eyes were by now familiar.
But why had the wolf saved his life?
Aurelius heard Gabrian shout something in that strange language, and the leviathan’s roars abruptly quieted. Then he heard a rapid swishing of robes and pounding of feet as the old man ran up beside them. He was keeping an impossible pace with the wolf.
“That will not hold him for long,” Gabrian said. “We must find shelter before he breaks my hold on him. Now that he has scented us, he will be like a wolf with a bone.” Gabrian shot a belatedly apologetic look to Aurelius’s rescuer. “No offense.”
The wolf’s only reply was to offer a quiet snarl between his panting breaths.
* * *
Boom, boom, boom. . . .
The sound was gaining on them. The wolf's panting was a steady noise in Aurelius's ears. His injured leg felt numb and cold where his suit's insulation had been torn, and he felt weak, like he’d lost a lot of blood, but treatment would have to wait.
Boom, boom, boom, boom. . . .
BOOM.
A shuddering roar sounded, and Aurelius twisted his head to look. The monster had just rounded a massive tree and now it was right behind them, gaining fast. Its jaws were open and it was leaning low to the ground in anticipation of the kill.
Aurelius paled and looked away. The wolf had stopped to rather let him ride on its back and now he was holding on to its sleek black fur with white-knuckled hands.
“What now?!” he yelled.
“There!” Gabrian pointed dead ahead to another massive tree trunk.
Aurelius blinked stupidly at it, not understanding. “You want us to climb the tree? We’ll never make it in time!”
“Look closer, elder!”
Aurelius still saw nothing. He cast a desperate look behind them and saw that it was only a matter of seconds before the leviathan reached them. He watched the beast burst through a thick wall of icicles, sending great chunks of ice flying in all directions.
“Use some magic on it or something! We’re not going to make it!”
“I cannot! I would have to stop running, and the leviathan would kill me before I could weave another spell powerful enough to stop it. Run faster, wolf!”
Aurelius watched with astonishment as the wizard pulled ahead of them by leaps and bounds, his legs blurring with the speed they were moving. The wolf carrying him grunted and pulled even with the wizard, but its panting had turned to ragged gasping for air.
As the tree loomed before them, Aurelius noticed something. Deep inside the shadows between two giant roots lay a darker patch of wood where no lichen or moss grew. As they drew near, that space began to take on depth.
It was a cave.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. . . .
In between the leviathan’s mighty footsteps, Aurelius heard it literally breathing down their necks, and that sound was accompanied by a powerful stench of rotting meat. He turned to look and saw that the monster was only a stride or two from reaching them.
“Hurry!” Aurelius said.
The leviathan’s jaws snapped on empty air bare inches from the wolf’s tail, and then the dim red lights of the forest were abruptly extinguished. Aurelius heard the wolf yelp and he felt himself go flying freely through the air. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, and his head cracked into an unyielding wall. Sparks seemed to fly behind his fluttering eyelids, and he just lay there, listening as the incessant roaring in his ears grew softer and softer. He smiled dreamily to himself.
The monster’s running away. . . .
But who’s chasing it?
Aurelius had barely enough strength left to frown before his brain gave up trying to process stimuli and forced his muscles to relax. He felt as though he were sinking into a deep, dark pool. . . .
And that was the last thing he knew.
Chapter 10
Aurelius awoke in darkness, dizzy and disoriented. He felt a hand on his forehead and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t his. He tried to sit up, but that hand held him
But why had the wolf saved his life?
Aurelius heard Gabrian shout something in that strange language, and the leviathan’s roars abruptly quieted. Then he heard a rapid swishing of robes and pounding of feet as the old man ran up beside them. He was keeping an impossible pace with the wolf.
“That will not hold him for long,” Gabrian said. “We must find shelter before he breaks my hold on him. Now that he has scented us, he will be like a wolf with a bone.” Gabrian shot a belatedly apologetic look to Aurelius’s rescuer. “No offense.”
The wolf’s only reply was to offer a quiet snarl between his panting breaths.
* * *
Boom, boom, boom. . . .
The sound was gaining on them. The wolf's panting was a steady noise in Aurelius's ears. His injured leg felt numb and cold where his suit's insulation had been torn, and he felt weak, like he’d lost a lot of blood, but treatment would have to wait.
Boom, boom, boom, boom. . . .
BOOM.
A shuddering roar sounded, and Aurelius twisted his head to look. The monster had just rounded a massive tree and now it was right behind them, gaining fast. Its jaws were open and it was leaning low to the ground in anticipation of the kill.
Aurelius paled and looked away. The wolf had stopped to rather let him ride on its back and now he was holding on to its sleek black fur with white-knuckled hands.
“What now?!” he yelled.
“There!” Gabrian pointed dead ahead to another massive tree trunk.
Aurelius blinked stupidly at it, not understanding. “You want us to climb the tree? We’ll never make it in time!”
“Look closer, elder!”
Aurelius still saw nothing. He cast a desperate look behind them and saw that it was only a matter of seconds before the leviathan reached them. He watched the beast burst through a thick wall of icicles, sending great chunks of ice flying in all directions.
“Use some magic on it or something! We’re not going to make it!”
“I cannot! I would have to stop running, and the leviathan would kill me before I could weave another spell powerful enough to stop it. Run faster, wolf!”
Aurelius watched with astonishment as the wizard pulled ahead of them by leaps and bounds, his legs blurring with the speed they were moving. The wolf carrying him grunted and pulled even with the wizard, but its panting had turned to ragged gasping for air.
As the tree loomed before them, Aurelius noticed something. Deep inside the shadows between two giant roots lay a darker patch of wood where no lichen or moss grew. As they drew near, that space began to take on depth.
It was a cave.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. . . .
In between the leviathan’s mighty footsteps, Aurelius heard it literally breathing down their necks, and that sound was accompanied by a powerful stench of rotting meat. He turned to look and saw that the monster was only a stride or two from reaching them.
“Hurry!” Aurelius said.
The leviathan’s jaws snapped on empty air bare inches from the wolf’s tail, and then the dim red lights of the forest were abruptly extinguished. Aurelius heard the wolf yelp and he felt himself go flying freely through the air. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, and his head cracked into an unyielding wall. Sparks seemed to fly behind his fluttering eyelids, and he just lay there, listening as the incessant roaring in his ears grew softer and softer. He smiled dreamily to himself.
The monster’s running away. . . .
But who’s chasing it?
Aurelius had barely enough strength left to frown before his brain gave up trying to process stimuli and forced his muscles to relax. He felt as though he were sinking into a deep, dark pool. . . .
And that was the last thing he knew.
Chapter 10
Aurelius awoke in darkness, dizzy and disoriented. He felt a hand on his forehead and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t his. He tried to sit up, but that hand held him
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