He was interrupted by the panicked cries of birds and deer behind them. His mother looked over her shoulder and he casually did the same. Animals fled in various directions as something approached them. “What is that?” he asked as a large, dark shape slunk forward.
Lilli turned pale. “Devol, we need to go,” she ordered, scrambled to her feet, and yanked the boy up. “Now!”
The shadow launched forward with a ferocious howl and covered an unbelievable distance in one stride. It landed several yards from them and they gaped in horror at a large wolf with deep black fur and large fangs. The beast's gaze seemed to burrow into theirs with a blank, feral white stare.
“A dire wolf?” Devol gasped and reached for the short sword on his belt. “In the Emerald Forest?”
“Devol!” Lilli whispered, her tone quiet but urgent. “Get behind me.”
By the time the boy glanced at her, he had already drawn his sword. The beast snarled and snapped its teeth together ravenously before it growled and lunged at him. She ran between it and her son and held a hand up.
“Shield!” She shouted the cantrip command and a yellow light sparked from her hand, flared into purple light directly ahead of her, and created the shape of a circular shield made of Mana, the magical energy of the realm. The dire wolf powered into it and hurled her back into her son, and both fell awkwardly.
She pushed quickly to her feet and pointed at the wolf. “Missile!” Three orbs of yellow light streaked away from her and all curved around the wolf. The animal began to run back to evade the attack before it darted quickly to the side. Two of the magical projectiles careened into the base of trees and left large indentations.
The beast skidded to a halt, turned to face the last missile, and ducked quickly as the orb sailed overhead and into the pond where it erupted. Water sprayed in a vertical column, reached an impressive height, and rained on the mother, son, and wolf.
“It is fast,” she noted and prepared another spell. “And intelligent.”
A vicious snarl preceded a loud, ear-piercing howl. The humans covered their ears involuntarily to shield them against the painful noise. The wolf surged toward the mother, whose eyes widened as it attacked.
The onslaught flung her on the forest floor with a painful thud as her attacker uttered another cry, this one of surprise. She looked hastily at her son, who scrambled quickly to his feet and held his blade up, which was now smeared with a splash of blood. She promptly checked him for wounds but found none. The wolf, however, had a long gash along its left side.
“It’s all right, Mother,” he assured her, and although he did look slightly rattled, he wore a confident smirk. “What use is all that boasting if I cannot back it up?”
Lilli knew his confidence was misplaced. The wolf had been feral and hungry before and his strike had now made it angry as well. Dire wolves were known for their ferocity. Even if they now managed to escape, it would pursue them like the relentless hunter it was until it was able to tear them apart.
As it took a few steps closer to the boy, Devol raised his blade to defend himself. Lilli stood hastily and held a hand out. “Flash!”
A bright sphere of white light formed in her hand before it exploded and covered the area around them in a blinding light. The beast snarled as Devol shielded his eyes. She ran to him, caught his arm, and dragged him away.
They sprinted through the dense growth and onto the path and quickly ascended the stone steps that led to the edge of the greenery. She knew they wouldn’t make it before the dire wolf caught up, however, and her mind raced. They would need to find the forest rangers to help them fell the beast.
Her heart sank when she realized they wouldn’t have the chance for even that. Massive paws thudded on the forest floor behind them. Lilli looked over her shoulder and gasped.
The animal was already in pursuit. Its eyes still blinked rapidly, likely from the blaze of light, and it must have followed them using smell and sound. It was only a short distance away from them now, and from the jump she had seen it make earlier, it was an easy distance to cover.
She released her son and shoved him forward into a run as she spun and shouted the incantation to summon another shield. Before it could fully form, the wolf swiped a large, clawed paw at her. The incomplete shield protected her from the attack but was destroyed and released a small blast of Magic that knocked her off her feet but barely disturbed the beast’s fur.
“Mother!” Devol shouted and raced back as the wolf attempted a killing strike. He vaulted high and swung his sword, to slice cleanly into the dire wolf’s face and blind one of its eyes.
It uttered another angry, pained howl and lashed wildly at her with its claws. The boy attempted to pull his mother away but a warning from her made him turn and he attempted to parry or block the uncoordinated strikes from his adversary.
His short sword was eventually knocked out of his hands, and it spun blade over hilt, deep into the forest. The next attack hurled him away and lacerated his chest. Unable to slow his momentum, he collided painfully with a tree.
“Devol!” Lilli shrieked as the wolf regained at least some of its senses. Its front paws thumped into the dirt and it hovered over her. One eye stared relentlessly at her while the other dripped blood from its wound.
The boy forced himself up when he realized their attacker
