Chapter 9—Into the Darkness

The direwolf lunged.

Echidna barely dodged, twisting her body just enough to avoid a direct hit, but she wasn't fast enough. A clawed paw lashed out mid-motion, raking across her thigh with a wet, brutal rip.

She stumbled, a sharp curse escaping her lips as blood poured freely down her leg and pooled on the frozen stone and mud. The gash was deep and her knee almost buckled under the pain. A normal person would have collapsed. But not Echinda. She was a mercenary band leader with years of experience across hundreds of battles.

Gritting her teeth, she planted her feet, shifting her stance even as the dire wolf snarled and charged again.

"Oh, fuck off-"

She ducked low, barely slipping under another brutal swipe, then flipped her knife in her grip and drove the blade straight into the beast's front leg. The wound wasn't fatal, but it was deep, and the dire wolf reeled back with a piercing howl, fresh blood splattering against the stone floor.

Chael didn't hesitate. He moved as soon as he saw the opportunity.

Before the beast could recover and before it could shift its weight to attack again, he rushed forward. His entire body screamed at him to stop, to pass out - but he ignored it.

With what little strength he had left, he threw himself at the beast. The dire wolf turned sharply, sensing his movement, but it was too late.

With a brutal and powerful wrestling, he got on top of the beast and his instinct completely took over. What happened next completely dumbfounded even Echinda. Chael opened his mouth and gnashed his gaws down on the beast's throat. His eyes were frenzy with rage and his teeth sunk in deep. The dire wolf howled in pain, and Chael pull himself up with all his might, a piece of the wolf's throat quivering and twitching his jaw. It's blood ran down his mouth like a fountain but he didn't care and pieces of it's raw flesh stuck between his teeth. He sunk his teeth into the beast's throat again feeling it's warm flesh and blood gushing into his mouth, and teared off another yet another piece. He did this several more times until the beast no longer moved.

The corpse lay sprawled on the ground. Its glowing eyes flickered one last time before fading into lifeless emptiness.

Chael staggered back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had never done something this insane before but here he was, just having bitten a Harbinger of the Veiled Realm to death. The beast's body twitched one last time before going completely still.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then-

A sharp, burning pain erupted in his side.

His vision blurred as his knees buckled beneath him. A ragged, pained grunt left his lips as he glanced down at his side.

And saw the blade buried deep in his flesh.

The knife he had sent over to Echidna.

His breath shuddered. His fingers twitched.

"…You wench…"

A sharp laugh echoed from behind him.

She was grinning, her silver eyes glinting with satisfaction, her injured leg still shaking slightly, but she looked far more alive than he did.

"Oh, come on," she teased, tilting her head. "Did you really think I'd let you walk away after all this?"

She yanked the knife out with a brutal twist, and fresh pain ripped through Chael's body, stealing his breath for a moment. 

"You should've taken my offer to join us, y'know." She said with a smile, "We're pretty nice once you get to know us."

His hand clamped over the wound, warm blood spilling between his fingers, but he refused to drop.

"Unfortunately, the offer is off now." Echidna took a slow step forward, flipping the now bloodied knife in her fingers, then pressed the cold steel against his throat.

"Now, let's wait for the boys, shall we?" she said sweetly, her lips curling in amusement.

"They're quite adept at tracking," she continued mockingly. "Even in these conditions."

Chael's eyes flickered. He knew exactly what she meant.

The Black Storm was raging outside and no sane person would be able to track footprints through that hell.

His eyes moved down to the the gash on her palm.

He had noticed it before - after dragging her here. But at first he had assumed it was from her other injuries on his reckless journey here. But that wasn't the case at all. Echidna had cut her own hand back at the hideout while Chael held her at gunpoint.

She had been bleeding on purpose and left a bright red trail on the pure white snow.

His jaw clenched. His breath slowed. He still felt the pistol he has hidden in his waistband. The wind howled through the cave entrance, the storm outside raging on.

Chael knelt in the pool of his own blood, his breath shallow, a fresh wound in his side, and a knife pressing against his throat.

Echidna's grip was firm, her smirk sharp as the blade against his skin. "You played us real nice back at the hideout, princess. But your waltzing ends here." 

Soon, the sound of boots crunching through the snow at the entrance of the cave echoed into their ears. The swirling white parting just enough to reveal dark figures moving toward the cave.

Mongrel's Vow.

Only a handful. Chael counted maybe ten or eleven with his blurry vision. The rest had probably stayed behind at the hideout, but these men were the ones who had tracked him through the storm..

Merken, whistled low as he stepped inside, shaking the frost off his shoulders. His eyes trailed over the dead dire wolf, then to Chael kneeling there, bleeding and at Echidna's mercy.

"Well, well," Merken drawled, grinning like a jackal. "Look at this shit."

Garren nudged the dead beast with his boot then gave Chael a deathly look, "Damn shame. I'd love to tear you apart right now but you look like you'd die from a scratch."

A few of them laughed, stepping deeper into the cave.

Chael could feel their eyes on him, hungry with mockery and satisfaction.

"Thought you were tough, huh?" one of them sneered. "Big, bad Ashwara chief?"

Chael's breath was slow, controlled. His fingers twitched slightly, but he stayed still.

Another mercenary, a lanky bastard reeking of alcohol, grinned. Chael recognised him as the man who had gotten into a fight with Merken, and had an alcohol bottle smashed on his head. "Bet he cried when you turned the situation against him, eh, Echidna?"

Echidna tilted her head, her silver eyes glinting with amusement.

"He whined a little," she said casually, pressing the knife a little deeper against his skin, just enough for Chael to feel the sting.

They laughed.

Instead of despairing at his predicament, Chael's lip curled as he analysed their positions. "Laugh while you can."

Their smirks faltered. 

"Because the only thing waiting for you here—"

His left hand moved.

Fast.

Too fast for them to react.

His hand shot into his belt and pulled out Echinda's pistol. 

She had only kept the knife against his neck as a threat so he wouldn't move, but they both knew she wasn't going to kill him here.

Her eyes widened in shock, her grip loosening for just a fraction of a second. She looked ahead and her eyes widened in horror.

"Move!!!!" Echinda screamed at her fellow mercenaries, but it was too late.

BANG!

Before any of them could move, Chael fired.

Not at them.

At the ground beneath them.

The Cinderfoil Leaves he had scattered at the cave's entrance when he got here.

The moment the bullet struck, the pile of scattered leaves ignited in a violent explosion of flame.

FOOOOM!

Fire erupted at the cave entrance, a wave of searing heat consuming everything in its path.

The mercenaries barely had time to scream.

One of them - the mercenary who had been doused in alcohol from his earlier fight went up like dry grass.

His entire body ignited instantly, flames crawling up his arms, his face, his chest.

"AAAAAAGGHHH!—"

He staggered back, screaming, clawing at his own burning flesh, but it was too late.

The fire spread fast, crawling along the cave floor, catching on clothing, hair, boots—

The Mongrels screamed, stumbling away.

It all happened in the span of a single second. Using her shock to his advantage, Chael pushed Echinda back with what little strength he had remaining and twisted, slamming his elbow directly into Echidna's injured thigh.

Her body seized, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as the pain stole her balance.

In the same motion, Chael shoved her off him, sending her stumbling back just as another mercenary rushed past, already on fire.

Echidna hit the ground, cursing and clutching her leg.

And just like that Chael had disappeared into the darkness of the cave.