Winston let out a cry of distress as he dove aside to avoid the falling body. His tiny heart pounded in his chest. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t hurt it. Trembling, Winston edged his way toward the lantern. He tried to find comfort in the flickering flame, but none came.

  He heard a whoosh behind him and whirled around. Then again. And again. It was there. He knew it, but why wasn’t it killing him? Winston heard a thump and whipped around once more. Before him sat a feline of some sort. Not exactly a house cat, but not exactly a larger predator either. Its black fur was interwoven with streaks of glowing purple. Winston could feel the energy pulsing from the creature as it peered curiously at him.

  [Passive Charm lvl 5 → Passive Charm lvl 6]

  Winston let out a whimper. That explained it. Not knowing what to do now that the creature was choosing not to attack him, he focused on it.

  [Nightrender(Shadow) - Acolyte 1]

  Acolyte? How much higher was that than Initiate? Winston’s thoughts were cut short as the Nightrender batted him playfully. Winston let out a cry of distress as he felt another rib crack. He’d never experienced anything even close to it, and he felt himself going into shock.

  Winston flinched as the Nightrender padded closer to him. Then, Winston and the cat both let out cries of surprise as a figure burst into the light.

  Erynd stared up at the Nightrender. “Oh…well, fuck.”

  The two stared at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Erynd’s hand gripped an arrow and moved to knock it, but the paw of the Nightrender lashed out and ripped his bow to shreds.

  Erynd glanced at Winston. “If I survive, you owe me.” He sighed. “Goddamnit.”

  Yanking a dagger from his waist, Erynd lunged at the beast. Ducking under a claw, he lashed out, his dagger barely penetrating the Nightrender’s thick fur. He stabbed again and again, but when he finally managed to draw a drop of blood, a paw struck him in the chest.

  Erynd flew back and disappeared into the shadows. A moment later, he was back, blood leaking from his mouth. As the Nightrender went to finish the job, it suddenly jerked its head back. Norra flew past, the warhammer barely missing the beast’s head.

  A second later, the creature dodged again as Roderic landed, sword in hand. “Damnit, Erynd. I knew keeping that creature was a bad idea.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Winston took shallow, deliberate breaths as he watched them clash. There wasn’t anything he could do. He just had to hope that the Caltherans would win.

  Erynd pulled another bow seemingly out of nowhere and began to fire. Most of the arrows glanced off or got stuck in the fur, but a few pierced through. After taking another hit from Norra’s hammer, the beast hissed and leaped back.

  Winston whimpered. He had to do something! He couldn’t just sit here and be useless the whole time. Focusing, he looked for any opportunity to help.

  Glancing towards the Nightrender, Winston found it with a large stone before its paw. His eyes widened as he began to dash forward. The Nightrender flicked its paw, sending the stone flying towards Norra’s head.

  Her eyes widened, and she raised her weapon. But it was too late, the warhammer was too heavy to be manoeuvred so easily. Just as the stone was about to collide with Norra’s skull, Winston took a mad leap. He flew towards the stone, and just before it was too late, he activated [Consume]. The stone, easily the size of a small cat, just dispersed into emerald mist.

  As he flew through the air, he felt energy flowing into him, far more than when he’d consumed the pebbles.

  Winston landed on his side, letting out a cry of pain as he rolled on the hard stone beneath him. Leaping back to his feet, he turned to face the beast. Winston’s eyes widened. The beast wasn’t there anymore. It was in the air, soaring towards him.

  Cowering back, Winston squeezed his eyes shut. But the pain never came. Cracking open an eye, he saw Roderic standing before him. Roderic lunged forward, feinting before striking at the Nightrender’s eye. Just as it looked like he was going to make contact, a tendril of shadow shot out of the darkness surrounding them.

  Roderic cried out as his sword arm was yanked back. Norra dove forward while Erynd continued to pelt its face with arrows. The beast batted Norra away and launched another stone at Erynd, striking him in the leg.

  Roderic yanked his arm out of the hold of the shadows. Twisting, he narrowly avoided a blow to his head. He fell back, trying to direct the beast’s attention towards him while Norra snuck behind it.

  The beast’s eyes widened as it stumbled. Taking advantage of the opportunity, half a dozen warriors launched ranged attacks at the Nightrender. At the same time, the terrified spearman lunged forward, striking the creature’s paw.

  The Nightrender launched itself back, roaring in indignation. Opening its maw, the beast roared louder than ever, just like the first roar when it was attacking the miners.

  Immediately, half of the lanterns were extinguished. The Nightrender leaped back into the shadows, but something was different. The purple streaks in its fur were glowing brilliantly. As the warriors relit the lanterns, the beast didn’t attack. It was as if it were waiting for something.

  There was a flash of movement above them, and the assembled warriors looked up at the descending figure.

  “It’s Commander Thalysar!” A warrior cried. “He’s a Serath! We’re saved!”

  The commander stopped a foot above the ground, floating. He pointed his spear towards the beast, and the tip began to glow a brilliant white. The light illuminated a patch a dozen times larger than a lantern ever could.

  The glowing orb launched upwards, floating at the top of the cave and illuminating the battle.