Cerberus Rex, Nameless

Part 8| Wizard Dungeon, 25

Dark, gray mist rolled in from all sides of the black chamber, lighting the room while also obscuring it. Sparks flashed within the fog like a thundercloud, which's boom skittered across the floor as if thousands of bouncing beads. Feri listened to the strange bell-like hum of Mr. Noarwin redrawing his sword. It sighed over the chitters and etherealized the tension in his expression. She wondered if he was any good with the thing.

"Fae dogs," Dar rumbled, curling closer around his companions and ringing his arms around them. A jolt agitated the fog and sped at them, but Dar blocked it with one massive hand. "Gah!" he boomed. Feri crouched, prepared to retaliate, but Dar shook himself of the zap. It looked like it had little effect on him.

Mr. Noarwin clenched his teeth. "How do we deal with fae dogs?"

Feri had faced these creatures before. A pack proved difficult if they attack as one. Isolate a dog, and they weren't hard to kill. If you knew the right spot. Feri did. "I've got this," she said, her eyes flashing to and focusing on each prowling in the mist. She doubted Asinis, Mr. Noarwin, or Dar could see them. They blended in with their environment, but this was her element too, whether Lunis's eyes rested on her or not. She'd cut through packs of fae dogs that had wandered too close to home to practice and to protect the recluse city of her birth. But she always ensured herself the element of surprise then. She didn't have it now. All she could do was sneak up on them. She crouched like a runner setting up to sprint, and the shadows Dar cast enveloped her.

"Be careful, Feri," Asinis whispered.

"Get ready to attack," she said.

They held their breath, and she dashed into the mist, disappearing like a fish in a silver lake. The fog swirled with the wind she made as she targeted the closest fae hound. It snapped its fangs at her when she came close, but she avoided the attack while slashing its side. A flash of orange light from Asinis buckled it. It snarled, its bared teeth coated in oozing saliva, and blinked out of sight. Wounded but not dead. These things could teleport, but not even Feri knew for how long or far.

Feri switched directions toward the next one. Mist scattered as she approached. She circled it, creating a visible target her friends could see. A bramble of thorns shot up. They wrapped around the creature and pulled it down, thorns piercing into its sides. Its yelp pierced Feri's heart, but she couldn't let the innocent cry affect her. These things had come to kill her friends. Feri jumped on top of it and slit its throat. It whined its last breath and then scattered into shadow, which joined the umbra surrounding her.

A shout from her companions bristled her fur. One of the fae dogs had teleported to them. It bit into Dar's leg. His cry mirrored the pain of the one she'd killed as he swung his fist down. The fae dog blinked out of the way and appeared on the other side of Asinis. Feri gathered her breath to shout for him to watch out, but Mr. Noarwin's blade swung into its side first. He pulled it out, and Dar stomped on it, sending the creature's smoking ashes into the shadows in a splattered burst.

Feri stiffened. A familiar tickle on the back of her neck warned of a stalker. She searched for the fae dog with her senses. Every nerve felt it, but the fae magic made it hard to pick out. It slunk through the mist, each step jarring through her, and then it leapt. Feri shouted when it caught her under its legs. Another joined, snapping at her head. An arcane net fell on top of it before it came close enough to bite her. Feri kicked the stomach of the one pinning her. It whined and jumped, but it recovered and aimed for her throat. Feri stretched to the side just enough that it caught her shoulder instead. She screamed. Its fangs tore through her flesh, each one a rip that bristled pain through muscle and leaked scarlet. And then the stone floor groaned. A root shot up, roaring through the ground and pushing it aside to lance through the fae dog.