Hunt: The Sin of Sloth

4. The Dragon's Test (2)

The taste of copper filled my mouth. Every muscle in my body tensed, straining to lift me up. Deafening stomps of the beast encroaching forced me to focus on the pounding inside my head. As I began to scramble to my feet, shoes whistling against the slick grass, Solaire had turned back around. He was coming back for me, staring down a monster for the sake of a stranger.

A large shadow consumed my own, its stench invading my nostrils. The smell of ashes was so strong I felt as though it was suffocating me. I turned to face the creature. As I raised my arm to use my powers, the rattling of chains filled my ears. Thick steel links sprouted from the ground like worms, slithering and wrapping around the girthy body of the dragon. It tugged and pulled against them, ripping up the earth in an attempt to be freed. Solaire grabbed me by the arm again, yanking me out of its stomping range. I noticed Catherine standing atop the hill with her gaze fixated on the captain's pet.

Solaire kept an iron grip on me the entire time we ran. Eventually, he pulled me behind one of the large boulders and crouched us down.

"I guess we're even, now," I said, trying to steady my heartbeat. With how hard it was thumping my chest, Solaire probably thought it was close to exploding. My mind was nothing but static and passing ideas. I could barely put two thoughts together in the haze that clouded me.

He didn't respond to me, too fixated on watching the battlefield to listen. The chaos of applicants either running for their lives or fighting became a little less disorienting now that we weren't a part of it. Thankfully, the headache I'd developed was subsiding within the small window of peace. The tip of my tongue began to sting inside my mouth, reminding me I'd bitten it. While the ballooning pulse softened in my head, I looked over the rock to see what the chains did to the dragon. Much to my dismay, the creature was freeing itself from the restraints. It's not like I could've expected much from them, especially with how large the target was.

"It didn't do much, but that magic bought us time to escape. We should try to find an easier target. Preferably someone who can't summon something larger than a house," Solaire said to me, watching the captain as he helped free the ear of the monster from the links, "We can't sit here for too long. Let's keep moving."

I nodded in agreement, trusting his instincts more than my own. He was so calm and level-headed, even in the face of what would be certain death under any other circumstances. I wondered why. Why would someone risk their neck for a stranger like that? Sure, I saved him from another instructor, but he was also in considerably less danger. If it weren't for whatever Catherine did, we would've been goners. I owed her.

Solaire ducked back down behind the rock and brought his hand to his mouth. A grimace covered my face when his teeth dug until the skin ripped, drawing blood. He didn't seem too phased by it. His thumb lightly spread the crimson fluid on his palm, holding his arm straight out and closing his eyes.

"Come to me, Hunter," He murmured. I wasn't sure what he was doing or who he was talking to, so I watched quietly and waited. The blood on his hand audibly sizzled, and a shimmering substance fired out. Something lumpy shot out with it, landing in the puddle with a splash. Once the stream stopped, Solaire opened his eyes and perked up a little. The lump shifted, then started to rise. Almost certain another monster had been spawned in front of me, I pulled my legs into myself and watched with minor disgust. Tiny ears sprouted from the lump and two beady eyes opened, locked directly onto us. It blinked its eyes like it was waking up, four limbs came out. The creature got on all fours and shook itself clean of the substance, revealing slick, red fur. It was slightly bigger than a house cat and strangely adorable.

"This is Hunter, my catling. Well, he's more like my best friend but formalities and such..." He clapped his hands and beckoned the animal. It hastily scurried toward us, looking up at Solaire expectantly. Up close I noticed how scrawny the catling was; its body seemed to lift a little with each breath. Its body was also secreting a clear mucus that matted its fur down smoothly... it grossed me out.