“Where are the earthmen?!” Double Head yelled, disrupting the bar. He looked around the room until he spotted the strangers. He pointed to Mac and glared at him with burning eyes.
Mac’s frightened mind was struggling to understand what was happening. He had been laughing and joking with his new friends only a minute ago, and now seemed to be the target of a very large and angry wolven. The alcohol was already warping his mind as he sat stone still, sweat beading on his forehead and feeling like his last moments might be upon him. Double Head stormed across the room, moving tables as he went, whether they had people sitting at them or not, until he was standing over Mac with his claws bared and teeth showing. Mac knew whatever happened would change the outcome of his life dramatically. Dante moved to stop Double Head, but he was too late, and the large black wolven Chief lifted Mac from his seat with one arm and tossed him behind the bar like a rag doll. He then turned on Kim, but Ramos stood up and punched Double Head in the jaw, flipping the Chief’s head to the side with violent force. Ramos and Dante then stood in front of Kim, guarding her from the enraged Double Head.
“What’s gotten into you?! Go home to your tribe; these are not your woods, Chief!” Dante said.
“These humans are going to bring doom upon us all!” Double Head said, and then he threw an elbow into Dante’s jaw that hit so hard, Dante’s head knocked into his brother’s.
“Hey!” Ramos barked.
“I’m gonna’ knock your head off!” Dante yelled.
Just as the brothers were about to take on the larger, more battle hardened warrior chief, they heard a gut-wrenching howl from behind the bar. It was so loud that all involved stopped and turned to see where it came from. Mac lay on the floor burning, screaming, twisting in pain as his legs elongated two feet and feral rage coursed through him. Writhing in pain, he lay on the floor in the fetal position, his muscles expanding and tearing through old tissue. He felt the itch, and the sharpening of teeth. His arms grew three times their size—bulging with massive, rippled muscles—and his face suddenly began to distort into a shape he’d never felt before. White fur sprouted from his pores, and he bellowed in agony as Gregor’s blood boiled within his own, changing him into something no longer human. When the transformation was complete Mac was an eight-foot tall wolven man standing in a bar where all eyes were wide and staring, including Double Head’s. Several locals immediately made their way out the door, terrified of the cursed shape-shifter.
“Hey ugly! Why don’t you try throwing me again?” Mac said, growling.
Mac leapt onto the bar with lightning speed and dived for Double Head, who had not been expecting the attack. Mac had long black claws now, and as he toppled his opponent, Mac dug his claws into Double Head’s shoulders with a vice-like grip and then tore into his muscles as he screamed with rage. Double Head was pinned to the floor in a minute, taken off his base by the shock of this mutant’s attack. He was suddenly terrified; he didn’t know if Mac was a necromancer or some kind of warlock from another world.
“Get off me!” Double Head yelled, and kneed Mac in the stomach, knocking him backward into a wall of glasses, half of which shattered on the plank wood floor as they fell off the shelves.
“We have no quarrel with you!” Mac yelled, and leapt forward. The chief stepped to the side, allowing Mac to run by, but not before the Colonel took a quick swipe on the way, cutting Double Head’s face.
“You should leave while you still can, human, before you bring more damage than your arrival has already caused. There are other worlds to explore!” Double Head said.
Dante pulled Mac off Double Head, as Ramos grabbed his kicking legs. Mac howled with uncontrollable rage. Gregor was walking by the inn and heard the commotion from outside. Concerned by the sound of the violence, he burst through the door.
“Stop this right now!” Gregor growled.
Mac slowed his struggling and Double Head lowered his claws, glancing back and forth between Gregor and Mac.
“Double Head, this is not your town. You have come for the meeting, and now that meeting is over, you need to leave.” Gregor growled.
“Gregor, you should know that this prophecy you have all been holding onto is going to be the downfall of our civilization.” Double Head said.
“The prophecy has promised the end of Asura!” Gregor said.
“All wolven are our people. I speak for the Gore Paw tribe, but we are all brothers, and now you’ve forgotten what that means because of your 300-year-old fantasy from the beyond. These people from the stars have technology that can rip us apart!” Double Head said.
“Your superstition about the men from earth is completely unfounded!” Gregor said.
“As is your prophecy of alien travelers as saviors, if that is your attitude! In my visions I have seen the rain of fire and a giant mushroom in the sky! I’m begging you. You cannot continue down this path.” Double Head said.
“In my visions I have seen strange vehicles and weapons that belch flames aiding us in a final war against Asura the Damned. Nowhere in the prophecy is there a hint that the outsiders mean us harm.” Gregor said.
“When the time is right, the Gore Paw will fight by your side, brother, but you are blinded by your faith. This will not turn out as you have foreseen. I trust in your magic. I trust in your leadership of your tribe, and most importantly, I trust in your friendship, but I do not trust these outsiders. And, now it appears one of them has become half-wolven.” Double Head said. He was shaking his head as he walked toward the door.
Before he left Double Head, extended a hand toward Gregor and they clasped wrists. “Be careful, old friend.” He said, and then he was gone into the night.
The barberry juice had been too much for him, and as Mac stumbled forward, noticing that even though his vision was more acute and his sense of smell was heightened, he was losing control and fell face first to the floor. As he released his mind into unconsciousness, he began to feel like himself again. Dante and his brother looked closer, and watched as he returned to his human form. Gregor calmed the bar down and Ramos bought another two rounds for everyone in room. Then Dante and Ramos carried the unconscious commander back to Gregor’s house. There Mac would be safe, just in case any of the tribe had ideas about killing Mac. Kim followed and the two humans were given separate rooms adjoining one another.
“Are we in danger on Eritria, I mean, from your people? Why does Double Head think we’ve come to do you harm?” Kim asked.
“Double Head follows his visions with blind faith, as do we all, because they are messages from our ancestors. I know the Blood Paw tribe will have to rely on Double Head’s courage and that of his tribe when war comes, but in my visions, I have seen help from your people through a great hardship, although it is not all clear. The visions are a lot like pieces of a puzzle.” Gregor said.
The next morning Mac was sleeping off the effects of the barberry juice, his uniform lying in the corner, shredded to threads when he burst through it the night before. He dreamed of home, where Bobby and Serena were playing in the field by the old stricken tree, kicking a red ball back and forth, laughing without care. The sun shone upon them as he watched, and he felt a pang of homesickness accompanied by a longing to reach out and touch them, but they were separated from him by a glass wall, a voyeur of his own life. Mac began to pound on the glass. He sensed someone to his left and when he turned to look, a snow-white wolf man glared back at him. He felt the walls begin to shake as the world around him tumbled into small pieces. Mac shot up in bed with a start. He was disoriented and confused.
“Where am I?” Mac whispered to himself.
The room was spinning, and his head pounded like a loud marching band was practicing between his eardrums. Mac had a vague recollection of some kind of altercation with a wolven chief, where he landed violently behind a bar and blacked out. As he sat in bed, eyes shut tight he could see gnashing teeth and long, sharp claws in his mind. He did not know what time it was exactly, but knew early morning was upon
him as he looked out the window to see the day’s first rays of sun glowing through the tall pines. What had they been drinking last night? Whatever they had fed him was strong and deadly serious. Bilbar juice? No, that wasn’t right. Something juice, though. Mac got up and walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall, and for a moment, as if a ghost passed before him, he saw the white wolven staring at him and then it disappeared. He stumbled backward, tripping over an old chest at the foot of the bed and landed hard on his bottom.
Suddenly Mac remembered his missing crewmate. He knew he needed to get Stephanie back as soon as possible, with or without the help of the tribe.
“You’re up!” Gregor said. Mac turned and saw him standing in the doorway.
“Ugh, I feel like a bomb went off in my head and an alligator crapped in my mouth.” Mac said.
“You should probably go slower on the barberry juice next time.” Gregor said. “Although you certainly made an impression on Double Head.”
“What happened to me?” Mac asked.
“Something I’ve never seen before. It seems that when I gave you my blood, it merged with yours. And when you were thrown behind the bar by Double Head, you turned into one of us for a brief period of time.” Gregor said.
“I what?! Is this a permanent thing? Am I going to turn again? Will I become completely wolven?” Mac asked. He was terrified.
“I’m sorry; I don’t have any answers for you. This has never happened before because we have never encountered humans.” Gregor said, lowering and shaking his head. “You fought the chief and then passed out from the fermented juice. My boys carried you back here.”
“Are we in danger, Gregor?” Mac asked.
“Not from us or Double Head’s tribe for now. Things will calm down after a few days, but you are here on the brink of war with the centaurs. Your friend’s capture involves you in this. I wish I had better news. The centaurs have been planning war with us for some time; our spies from the mole community have told us. The little man you all saved in the river, Rasp, is a spy for the wolven, and those libmoks almost killed him. Thank you for saving his life, because he brought back some critical information.” Gregor said.
“We’re involved in a war here? My directive was to avoid war and get that star gate opened after meeting with your people and, well…”
“Making sure we wouldn’t eat every human that came through your portal?” Gregor asked. He wore a sly smile.
“Yes, that and making sure there were no viruses here that could kill the human population coming over, or your species for that matter. I’m sorry to say that my scientific team wasn’t very effective. Almost all of us were killed or captured, but we are at least still alive and proved…”
“You proved that when you get a blood transfusion from one of the wolven, you will become one. It may only happen when you are in an aggravated state of mind, but there’s no way to confirm this yet. So, from a scientific standpoint, there are changes happening to your people that may or may not be to your advantage in the future.” Gregor said.
“I’d like to think the changes are to my advantage, but it may take me awhile to absorb the idea that I can change into a wolf.” Mac said.
“Wolven,” Gregor corrected. “And, was it so bad? The change, I mean.”
“I don’t think so, I don’t know. But I remember feeling very sick. Raw anger and rage flash in my mind when I think back to what happened, but it’s fuzzy, like I’m putting together a story someone else told me.” Mac replied.
“That’s the battle rage. It surges through us when we’re very angry and know that combat is imminent. It is what has sustained our people through many battles where the odds were against us, but what is coming is something we can’t repel. Not without your help, according to the prophecy, anyway.” Gregor said.
“Can you tell me more about the prophecy?” Mac asked.
“All but the shaman of our tribes think it is a myth, a legend told to us that has no basis in reality, but when we shaman meditate, the visions presented do manifest in the physical realm. Our spirit guides show us only what we need to see. The prophecy of your coming was given to us so many generations ago, but there was no timeline for the coming. I just knew, from my contact with the spirits that help will come from the stars. That carving was made such a long time ago that I began to lose hope I would see the revelation in my lifetime, but it is coming. I know it like I sense the change in seasons.”
“I have to get moving to save Stephanie. Can you tell me which direction to go, or send a guide with us?”
“We’ll help you, Mac. My sons and I will go with you to find Stephanie. We’ll prepare for the journey and leave this morning.” Gregor said.
“Thank you, Gregor.” Mac said.
“Don’t mention it. After last night, you’re one of the family.” Gregor said. He rested a paw on Mac’s shoulder and smiled.
Kim entered the room, wiping sleep from her eyes.
“That drink was evil, Gregor. I have to watch how much of that I have next time, and you sir, should never drink it again. That was quite a show you put on last night; it scared half the bar.” Kim said.
Mac looked down with a small grin and rubbed his matted hair.
A knock came at the front door.
“That’ll be Dante and Ramos. We’ll eat some breakfast and be on our way. The rifles you came with are in my study leaning against the wall.”
Gregor opened the door and Dante came over to Mac right away. Ramos was more reserved and stood by the door with their father shaking his head.
“Brother!” Dante hugged Mac.
The larger wolven grabbed him as an adult will a small child, shaking his smaller body like a doll, and if Mac had not begun to know these people, the experience would have been alarming at best. Mac could smell Dante’s fur and it reminded him of his dog Sparx he had as a child just after giving the animal a bath. His fur smelled of chamomile and lavender mixed with canine musk, creating an interesting odor that was not unpleasant, just animalistic and endearing. Anything smelled better than the patchouli laden aroma of Gregor’s house, Mac thought.
“That was quite a display last night, Mac. Most of the town is talking about it this morning.” Ramos said.
“Any of it good?” Mac asked, wincing.
“Most of them think you’re some kind of shape-shifting warlock or a demon sent here from another dimension.” Ramos said, smiling. “Maybe they’re right,” he shrugged, “who knows. When are we leaving for Moktar, father?”
“I’m not a warlock or a demon. Just a human suffering from a severe side effect of an unexpected blood transfusion on a world not my own.” Mac said.
“We’ll leave after we eat. Kim, Mac, please join us in the dining room for some fresh deer stew.” Gregor said.
An hour later the party of five was on their way out of town, headed for the centaur citadel of Moktar. Dante and Ramos slung their crossbows across their backs and Gregor wielded his ornate wooden staff, the top of which had the skull of a small animal and ruby red gems in the eye sockets. The humans carried their rifles, but Mac wore new clothes since his old ones were scraps. The group walked to the town center and stood before a golden statue of an ancient wolven warrior. A wolven woman stood before them.
“May the gods watch over you and protect you on your journey.” The wolven woman said. She bowed toward the party with her hands clasped like a pyramid.
“Thank you, Miranda. May they also protect and watch over this village until our safe return.” Gregor said He bowed his head toward her as they passed.
Mac began to feel that familiar sinking, swimming nausea in his stomach and head again, the same as just before the last change. The wolven had been gracious enough to clothe him in leathers that had an elastic, stretchy material connecting the pieces. To him they felt almost like magical clothes; they would not tear if and when he changed again. Mac felt the wolf breathe within him and saw its toothy maw when he closed his eyes. When they were beyo
nd the village, Mac lurched forward as if he were about to vomit, and in less than thirty seconds he had changed back into the white wolven and stood looking confused at the surprised faces of his comrades.
“What?” He asked.
“Nothing, my friend. Your looks have improved a great deal in a short time.” Ramos said.
“Wow. That is a neat trick, earth man!” Dante was stupefied. “Did you do that at will?”
Mac looked down at his hands and forearms, disturbed to see they were fur covered and his fingernails were now long black claws. He stumbled backward slamming his head into a branch he had walked under a moment ago.
“AAARGHHH!” He screamed.
“Mac, this situation may be permanent, but you are among friends who understand what happened, if not why.” Gregor said.
“I’m OK. I just wish whatever this is would decide which way it wants to go. I mean, I want to learn to control it. This would scare the hell out of my kids if I just popped into wolf form out of nowhere.” Mac said.
“Wolven.” Ramos corrected.
“Right, sorry.” Mac said.
“There are sizable advantages for wolven. Pick up that rock over there.” Ramos said.
“You mean the one about the size of my head? No way, I can’t lift that.” Mac said.
“No, not the tiny rock. Pick up the one beside it.” The other rock was a large boulder sunken deep into the ground.
“Are you kidding? Look at how deep it’s buried. Besides, the last boulder I encountered was alive.” Mac said and looked back at Ramos.
Ramos shook his head with the impatience of a frustrated teacher. “There are no such things as living boulders. There are enchanted boulders, however.”
“How did they get that way?” Kim asked.
“Before the end of the age of the golden sun there was an imbalance of power between the pyrodrones when our Tablet of Destinies was lost. The tablet is an object of enormous power and it is said that whoever controls the tablet will rule the universe. During the war, the wolven and Minotaurs were losing badly to Broad Axe the reptilian king, who sought to take the tablet and rule many worlds, but Multok the Wise, chief of the Minotaur clan went on a quest to finish the war by using the tablet against our enemies. Then he disappeared, along with the tablet. When the tablet was no longer in place to steady the power of the pyradrones, instability ensued and caused many sleeping objects in this world to awaken in the form of magical imbalance. Foul creatures began to roam the land, giving rise to monsters like the centaurs and our enemy, Asura. We don’t have time to waste, so if you do possess the power of the wolven, we need to see how much strength you gained from Gregor.” Ramos said.
Mac looked at the boulder that, in his estimation, had to weigh more than a ton. With a mixture of doubt and excitement, he knelt down, uprooting it from the ground, with the ease of a child lifting a whiffle ball, exposing a three foot crater in the ground.
“Toss it at…that dead tree over there.” Ramos said. He pointed toward a large tree about sixty feet from them that had long ago been struck by lightning. Mac hoisted the rock above his head and tossed it through the air with ease.
“Hey, what the…” The rock cried, and then it hit like a bomb, sending a shower of wood through the air. “Ow, my head!”
“Sorry.” Mac said.
“It’s alright.” The rock said from a distance, and went back to sleep.
“Nice throw!” Dante said. “You’re gonna’ do OK here.”
“That was actually really easy.” Mac said.
Ramos clapped him on the shoulder and nodded approval. Mac remained in wolven form until early evening when it was time to find a spot to camp for the night. He changed back to human form unexpectedly. Mac and Kim had the inflatable shelters from their backpacks, but the wolven needed no shelter. Dante disappeared for thirty minutes after camp was setup and returned with a full grown deer. To Mac and Kim, the animal looked like some kind of cross between an ibex and a moose. He walked into camp and put the animal carcass on a spit he’d crafted from a small green tree and roasted it over a medium flame. The sun had set and the camp firelight flickered against faces, half obscured by darkness, as each member of the party sat with a full belly. They listened as awakening crickets chirped their evening love songs, alerting female crickets and hungry muskracks to their presence. Other nocturnal hunters were out at night as well: skilled predators rustling through thickets and bushes, eager for a chance to catch the meek unaware.
“Tomorrow we’ll be out of the woods and heading across the plains. There shouldn’t be too much trouble out there, but once we pass into the Bog Lands, there could be any number of dangers hiding within the dark recesses of that swamp.” Gregor said.
“My ship is out there in the plains. Dante saw us land; he should know the rough whereabouts of the Poseidon. We could fly over the bog, if you want to save some time and effort.” Mac said.
“That’s an excellent point; we could save time and energy by using the human technology.” Ramos said.
Talk then turned to lore of the wolven race and a history of Eritria as the elders knew it. Gregor spoke, and to illustrate his story, he produced a small green stone from a pocket in his robe and tossed it in the fire. It rose from the flames a moment later and began to spin, throwing off light in every direction, displaying a visual projection of Gregor’s story while he talked. They could all see a large rectangular star craft descend from the blue sky and smaller ships detach from it, speeding away to the four points of the compass. The movie showed wolves, bulls and other animals from this planet milling about, hunting prey, carrying on the daily business of their lives.
“Millions of years ago travelers came from the stars. These were scientists sent to scour the universe for life and improve living conditions. They found it on Eritria in the form of numerous races of animals. These men of science evaluated our planet and inhabitants and decided that to advance our society to the next level, intervention was required.”
Gregor paused to make sure he had not confused Mac and Kim. In the movie the little ships began to land, ramps descending and little grey men with large heads and almond-shaped black eyes, exiting.
“The creators sent the grey men, androids really, to genetically modify our DNA.” Gregor said.
“How do you know about DNA? No offense, but scientists on our own planet have only known about it for about a hundred years or so.” Kim asked.
“We’ve known about DNA for about fifty-five thousand years. Our culture has detailed records of medical science dating back to our creation.” Dante said.
“We’ve had at least four major cataclysmic events that wiped most of our records from the earth, and what wasn’t taken by natural disaster our own people burned or destroyed in mad power grabs throughout history. We probably had the science a long time ago, but for some reason our race seems to always slip back into dark ages.” Mac said, shaking his head.
“The creators built those pyradrones, the ones that are still standing today. They were able to tap into the vibratory life of our world, transmitting communication to their home planet far from here. The pyradrones were left behind when the scientists had completed their work, and later we figured out how to use them for our own culture.”
Gregor’s fire stone displayed the grey men constructing the massive ziggurats with what may have been electro-gravitic machines. Blocks of solid granite, weighing tons, floated through the air as if carried by invisible titans. In the next scene, tall humans garbed in silver skintight suits were leading rows of animals into the ziggurat structures through an opening at the top.
“Oh, so they created you by genetic modification.” Mac said. “We have similar tales on our own planet. I have heard stories that giant sky gods called Anunnaki came from far away and modified a race of evolving humans thousands of years ago.”
Mac looked back into the fire stone images and saw that some time after the animals had entered the ziggurats on four legs, they
emerged walking upright. Minotaur, ibex, mole men, wolven, reptilians, and libmoks.
“What about the centaurs? I don’t see any of them coming out of those temples.” Mac asked.
“The centaurs are abominations created during the last great war with Broad Axe, father of Asura. A terrible space-time rift was opened during the final battle, causing many anomalies that unleashed unstable energies. The torsos of fairies were fused to the bodies of horses when the faerie cavalry passed through the cloud, creating the centaurs. We could have welcomed the new creatures into our society, had they been willing to assimilate. But the experience in the rift poisoned their minds and since that time, the centaurs have been the enemy of the free people of Eritria. Broad Axe was pulled into the rift and his son, Asura, has been looking for him ever since by using the aid of demonic shades. Once Broad Axe was gone, the libmoks and other evil creatures from the bog lands receded, and we were left in peace, for a few hundred years anyway.”
“So, they’re planning a war with the wolven now?” Mac asked.
“That’s what Rasp told us when he made it to Wasatch village. He snuck into Scowl castle and overheard a conversation between Ragnok, the centaur king, and Yawl, his lackey. The libmoks saw Rasp leaving and gave chase as he bolted back to the river, where they caught up to him and that’s when we came along to his aid.” Dante said.
Clouds had been gathering in the dark sky above, and when they cleared, the twin moons of Eritria appeared. They had a red tint to them, like the eyes of a monster in the sky. Ramos doubled over in pain, wincing in silence beside Mac.
“The blood moons are upon me, father.” Ramos said. His teeth were clenched together. “I didn’t think it would come so soon.”
“I knew the time would be close.” Gregor said. “I saw this in my vision the other night.”
“What are the blood moons?” Kim asked.
“Ramos is about to experience the changing. He’ll have to go to the Cave of Shadows and complete the trial of undeath. As the first-born son of the village chief, when he was twelve years old, a travelling witch doctor came to our village, and Ramos was given the choice either to become a chief or to walk the path of the necromancer. The blood moons only appear once every three years and now, since Ramos is of age, he must complete his quest to become a raiser of the dead. It’s an honor given to the chosen, for not many are, and few survive the challenge. Asura the Damned went on the same journey and fell to madness in that cave.” Gregor said.
“It is said great evil lives inside that mountain.” Ramos said. He was sitting up now and the pain seemed to have passed. “I’ll have to leave you all in the morning, once we get to the plains.”
“Let me get this straight. We’re headed to Moktar, the stronghold for your mortal enemy, and Ramos is leaving us to go finish a quest to raise the undead?” Mac asked.
“Yes of course.” Gregor said. He was nodding to his sons.
“Look, Mac, don’t worry so much. The fact that you’re half wolven is only a benefit to this quest.” Dante said.
“Could it be done to me as well?” Kim asked. “The change, I mean. If I went through a blood transfusion with one of you?” She asked.
“I don’t know, Kim, we may have been lucky with Mac that my blood did not outright kill him.” Gregor said.
Kim was looking at Mac like she was waiting for his permission.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I’m a universal donor, so that could have been what saved me. This is a whole new world with new rules, and I may be your commanding officer, but I’m not your dad.” He said, and laughed. “Do what’s best for you, lieutenant.” He said.
Mac walked to the edge of their campsite, peering into the blackness beyond, feeling the eyes of a million night creatures on him as he stood on the doorstep of the deep, dark wilderness. As Mac stood at the edge of their firelight, the ground began to give way under his feet. Pebbles and dirt slid into a growing crevasse as Mac looked down, his eyes wide and mouth frozen in an O of surprise as his legs collapsed and he fell to the ground. He spent the next few seconds desperately grappling the ground sliding downward. Dante turned just in time to see a tentacle fly up from beneath the Colonel’s body and wrap around his waist.
“Trap door terapod! Mac, TURN!” Dante screamed.
Mac understood immediately, and felt the fire once more, only this time it was like a dull throb, his body began to lengthen, his strength grow, and his hands turn into claws as his maw snarled. He grabbed the tentacle with both paws and snapped it in two. The remaining tentacle slithered back into the ground as Mac forward-rolled up and out of the pit. He stood on dry ground a moment later, looking down into the funnel while slowly backing away.
“Get ready, brother!” Dante said to Ramos.
“This is going to be fun, remember the last time we fought one of…” Ramos said. Before he could finish, a thirty-foot tall spider-crab exploded out of the small hole into which it had previously been dragging Mac.
The trap door terapod loomed over them on spindly legs, a horror from Mac’s spider-filled nightmares as a child. And now, standing in front of him was the biggest spider he had ever seen. It had a hardback shell and pincers on each side of a vertical mouth filled with sharp needle teeth. The sides of its body were writhing with tangles of thick tentacles, extending toward Mac in a hypnotic snake-like rhythm. Mac stood staring, dumbfounded at the living nightmare as Dante and Ramos dashed past him, leaping through the air with supernatural speed. Dante landed on the terapod’s back slashing at defending tentacles, while Ramos struck two legs.
“Mac, we could use your help, if you’re done staring.” Dante said.
“Avoid the mouth, they have a nasty bite! Ramos said.
Kim fired at the monster with her plasma rifle as her boss snapped out of it and grabbed a pincher swiping for his head. He held on with both arms as it lifted him in the air, swinging him toward the rows of its teeth, dripping with a foul smelling liquid. Dante stabbed down with his claws into the monster’s back, tearing through the hard shell, while his brother removed two more legs. The tentacles on Ramos’s side swept under his feet, catching him off balance and wrapping around his ankle. He was tossed through the air, slamming into a tree. As he recovered, it caught him again and dragged him across the ground until the monster raised him high above its gaping mouth. Before he could be tossed inside, Mac jerked his body with full force and snapped the claw off, sending him hurling to the ground. The terapod let out a hiss as a shot from Kim’s rifle blasted half a row of acid-covered teeth from the creature’s mouth. Dante punched down repeatedly, smashing the hard shell of the terapod and reaching inside its back. It tried to buck him off, but his determination would not be undone. While he was reaching inside the beast Ramos ran back and dived at the terapod’s exposed underbelly.
Ramos smashed into it as if he were tearing through tissue paper and entered the monster’s body with a sickening slurping sound. The terapod howled, but was not down yet. Kim fired again, this time destroying the other pincher as Mac tore off three more tentacles and ripped off the terapod’s eye stalks.
“Jesus these things are hard to kill!” Mac screamed.
“They are indeed, and their holes are difficult to spot until you’re right up on them.” Gregor said. He was standing now, holding his staff. The jeweled eyes were glowing red in the darkness.
Dante reached down inside the creature and grabbed hold of something while the terapod dropped to the ground. A moment later Ramos emerged from the terapod’s back, holding Dante’s hand and covered from head to toe in goo.
“I want to take a month long bath. Ugh, this is nasty.” Ramos said. He spat white goo onto the ground.
“Argh, you stink!” Dante said. He pulled Ramos the rest of the way out and they jumped to the forest floor from the back of the thirty-foot tall spider carcass.
“You try crawling through the intestines of a terapod and see how you smell, huh?” Ramos said.
They stared one an
other for a moment until brilliant red light emanated from Gregor’s staff, engulfing the terapod’s carcass in yellow and red flames, charring it to cinders in minutes. Mac thought it smelled like somebody’s cat was on fire and turned his head in disgust.
“If that’s the only one of these we see on this adventure we can consider ourselves fortunate.” Gregor said.
“This place is a laugh a minute. Should we be worried about any other night monsters?” Mac asked.
“We’ll let you know.” Dante said. He was grinning at Mac as his brother shook the guts off his body like a wet dog in the house after playing in the rain.
Mac sat down hard and began to wonder if bringing his children to Eritria was the smartest idea.
“It is, sir.” Kim said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your children are better off here than back on earth.”
“You read my mind.”
“I know. I don’t know how, but it’s a little something I’ve picked up since being here. I apologize, Mac. Before you thought about your children I thought it might have been my imagination, but I heard your voice inside my head.” Kim said.
“That’s a great trick, Kim. I’d keep it to yourself though, that kind of power could make anyone uneasy.” Mac said.
“Yes sir, I’ll do that.” Kim said.
In an hour the wolven were snoring like thunder, and Kim was sleeping inside her tent. But Mac lay on his back, staring at the stars for the rest of the night in wolven form, wondering if things would ever be the same again and half hoping they never would.
CHAPTER 10