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The two wolves held back, regarding him. The first one was hurt badly and was panting for breath. He was falling down, even as Roane surveyed the scene. There was no element of surprise anymore. It would be a head-on confrontation. Hearing a sudden roar from behind him, he knew Saren was holding her own.
Then, he saw his opening.
The hurt wolf looked at his comrade and in that split second, Roane shot forward, kicking off the tree behind him for an extra burst of speed. He slid to the ground, coming up underneath the hurt one, but he didn’t stop. He slid all the way under the wolf and as he did, he plunged the dagger into the heart, releasing it as he kept going. Coming to a stop, he watched as the wolf fell to the ground, impaling the dagger further into the body. Roane had a split moment where he grimaced before he realized a worse danger.
The striped wolf stopped, lifted its head, and howled. The bellow sent chills down Roane’s spine. It was haunting, but there was more to this howl. He heard other wolf howls, but this one held more power.
“It’s Jacith.” Saren stepped next to him, wiping her sword against the grass to clean the blood from her sword. “The wolf’s call traveled farther and imprinted its urgency on the rest of the Benshire wolves. They’ll be here faster than normal.”
And that left them with one option.
As the striped wolf ended the call, he lowered his head and regarded both of them.
It was a standoff between them now. The wolf couldn’t kill both of them, but when he didn’t leave, Roane knew the wolf was willing to die. He wasn’t running.
Respect for this one wolf grew in him, but as he shared a look with Saren, he knew what had to be done.
She nodded, swinging her sword up, and both of them launched ahead.
The wolf met them, but it was a similar exchange as the first wolf. Saren jumped higher than Roane, landing behind the wolf. He twisted his neck to try to nip at her legs, but that was his mistake. As he did, Roane pushed ahead with an extra boost of speed and used that momentum to ram his dagger into its heart.
But, unlike the other two, this wolf didn’t fall to the ground.
He didn’t lunge for Roane either. He stood there, panting for breath, as both Saren and Roane waited.
The wolf did nothing.
Roane looked, but no blood fell from the wound.
“He’s been protected,” Saren gasped, her eyes widening.
“What does that mean?”
“That means we run.” She rushed forward. The wolf tried to bite her, but she evaded him and as soon as her hand touched Roane’s arm—he felt them coming.
He was pulled backwards into what felt like an invisible vacuum and Saren gritted her teeth, still pushing forward into whatever she had woven for them. Roane watched from where they had left. The wolf started after them, and behind him, more wolves appeared suddenly.
Saren waved behind her. As she did, the hole vanished.
They stumbled to the ground. There were no wolves around.
“What just happened?”
Saren stopped and took a breath. She reached for him again.
Roane caught her hand and held it in place, an inch above his arm. He asked again, “What just happened?”
“It was Jacith.” Saren pulled her hand free and reattached it to his arm. “I only pulled you a mile away. He was aiding them. They’ll be on us again if I don’t get us farther away.”
Alarm spiked in him as she grabbed his arm, and the same invisible vacuum effect happened. They landed again. Saren took a breath, then grabbed his arm again. They kept doing this until they landed outside their own encampment. She was doing it to save her power, only using it in short bursts. Once they were done, she closed her eyes and bent forward, resting her hands on her legs. She was the one panting for breath now, much how the wolves had before.
Roane knew they were safe so he started, “Was Jacith there with them?”
She nodded and opened her eyes. They were strained as she answered, “Yes. I watched their army before and his body wasn’t with them, but he was there. Or he was in close proximity.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“He’s powerful enough to project his magic, but he can only go so far. And it’s only so powerful. The closer his body is to where he is projecting, the more power he has, and back there, his magic was very, very powerful. It was too much. The magic alone would’ve killed me. I knew he had spelled the wolves so they were unnaturally strong and faster, but that was him. That wasn’t the power he had already given them.”
