As I slipped by another swipe of its claw and prepared another stab toward its throat, the academy rule to not kill students flashed in my mind.

I hesitated.

Then the werewolf charged forward, and a blur of brown fur smashed instantly into me, sending me tumbling down the hall and into the room ahead. Two other growls met the first as I rolled and stumbled back up to my feet. I caught only the barest glimpse of black-furred jaws to my right before my fear got the better of me, and I sprinted forward toward the doorway ahead, both of my daggers now missing.

Three howls echoed behind me, and I fled down the halls. Barely a few seconds later, a pair of jaws nipped at the back of my legs just as I turned a corner. I glanced back to see nothing, as though I’d merely imagined it.

As I stumbled into an intersection, I caught sight of one of them calmly walking down the left hall, forcing me to turn right.

They were toying with me. Leading me somewhere. Was all of this a setup of some kind, all the way back to when Lilis and I were separated? It seemed far too convenient not to be. But to what purpose exactly?

At the next odd intersection, another wolf charged toward me. I smashed my shoulder into an old wooden door to the right, managing to force it open just enough to squeeze through. Then rather than bothering to try and shut it, I rushed forward at full speed. The sound of shattering wood came from behind me barely a second later, but I didn’t bother to turn and look.

On and on I ran, until eventually, the hall widened and came to a dead end. A room on the left appeared to have completely collapsed, and the one on the right was empty, providing neither escape nor sanctuary. I turned at the sound of paws tapping along stone, eyeing the three wolves as they entered. In the wider hall, they had just enough room to stand side by side.

Seeing the three werewolves together confirmed my suspicions. They were the Writt brothers. And they weren’t here for a chat. I took a deep breath, and scrambled for something to say in a vague hope that I could talk them down.

Then a shadow dropped from the ceiling, and I let out a startled yelp, jolting backward. The three werewolves paused their slow stride forward and growled at the new intruder.

My eyes narrowed on the backside of a familiar demon. Melkar’s muscle? What was she doing here?

With sharp claws extended, her posture oozed violence—not merely ready, but craving a fight with the three werewolves. The wolves on the other hand stayed a seemingly safe distance back, growling and feinting forward.

In a blink, the demon charged, slashing at the closest wolf. The werewolf jumped back, but not before a claw brushed through its fur, leaving a trail of red.

They fell over themselves in a dash to back away.

“Get lost, little pups,” she growled in a low voice that made me shiver.

Perhaps wisely, the three complied. I heard more than saw as their claws scraped the stone to scramble down the hall and out of sight. When the red ogre turned toward me, she smiled.

I found myself leaning against the wall as I tried to finally catch my breath. My legs wobbled, seemingly wanting to give out now that the fight was apparently over.

This was no coincidence; I wasn’t a fool. Even the separation from Lilis was likely planned. If Melkar was somehow getting the Writt brothers involved, he was taking my ‘capture’ far more seriously than I would have ever expected. But still, I hadn’t thought he had that kind of connection or sway. This was simply far beyond him. Not many people could influence the Writt brothers.

So who was truly pulling the strings?

The ogre gave me a small bow. “It seems we meet again, young vyxa,” came her innocent words.

“Let’s not play coy. It’s obvious that this is Melkar’s doing.” Though it was unclear who was puppeting him.

Once more, she smiled, showing off her mouth full of teeth. “He asked me to tail you. Make sure you don’t run into any trouble.”

“A likely story,” I huffed.

“You’re injured,” she stated, not taking the bait, and instead eyeing my bleeding arm. “Allow me to take care of that.”

Looking down, I realized that the injury was worse than expected. A constant trickle of blood dripped down to the stone floor below. It explained my lightheadedness, at least.

Despite my obvious misgivings against the idea, I gave the demon a nod. If she wanted me hurt or poisoned, it would happen no matter my wishes. She walked forward with a roll of thick cloth that she’d pulled from somewhere, and I held out my arm, allowing her to look over the deep slashes through my skin before tightly wrapping it up.

“If Melkar thinks a little scare like this is enough to make me come running to him, he’s a fool,” I grumbled.

The demon let out a hum as she tied the cloth. “He’s not the sort of boy that likes to take a no for an answer.”

I glared, rolling my eyes. “That’s not my problem.”

“Isn’t it?” She raised a brow. “I noticed your friend wasn’t exactly here to help you.”

Her hand shot toward me, gripping around my throat. She squeezed, cutting off my breath. My own hands gripped around her arm, pulling and clawing at it in a frantic attempt to stop her.

The ogre leaned forward, staring into my eyes. “What is to stop him from simply taking what he wants?”

Then her hand loosened, and she released me. I sucked in a deep breath as my head spun. The walls around me seemed to close in, and I reached forward in a vague attempt to catch myself from falling.

Instead, I felt a large, muscular arm grip around me, steadying my balance. Luckily, rather than fainting, my head slowly cleared. But my thoughts still swirled. As much as I hated it, the demon had a point. Lilis couldn’t truly protect me. It was foolish of me to even consider it a vague possibility, especially when I wasn’t even certain who I was facing anymore.

The ogre hovered over my ear, and as though having read my thoughts, whispered, “Your friend cannot protect you, but I can.”

Despite my dizziness, I scoffed. “From the others, sure. But what about from Melkar himself?”

She let out a fiery hum, and I felt her warm breath brush against my neck. “My agreement with him has certain limitations. Particularly when it comes to demons in my—what do the humans call it? Group? Family? I don’t believe they have the proper word for it.” One of her hands slid up past my neck, running through my hair. “Become mine and he will never lay a hand on you again.”

Another involuntary shudder rolled up my back.

I took a deep breath, before responding with a resolute, “No.”

My feet managed a couple of steps forward, and she allowed me to escape her grasp. Then I turned to her with a serious scowl.

“There’s one avenue out of this that you are forgetting,” I said. She raised a brow, and I continued, “The one where I come out on top by myself.” Why was I saying this?

She gave me a toothy smile, showing off her sharp teeth. “A vyxa with backbone? That’s certainly a rarity. I’d love to see you try. But do you think you have the strength to truly pull it off?”

Did I?

“I suppose we’ll see.”