Path of Dragons

Oscar Ramirez leaped to the side, then slammed his hatchet into the creature’s forehead. It fell, but he knew from experience that it wouldn’t last. Escobar barked, and with each sound came a softball-sized mass of roiling fire that slammed into the fallen creature. The smell of sizzling meat filled the air, mingling with the scent of blood, emptied bowels, and fear.

“Burn them all,” Oscar commanded.

Escobar barked gleefully, and ethera gathered before a giant ball of fire appeared high above. Oscar and his pack knew better than to be there when it fell, so even as it grew, he and the others dashed away. By the time they’d reached the other side of the square, Escobar’s spell had completed.

The meteor fell.

And everything within a hundred feet of the impact was vaporized. Oscar had seen that spell – only available once a week – destroy even the most powerful monsters. And yet, he knew it wouldn’t be enough. The five dead bodies were melted beyond all recognition, but that would not be enough.

He called to his pack, and they retreated through Nexus Town. With Canine Senses, he could smell dozens of people hiding within the surrounding buildings, and he saw with his own eyes the aftermath of hundreds of battles. The once-pristine settlement now played host to more than a hundred dead bodies, and many of the buildings surrounding the square were covered in blood. A few had even been destroyed altogether, leaving only piles of rubble behind.

That was a testament to just how furious the battles had been. Those buildings were far more durable than they would have been back on Earth – at least from what Oscar had seen – so to see them so thoroughly destroyed was quite a shock. Not that he could concern himself with that. Instead, he guided his pack through the settlement, letting Jojo and Digby scout the way ahead.

With Pack Bond, he could communicate with them on the most basic level. They didn’t use words, but rather, did so through mental impressions, scents, and body language. Oscar didn’t know how he interpreted it all so accurately, but he accepted it nonetheless.

Jojo zipped in, letting him know that the way was clear, and together, the pack found sanctuary on the outskirts of town. Once they were safe, Oscar settled down to think. As he did so, he used Pack Mending, and his family was encapsulated by an aura of regeneration. It wasn’t as miraculous as what some of the Healers he’d seen in town manage, but it was enough to push everyone back to good condition.

Oscar was on his feet in a second, and the pack responded just as quickly. Jackson and Sophie took the lead, while Ray and Maymay sank to the back of the room. Oscar could feel ethera swirling around them both, and he knew that they were preparing to depower the intruder via various spells that would negatively affect the man’s attributes or restrict his movement. At the same time, Digby circled around, already embracing stealth, and Freddy let out a long, low growl as he prepared to pounce.

Finally, Escobar let out a bark, a tendril of smoke curling up from his mouth.

“I come in peace,” said the newcomer, raising his hands. That didn’t assuage Oscar’s suspicion. The man looked disheveled, as if he’d recently been in a fight. His flowing white shirt was ripped in multiple places, and he had blood on his cheek. It made him look like a Hollywood actor who’d just finished an action scene. Just enough damage to tell the audience that he’d been in a fight, but not so much as to mar his looks.

Oscar immediately distrusted the man.

“What do you want?” he growled, using Pack Bond to tell his family not to act prematurely. A fight was still on the table, but not until the man proved he was hostile. When that happened, they would destroy him.

The one thing that truly held Oscar back was that the newcomer didn’t smell like one of the unkillable monsters. Instead, he smelled like something else. Something sickly sweet, with a tinge of sulfur that put Oscar on edge. He didn’t like it. Not one little bit.

“Strength in numbers?” the man suggested with a shrug and a small smile. “I know you’ve been fighting them. So have I. Ruined my favorite shirt, in fact. Why don’t we work together?”

“Why do you smell like that?”

“Like what?” the man asked. He lifted an arm and gave a sniff. “I admit that it’s been a few days since I had the opportunity to shower, but –”

“Like rotten eggs and fruit that’s been left out too long. It’s a deep smell. It’s…part of you.”

“Oh. That.”

“Explain or leave.”

Left unsaid was that Oscar’s pack was more than ready to end the man. It wasn’t a fight Oscar wanted – he tried to avoid killing people if possible – but sometimes it was necessary. And after everything he’d seen over the past two days, he was more willing to trust his nose than his eyes. He didn’t believe the newcomer was one of the monsters-in-human-skin, but he could never be sure, especially when Canine Senses told him to be wary.

“It’s my core. I had an opportunity to take a step forward with my cultivation, and I took it,” the man said, idly running a hand through his black hair. “I was visited by a member of an elder race. He helped me, but in exchange, it changed some of my abilities. I think it might have changed even more than that, but I can’t be sure.”

Oscar didn’t know anything about elder races, but he certainly understood the importance of core cultivation. When he’d taken the first step, it had increased his power by a significant degree, so he couldn’t blame anyone for using whatever methods they had available to do the same. Even if it meant they’d have to deal with the stink.

“What is your name?”

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“Benedict,” the man said. “I was –”

Just then, the wall exploded, sending shards of stone flying in every direction. Oscar had already been keyed up for battle, so he quickly embraced Pack Empowerment. It was a simple spell that would increase his family’s attributes by a few points in every category. But that was only the beginning. He also used Feral Speed, increasing their haste. And finally, he let out a Bestial Howl.

Jackson and Sophie dashed in, putting themselves between the figure who’d broken through the wall and the rest of the pack. As they did so, they were enveloped by a blue shimmer of an ethereal shield. Even as the enemy – one of the mangled humanoid monsters that called themselves Immortals – let out a roar of anger, the whole of its attention fell on the guardian dogs. It attacked, but the pair of rottweiler mixes held firm, returning its blows with strikes of their own. The whole time, they continued to bark, keeping the monster’s attention on them.

Jojo sliced in, biting the creature’s ankles. Digby suddenly appeared from behind, taking a big chunk of its hamstrings before once again disappearing. Ray and Maymay cast spells to hinder its movements and lower its attributes, while Freddy attacked head on, moving with such ferocity that he became a blur.

And then, Escobar started to cast.

“No!” Oscar shouted. If the little chihuahua used his spells in such an enclosed space, everyone would be burned.

Escobar let out a yip, then cut off his channeling. A second later, a much weaker ball of fire emerged from his mouth, slamming into the monster a moment later. It screamed in an entirely too-human way, but Oscar knew better than to believe his ears. He had seen enough from the detestable creatures to know that they could not be people. They were monsters, through and through. His eyes told him that, as did his nose.

But they were also powerful, with physical abilities that far exceeded what Oscar would expect from them. His senses said they were much lower-leveled than him, and yet, in a contest of pure attributes, they would win every time. It made no sense, but over the past two days, he’d learned to accept that he was missing something.

In any case, Oscar and his pack piled on the damage, but not without consequence. The creature lashed out, breaking through Jackson’s shield and sending him crashing backward into a wall. He yelped as he hit hard enough to break bones, but as much as Oscar wished otherwise, there was nothing else he could do for his pack member. Pack Mending was still active, which he hoped would be enough to ensure there was no lasting damage.

More troubling was that Jackson’s situation opened a hole in their strategy, exposing the more vulnerable members of the pack to their enemy’s reprisal. Seeing that, Oscar rushed ahead to take Jackson’s place on the front line. He didn’t have the dog’s abilities as a defender, but he did have much higher attributes.

He attacked with his hatchets, the thick blades digging into the monster’s body. He did significant damage with each attack – all of which were enhanced by Wolf’s Bite – but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. The monster kept coming, battering both Oscar and Sophie with his simple, if effective attacks.

Then, there were more fireballs in the air than Escobar could cast. A quick glance back told him that four tiny creatures – no bigger than toddlers, but far uglier – had joined the fight. Every second saw another fireball from each enter the fray, and they all hit the monster with sizzling power.

In addition, Benedict hadn’t remained idle, and ethera swirled around him as he cast one spell after another. Oscar had no idea what any of them did – at least until he realized that the monster had slowed considerably. More than Ray or Maymay could cause.

Every few moments, the man threw out a beam of darkness that cut into monster, but still, the creature just kept coming. It screamed in rage – or pain, perhaps – its mangled face frozen in an expression that made it even uglier than ever.

For long minutes, the battle raged on, and Oscar and his pack – along with their ally – held their own. However, with every passing moment, it became clear that they simply didn’t have the firepower to disable the monster. What’s more, Oscar knew that even if they won, it was only temporary. The monster would rise, regardless of how much damage they did.

And it would be even stronger when it did.

Just when he was on the verge of calling for a retreat, everything changed.

A huge sword cut into the monster’s shoulder, slicing through its torso all the way down to its hip. Then, a reptilian beast appeared on the monster’s back, biting into its neck. A half-dozen crossbow bolts hit it a second later, followed by a larger arrow sprouting from its skull.

The beast suddenly transformed, becoming a man who leaped away from it and cast a spell. Rain fell from the ceiling, and when it hit Oscar’s back, he felt rejuvenated.

“Hack it to pieces!” the man shouted.

“What do you think I’m doing?!” said the wielder of the sword. She was a beautiful Asian woman in ragged armor, and she smelled as pleasant as Benedict was foul. True to her word, she wrenched her sword free of the now-crippled monster and attacked it again. This time, the blade went all the way through, cutting the creature into two pieces.

But she didn’t stop there.

Nor did Oscar’s pack, who saw the weakened enemy for what it was. They ripped into it, biting and clawing until its body was no more than a pile of shredded meat and shattered bone.

“It’ll be back,” Oscar growled as another man – this one was bearded, wearing a sparkly robe and carrying what looked like a fairy wand – stepped into the ruined building. He zeroed in on Jackson, who still lay whimpering on the floor, and cast a spell. Through Pack Sense, Oscar could tell feel the dog’s injuries healing.

“We know,” said the man who’d once been a reptile. “We’ll be gone by then. And hey Benny. Long time no see. Are those demons? They look like demons.”

“The unworthy one speaks to master! May we burn him?” demanded the foursome of tiny, foul-smelling creatures.

“No,” said Benedict, running his hand through his hair. “Guess I have some explaining to do.”

The woman stepped forward, and Oscar could see killing intent in her glare. He stepped backward. He had nothing to do with any of these people, and he had no intention of picking sides in what seemed to be an ongoing conflict.

The short man reached out to grab her shoulder. “Not now,” he said. “Let him explain.”

“He consorts with demons,” she spat. “Foul and –”

“Not. Now. We have enough problems without adding to them unnecessarily. If he’s evil, we’ll deal with it, but I think he’s earned the right to explain himself,” said the reptile-man. He smelled like power. Strength. Domineering in a way Oscar had never experienced. He wanted nothing more than to tuck his tail between his legs and slink away. So did the rest of his pack, save for Escobar, who seemed to take the man’s presence as a challenge.

What’s more, Oscar recognized him, though the last time they’d met, he hadn’t felt quite so…overbearing. There must have been a story there.

“Fine,” said the woman, flipping her hair back. “But the moment he betrays us – and he will because that is the nature of those who would consort with demons – I will destroy him. Of that, you can be sure.”

The domineering man let out a sigh. “Fine. One big happy family, I guess. Let’s go before this one recovers.”

And with that, he and his companions left. Benedict looked conflicted before shrugging and following. His…demons…weren’t far behind. And at last, Oscar went, too. Perhaps they had an answer to the Immortal monsters who’d come to plague Nexus Town. If not, then he would flee.

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