Consuming Shadows

Chapter 18

Hadrian bent his knees as he watched the creature.

It was large, though not as big as he had been expecting, and he was sure that on all fours it would only be a handful of inches taller than him.

And its voice – every single note and report that he had read about these creatures had told him that it would be booming, like a trumpet. But instead, it was soft and pleasant, almost like a croon.

He could feel his intrigue bubbling to the surface. There was just something undeniably beautiful about the manticore, and it awoke the part of him that always reared its head when he was confronted with something interesting that he had yet to pick apart and evaluate.

This was an unprecedented chance for him to get information directly from the source. Manticores were a secretive species, and were incredibly difficult to find in the wild. It made Hadrian wonder how this one came to be here.

But was it worth the risk?

No.

The answer was instant and stanch. No matter how rare or valuable a piece of information was, he knew it was not worth his life. So with a resigned sigh, he let go of all notions of satisfying his curiosity.

As he thought to himself, the manticore's tail twitched and swayed in a lethargic motion. Considering the structure of it, he would not have thought the movement would be as smooth as it was.

It tilted its head at him, as if to ask well?

"I've always enjoyed games." He called back cautiously in response.

If he played this right, maybe he would not even have to fight it? Manticores were highly intelligent creatures, relying on their quick minds as much as their brute strength. He could try appealing to its wit.

It smiled at him again, the expression disturbing as it was too stretched, and there were too many teeth. Hadrian refused to cower even though the sight of those gleaming white fangs had his stomach rolling with unease.

"What should we play, then?" It asked, its claws scrapped against the rocks it was laying on. "I have always been partial to tag, myself."

Despite the very real danger he was in, Hadrian could still feel his lips twist upwards at its words. He had always had a rather grim sense of humour, and it seemed so did the creature in front of him. "I don't suppose you would consider just – letting me take my item without a fight?"

It huffed at him, and even with the distance between them he could feel the hot breath fan over him. "Where is the fun in that?"

It finally pushed itself to its feet, graceful and deadly. Hadrian tensed reflexively, unable to stop himself from reacting to seeing such a dangerous creature stand to its full height. "This is the most interesting thing to happen to me in the last three decades."

Three decades?

"I do not particularly fancy the idea of fighting you." Hadrian admitted truthfully. He saw no reason to hide that fact, seeing as there was nothing shameful about fear. "And you probably want to avoid being hurt."

That was a guess, but he was pretty sure that most beings would actively evade something that was potentially hazardous to their life. There was always the rare exception to that rule, however he doubted the manticore was the type to endanger itself.

He watched as its eyes drifted from his face to his right hand, where his wand was held aloof.

Its expression turned amused, eyes crinkling. "Your little stick will be of no use to you here." It said, sounding remarkable smug. "You cannot touch me."