Magic Discovered

Chapter 30

The room went dark, all light vanishing in an instant. The friends stumbled back, seeking each other for reassurance in the face of this new threat. Algon tried to summon a flame, but his magic went wild and flickered out before it had even fully formed.

The crystal flashed, sending light and mist flying through the air. It gathered up into a cluster and circled the mages. Wind whipped around the cavern, kicking up dust and rock from the beaten floor.

The ball of mist finally stopped circling and slid to a stop in front of them, taking on a shape. A beast on all fours appeared, with a snout, two pointed ears, narrowed eyes, and two tails that whipped around before settling with a lazy flick. It was covered in white, luminous fur that glowed, lighting up a large section of the darkness. Mysterious etchings covered its entire body, from top to tail; thin lines that were a deep purple. Clicking its sharp claws on the floor, it looked up and let out a howl that shook the ceiling and caused small vortexes of energy to spiral into being nearby.

"What small mages that have wandered into my temple! Tell me, are you planning to become food today?"

He gave a dark smile, showing off sparkling teeth. Algon pulled up a fireball in his hand and Delta unholstered both of his guns.

"Oh, really? Do you want to fight? Well, allow me to kindly oblige!"

The wolf exploded in power, blowing the kids off their feet. The entire cavern was lit up, purple light pounding into the walls and shaking everything. A roiling howl filled the air.

"STILL WANT TO FIGHT, PATHETIC MORTALS?!?" the wolf roared, a corona of light taking shape around him. "YOU WILL MAKE A GOOD LUNCH!"

James' breath caught in his throat as he tried to answer, suppressed by the massive amount of power flowing in the room. He struggled upright and looked up at the shape that now seemed to tower above everything else.

"Mortals? That must mean.... HEY!"

"WHAT?" The wolf snarled. "YOU HAVE SOMETHING FUNNY TO SAY BEFORE YOU DIE?"

James swallowed. "You're Lord Iter, aren't you?"

The wolf froze for a moment, before closing and beginning to chuckle.

"HAHAHAHAHA! OH DEAR LORD!"

The pressure in the room abruptly disappeared and the wolf shrunk back down to its old size. It flopped onto the ground, rolling around and laughing its head off. James looked at his friends, who all shrugged, and they stood up.

"HAHAHA!" The wolf turned back into mist and reformed sitting on its haunches. Using a paw, it wiped a tear from its eyes. "That was funny! Prey that makes me laugh that hard deserves a chance."

"So, you're not Lord Iter," James said hesitantly, thrown by the creature's shift in attitude.

"Snakes, no! Compared to his Lordship, I'm nothing more than a pup." He gestured around, indicating the damage that had been caused by his outburst of power. "All of that? Compared to his Majesty, that's nothing. If the Zenith Wolf was here, his mere presence would crack the fabric of your universe and destroy everything in sight."

"First the Infinite Wolf, now the Zenith Wolf," Lydia muttered to herself. "I'm sensing a bit of a trend."

"So who are you then?" Delta blurted out. James spun around, worried that the question would provoke another attack, but the wolf just waved claw.

"Like I said before, just a pup. Now, the more interesting question is why are four morsels like yourselves wandering all the way down here?"

He began to circling idly, which did nothing for the friends' nerves. "I refuse to believe that you came by accident. Which means you have a purpose. But what is it? Intrigue me."