Elven Legacy

Chapter 121

Matt

A single thought colored his mind as Sunyi raced downhill and across the valley beyond: Hold on, for fuck's sake, hold on!

So he did, latching on to chunky tufts of thick black fur as he clenched the athletic animal's back with his folded thighs. At least, the wind gusted from behind, so it didn't sting Matt's eyes too much. Even so, Sunyi ran so fast that their surroundings blurred and rushed right past him.

Apprehension swarmed Matt's chest as they neared the army of dark mages and his new wolf friend did not slow down.

If anything, his powerful leaps gained momentum as he left behind the grassy fields, his clawed paws hitting the dirt road as they came ever closer to the white-uniformed soldiers and their demons.

But then the raw power of Sunyi's final breathless charge had Matt growing more concerned for the dark mages standing in their way than he was for himself.

Matt braced himself for impact. Most Chyulin soldiers faced the other way, though some did turn around at the last—

Wham!

Sunyi bolted through, jostling unsuspecting men, women and demons out of his chosen path, leaving startled protests in their wake. Attempts at retaliation were futile; Sunyi was long gone, streaking past them like some furious destrier, zigzagging when needed, and reaching the center in far less time than Matt had expected.

Then, the huge wolf lurched to an abrupt halt, hurtling Matt inelegantly off his back.

We'll have to work on that spiritual connection!

Matt hit the blood-spattered dust rolling sideways, grunting low in his throat as the impact jabbed pain across his back. But the thrill coursing along his veins – or maybe it was Sunyi's magic – put him back on his feet in no time, ready to go.

Dark mages and demons nearby spun about, regarding him with confused faces. But the surprise wouldn't last.

Spotting the telltale glint of pale steel on the ground – lying useless beside a passed out man who looked sort of familiar – Matt dove and scooped up the sword. It had a nice well-worn grip of polished black wood and a rose design carved in the steel just above the hilt. Its curve was subtler than the one shaping the dark mages' blades all around him.

Wielding it felt almost like coming home.

Matt lowered himself into an easy sparring stance, scanning the marked faces of the men and women closest to him. One of them spat out a question in a language Matt didn't understand. He ignored it and, as he kept looking wildly about, finally, he saw him.

Jaden lay across the road a few paces away, his bow tossed out of reach. Just as Matt's gaze found him, Jaden was pulling a small knife from his boot, which he brought up in a desperate parry against a downward swinging sword.

Sunyi, closer to Jaden than Matt, bristled with protective anger, and in that split-instant Matt deeply felt their connection. His black ears lowered, the snarling wolf leapt with his jaw open and his long fangs clamped in hard around the Chyulin warrior's ribs. The man voiced a shuddering scream and dropped his sword, which clanged beside Jaden's face.

In that moment Jaden looked up with widening eyes, meeting Matt's gaze under the looming bulk of the wolf. He seemed to whisper his name in pure bewilderment, but it was drowned in the cacophony and the distance between them that suddenly seemed so vast for all the inconvenient people that crowded it.

Sunyi made hasty work of the dark mage who'd been about to slay Jaden, ripping him asunder before hurling him aside. A wildcat demon jumped, snarling and clawing, to its master's defense, but Sunyi's claws were longer, his range wider, his speed unforgiving. The cat slumped down beside the man with a faint shriek that barely touched Matt's ears. Sunyi was already moving on to other prey. So Matt did the same, spinning round to dodge a swinging curved sword. Then he turned again, to place himself back to back with the wolf.