Smarter Beasts

{I write these words with my blood!}

….

"Get behind me!" Narene infused her sword with magic, the blade glowed a brilliant green. Fryssel stumbled a bit but quickly moved behind her. Narene looked around, trying to figure out the direction the monsters were coming from.

The howling sounded again and this time, she noticed something—small and black—shooting down from the sky. It first appeared like a black dot in the sky then it seemed like an arrow but Narene saw it. It was a winged Haklaran!

She hadn't come to terms with the winged Haklaran when another rushed out from the small bush nearby, thumping on the ground with strong limbs that left deep depressions on the ground. It growled as it rushed forward. For a split moment, Narene's focus was split. She had never faced a Haklaran squarely before and her last attempt would've ended in her death if Sharen hadn't showed up.

She held the sword with a firm grip, eyeing the two monsters as they rushed at her. A voice behind her said, "Year olds! It seems they've just been spawned."

Narene turned, giving Sharen a look of displeasure. "Master Sharen," she said, her voice laced with urgency and worry. "You're injured. You should be resting!"

Sharen chuckled, pulling out the sword he'd gotten from Shar. "You can't face three Haklarans on your own."

"Three?"

"Look," Sharen pointed at a direction and when she looked, she saw another one, crawling like a crab, fluttering the many tentacles that adorned its body.

Narene's heart drummed in her ears and her hands—though trembling slightly—still held her sword tightly. She wanted to fight. She wanted to show Sharen that he hadn't made a mistake by taking her in. Most of all, she wanted to prove to herself—and to him—that she was worthy.

She turned to the winged Haklaran and asked, "How do we kill a winged Haklaran?"

Sharen chuckled; his green eyes glowed making him look menacing. His hands were moving rapidly as he muttered magical words that made the sands around them to spin. "Leave the sky beast to me."

Narene nodded then slashed down, releasing the thunder storm she had prepared. The spell could create a mixture of air and fire magic that struck like lightning. The streaks of bright blue light meandered, pouring on the creature.

It writhed but spun, whipping it's gigantic limb forward, sending sand into the air. It was shaped like a huge lizard with the head of a rhino. It had spikes on its back and the tail was a bit shorter that it was almost unnoticeable.

The Haklaran turned, using the rain of sand particles as cover to attack. Narene had heard from Hunters that Haklarans became powerful and wiser with age. She felt that if these ones were newly spwned, then they would be easy to kill.

The creature jumped right onto Narene's aimed sword. She infused the sword, the blade twisted and turned as it reformed into a chain thrower, piercing the Haklaran to the back and beyond. The creature howled and kicked to free itself.

The other Haklaran crawled towards Fryssel and Narene cursed. The boy was just too scared to run. He could only move back as the slow moving Haklaran approached him. Narene jumped in, weaving a spell that threw the creature back a few metres.

She used another spell to create a crater that swallowed the creature deep enough to prevent it from moving. However, the crawler jerked itself free, breaking the ground and jumping towards them again.

Narene quickly shape-shifted her chain thrower into a long spear, aiming it for the creature's belly. The Haklaran must have been tipped off for it changed its trajectory by dropping so suddenly then it rolled up into a ball, shooting at her.

Narene had never heard of such a phenomenon so she quickly chanted a spell. She wasn't fast enough and the creature could've slammed into her if not for a timely rescue by Sharen. He swooped down, blasting the speeding creature away with a wave of his hand.

The creature landed then unfolded. It released a low growl then rolled up again. It tumbled towards Sharen but he readied a spell, whipping his sword out but once again, the creature deviated from its path then circled around, slamming its massive body against Sharen's.

Sharen fell over, his face contorted with a grimace and blood spurted out of his wound again. Narene gasped. Seeing Sharen so helpless made her anger boil. This was the essence of her magic. It was the very reason the gods had blessed her with the gift. She had to help her master.

Her eyes glowed brighter green then she chanted—as fast as she could. Spikes sprung out of the ground, impaling the creature right as it was about to leap on Sharen. Sharen then created a ball of blue light which incinerated the creature.

Narene fell on her knees, her magical energy was almost exhausted. Sharen would reprimand her for being reckless again. She looked around and noticed that the winged Haklaran had been killed and its massive body lay covered in spikes and ugliness. The orange liquid seeping out of them made her stomach turn.

She rushed over and helped Sharen stand. He nodded with a gasp and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"You should stop acting so tough," Narene said, ripping away his shirt to reveal the wound. She felt Sharen stiffen in her hold. She ignored the reaction and continued. Fryssel joined them; he had the head of the first Haklaran in his hand.

"I thought I should cut its head off because it was moving after you pierced it down." he said, holding up the head.

Sharen nodded. "You did well, Fryssel."

Narene smiled, noting the way the boy beamed with happiness. She used a light healing spell to seal the wound as best as she could and she was surprised at the level of healing she achieved given that she was almost drained.

After she was done, Sharen smiled. "Thank you. Though reckless as that was, it saved my life."

Narene nodded with a smile. "If you weren't injured then those monsters would've been a cake for you."

Sharen coughed slightly, avoiding her eyes. He then sat on the sandy ground with his sword in hand. "It seems that Khlatus has turned its attention to this part of the empire."

"I have a question, though," Fryssel had already put the head away. "Was the last one you fought a newly spawned? Aren't they supposed to be stupid?"

Sharen shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's either they've been here for a while or the creatures are getting smarter than they usually were."

"What should we do with them?"

"Collect the magical crystals they'll drop and store them away. We might need money in Shokhi." Sharen grimaced again, making Narene feel slightly uncomfortable.

Fryssel nodded then rushed off to do as Sharen had told. Narene found his enthusiasm infectious but she was pleased that he was useful to the team.