The Wolf Mage

Escape From Ethium

I felt like I was rising upwards when something, or someone hit my side. My eyes suddenly snapped open, my throat burned, and I coughed up water. I panted hard, my chest heaving up my water.

"Jeremy?" I heard Erza's voice. I lifted my head wearily when I felt Erza wrapped her arms around my neck. It took my by surprise. I was very dizzy from nearly drowning.

"Heh, Erza let the boy breath before you choke him" Dale joked. Erza immediately let go, her face very red in color. My side was wet, sticky, and red with old blood. Despite how bad the wound was it was healing quickly. I looked at our group's condition which was more important to me than my own. Dave, Brad's father, had cuts across his body. They weren't serious, but they weren't good looking either. Cody had several burn marks. Most of them looked minor except for the one across his left shoulder blade. Several vines belonging to Tyler's plant, the sihirli yinen, had been torn. The plant, despite being only a plant, had held kept us from from being pulled into the current to the point it's own vines tore. A single vine remained intact. Edgar Macris, the colonel was in the same condition as Dave. It seemed that out of the five; Dale, Gray, Edgar, Erza, and Dave Dale was in the worst condition with his bloody bandaged leg.

By the looks of it we were underground still, but in the sewers. Water roared by in heavy streams beneath the city.

"I think we're safe down here, for now that is" Dave explained.

"But definitely not for long" Erza stated. There was silence for a few seconds. A brief silence to catch our breath, and rest over strained muscles. I frowned and looked down the way we'd come from. It was possible they hadn't realized we'd been swept into their sewer system. It meant one thing.

"We should go while we can, this could be our possible escape" Colonel Macris suggested.

"Cody and Gray, why don't you two shift, you can move faster on four legs" Lieutenant Dale added. Gray, Cody, and I exchanged quick unnoticed glances at Brad. Brad held a hand up, rubbing the back I his neck nervously. He didn't say anything, so Cody and Gray stripped down and shifted. It was obvious Brad wasn't going to mention he could shift as well, at least with his father around. There was a sense of tension between him and his father still. 'How do you intend to keep it a secret in battle though?' I wondered. We walked down the wide path alongside the flowing stream of dark murky water. Periodically we passed by a small lantern that's light shown for only a few feet, and then there was pure darkness until the next lantern.

Between us Wolf Mages there was a sense of a silent communication. I had only noticed it just now.

"It's gross down here" Gray complained.

"It's a sewer what do you expect?" Cody reminded him.

"Heh, neat freak" Brad muttered, silently laughing. Gray growled irritably. I listened to the silent communication, but my senses were elsewhere. What lie ahead at the end of the tunnel. What if there were guards waiting for us? Or a dead end? Even if there was a light at the end of this dark tunnel where would we go, and how would we survive? I shook the thoughts from my head. We were mages with power and power meant survival right?

"I can only imagine what you kids have gone through" Dale mumbled to himself. I slowed down to his half-limp pace.

"Damn leg" he complained. I leaned against him, offering support for his injured leg.

"I'm not one to complain, but I could use a crutch" he groaned. I laughed in a wolffish manner at this. Truly he never did complain much.

"Are you alright?" Dave asked Brad. His son only nodded his head, his crooked jaw held tight. He didn't even look up. A quiet whine from me caught his attention. He only glared back at me. He wasn't going to give the slightest amount of thought towards his own father. 'You stubborn idiot' I thought.