Avandriell certainly did, her nose pointed to the sky. “We’re close,” Asher concluded.
The dwarf adjusted his grip around the haft of his axe. “If we can smell the wolf… the wolf can smell us.”
Asher drew his broadsword. “Surprise won’t be on our side this time.”
Using the blood, they trailed it round the path until it brought them to a wide cave opening and a shelf with a sheer edge that dropped down into the misty wood. There were signs everywhere that a bear had taken residence here, perhaps even generations of bears. But it was the blood that weaved between the debris and bones that held the rangers’ attention.
Doran beat the flat of his hammer against his armoured breastplate. “Are ye in there, beastie?” he yelled.
Asher sighed inwardly, suddenly reminded of their different styles when it came to facing monsters. He caught the dwarf’s eye and nodded for him to take the left-hand wall into the cave while he followed on the right. It took them both a moment to adjust to the gloom of the cave, though Avandriell, it seemed, had no such issue. The dragon stopped halfway into the cave, her golden eyes piercing the shadows. For just a second, Asher assumed Avandriell had seen the wolf, but her emotions didn’t correspond to that. She was calm, perhaps even a little confused.
The wolf wasn’t in the cave.
“It’s not here,” he stated confidently.
“Ye’re sure?”
Asher looked down at Avandriell. “It’s not here,” he repeated, relaxing his sword arm.
Doran huffed. “Then where in all the hells is it?”
Avandriell heard the wolf first, a fraction of a second before her alarm rang like a bell inside Asher’s mind. The dragon whipped her tail around to aid in her spin while Asher gripped his sword in both hands and swung blindly behind him. That fraction of a second saved the ranger’s life as his blade clashed with the wolf’s claws. The force of it, however, knocked him back a step. There was no opportunity to fall into a defensive stance as the monster came at him again and again. Asher parried those raking claws and batted the creature’s hands away, buying Avandriell time to line up her lunging attack.
The wolf howled when its ankle was caught in the vice-like grip of the dragon’s jaws. The beast staggered, giving Asher time to adjust his style and put an aggressive foot forward. His broadsword arced through a chunk of the Werewolf’s arm before coming back around to swipe across its chest.
Pained and enraged, the wolf dropped down and slammed a heavy hand onto Avandriell’s head. The dragon released its foe and cried out, a sound that boiled Asher’s blood. The ranger gave in to that anger and hacked at the monster with two-handed hammer strokes. With strong arms, almost twice the length of an ordinary man’s, the wolf only had to swipe at Asher’s legs to take him off his feet. The impact hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the bite he was about to receive.
The wolf came down on him with an open maw and a breath that spoke of death. It was then that Asher was reminded why it was a good thing that his style differed from Doran’s. The dwarf charged into the side of the wolf, barrelling them both into the cave wall. Amidst the chaos of their wild limbs, the son of Dorain managed to yank the monster’s mane of matted hair and slam his hammer into its snout and face.
“Don’ worry, old friend!” Doran grunted, lifting his hammer high again. “I’ll set ye free!”
Unfortunately, the wolf retained enough of its senses and strength to snatch the head of the hammer before the next stroke fell. It growled from somewhere deep in its throat and looked Doran in the eye. The dwarf swore, though the word was barely given time to escape his lips before the beast hurled him across the cave, towards the shelf.
Asher picked himself up, sparing Avandriell a glance, and renewed his assault on the wolf. He cut a line across its face, ripping a gash through its black nose and bloody snout. In a display of supernatural strength, the wolf scaled the cave wall in a heartbeat and pounced from above. The ranger turned his broadsword horizontally and gripped the flat of the blade, barring the Werewolf’s attack across the neck. The weight of the monster, however, was still enough to flatten him beneath it.
Pressed against the wet floor again, Asher writhed on his back and put all of his strength into keeping his foe at bay. With open jaws, thick saliva drooled between its fangs and coated the ranger’s leathers and face. The flat of the blade quickly began to bite into his hand, threatening his only defence.
Out of sight, Avandriell let loose her fiery breath, the flames illuminating the cave. The wolf roared and then howled as the pain set in, relenting its attack on Asher. The beast leapt to the side and rolled across the cave floor, a portion of its mane set alight. Avandriell bared her fangs and growled at her enemy, her stance low and ready to attack.
The flames extinguished, the wolf rose with a smoking back and a look of wrath in its black eyes. Dragon and Werewolf collided in a clash of claws and gnashing teeth. In the air, Avandriell’s wings flapped furiously, disorientating her foe as she tore through its chest. The sound of the wolf’s claws scraping across her scales made Asher wince. He desperately wanted to enter the fray but he risked striking his companion in the process.
As Avandriell opened her jaws, preparing to breath fire upon the wolf, the wretched monster thrust its head forward and clamped its fangs around her neck. The young dragon couldn’t so much as squawk, her breath taken away.
“NO!” Asher charged with all his fury and plunged his broadsword into the wolf’s gut.
Everything happened so fast after that. Avandriell was released and dropped to the cave floor, the
