Chapter 14 — The Rest Point That Wasn't
By the time they reached the rest point, the moon had sunk behind heavy clouds, plunging the forest into a dim half-light.
The hunters' lodge was supposed to be a sanctuary — a fortified cabin surrounded by a perimeter of enchanted wards. Kael had read the briefing: wards triggered on hostile intent, healers inside, safe storage for game and kills.
Only, the wards weren't glowing.
The noble youth frowned, slowing beside him. "That's… wrong. The wards should be lit like a bonfire from here."
Kael didn't answer. His senses picked up the same thing Side confirmed a heartbeat later.
—No heartbeats inside. And… something stale in the air. Dead magic.
Dead magic meant one thing: the wards had been broken deliberately.
Kael pushed the lodge door open with his sword tip. The hinges groaned. Inside, the main room was dim, lit only by the embers of a dying fire. Tables lay overturned. Gear and weapons were scattered, some broken.
And there were claw marks — deep gouges that had shredded the wooden walls like soft bread.
"Spirits…" the noble whispered.
Kael stepped over a broken chair, crouching by one of the marks. He ran his fingers along it. "Too deep for wolves. Too wide for chimera claws." He looked over his shoulder. "You said Shadowfangs before. This wasn't them."
—Correct, Side murmured. These were made by something… hungrier.
From the back of the lodge came a faint scrape. Metal against wood.
Kael rose in one fluid motion, sword at the ready. The scrape came again, then a slow, dragging sound.
A figure stumbled into view from the hallway — a hunter, his leather armor shredded, one arm missing. His eyes glowed faintly green.
The noble swore, backing up. "That's—"
Kael cut him off. "It's not him anymore."
The corpse lunged faster than its broken body should have allowed. Kael sidestepped, bringing his blade up in a clean arc. Steel bit into rotting flesh, and the body fell in two halves.
But the sound had drawn others.
From the hallway poured three more — all hunters, all wrong. Jaws unhinged, claws too long, their movements jerky but fast.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "They turned the hunters into their own pack."
The first came at him in a straight rush. Kael met it head-on, pivoting into a low sweep that took both legs. Before it hit the ground, his sword thrust down through its skull.
The second was smarter, leaping to the wall and springing off at his side. Kael rolled, slicing upward mid-turn, catching it across the chest.
The third didn't go for him at all — it went for the noble.
Kael's blade was in motion before he even thought about it. Space warped, and he was suddenly between them, sword intercepting the lunging corpse. With a twist, he drove the blade through its neck.
Silence returned.
The noble was breathing hard, eyes wide. "You saved—"
Kael's expression was flat. "Stay close. Or I won't next time."
He turned to the corpses, shadows already coiling at his feet, swallowing two of them whole. The third, he left. Always a decoy. Always bait.
From outside, a howl echoed. Low. Long. And far too intelligent.