Disciple of Fire

Chapter 3: The Beast

I jolt upright, the sound outside startling me from my sleepy trance. Am I the only one who heard that? That sounded too big to be a squirbunny. I creep out of bed and toward the door, opening it slightly and peeking through. It's dark but I can make out the surroundings. Barely. Looking around at the other buildings, I don't see anyone else awake. Great, just me then. I sit and stare into the darkness, my eyes slowly working their way to night sight. I spot a pair of thick devil-like horns glinting in the moonlight, but these horns are about fifteen feet off the ground... Surely this thing isn't that big, right? I watch carefully as it steps out of the brush enough to make out its figure. It got the body of what looks like an Ox, with a human-esque torso attached where its head would be. The horns sprouting from the creature's head, which looks like an ox's skull on top of the torso. Oh my god.. what am I looking at? I have to wake up the others somehow. But this thing can probably see at night, so I can't leave without alerting him. I hear a gurgling from within the creature, almost like a guttural growl that causes all my hair to stand on end.

While watching the beast, I hear the faintest creak and look over to see Silven poking through his door. He sees the creature, then looks toward me, and puts a finger to his lips in a shushing manner. His door opens silently and I watch as he sneaks around behind his building. He crouches down and moves, so quietly it's as if he's slithering, to Joffrey's hut and slips inside. I look back at the creature and see it has made its way out of the brush and into the clearing with us. This doesn't look good... I thought Joffrey said there weren't any predators out here?! I watch as Joffrey and Silven slip back out, weapons ready, to the side of the building opposite the creature. Silven grabs a rock and, using his bow, fires it against a tree past the beast. It turns its back to them and Silven quickly escapes into the forest, Joffrey waiting patiently.

The beast promptly forgets the rock, hearing the light footsteps behind him, and turns, letting out an ear-shattering guttural roar. I cower behind the door and cover my ears. After a few seconds, the roar dies down and I peek back out to see Joffrey with his swords ready. An arrow flies out of the woods and right through the eyes of the beast. A blood-curdling screech escapes it as it flails around blindly. I watch as Joffrey charges the beast. The creature, hearing the heavy footsteps, clobbers in Joffrey's direction, sending small tremors through the ground with each stomp. Joffrey slides between the beast's legs, slicing the back of all four hooves with a spin. The monster falls to its knees with a heavy thud, then an arrow lodges into the creature's neck. It lets out a demonic howl, piercing my eardrums and rattling my core.

Joffrey doesn't waste time and jumps on the back of the beast, attempting to pierce the skull before being thrown into one of the buildings with a vigorous shake, knocking the air out of his lungs. It pushes off the ground one leg at a time, until fully standing. A few more arrows embed themselves in the side of it, no longer having an effect. It turns to face Joffrey and a red glow forms in its belly as it draws in a massive breath, the glow moving up toward its now-unhinging jaw. The air begins pulling in toward the beast, growing warmer. I look on in horror. Why does this energy feel familiar? Silven's arrows aren't affecting it. I have to do something... But.. I feel dizzy...

The beast spews out a monstrous ball of fire, jetting directly at Joffrey, and my body pulses. I feel a fiery energy escape me, dragging me upward... only... something feels off. The force pulling me stops a few feet up. Startled, I screamed. But nothing comes out. Beginning to panic, I look around and see my body, lying on the ground unconscious. Okay... This is new... Wait. Joffrey. JOFFREY. I push forward and notice there's no resistance. Wow... I'm actually flying! I move and peek through the opening of the door. The fireball is barely inching forward, crawling toward Joffrey, who is slowly putting his hands up. I move forward and my form shifts through the wall. What.. is this? I examine my hands and immediately notice I can see right through them. It's almost as if my outline is traced in a golden flame. What happened to me? Am I still dreaming?