Page 43 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Cedars and pines rose up all around me, but they weren’t the only thing. Various stands, similar to the bleachers at the duels, were set up beyond the trees. From this distance, the people on them were indistinguishable. Before we’d been herded into Lotmas’s pavilion, I’d seen other teachers handing out binoculars and spyglasses. Now I understood why.

Some of the stands were painted with the crests of the different courts. I found Alegro’s stand and wondered if anyone there cared about whether Freta lived or died.

A howl ripped through the forest. I lifted my spear, gripping it with two hands the way Seb had taught me. The trials wouldn’t end until all the animals that had been brought in had been killed. The howl came again. Was that a wolf? Was it Seb?

I hesitated, then started to move through the trees. I did my best to stay beneath the sweeping boughs, hiding from the public above us. What I needed was a place where I could hunker down and wait out the trial. Find somewhere to put my back to so I couldn’t be attacked from behind and hold out.

Except Silas, Penry, and Freta were out there. Would they find anywhere to put their backs to? If we were together, we could watch out for each other.

I found a nice large oak and paused there. Setting the spear down, I grabbed a numbing potion from my tunic and carefully laced the barbed triangle point. When I put it back and lifted the spear, a terrible scream echoed through the trees. My head jerked up. Was that Freta?

I hesitated only a moment before I stole from the oak, heading toward the scream. My senses were on high alert. The scent of the forest was rich in my nostrils. My ears picked up every sound. Every little movement made my eyes snap in that direction.

Another scream came from behind me. I whirled to find something crashing through the forest at me. I braced myself, holding up the spear. A creature burst through the brush and flew at me, that terrible scream in its throat. Huge clawed hands swiped at me, and I used the spear to block the blows, then spun it around and cut across the creature’s back.

It looked vaguely humanoid, with thick leathery skin. I spun the spear, jabbing at it here and there, but other than the small cuts I managed to make, I couldn’t land a blow. Huge teeth glittered in its open maw as it leapt at me. My feet slid and I went down. The spear flew from my hand.

As the creature turned back against me, I grabbed a potion from my pocket and hurled the vial at it. The glass cracked against its face and a thick liquid spilled out over its skin. Instantly, the potion burst into flames. Thick, red smoke billowed off it. The creature howled, clawing at its own face as it stumbled. I scrambled to the spear, snatched it up, and jammed the spear toward the creature.

The tip bit in through its ribs. It howled, claws reaching for me. I held the spear as tight as I could as it drove itself harder onto the point. I dropped, jamming the butt of the spear into the ground. The creature lunged, and I threw myself back. Claws dug into the ground as it drove its body all the way to the hilt.

The potion still smoldered on the creature’s skin as its attempts to get at me turned to twitches. It took longer than I thought to die, clearly in agony the whole time. When I was finally certain it was dead, I shoved at it, trying to get the spear out. It was stuck in hard, and I couldn’t dislodge it, especially with the staff being so slick with the creature’s blood.

It was unlike anything I’d seen before, like a hairless bear with skin like an alligator. I stared down at it for a moment longer, then pulled off my tunic and wrapped it around the spear shaft for one last attempt to yank it free. There was a tearing sensation, then it popped free.

I cleaned off the shaft, then tore the bloody sections off my tunic and tied the rest to my belt. Then I continued. Twice more I encountered creatures, though these ones were smaller than the first. I was able to use my potions to drive them off.

My original plan was the best. I had no idea how big these trial grounds were, nor did I have any idea of where to find my friends. The advanced students were meant to be dropped in more deadly areas. That meant this location, where I was dropped, was less dangerous.

But I still didn’t want to give up on my friends.

I heard the grunting and moans of a bear and gripped my spear tighter, patting my pockets. Other than the healing potions, I only had one left. Creeping through the undergrowth, I came to a wide meadow space. The bear was in the middle of the field, something red in its mouth as it lumbered away. A body lay on the grass.

The flash of dirty blonde hair made my heart jump to my throat. Penry! I kept close to the ground, one eye on the bear as I made my way to the body. It was Penry. Her eyes were half-shut, low moans of pain in her throat.

One of her legs had been torn open, but she appeared to be more or less intact. I grabbed one of my healing potions and poured it over the massive, bleeding wound of her leg, then another into her mouth. She was still losing blood, so I used the scraps of my tunic to tie a tourniquet around her leg. I patted down her tunic, but she didn’t have any potions left.

A huffing noise caught my attention. The bear was coming back, trotting directly toward me. I jumped to my feet, pulling out my last potion. I threw it at the bear, hitting it directly in the skull. The potion vial broke on its skin, but as the potion spilled over its face, the bear’s fangs grew bigger. Oh, shit! What had that one been? Had it been mislabeled?

The creature roared, sounding more like a bellowing bull than a bear. A pair of horns sprouted from its head, and it charged at me. I charged at it, screaming wildly as I tried to get it with the spear.

The bear knocked aside the spear and rammed into me. It knocked me to the ground and pain sent flashes of white light behind my eyes. Claws and horns tore into my body, and then suddenly I was flying. It flung me over its back and whirled, stamping and snorting.

It charged. I felt something switch inside of me, like the snap in the air just before lightning. And suddenly I found myself standing a few feet away. A huge silver-gray wolf got to its feet where I had been. It howled and charged for the beast.

Chapter 20 - Azriel

The wolf lunged for the creature. A strange feeling came through me, like being split in two. I was watching the wolf, and I was the wolf. I saw through its eyes. I tasted the blood in its mouth. Then there was a snap and I was inside the wolf.

I stumbled, disoriented, and the bear’s massive paw slammed into my ribs. It sent me flying and I twisted my unfamiliar form, clawing against the ground. The bull-bear charged at me, tearing up the grass as it pounded across the field. I leapt aside and threw myself onto its back, my jaws clenching against the back of its spine.

It shook me off and I hit the ground hard. I rolled away, but as it threw its head down, its long horns pierced through my side. The pain blinded me and it flung me over its back again, my legs flailing as I spun through the air. My nostrils flared as I fought to get back to my feet. It came at me again and I made a desperate lunge, jaws clenching against its throat.

The beast shook, raising up on its back legs to shake me free. I clawed at its belly, locking my jaws as tight as they could. Those massive paws clawed my ribs and sides, but I hung on. Eventually, the creature dropped to its knees, then keeled over. I kept hold of its throat as it twitched. I held as tight as I could until it was perfectly still.

Distant cheering filtered through from above. The pain made it difficult for me to think clearly, but I had the wherewithal to attack the creature’s neck again, tearing at the thick fur and tough hide until I’d exposed enough muscle to be sure I’d ripped out its jugular. I tried not to look at its eyes, but when I did, the taste of its blood made my stomach flip.

I stumbled away from the beast, intending to make my way to Penry, but this wolf form shuddered around me. I saw my paws blink out of existence and scrambled to hold it tighter.