The oppressive silence of Heartwood pressed down. Adam led his team through a narrow ravine where luminous blue ferns choked the path, casting shifting patterns on moss-slick stone. Overhead, the canopy wove a tapestry so thick it choked the midday sun into twilight. Storm shifted uneasily on Adam's shoulder. Raven scanned the high walls with precision, spear held low. Wren's fingers drummed on his twin blades. Lira moved with feline grace beside Adam, posture coiled. Kael was a wraith in deeper shadows.
"Movement," Raven murmured. "Upper ledge. Right flank."
Before Adam could react, frost exploded from behind a moss-draped boulder. Darain lunged, ice-coated sword aimed at Adam's throat. "End of the line, Ashblade!"
Adam's sword blazed red-hot, meeting frost-steel with sparks and steam. "Ambush!" he barked.
Chaos erupted. Jax barreled from the left, spiked bat swinging at Raven. The healer pivoted, spear shaft deflecting the jarring blow. Ryan slammed his warhammer – "CRACK!" – buckling earth beneath Wren's feet. Andrew appeared above, gauntlet glowing orange, a blast cratering where Adam stood. Tobin slipped from shadows behind Lira, daggers dripping green.
"Little busy!" Lira snarled, deflecting a stab. Her right hand rippled, scales erupting as claws raked towards Tobin's face. He recoiled.
Adam parried Darain's freezing slash. He saw Raven avoiding Jax, using terrain, while Wren zipped between tremors, purple haze slowing Ryan. Kael remained a blur, deflecting Andrew's blasts, eyes tracking every threat.
A primal, bone-chilling snarl ripped through the forest, vibrating stones.
A blur resolved into nightmare. Fifteen feet of power, jet-black stripes on snow-white fur. Molten gold eyes locked onto Tobin. The beast moved. One moment at the entrance; next, *behind* Tobin. Claws flashed – a whisper, then a wet *thwack*.
Tobin ceased to exist above the shoulders. Crimson splattered Darain and rocks. Daggers clattered down.
Horrified silence gripped the forest.
The beast turned its gaze on Darain. Jax roared, charging. The beast sidestepped. Its tail snapped out. *CRACK!* Jax flew into Ryan, both sprawling.
"AMBUSH IS OVER!" Cain's voice echoed. Mist revealed Cain with longbow, Rowan weaving fog, and Caspian, greatsword gleaming. High above, Brian sat on a branch, crossbow aimed, gaze locked. "Focus or we all die!" Cain loosed a wind-guided arrow. The beast flowed aside.
The fight became desperate survival. Andrew fired blasts, cratering empty ground. Ryan tried stone spikes; the beast leaped clear. Jax swung furiously, met by swipes screeching on stone skin. Cain's arrows were batted aside. Zara became a comet, daggers scoring lines, taunting ("Too slow!"). Rowan thickened mist; golden eyes pierced it. Brian shot lightning rounds sizzling past.
Adam gathered fire. "Lira! Draw attention! Raven, brace Wren!"
Lira scaled the wall, rebounded, launched claws-first at the beast's spine. It whirled. A paw lashed. *RIIP* – claws tore through shoulder. She plummeted.
"LIRA!" Panic speared Adam. Fire detonated at his feet. He shot sideways, crashing into her, twisting to shield her as they hit ground hard.
Agony bloomed across Adam's back. Lira lay stunned, blood seeping. Her face inches from his. Her eyes met his. He felt her weight, her pulse, the shared terror. He saw pain lines, dirt on her cheekbone.
"You... flaming idiot," she gasped, gripping his tunic. "Get yourself killed..."
"Couldn't... let you hit rocks," Adam rasped. Raven was there, light washing the wound. The air crackled.
Kael materialized, holding a pulsing crystal. He hurled it. It struck the beast's shoulder, detonating. "I'll keep it busy," Kael stated. "Find a way. Attack. *Now.*" He blurred forward, feinting, drawing the beast's fury.
Brian's voice cut through: "CORE! Base throat – beneath stripe! Pulsing!"
Zara saw her chance. Speed was her pride. A silver streak, daggers aimed true. "FOR CAIN'S SQUAD!"
A meter away, poised to strike.
The beast seemed slow. Zara snarled triumphantly.
Impossible speed. The paw blurred up. Claws punched through her chest. Wet *crunch*.
Zara gasped. Daggers fell. The beast lifted her impaled body. Blood poured down its arm. Her legs kicked weakly.
Her eyes, wide, sought Cain's horrified face. Her lips moved in a silent word.
Light fled. The beast shook her free. Her body thudded down.
Silence. Absolute. Only blood drip and the beast's growl. Cain stood frozen, bow slack, face devastated. The effort hadn't been enough. The forest held its breath.