Page 170 of Vasmora

Raivox hovered in the air, before landing inside the flame’s boundary with a hard thud against the sand that knocked me to the side. Gripping his horns, I held tight as he used his talons to pluck the mercenaries out of the sand with ease. One by one, he yanked them from the ground as easily as plucking carrots. Above us, the two Corvugons circled the group, shooting silver flames across the other side of Zevander’s barrier, where the spiders must’ve dared to approach.

Once all the men and wolves were freed, I climbed down Raivox’s foreleg, noticing the other two Corvugons landing nearby, and summoned my bone whip.

A spider about half the size of Raivox burst through Zevander’s flame on a white mist and darted straight for the group of female wolves and pups.

Two of the larger razorwolves that’d gotten loose barreled toward the beast.

“No!” Zevander called out after them. A second spider pushed through his flaming barrier, and Zevander’s scorpion lashed its tail, slicing the mutation in half. Smaller spiders exploded from its split belly and scampered toward him, and Zevander sent out a stifling gust of flames, roasting them.

“Lothare!” Zevander called out. “Call off the wolves! One bite, and they’ll become infected!”

Lothare turned toward the brawling pack of wolves, and without a spoken word, the wolves backed themselves away.

I swung my attention to the wolves that’d charged to protect the females, my stomach rising to my throat when I watched one of them sink its teeth into the spider’s leg, thrashing and tearing at it. I hurled my whip toward the spider, but it was too late. Massive fangs sank into the wolf’s back, inciting a yelp.

The bone whip struck fast and true, shattering the spider’s carapace, chunks of gore and meat exploding onto the sand. Hundreds of smaller spiders skittered toward me. As I braced myself to fight them off, Raivox and the other two Corvugons intercepted their path, snatching the spiders up into their maws.

“Maevyth!” Corwin called out, and I twisted around to find another spider bounding toward me. Too fast for me to strike it. Corwin charged forward and rammed what looked to be a white, glittering sword into the beast’s flank. It let out a screeching hiss and bristled, raising its front legs that trembled and jerked. The creature burst into a cloud of black dust that settled to the sand.

Not a single spider scampered out of it.

An observation I’d have to explore later, because I pivoted in time to see Zevander holding a spider the size of a horse off himself. As it snapped its fangs toward his face, the scorpion drove its stinger through the abdomen, spraying black ooze across Zevander’s neck and chest.

I dashed toward him just as he threw it off, checking him over for any sign of bite or injury. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

A half-dozen spiders tore through the wall of fire, and Zevander sprang to his feet, darting toward the mercenaries who fought them.

At a gurgling outcry, I swung my attention back toward the wolf that’d been bitten. As the others drew back from the horde gathering around him, the wolf twitched and growled on the ground. The wolf that’d charged alongside him paced, whimpering and whining.

“He’s infected,” Corwin said beside me. Confidently. “Won’t be long before he’s one of them.”

I nodded in agreement, my mind briefly pulled into distraction. “Corwin, my sister … is she …” Given the circumstances, the question felt wildly out of place, yet necessary.

“She’s fine. Just fine. Don’t worry about her.” He waved his hand in the air. “Bigger issues.”

“Right.” I turned my attention back toward the wolf. “I can’t kill him. He’s the alpha of the pack.”

“What about your blood?”

“It killed the Lyverian warrior back in Mortasia, remember? And besides, how am I supposed to approach when he’s in that state? A bite would rip my arm off.”

“I don’t think a bite is wise,” Corwin agreed. “But given his inevitability, and if he is an important member of the pack, I do think your blood would be worth a try.”

“And what am I to do? Dribble it in his mouth?”

Corwin sighed. “It would be safer … particularly if he didn’t have those massive teeth snapping at you.”

As an idea struck me, I scanned the group for Lothare and found him lying on the ground, wincing. Twisting back to Corwin, I gripped his arm. “You and I have much to discuss after this.”

“Yes, of course. I’d very much like to know where the hell I am.”

After a quick nod, I rushed toward Lothare, catching sight of Zevander casting his flame over one of the attacking spiders. Smaller spiders leapt from its back, just before it shriveled to ash, and Raivox scrambled to snatch them up.

Falling beside Lothare, I gently touched his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” he rasped. “That mage must’ve cut me pretty deep. I’ll be fine.”

“Fennyx has been bitten. He’s infected. I can try to help him, but I need to turn him back to his human form.”