Chapter 9: Blood and River

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Blood and River

Morgan rode out with Devil, El, Shei, Juda, and a quiet man named Leo. All of them were mounted, and for the first time Morgan had his own horse a sleek, dark gelding that moved steady beneath him.

The forest was surprising quiet,

Morgan scanned the trees as they rode. No twisted footprints. No guttural breathing in the brush. No sign of Wendigos or any of the Unclean.

"I wonder," Morgan said, breaking the silence. "Where do the Wendigos go during the day? Do they even sleep?"

Devil didn’t look back. "Consider yourself lucky. Meeting a Wendigo and walking away is the kind of miracle people write songs about. And they don’t end well."

"You think they can ever be killed?" Morgan asked.

Devil gave a dry chuckle. "I wonder that too. But the Wendigo is just the tip of the iceberg. There are things out here that make it look tame. Monsters you do not want to meet."

Before anyone could answer, a flash of brown bolted between the trees — a deer looking panicked and ran fast. But surprisingly in the same instant, Shei moved.

She snapped her wrist and her whip uncoiled like a living thing, black and segmented, more chain than leather. It cracked through the air and snared the deer’s hind leg. With a sharp yank, she sent it crashing into a nearby oak.

The deer thrashed once, then went still.

Shei reeled it in, the chain still biting into its leg. "Dinner," she said simply.

"Good work, Shei," Devil said, and the group kept moving.

Meanwhile

Deep in the woods, a low-tier hunter pressed himself against a tree. His camouflage ability blurred the edges of his body until bark and shadow swallowed him whole.

This is it. If I take one of them down, my points spike. I’ll finally rank up. Hehe.

He drew a compact crossbow, the wood dark with oil. He tracked the group through the sights, finger hovering over the trigger.

But they didn’t notice him. They kept riding, until the trees broke and a wide river came into view.

At the riverbank stood something massive.

A black bear, twice the size of a normal one. Its fur was matted and wet, and its claws glowed faint purple, dripping with some kind of toxin. It was swiping at fish in the current, completely focused.

Devil raised a fist. Everyone stopped.

He dismounted and walked forward alone, boots sinking into the mud. The moment he was ten feet away, the bear’s head snapped up.

It reared, roaring, and brought both claws down.

A wall of earth erupted from the ground in front of Devil.

*BOOM!*

The bear’s claws shattered the stone like glass.

But Devil was already moving. He slid under the debris and drove his dagger straight into the thick muscle of the bear’s neck.

The bear screamed and stumbled back into the river, blood blooming in the water.

"Whoa... Devil’s insane," Morgan whispered.

El nodded. "None of us could take that thing alone. But him? He’s fine."

The bear thrashed in the current, trying to flee. Devil waded in after it, water turning red around his legs. He raised his dagger for a finishing blow—

But suddenly a blur shot from the treeline.

A lion, just as large and wrong as the bear, with claws like scythes. It launched straight at Devil’s back.

Devil spun and slammed his palm down. Another stone wall shot up, boxing the lion in mid-air.

The lion snarled and tore through it in one swipe, then came down on him.

Devil tried to leap clear, but the bear had recovered. It lunged and sank its poisonous claws into Devil’s left thigh. He dropped to one knee with a grunt of pain.

"El!" Shei shouted.

El didn’t hesitate. Lightning cracked from his hands and struck the lion mid-pounce. The beast howled, muscles seizing.

That was all Devil needed. He drove his fist up into the lion’s jaw. Bone crunched. The punch caved in its skull, and the lion dropped into the river with a heavy splash and didn’t get up.

Breathing hard, Devil turned and pointed at Leo. "Get their bodies to the wagon."

Leo had been riding beside Morgan. He nodded and started forward—

And that was when the Camouflage Man saw his opening.

The kid. He’s the weakest. Take him first.

From his hiding spot, he raised the crossbow, lined up on Morgan’s head, and fired.

*FIUUUU!!!*

The bolt screamed through the trees.