“Okay,” Florian replied, turning again. Koji was descending as he raced toward the shore, trying to reach it before the lion-dogs could get any closer. They were nearly there, the shore coming up rapidly—the waves of the water below seemed to grow higher as they passed lower.
“Now!” Kade barked, and the tension of the rope went slack, slipping away from Florian’s waist.
They were maybe ten feet over the shore now, but the same lion-dog was snapping at Koji’s tail again and another was right on its heels, so Florian steeled himself and leapt. His stomach lurched as he fell, but it only lasted for a moment; the dark sand beneath came up to meet him quickly, and he rolled as he struck the earth, the sand bursting up where he landed like a gritty cloud.
He felt an impact near him as Kade landed nearby; then a shadow passed over them, and he scrambled to his feet. Koji had made a tight circle when they jumped off him, turning back to face the lion-dogs with his claws outstretched and his sharp teeth showing in a fierce snarl. The two that had been biting at his tail met him in the air, while three others, lagging a bit behind, dropped to the sand to surround Florian and Kade.
Chapter Eleven
“Shit,”Florianpanted,drawinghis sword. Kade was already leaping forward to meet the lion-dogs as they circled tighter, slashing one in the face with a shout.
The shroud felt tight, pulled three ways at once. Florian moved closer to Kade, even as he parried a swipe from one of the creature’s claws, too afraid of letting the shroud break to use his magic against them.
Distantly, he heard the snarls and roars of Koji taking on the two airborne lion-dogs, but he kept his focus on Kade and the creatures attacking them. He would have to trust Koji to handle himself. Luckily, Kade had made quick work of the first, now collapsing in the sand with dark purplish blood oozing from several gashes across its face and neck. The monsters seemed surprised that their prey was fighting back, so he had taken the first one off-guard.
The other lunged at him again, and Florian could focus on nothing else but parrying its attacks and slashing back, his mind going blank as muscle memory took over. The lion-dog was stronger than him by far, but he was quick even on the sand and could dodge its slow, heavy swipes. He fell into a familiar rhythm as they circled each other on the shore—swipe, dodge, slash, and repeat.
At last, the lion-dog managed to connect, its sharp claws slicing into his forearm. Florian yelped, pain blossoming where the creature touched; but his adrenaline was pumping hard, and he kept moving, quickly stabbing at it again. It was littered with cuts and stab wounds now, dark blood leaking steadily from its frame and splattering on the sand below. The lion-dog snarled at him, panting hard with exertion, and made one last leap toward him. Florian threw himself aside and used the momentum to turn quickly back at the creature, plunging his sword deep into its exposed side. It roared, turning to swipe at him, but collapsed on the sand. Its eyes—a pallid yellow ringed with black, full of hate and venom—tracked him as he wrenched his sword free and stumbled away from its reach, but it did not rise to follow him.
“You alright?” Kade asked, pulling his attention once again. The three lion-dogs were dead in the sand around them, and Kade also looked mostly unharmed—though Florian caught sight of red blood on his left shoulder.
“Yeah,” Florian said, then checked the wound on his own forearm. It hurt more when he looked at it—he hissed, turning his arm carefully. Three slashes stretched from his wrist almost to his elbow. On Earth, he would certainly need stitches, but here he placed his opposite hand over the wound and whispered, “Heal.”
The long slashes itched and burned as they slowly closed, but soon the pain subsided, and he pulled his bloody hand away with a relieved sigh.
“Let me get you too,” he said, gesturing for Kade to come closer so he could look at the wound on his shoulder. It was a long cut, but fairly shallow—still, it must have been uncomfortable as Kade moved stiffly, kneeling slightly so Florian could touch his shoulder, healing the injury rapidly with his magic. A wave of exhaustion hit him, and Florian knew that he didn’t have much left.
“Koji’s alright too, I think,” Kade said. Florian looked where he was pointing—Koji had the last creature held firmly in his mouth and was shaking it back and forth. The lion-dog was trying to slash at his face, but after a few shakes, its spine must have snapped as it suddenly went limp. Koji flung it away from him. The lion-dog’s body splashed into the ocean, and Koji turned and flew back toward Florian and Kade, sending bursts of sand into the air as he landed heavily. Dark purple blood covered his face and dripped from his mouth as he panted. But he surged past them to the three lion-dog bodies laying on the sand, grabbed them in his powerful jaws, and flung them out into the water.
“Smart,” Kade murmured. Florian nodded. It hadn’t occurred to him to get rid of the bodies, but if there were more lion-dogs nearby, throwing the bodies out to sea might help keep them from being discovered by others prowling around.
“Let me clean you off,” Florian offered, gesturing for Koji to come closer. The dragon looked at him for a moment, then stepped forward stiffly—had he been injured? It would be easier to tell if he wasn’t covered in lion-dog blood, so Florian placed his hand on Koji’s long snout and said softly, “Clean.”
The dark blood ran down Koji’s face as if he’d poured water over him, splattering to the sand below all at once. Koji snorted, shaking his head and pulling away from Florian’s hand.
“Wait!” he said, now spotting a few slashes along his neck and a few more near his tail. “Let me heal you first. Then you can shift back. Okay?”
Koji made another sound, a soft groan with a bit of a growl that Florian didn’t understand. But he moved toward Florian again anyway, allowing him to touch his face once more.
“Heal,” Florian said softly, the core of his magic aching with exertion. But the wounds littering Koji’s body closed easily, and the dragon’s nostrils flared as he sighed in obvious relief. “There you go. All good.”
Koji nodded and took a few steps away. His body glowed green and shrank down until Koji’s smaller form stumbled to his feet and smiled gratefully at Florian.
“Thanks,” he said, still panting with exertion. “That was... a lot. I’ve never fought shifted like that before, not that intensely. Wow.”
“You alright?” Kade asked, looking him over quickly.
“Yeah,” Koji replied, nodding. “Just need to catch my breath.”
“I could use a breather, too,” Florian groaned, stretching. “I used up a lot of magic all at once.”
Kade looked back over at him with concern flashing in his eyes. “I know it’s early, but do you want to set up the shelter? We could rest for a few hours if you needed to drop the shroud...”
Florian thought for a moment. A few hours of rest would probably help, and it wasn’t like they would lose daylight taking a longer break. It would set them back, but they still had several days to go.
“Yeah, a couple hours would be nice, actually,” Florian replied hesitantly. “Sorry, I know setting up the shelter is a pain. Especially on the sand...”
“Let’s head to where the ground is a little more firm,” Kade said, gesturing. “We’ll keep an eye out for more of those lion-dogs, but if there aren’t anymore then we can take a break.”
