Chapter 18: Territorial Battle

  Deep within the older forest, the quiet of the territory shifted.

  The adult Karnyxen pair lifted their heads almost at the same time. Something unfamiliar was moving through their domain. The signal reached them first through the ground, a faint pressure traveling slowly along roots and buried stone until it reached the clearing that sheltered their nest.

  Both predators rose.

  Their noses lifted into the air as they tested the wind. The scent drifting through the trees was foreign and strong, the scent of large bodies that did not belong within their hunting range.

  The younger adult stepped forward first. Its claws pressed into the soil as a low vibration rolled through its chest and sank into the ground beneath the clearing.

  A warning.

  The larger Karnyxen stood beside it, neck extending upward as its gaze followed the movement above the canopy.

  Heavy shapes moved between the upper branches, bending limbs and scattering leaves as they approached.

  Four of them.

  They descended openly.

  The first war ape dropped from the canopy and landed heavily within the clearing.

  Dark fur along one shoulder was matted with dried blood, and the limb bent slightly wrong when it took its weight.

  Another shape followed, descending from the branches with a harsher impact. A long tear ran across its flank, the wound not yet closed.

  The other two landed behind them.

  For a moment, no one moved.

  The massive primate rose slowly onto its hind legs. Its dark eyes fixed on the male Karnyxen standing across the clearing.

  The Karnyxen did not advance. His claws dug deeper into the soil as he studied the intruders.

  Behind him the female remained beside the juvenile, her body angled protectively toward the cub.

  The war ape’s gaze moved across the clearing. It inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the territory, then returned its attention to the Karnyxen.

  Only then did the display begin.

  The ape lifted its arms and slammed its fists against its chest.

  The heavy blows echoed through the forest.

  The other three joined immediately, roaring and striking their chests in the same thunderous rhythm.

  The challenge carried clearly through the clearing.

  Leave the territory.

  Or be driven out.

  The Karnyxen held their ground.

  The male lowered his body slightly, muscles tightening beneath thick fur. The female shifted half a step, keeping the juvenile behind her.

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  The cub stiffened beside her. A small rumble escaped its throat as instinct urged it forward, but the weight of the confrontation held it in place.

  The war apes ended their display.

  One of them lifted its weapon.

  The ironwood trunk it carried was thick as a man’s leg, dense enough to shatter bone with a single strike.

  The largest ape swung first.

  The massive club crashed downward.

  The male Karnyxen leapt aside just before the impact shattered the earth where he had stood.

  He did not retreat.

  Instead he lunged forward.

  His claws drove toward the smallest-looking ape in the formation.

  The clearing exploded into motion.

  Behind him the female held her position, placing herself between the attackers and the juvenile.

  Two war apes broke formation instantly.

  The smallest twisted away from the Karnyxen’s lunge and rushed toward the cub, attempting to split the defenders apart.

  Another—smaller than the leader but heavier than the first—charged straight at the female Karnyxen.

  The ironwood club struck.

  The blow slammed into the female Karnyxen’s side with a crack that echoed through the clearing. The impact drove her several steps sideways, tearing through fur and muscle.

  She did not fall.

  Her jaws opened as energy surged through the channel in her throat.

  A violent burst of compressed force erupted directly into the attacker’s face. The blast did not kill the ape outright, but it tore open wounds across its skull and left it reeling.

  The Karnyxen surged forward.

  Her jaws closed around its neck.

  Bone snapped.

  The body collapsed.

  Another club struck her shoulder a moment later.

  The second war ape had already closed the distance. Its ironwood weapon slammed against her again, reopening the wound and forcing her backward across the clearing.

  Across the battlefield the male Karnyxen was locked in combat with the remaining two.

  When he saw the female stagger, his attention shifted instantly.

  He surged toward her position.

  The smaller female war ape tried to retreat when it realized what had happened to its companion.

  The Karnyxen was faster.

  His jaws snapped down around the ape’s arm, and he yanked violently. Blood sprayed across the ground as the limb twisted under the force.

  The captured war ape roared in pain but did not retreat.

  Instead she lunged forward, wrapping its other arm around the Karnyxen’s body and clinging to him with desperate strength.

  She knew she could not free the trapped arm.

  So she held the predator in place.

  The remaining two apes rushed in immediately.

  Their ironwood clubs rose and fell in heavy arcs, smashing into the Karnyxen’s ribs and back again and again.

  Each blow landed with bone-shaking force.

  But the draconic predator refused to release his grip.

  Ignoring the brutal strikes crashing against his body, he forced the captured ape downward.

  Energy surged through the channel in his throat.

  At point-blank range the blast erupted across the ape’s head.

  Claws followed immediately, tearing through the throat.

  The second war ape fell.

  The clearing grew still for a moment.

  Two bodies lay motionless on the forest floor.

  Two war apes remained.

  Both sides were bleeding now.

  The surviving apes saw their partners fall.

  A furious roar erupted from their throats as they charged again, wild with rage.

  But the Karnyxen pair met them together this time.

  Even wounded, two (C) rank apex predators were overwhelming.

  Claws tore through thick muscle. Jaws snapped at exposed limbs. The war apes were driven back step by step as their injuries worsened with every exchange.

  Only then did they understand their mistake.

  A sharp bark passed between them.

  They retreated.

  The two surviving apes leapt back into the canopy and vanished into the forest.

  The Karnyxen did not pursue.

  They could not.

  Blood darkened their fur and their breathing had grown heavy.

  Victory had come at a cost.

  The clearing remained quiet after the intruders disappeared.

  The male Karnyxen stood for a moment longer before his legs finally bent beneath him. He lowered himself heavily onto the ground, chest rising and falling in slow breaths.

  Across the clearing the female staggered before settling near the body of the ape she had killed.

  The juvenile approached cautiously.

  A soft rumble escaped its throat as it reached the female first. She lifted her head slightly in response, and the cub pressed its snout briefly against her neck.

  She was alive.

  The cub then moved toward the male.

  The larger Karnyxen opened one eye as the juvenile approached. A low growl rolled through his chest, weak but steady.

  He was alive as well.

  Neither of them rose again.

  Both predators remained where they had fallen, too injured to pursue the fleeing enemies.

  The juvenile lifted its head.

  The scent of the escaping war apes still lingered faintly in the air. The wind carried it toward the outer forest and the ridgeline beyond.

  Toward the clearing where the human often appeared.

  The cub turned toward the trees.

  Behind it the female released a deep growl.

  The male echoed the warning.

  Stay.

  The juvenile hesitated only a moment.

  Then it ran.

  The parents growled again, but the cub was already gone, racing through the forest toward the distant clearing.

  Toward Lily.