The Chimera's roar of pure, unadulterated fury was a physical force, a wave of sound and power that shook the very trees and sent a fresh shower of rocks and debris raining down from the cliff face. The four remaining Spectral Panthers, their own hunt abandoned, emerged from the trees, their red eyes glowing with a hungry, malevolent light as they formed a closing, deadly circle around us.
We were trapped.
"Ashen!" Cecilia cried, her own voice a mixture of fear and a dawning, horrified understanding. "The venom… it's…"
She didn't need to finish. I could feel it, a cold, creeping paralysis that was beginning to spread through my limbs, a fire that was slowly, inexorably extinguishing the last of my strength.
But I wasn't a warrior anymore. I was a commander. And my mind, even as my body failed me, was still a weapon.
"Cecilia," I gasped, my voice a raw, ragged thing. "The wall… break it."
