Two Masters (epic progression fantasy)

Chapter 1: The Tamer

Revin raised a handful of chilled soil to his wolf's nose, letting Blackfire sniff. Through their psychic link, they found the grimy, putrid scent. Revin grinned.

They were still headed in the right direction.

They marched through forested slopes as Blackfire sifted through scents of pine and just-fallen rain. Often, they didn't need an odor, as the giant serpent's body had left long, deep grooves wherever there was earth instead of stone.

Revin didn't know which of them first recognized when the sinuous tracks started leaving deeper, more tightly packed marks, but they confirmed his worst fears. The serpent had detected their scent and quickened its speed. Revin paused, the breeze pressing against the back of his neck.

Now even the wind worked against him.

"Let's pick up the pace."

Over the past three years, Blackfire and Revin had traveled often, sometimes to hunt for Blackfire's meat and sometimes just to explore the Hiriv island. He'd crossed the full length and breadth of the isle in his travels, spending many a night lingering in the chill and the rain.

Revin shoved branches aside as he and Blackfire raced. His metalweave mastersuit threatened to slow him, but he pressed on ahead, the thrill of the chase lending him strength.

They stopped sporadically, checking the earth and smelling the air. Each clearing they hit could have given another clue, but there was little in sight and scent. This serpent was fast. One false step could get him killed.

He grinned.

The serpent had only eaten sheep and ostrich eggs before it attacked two monks in the village. One had died, constricted until his bones broke. Revin wished he'd been there to stop it. The boil-brained saddle-gooses had chased it off with sticks, torches, and dogs. Revin had only seen the aftermath, but while his leaders debated what to do, he was here. Hunting it. Alone.

Just how he liked it.

The other monks had told him it was suicide to use Beastspeaking on a wild wolf, to link his mind to a dangerous beast, but he'd done it. Not only that, but Blackfire had been his constant and loyal companion since then. He could do this too.

He and Blackfire came to the top of another ridge; pushing past the pines which lined its top. Ahead of them was a small dip in the earth which formed a large, shallow bowl covered in grass and dirt. The perfect place to trap the beast.

The creature's musk intensified. It was close.

They rounded the ridge. Revin closed his eyes, feeling the breeze on his skin. The curve to their path placed them downwind from the serpent. Blackfire sniffed and listened. Revin sensed a fetid smell, then heard leaves rustling on the far side of the bowl.

It was there.

Revin pulled out a mint-wrapped canvas sack from his travel bag. He tossed the mint leaves aside and retrieved the large ostrich egg from within the canvas sack. He removed the wrap, letting out the smell of fresh egg. He set it at the crest of the bowl, letting it roll down the slick grass to the center.

He and Blackfire sat to wait.

The rustling of scales on leaves and branches grew louder. Revin's heart jumped. It wasn't the soft rustling of a small creature making its way through the brush, this was something so big that it cracked branches, and broke or even uprooted smaller trees. How big was this thing?

The rustling stopped.

Did it know they were here? Blackfire growled and shifted. Revin smiled. He reached for the bridge where their minds met and told Blackfire where to go.