Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
I've only taken a few steps when I feel it—a change in the air, a sudden chill across my skin. I freeze, instinct screaming at me to remain absolutely still.
The water beside me shifts, a gentle ripple marring its perfect surface. Someone else screams in the distance as the wolf continues its hunt.
I hold my breath, certain that the water serpent has found me. I can feel the twisted signature of its presence. I know it's close, and it fucking terrifies me.
But what emerges isn't the dragon-like creature from the lake. It's something smaller, more human-sized—a perfect sphere of water rising from the surface, hovering at eye level. Inside the sphere, colors shift and change, almost forming an image before dissolving again.
I take a step back, unsure if this is a threat or something else.
The sphere follows, drifting closer.
"Stay back," I warn, though I have no idea if it can understand me. Stupidly, I point my rapier at it.
The sphere stops, hanging in the air between us. Then it begins to change, elongating, taking shape. Water flows and reshapes until I'm staring at a mirror image of myself, perfectly formed in living water.
"What are you?" I whisper.
The water-me tilts its head, examining me with curiosity. Then it speaks, its voice like the distant sound of waves.
"What are you?" it echoes, though the inflection makes me think it's a genuine question, not simply mimicry.
Before I can answer, a roar echoes from behind me. The fire wolf has finished with the other students and is now turning its attention toward me, its flaming body rippling with heat.
The water entity looks toward the approaching predator, then back at me.
"Run," it says simply. "Do not enter the water. It waits for you there." The elemental dissolves back into the stillness of the lake.
I don't need to be told twice. I'm terrified of the wolf, but the thought of diving into those depths and facing the ancient rogue elemental again... no. I simply can't make myself do it.
I turn, sprinting away from the wolf and toward the twisted forest.
I duck between forms that only vaguely resemble trees. They're like sculptures of wood frozen in the act of melting, their surfaces smooth and flowing. Some have what look like fruits hanging from their branches—perfect spheres that pulse with inner light.
I glimpse strange shapes between the trees—green entities drifting like spirits and a massive caterpillar with claws and horns slithering up one of the tree things.
I hear distant screams, the metallic clash of weapons, and triumphant shouts from all around.
Behind, the fire wolf's paws striking the ground with percussive thumps as it gallops, each impact like a small explosion. It's hunting me now, and there's no way I can outrun it.
I need to hide.
I weave into a thicker section of trees, jumping down small ledges, turning, and skidding to a stop behind a tree. I press my back against its smooth surface and have no way of knowing if the wolf lost sight of me or not. My breathing sounds impossibly loud in my ears, and my heart feels like it might burst.
The footfalls slow, growing more deliberate. Hunting. Tracking.
I close my eyes, trying to control my breathing. Every exhale feels like a betrayal, revealing my hiding spot like a fucking spotlight. This isn't how it ends. I refuse to die here, alone in this alien place, without even trying to tether an elemental.
This can’t be how it ends.
A low growl rumbles through the forest, so close I can feel the heat of it on my skin.
I open my eyes and find myself staring directly into the blazing gaze of the fire wolf. Its eyes are rubies of anger and fire, intelligent and savage. It regards me with what almost looks like curiosity, its head tilted slightly to one side.
For a moment, neither of us moves.
The heat of its body so close is unbearable. As it draws closer, the hairs on my arm turn black at the edges and curl.
Its jaws part, flames licking between dagger-like teeth, and it lunges.
I throw myself sideways. Heat sears a excruciating line across my back as I roll across the ground. Pain tears through me, but I force myself back to my feet, running deeper into the forest.
The fire wolf is right behind me, so close I can feel its heat on my heels. I zigzag between tree-sculptures, ducking low branches, leaping over twisted roots. But it's no use. The creature is faster, stronger, built for the hunt.
I burst into a clearing and come to a stop. There's nowhere left to run. The trees end at a sheer cliff that drops away into nothingness—a void where reality simply ceases to exist.
I turn, panting, to face my pursuer.
The fire wolf pads into the clearing, its movements slow and deliberate again.
It knows I'm trapped.