“That stone has something carved on it,” he said.
Florian looked at where Kade was pointing, squinting down at the stone. There were certainly some kind of markings on the stone, runes or symbols carved into it that were just barely visible with how worn the surface was. Whatever they were, Florian couldn’t read them.
The hairs on the back of his neck raised, sending an uncomfortable tingle down his spine. Something was watching them. He straightened quickly, looking behind them. Kade must have felt it too, turning at the same time.
At the end of the road, a tall figure was facing them. It stood on two legs, and silhouetted in the light, Florian couldn’t make out any other details.
“What the fuck is that?” he whispered, freezing in place.
“I don’t know,” Kade replied, just as quiet.
The creature didn’t move, standing motionless, watching them. The longer Florian looked, the more he could just barely make it out. It looked like it had short and slightly rounded ears near the top of its head, long limbs, legs that bent at a strange angle, and what looked like a tail curving just above the ground.
“It looks like a... a cat?” Florian whispered. Neither moved, waiting. The creature watched them from a distance—just barely perceptible, it started crouching lower to the ground.
“Get behind me,” Kade hissed, pushing Florian back and drawing his sword with the other hand.
There was a flurry of movement as Florian stumbled back, nearly falling as his calves hit the stone monument. The creature leapt toward them and dashed along the ground on all fours, and Kade lunged toward it, swinging his sword up to meet it.
In the instant it leapt up to meet Kade’s attack, Florian could see that itwascat-like: covered in black fur and with a feline face; but with hands instead of paws and long, sharp claws that extended from each of its fingers.
The creature grabbed at Kade’s sword as he swung toward it, a screeching yowl escaping its mouth. Its claws scraped along the metal of the sword with a terrible hissing sound, and the blade came away tinged with red.
“Get away!” Kade growled, forcing it back. Its tail lashed around its legs as it stumbled back, hissing at him. Bright yellow eyes flashed between him toward Florian, all its sharp teeth bared. With another screech it lunged again, this time aiming not for Kade, but toward Florian. “Look out!”
With a startled cry, Florian swung his sword up to block its attack. The blade caught the creature in the mouth, its teeth clenching hard around the metal, the yellow eyes glaring at him. For a brief instant, he could study its face, the face of a panther. Its bloody claws came up, grasping like hands—then its yowl became a scream, as Kade came up behind it and plunged his sword into its back. Florian could hear the metal of the sword slipping against the bone of its spine with a dissonant scraping sound.
The creature’s eyes widened, its movements stilled, and it collapsed.
“Fuck,” Florian gasped, his heart pounding, as he kicked the body away from him. “Shit.”
“Are you okay?” Kade asked, grabbing his free hand and hauling him to his feet. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay,” Florian stammered. “But what the hell was that?”
“I have no idea,” Kade said, and for a moment they were both silent as they looked down at the dead creature. It could have been a panther, if not for its strangely human-like front limbs and its ability to stand on its hind legs. Its claws gleamed in the light, sharp and cruel, even in death. They were lucky they had taken it out so quickly. Florian’s sword trembled slightly in his hand.
“Well,” he started, taking in a steadying breath. “Let’s get away from here before more show up.”
Kade glanced over at him, then gave one last long, uncertain look at the body of the creature, before nodding in agreement. Swords sheathed, they turned and started to walk in the direction from which the creature came.
