For a moment the creature stood over Mauris' fallen body.
Still.
Silent.
Its chest rose slowly as the last traces of black vapor slipped between its teeth.
The fog curled around its legs like pale serpents.
Then its head lifted.
The long horns cut dark shapes against the mist as the creature drew in a deep breath.
Its chest expanded.
The muscles beneath the thick black fur tightened.
And then;
It roared.
A monstrous, guttural sound erupted from its throat.
"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
The roar tore through the clearing like a violent storm.
The air itself seemed to shudder.
Mist blasted outward in rippling waves, scattering across the battlefield.
The sound rolled through the forest, crashing against the trees and echoing endlessly through the distant hills.
Birds exploded from the canopy in terrified flocks.
Branches trembled.
Loose bones scattered across the ground rattled and clattered.
The roar carried something deeper than sound.
Something ancient.
Predatory.
A declaration.
A challenge.
Leah's heart slammed violently in her chest as the echo reverberated through the woods.
Frauner stiffened beside her, pain momentarily forgotten as his eyes locked onto the towering creature.
Even Thalia, pushing herself up from the ground, felt the vibration of that roar deep in her bones.
The creature lowered its head again.
Red eyes burning through the mist.
It looked at them.
And the forest fell silent once more.
The creature's roar faded into the forest.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
Then it stepped forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Each clawed foot pressed into the bone-littered ground with a dull crunch. The fog parted around its legs as if unwilling to touch it.
Its burning red eyes locked onto Thalia.
She was still on the ground where the shockwave had thrown her.
Her arms trembled as she tried to push herself up.
Her muscles refused.
Her chest burned.
Her lungs dragged in shallow breaths that barely filled them.
The battle.
The arrows.
The sprint through the fog.
Everything had drained her.
Still.....
She forced her body to move.
Her hand dug into the dirt.
Her knee tried to rise.
Failed.
Across the clearing, Leah saw it.
Saw the creature walking toward Thalia.
Something snapped inside her.
Leah's foot slammed hard into the ground.
Dirt scattered behind her heel.
She launched forward.
Her wounded leg screamed in protest, but she ignored it completely.
Her blade hand swung straight back behind her body, the weapon trailing like a striking fang waiting for its moment.
Her front arm cut forward, driving her momentum.
Every step pounded into the earth.
Faster.
Faster.
Behind her, Frauner tried to move; but his body refused to follow.
"Leah!"
The creature was almost upon Thalia now.
Thalia finally managed to lift herself slightly.
Her vision blurred.
Her fingers reached weakly for her arrow case.
She pulled one free.
Her hand shook violently.
The creature loomed over her.
Tall.
Black fur shifting slowly in the cold mist.
Red eyes staring down into hers.
Something ancient looked out from those eyes.
Something hungry.
With a sharp breath of frustration and fury, Thalia drove the arrow downward.
The tip slammed into the creature's foot.
CRACK.
The metal point snapped instantly.
The broken shaft splintered in her hand.
The creature didn't even flinch.
Slowly;
Its head tilted.
Its burning eyes stared straight into hers.
For a moment the world seemed to freeze.
Then the red light inside those eyes intensified.
Sparked.
Flared.
The creature's body began to rise.
Slowly.
Its feet lifted from the ground as if gravity itself had released its grip.
Then its right arm lifted.
The long, clawed hand turned toward Thalia.
Three fingers slowly curled inward.
And Thalia felt it instantly.
An invisible force clamped around her body.
Her back lifted from the dirt.
Her legs dragged across the ground for a moment;
Then left it completely.
Her body rose into the air.
The creature's right hand moved slightly upward.
Thalia's body jerked higher with it.
Another small motion of the creature's fingers;
And she rose further.
Suspended helplessly several feet above the ground.
"...!"
She gasped.
Her limbs struggled weakly against the unseen pressure holding her.
Below her, the creature floated higher as well, its horns cutting through the drifting mist.
Its long neck craned forward.
Its mouth slowly opened.
Rows of thin teeth glistened.
Then it inhaled.
At first;
Nothing happened.
Then thin wisps of darkness began to crawl out from Thalia's body.
From her mouth.
From her nose.
From the pores of her skin.
Black smoke.
Faint.
Barely visible.
The strands rose slowly into the air between them.
The creature inhaled again.
The smoke thickened.
Drawn forward.
Pulled toward its waiting mouth.
The creature's right hand lifted again.
Thalia's body jerked higher in the air.
Her arms dangled uselessly.
Her strength fading fast.
Thalia's eyes widened in horror as the darkness streamed out of her body.
Little by little.
And the creature began to feed.