It took ten minutes before Emma recovered. She rose to her feet and said, “We should stop dicking around, and get to working on that project.”
I wanted to ask if she was all right, but I knew she’d get upset. “The wall is just over there.”
I led her to the invisible boundary. Emma placed her hand on the illusion— ripples of shock waves resonated from her hand and through the wall, and she made a face.
“I can feel the holes in it,” she replied. “Definitely Arcanea magic. Someone is making them on purpose.”
“The cult, most likely,” I mused.
“But why? What reason would they have to destabilize the rest of the world?” Emma ran her fingers across the wall, creating more ripples. “Their main fight is here, in Malovia.”
“I don’t know.” It didn’t make sense to me, either.
Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of snarling behind us. And it was close. Emma jumped; I started. We turned to see a monster emerge from the bushes, ten feet away.
The creature was a black lion, with three heads. It had golden eyes, and a thick scar across its right paw. It was some kind of chimera, native to these parts. Ribs poked through its skin. It looked hungry, and we were the closest meal nearby.
Neither of us had our swords. This was not a good situation.
“Emma, get behind me,” I growled as I changed. I stood in front of her and lowered my head, bearing my teeth.
The lion charged. It sprang at me, claws extended. I pushed Emma out of the way before I rolled to the side. The lion landed and spun around, swiping its paw at me. I avoided a bite from one of its three heads and backed away.
I couldn’t fight it like this. If I got close and tried to rip out its throat, one of the three heads would end my life. I needed more shifters to take down this creature.
The lion charged after me, but I sprang aside again. I growled, as a warning to stay back. The lion rose up on its hind legs and batted at me with its paws, but I caught it off balance and knocked it off its feet.
The lion sprung up, swishing its tail. Its golden eyes roamed. It knew I wasn’t going to be an easy fight.
He saw Emma as the simpler target. The lion changed direction and sprinted toward Emma, opening its three mouths to tear her apart.
“Emma, run!” I cried out, racing after the lion. I wasn’t going to get there in time. Gods, it couldn’t end this way!
Instead of running away, Emma faced the creature and reacted. A spinning magic bloomed from her palms. As the lion jumped to make his kill, Emma shot the spell forward, and a portal expanded before her. The lion let out an alarmed cry as it sailed through the portal, floundering its paws and trying to stop, but it was no use. I caught a glimpse of maple trees and an old, Gothic mansion before the portal closed, taking the lion with it.
Emma dropped to her knees. I changed back into a man and darted toward her, holding her up by the shoulders before she hit the ground.
“Are you all right?” I asked. Her head lolled— my heartbeat picked up in concern.
Emma fluttered her eyelids and said, “I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“Where’d you send it?” I asked, shaking her. She needed to stay awake.
She shook her head rapidly. “I can’t be sure. But it had to be far away. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so weak. Portals are easy for me.”
“How’d you get the idea to make a portal, anyhow?”
“I— I don’t know,” Emma flustered. “I just... I felt like it had to go someplace else.”
Didn’t make a lot of sense, but what did it matter? All I cared about was that the thing was gone. “We should go. Before more monsters come lurking.”
I helped Emma to her feet and changed. “On my back now, Emma. You’re too weak to fly.”
She protested under her breath, but didn’t object further. She laid on my back as I raced back to the university, totally spent.
I had learned so much today, and yet, the information had only led to more questions. Who was the Hidden King? Why was the cult following him? And what were they doing with the monsters at the border wall?
I planned to get some answers. Tonight.
