“Come on then!”

  The grin never faded from Lucas’ face as he taunted the huge Direwolf slowly stalking around him. It was a startling flip in his attitude towards the situation, going from terrified and bracing himself for death to laughing and taunting the beast that was still eager to kill him. It took a lot to cause that kind of change in someone, or a psychotic break. For Lucas, the source of that change was within the teen’s right hand.

  His xiphos, reconstructed and recreated out of his own magic. And not an illusion either, but a solid, physical thing. He didn’t know how he’d managed to do it, but his magic had found a way, and he’d discovered a way to use his Darkness affinity. Already he was getting so many ideas and theories that he wanted to test, but there was a bigger issue to worry about first before he could get to that.

  After weeks of practice, training, and trying, Lucas hadn’t been able to find any real way to manifest his Darkness magic. Even sitting in darkened, shadowy areas didn’t provide much help other than stirring up the mana within him a bit. But now, he’d found a way and he could still remember the feeling as his mana surged through his body. He could still recall how that dark sea of mana within him had flooded down his arm, connecting with something and solidifying the very shadows themselves.

  Shadows and darkness weren’t meant to be physical things. Lucas knew that and science would back it up. But he had magic, so science could shove it where the sun didn’t shine. His illusions just weren’t good enough to work for long against the Direwolves, but now he had a weapon of his own to use against them. And with his magic, he would never be without a weapon again.

  Looking at the weapon in his hands, he could feel his mana holding the shadows and darkness together, binding them into the shape of the blade he was familiar with. But deep down, he could feel how easy it would be to shift and change that shape. To have the shadows take the form of other weapons he’d seen would be easy…

  Normally, Lucas wouldn’t have called himself a particularly violent person. He rarely ever got into fights back home and he had never been the one to start one. But as he stared at those vile green eyes across from him, Lucas could feel his heart pounding within his chest. He wanted to fight, and he wanted to win it too.

  While his illusions lacked any sort of scent and were easier to spot, there was one way that Lucas knew he could use them to trick the Direwolf.

  His mana churned and a bubble spread around his body. Doing two different illusions at the same time was tough and it took more time than he or Wren were happy with, but he could manage it while the wolf was just circling him. What he was more surprised to find was how much more difficult it was to focus on his illusions than normal. It took him a second to realize that the sword in his hand was constantly demanding a steady trickle of his magic.

  It made sense, but it was something he would have to focus more on later. He left that stream of magic alone, diverting the rest of his attention to putting his plan into action.

  He crouched lower, his body coiled and tense like a spring as he prepared for what was to come. But to the Direwolf circling him, Lucas looked as if he was still standing normally, turning to follow the beast as it prowled around him. It took some work, but Lucas was able to create an illusion of himself while making another illusion to cloak his real body.

  It wasn’t easy, though, and Lucas could feel the first hints of a headache building.

  After another second, the next part of his plan went into play, as his illusion looked away quickly to glance at the battle between Fay and the rest of the pack. It was exactly what the Direwolf had been waiting for, and it lunged at Lucas with a snarl.

  Lucas grinned, watching as the beast flew towards him. At the last second he burst forward, leaping from his concealing illusion and meeting the Direwolf halfway. It was expecting to catch him by surprise, but he could see the beast’s shock as a second version of him suddenly appeared, blade ready to cleave into it.

  It wasn’t a perfect hit, but Lucas still managed to slice his shadowy blade across the beast’s flank as he narrowly dashed past its lunging strike.

  The moment the creature landed, he let both illusions fade and got into his stance once more. The thing was wounded and bleeding. All he had to do was be careful, fight defensively, and hold out for Fay to come and back him up…

  Except Lucas didn’t want to do that. He wanted to finish the fight himself.

  So he didn’t wait this time. He dashed in, rushing the Direwolf as it snarled at him in fury. The trick had worked the first time so he tried it again, flexing his mana and will to create not one, but two illusory copies of himself sprinting alongside him to the left and right. Doing so meant he felt that headache getting a bit worse, but he pushed that minor pain down and focused on the fight.

  Like he’d hoped the illusions created a moment of confusion in the Direwolf, and its eyes flickered between the three versions of Lucas. But as all three swung in at the beast, it leapt backwards to try and dodge out of the way of the strikes. It didn’t dodge fully, though, and took two blows before it could get away.

  One of those blows was from an illusion, but the other was a solid strike that clipped the beast’s ear. Condensed shadows cleaved into thin flesh, cleaving most of the wolf’s left ear from its head.

  The wolf staggered as it landed, howling in pain as one of its ears was almost fully removed. What was left was less than half of an ear, and Lucas had to imagine that the wound hurt a lot. The wolf clearly seemed to agree as blood welled from the cleaved off ear, trickling down its head.

  The blade in his hands was as sharp as the real thing, if not sharper. And yet, it was as light as a feather in his hands. It was so incredibly easy to swing the sword around with a complete lack of weight. There was a slight chill to the shadows, a cold that he could feel in his hand as he gripped the hilt. It wasn’t painful, but it was noticeable.

  Lucas didn’t focus on his new blade for long, though, and quickly moved to keep applying more pressure. He’d landed another blow and the wolf was in clear pain. He took the chance and dove back into the fight, rushing towards the beast with his two copies. He had to push down a grimace as he felt a bit of pain throb in his head as he did so, but he powered through it. In the end, it would’ve been better if he’d dropped the illusions.

  The Direwolf dropped lower as Lucas approached. He braced himself for it to jump away and dodge again, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, as Lucas swung down to try and cut into the wolf again, it lunged towards him.

  At him. Not his illusions, but Lucas himself.

  Lucas howled in pain as he felt the wolf’s jaws clamp down around his left arm. It would have been his neck if he hadn’t managed to get his arm up in time to block. He felt those razor-sharp fangs digging into his flesh and watched those toxic green eyes light up in glee as the Direwolf tasted his blood.

  Somehow it had seen through his illusions. Whether it had managed to track Lucas’ scent or remembered which of the swings had actually hit it, he didn’t know. But he’d paid the price for being too cocky and was left dealing with a Direwolf attempting to bite off his arm.

  Unfortunately for the beast and luckily for Lucas, it was his left arm that the beast had latched onto. And with it trying to bite through his arm, it was held nicely in place for Lucas’ blade to stab into it.

  This time it was the Direwolf’s turn to howl as Lucas’ shadow blade was stabbed into its side, piercing flesh and causing the beast to recoil. Thankfully, it let go of Lucas arm as it scrambled away from Lucas’ range.

  The two stared one another down, acidic green meeting icy blue. Both of them were injured. Blood was dripping from the cuts across the alpha’s body while Lucas’ clothes were steadily getting more and more soaked from the blood flowing from his wounds.

  Maybe that headache wasn’t just because of him pushing things with his illusions…

  “That’s all you got?” Lucas bit out, holding his left arm close to his chest.

  The Direwolf just glared and snarled at him in return. It was almost frightening how intelligent the beast seemed to be.

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  Seconds passed by with neither side moving, the sounds of combat coming from the other side of the clearing painting a picture of what was happening to the other two combatants.

  The alpha’s gaze flickered towards the other fight and Lucas took the quick chance to do the same. He watched as Fay, Dusk, and Dove finished off the last of the Direwolves and he felt a grin spread across his lips. All that was left was the alpha, and he would have backup soon.

  The alpha seemed to realize it as well. When Lucas turned back to face the creature, he was surprised to see it suddenly turn and dash off into the woods.

  He went to grab his bow to try and take the Direwolf out before it could get away, but as Lucas moved his right arm, he flinched and hissed at the pain as wounded muscles flexed, and his nerves lit up with searing hot pain.

  By the time he looked back up the wolf was gone, vanishing among the dense forests.

  Was that a win? Or a draw? Lucas wasn’t really sure.

  “Lucas!”

  He didn’t have much time to think about that before Fay appeared at his side, her motions a blur as she used her Speed magic to cross the clearing in moments. She seemed relatively alright as Lucas looked her over, but he could see some cuts and gashes along her arms that left him worried.

  “Fay, are you ok?”

  “Me?! Lucas, you’re clearly hurt!” Fay shot back, the worry in her eyes clear as day.

  “I’m fi-“

  Lucas couldn’t even finish the sentence as his arm throbbed in pain and he flinched. A sharp hiss slipped past his lips and Fay gently grabbed his arm to keep it still.

  “You’re not fine!” She firmly said, staring Lucas down. “Granny Wren gave you a healing potion, right? Where is it?”

  “It’s in my bag. I can get it,” He replied.

  “No. You’re going to sit down and take it easy. I’m going to get that potion and heal you, so you don’t bleed out on me,” Fay sharply ordered.

  Lucas was stunned into silence as Fay gently tugged him down to the soft grass below. She kept his arm still as she leaned him back and reached into his backpack with her other hand to find the potion that Wren had given him. He didn’t put up much of a fight and let the blonde work. He knew better to argue against the normally sweet and bubbly girl.

  When the green and gold potion was pulled out of his bag, Fay rested it on the ground and gently squeezed Lucas’ arm above his elbow.

  “This is going to hurt for a second. But we need to get your shirt off,” She warned as she drew one of her daggers.

  Lucas glanced down, looking at his wounds for the first time. The blood leaking from his wounded arm and chest had soaked his shirt and the material was already starting to cling to his body. It would have to be removed and it likely wasn’t going to feel great.

  “That eager to see me without a shirt?” Lucas joked, his head feeling a bit light and fuzzy as his lifeblood continued to drain from his body.

  Fay’s cheeks gained a bit of pink, and she shot him a glare that lacked any real heat. Then she reached down and quickly sliced through his shirt, cutting it down through the middle from neck to waist. In a blur, she did the same to his left arm, cutting the sleeve open from his elbow down.

  “Hold off on the jokes like that for when you’re not bleeding out, you crazy idiot,” Fay scolded.

  With the adrenaline from the fight fading, there was nothing to stop Lucas from focusing on the sharp pain as the blood-soaked fabric was peeled away from his arm and chest. A pained groan slipped past his lips while the fingers of his right hand dug into the dirt.

  “Ok. That hurt,” He managed to bite out through clenched teeth.

  Fay’s glare softened and she quickly tossed away the bloodstained strips of cloth. “I know, just hang in there for a sec. I’ll get you patched up.”

  Lucas just leaned back, closing his eyes as he found the world starting to spin just a little bit. Blood loss paired with the headache that he’d given himself from splitting his attention a bit too much was not making for a good time. The alpha had probably bitten something important in his arm, because it hurt a lot and he was losing a lot of blood.

  Despite the pain, Lucas smiled when he felt Dusk’s rough tongue licking his cheeks. He didn’t chuckle because it hurt, but he did smile and reach over with his right hand to scratch behind the fox’s ears.

  “You did real good today. Remind me to give you a good reward when we get back,” He mumbled. She also definitely needed a bath with all the blood covering her fur.

  A splash of cool liquid to the open wounds on his arm caused Lucas to jolt upright, yelping in pain from the sensation. Dusk jumped back as well, growling as Fay gently, but firmly, pushed him back down. Though, when the little fox saw Fay pour more of the potion’s contents on Lucas’ bare chest, she backed down. Lucas couldn’t do much more than moan in pain and grit his teeth.

  The higher quality potion really paid off, and within seconds Lucas could feel the pain fading. The same numbing quality that the minor healing potions Fay had given him were even stronger in the greater potion, and the pain was soon a thing of the past that left his arm and chest feeling delightfully numb. When he looked down, he was even surprised to see the wounds had stopped bleeding, though it didn’t make them look any better.

  “That thing really fucked you up, Lucas,” Fay said softly, pulling out a roll of gauze from her own bag and started to carefully wrap it around his left arm. “If Granny Wren hadn't given you that potion, I don’t know if a few minor ones would’ve cut it.”

  Lucas could see why. Without blood welling from the wound, the real severity of the Direwolf’s bite became more obvious. It was deep. Deep enough that Lucas could see bone in some places. Those fangs had been huge and they’d been sharp, and he was pretty sure that a few important veins and arteries had been sliced into.

  “I got cocky,” He admitted, letting his head fall back as he stared up into the clear sky above. “I was so excited about my magic that I got cocky and didn’t listen to Wren.”

  “You almost died because of it, Lucas,” Fay replied.

  Her voice was quiet, but the fear that he heard was loud and clear to Lucas and tore at his heart. He knew he’d fucked up. He had the advantage as soon as he’d gotten his sword back. It was a one-on-one fight and all he had to do was stall long enough for Fay to join him. He could have even beaten the Direwolf on his own if he’d been more careful.

  “It won’t happen again, Fay. I promise.”

  As Fay carefully wrapped his wounds, Lucas could see the worry and fear in her eyes. Knowing that it was his fault that she was feeling those emotions was the worst part of all. And he vowed that he’d be better. He couldn’t let himself get that cocky again. Hell, he should’ve known better. Overconfidence and cockiness was one of the biggest downfalls of almost every villain in just about every comic book and show that he’d ever seen.

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Fay replied, gently wrapping the gauze around his chest. She took the chance to lean in and give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and Lucas relished the warm feeling that her lips left behind.

  Once she was done bandaging him up, Fay pulled Lucas up to his feet. His jacket, slightly blood-soaked, and his backpack were quickly pushed into his hands.

  “You should get dressed. We can wash your jacket later when we rest,” She pointed out. Though, Lucas did notice how she took a second to stare at his bare chest. He wasn’t buff or anything yet, but he liked to think that two weeks of hard work was starting to pay off and making him look a bit better.

  He chuckled softly and reached into his backpack, pulling out a fresh shirt and carefully putting it on. The bloody jacket and shirt went back into the bag a second later.

  “We need to go,” Fay said once Lucas was fully dressed. “That wasn’t a normal pack. The packs around here are usually small, but that was like one of the packs from the major territory.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That second group,” She replied, gesturing towards the wolves she’d fought against. “They were all part of the same pack. That wolf that jumped you was probably the mate of the alpha you killed. They were hunting in two different groups. And if one of the large packs from the main territory ended up here, then something is wrong. The Direwolf packs here are small because there’s less for them to eat and they’re usually too small to compete with the larger packs.”

  “So big packs being here doesn’t happen much?” Lucas asked.

  “Why would they come here if their own territory is full of way more food?” Fay shook her head. “No, it doesn’t happen often and if this pack was here, it means something is going on that forced them out.”

  “Another pack?” He suggested.

  “Maybe. But usually, the pack that wins would just absorb the lesser pack. We need to tell dad about this. He’ll have an idea of what to do.”

  Lucas nodded as he looked at the dead Direwolves. “Let’s go, then,”

  As he went to pull his backpack on, Fay stopped him.

  “Wait! Grab the corpse of the big alpha. Mom can definitely use it to make something,” She suggested.

  It wasn’t a bad idea and Lucas did remember Fay saying how Direwolf pelts could sell well. He hadn’t done much damage at all to the wolf’s pelt so maybe he could earn a bit of money from it.

  Once again, he got to watch as the bag’s opening seemed to warp and twist as he fed the huge corpse to it. The strange effect was hard to look at as the normal sized bag easily fit the huge wolf inside.

  Once he was done, Lucas pulled his backpack on once more. He chuckled as Dusk perched herself atop the bag, using it as a little bed to rest on rather than his shoulder. Lucas scratched at her chin a few times as the teen’s gaze wandered to his left hand, and he slowly tried to flex his fingers. He couldn’t move them as smoothly as normal, proof that something important had been damaged by the Direwolf’s bite. But with Wren’s potion, he didn’t think that’d be a problem for too long. Or at least, he hoped so.

  Fay grabbed at his right hand, squeezing it and pulling Lucas’ attention back to her.

  “Come on. Let’s go back home. We’ve gotta celebrate your first hunt.”

  Lucas nodded and smiled at the blonde, following along as the two made their way back towards Helstrum.

  But something about the situation with the Direwolf pack felt off. The thought stuck in the back of Lucas’ mind and continued to bother him as they headed home. Fay was right, they needed to talk to Magnus.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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