“They must live on the mountain,” Kade growled, wiping blood from his face in obvious irritation after the third group. “We’re not going to make it far at this rate.”
“We could fly,” Koji offered. “Just try and fly through them instead of fighting.”
“That might be best,” Florian agreed. “And... Maybe I should shift, too. Would that help?”
The other two were silent, looking at him dubiously; Kade’s expression was tinged with concern, while Koji bit his lip, calculating.
“Let’s have Koji shift first, and we can go from there,” Kade finally said. “Not because I don’t think you can do it, Florian. But you know it’s difficult. We need you at a hundred percent. Alright?”
“I’m not arguing,” Florian replied, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Alright. Is that okay with you, Koji?”
“Yes,” the dragon shifter replied quickly, and soon they were climbing onto the green dragon’s back the way they had before. Kade lashed the three of them together with a rope in a way that was starting to feel routine.
Maybe this wasn’t a great idea, Florian thought as they surged through the air. It had been difficult to fight the lion-dogs that had chased them over the water from atop Koji’s back—now there might be even more, and Koji could only go so fast when they were riding him. But Kade was right: trying to fight through on foot would be an even more doomed effort. At least this way they were in the air, too, even if that came with its own disadvantages.
Koji veered hard to the right, making him yelp and grab at the rope in a panic. Another pack of lion-dogs approached, but Koji deftly gave them a wide berth and zoomed on ahead, the pack snarling and roaring as they gave chase.
“This was a bad idea,” Florian groaned, twisting around to watch the group follow them.
It was much faster, at least, but soon there were over a dozen lion-dogs chasing them. Koji was far more agile, though, and kept away from their claws and teeth as he dodged and swerved, somehow managing to keep a safe distance between them and the creatures, no matter how many joined the hunt.
Florian felt the magic of the Arrow on his skin all at once, rapidly growing from a slight tingle to that familiar syrupy sensation in the air.
“We’re almost there,” he exclaimed, looking around wildly as they flew upward along the summit of the mountain. “I can feel it. Keep going!”
Koji barked in response, and the many lion-dogs following them brayed in answer. They soared up and up, the mountain passing by in a blur. Florian kept his eyes trained on the landscape below, searching for any hint of the Arrow and where it might be hiding. It was all the same dry earth and dark stone, no sign of the Arrow’s golden glow—
And then they were at the peak, sailing over its summit in a tight arc, and Florian caught a flash of gold—not at the very top, but down a little ways on the opposite side of the mountain. Of course—damn his bad luck.
“It’s there!” he shouted, pointing, but Koji had already spotted it and was making a beeline for it.
“Set us down, Koji!” Kade roared from behind him, and Florian realized he’d drawn his sword to cut the rope. He braced himself to jump again as Koji lurched, heading closer to the ground. “Florian, now!”
Florian leapt and rolled, dust bursting up in a cloud around him, as he quickly scrambled to his feet and kept running. He couldn’t see the Arrow now, but he knew it was nearby—could feel its aura in the air around them as he sprinted toward it. He could only hear the sounds of Koji fighting and snarling right above him. The shroud stretched tight, but he focused on finding the Arrow again.
A mighty roar exploded through the air from ahead, scaring him to a grinding halt. A massive lion-dog stood atop a boulder, looking down at them with eyes full of imperious rage, and the Golden Arrow clenched in its jaws. Its entire body seemed to glow with its light as it glared down at Florian. Had it somehow figured out how to use the Arrow’s magic to strengthen itself? Were all the other lion-dogs its pack, and it used the Arrow to maintain its place as the alpha?
But then the massive lion-dog’s body tensed, and Florian’s mind snapped to attention, sword in hand as he reflexively fell into a defensive stance. The alpha leapt down from the stone formation just as Florian dodged out of the way, the dust blocking his view.
“Behind me, Florian,” Kade panted, striding past him. “I’ll keep it distracted. Just try to grab the Arrow and we can get the hell out of here.”
Florian nodded, eyes flickering between the alpha that rose from the dust cloud and the countless other creatures that were now either hovering above to observe, or harrying Koji as he bit and tore at the ones who drew too close.
The green dragon seemed to realize what was happening, though, as he’d maneuvered himself directly over the alpha, then dropped all at once to dive-bomb him. The lion-dog’s eyes flashed upward with awareness, and it snarled, massive teeth clenched tight around the Arrow. At the same moment, Kade lunged at it, slashing at its exposed throat.
The alpha roared again, this time even louder as its jaws snapped open to bite Kade—the Arrow clattered from its mouth, but the lion-dog kept its glow. Kade dodged it, just as Koji came crashing down on the creature from above, coiling around it like a cobra trying to strangle its prey.
The other lion-dogs immediately dove toward them, too—Florian was sprinting to grab the Arrow where it fell, but already he could tell other lion-dogs were going to get there before him. Gritting his teeth, he slashed wildly at the closest; their hides were thick and dense, but he still managed to draw blood. It was no mortal wound, but the lion-dog reared back with a snarl, giving him enough room to run past.
“I’ve got you!” Kade shouted from behind, slashing at the same lion-dog before following Florian. “Get the Arrow! I got you covered.”
“Shit,” Florian panted, eyes scanning wildly—he’d lost sight of its glow in the struggle. Koji and the glowing alpha were writhing on the ground in a mass of green and gold, each roaring and hissing and screaming at the other, so intensely that he couldn’t begin to tell which sounds came from which creature. More lion-dogs were closing in—had one grabbed it already?
Then—Koji and the alpha rolled away, leaving behind a flash of gold light in the dirt.
“There!” Florian exclaimed, leaping for it. Behind him he could hear Kade shouting, steel slashing, lion-dogs roaring. He landed in the dust, and his fingers curled around warm, thin metal—magic rushed through him, overflowing with enough force to make him gasp.
Then, suddenly, he was tumbling back, pain screaming through his body—a lion-dog had attacked him from above, its thick claws digging deep into his chest. He screamed, blind with pain as he slashed at the creature pinning him to the ground with both his sword and the Arrow. He couldn’t see, couldn’t focus—but then he felt magic swell as the Arrow pierced the lion-dog’s flesh and it howled, its claws clenching in Florian’s skin.
