StelrLight

  Xander didn’t catch me before I made it down the street and around the one corner. Either I had gotten much faster, or he wasn’t chasing me. Yeah, like I got that much faster. Sure, everything around me blurred quite a bit more than I remembered, but he had to be quite a bit faster than me given his level. And that didn’t even include his shadows.

  Those fuckers were scary as hell. If someone had asked me if shadows had any mass I would have said that there was no way. A shadow was a ck of light after all. So to see the things lift a massive wolf shifter without any visible strain and hold him against his will was terrifying.

  I had no doubt that he could stop me if he wanted, especially considering the fact that every person had a shadow. Even if his powers were limited by the shadows needing to be connected for him to spread his control, the crowds around me were thick enough that I sometimes had to shove my way between people.

  With that in mind, I took a chance. The moment I raced around the third corner, I slowed to a trot. My muscles, unaccustomed to the fast sprint and dodging, burned and my breaths came in panting gasps. Still, though, I wasn’t sweating.

  No salty drops rolled down my face from my soaked hair only to stop and get caught on my eyeshes. It took me a moment to recall why. Canines, which a fox is considered, don’t sweat. Well, they do, just not like humans. It took a jerk to the side to remind me of this as it caused my fpping tongue to flop around my muzzle and into sight.

  The reminder made me wonder as to what else was different now. Things that I might not notice until now. Sure, this wasn’t my first shift, but it wasn’t the same. That had been me running for fun. Letting my fox out to enjoy itself for the first time since I had changed.

  Now that isn’t to say that I have two different beings living in my head. My brain was already quite crowded with just me thank you very much. It was more of letting myself go. Letting all thought drop away and just letting my body do what it wanted. Which was way different than running from something or someone. For that I had to think, to pn, to move, to react.

  Speaking of pns, or a ck thereof, where the hell was I? Not only had the crowds thinned out, the people making up said crowds seemed different, off. While some of them watched me, the majority of them were silent and had their heads down. Almost as though they were trying to avoid notice.

  The way these people were acting was not the only thing off about the pce. Dirt clung to the corners of the street and filmed windows over. So much so that I could only make out faint shadows of people moving around on the other side.

  As I moved past one of the only outdoor eateries, a low voice caught my attention. “Here foxy foxy foxy.” While the voice didn’t sound hostile, something about the pce had me on edge. So I acted as though I hadn't heard the voice.

  A second voice cut over the first. “Oi, bitch, I know you can hear the boss. Get your ass over here.” Given where this asshole's voice came from, I was fairly sure he was sitting at or near the same table as the first speaker. Not that I was going to turn and look. If I wasn’t going to respond to the first person, why did the second person think that he could demand I do so?

  A sudden thud was combined with a cry of pain and shock from the second guy. The first, whom I am guessing was the boss he had been talking about, spoke with a low snarl. “Who told you that you could speak for me? Did I ask for your help? Good. Now get out of my sight. Report to Marny. Tell him what you did.” While the speaker had stopped after each question, I didn’t hear a reply. The only thing I heard from the second person was a low whimper as he half ran, half crawled away.

  And let me tell you, that was one hell of a sight to see. A grown man on all fours, moving with as much speed as he could muster. He managed to get onto his two feet for a moment before something tripped him, sending him back down to his hands and feet. This cycle repeated until he vanished around a corner.

  I didn’t realize I had stopped to watch the act until I felt something brush my fur. My entire body jerked to the side as my chest vibrated with the most ferocious growl I could muster. Standing there, hand still held out, was one hell of a monster.

  While most of his body was that of a well-toned man, albeit with subtle stripes that nearly vanished in the gloom, his head was that of a tiger. Fangs, snout, ears, all the way to the top of his neck. Every bit of it was repced with that of a tiger’s head.

  If that was it, I wouldn’t have had such an issue with him. After all, I was a fox. Unfortunately, his fingers were missing fingernails. In their pce were some fairly dark and thick cws. Each of which curled downward slightly.

  Combine all that with the gleam of curiosity and desire in his rge eyes and I knew this was one man – thing – I didn’t want to stay near, let alone get involved with. Carefully I shifted one paw after another, slowly moving away from the thing in front of me. His eyes followed my movements but he himself did nothing for a few minutes.

  Just as I got far enough away that I felt comfortable turning tail and running, the man spoke. Watching his tiger head move yet hearing a human voice was odd, still, I was fairly sure it wouldn’t be the oddest thing I would see. “Something tells me you don’t belong here little fox.” His voice was soft. It almost sounded as if he cared.

  While I could have just turned and run away, the way his eyes tracked me was akin to that of a beast tracking their prey. Which meant that he would likely give chase the moment I tried. So, tense and ready to run, I gave a simple and sharp nod as I released a tiny bit of mana into the earth. I mean, why wouldn’t I take advantage of this time to prepare for the worst-case scenario?

  His cwed hand lifted to point down the road as he spoke. “While most would say to go back the way you came, it would be faster for you to continue forth. Enter the third alley on the left side. It will drop you off in the central market.”

  The simple instructions and the way he spoke confused me. It sounded as though he was really helping me. But that couldn’t be right, could it? We stood like that for a few more moments, both of us waiting for the other the move first. I was the first to flinch as something snapped at the thread of mana I was holding. Where my mana felt warm, the mana that snapped at mine felt cold. Not the cold of darkness or death, but of nothingness.

  It felt like how movies portrayed space. Freezing everything that came close to it. The bit of mana that it touched felt burned and damaged. Even as I yanked it back, something was off. Moments before it reached me, I cut the thread off. Releasing half of the mana I had used back into the environment. Or at least, that is what I expected to happen.

  To my surprise and horror, that bit of mana stayed together. It shifted, twisted, and slithered around. Like it was alive and looking for something to tch onto. The sight sent a shiver of fear down my spine. If that had managed to get inside me, let alone to my core, what would it, could it, have done to me?

  The deep sigh that came from the man in front of me recaptured my attention. At some point between my releasing my mana and now, I had subconsciously activated my Mana Sense. What I saw nearly caused my heart to freeze.

  The man, no, the monster in front of me had hundreds of tendrils slithering around him. Some simply waved while others seemed to dance as they wove through the air. Each and every single one added to the dizzying dispy of chaos.

  Now, that wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, my Mana Sense relied on spreading mana out into the area around me. And, just like with the mana thread, every time one of the bits of mana touched a thread, it changed. I went from one squirming worm to an exponential amount of writhing masses.

  I cut the skill off, refusing to even let a single bit return to me as I turned to run. A couple of dozen feet down the road, it occurred to me that his instructions might be a trap. Then again, it wasn’t like I was going to turn around and go back the way I came. To do that I would need to get close to him which was something I would not be doing. Not now, not ever.

  One alley, two alleys, three alleys. My paws skittered across the ground, all traction lost as I tried to make the turn. The wall helped cancel out most of my momentum as my side smmed into it. I ignored the explosion of pain as I raced down the alley. Praying with each step that the monster had not been lying. That I wasn’t about to die.

  As I burst out of the alley, I nearly smmed face-first into a wooden pole. While I missed the pole, the danger was not through. A forest of legs was spread out before me. Sure, I could try and dodge around each, but my momentum, combined with the smooth stones, made the task neigh on impossible. Likewise, I didn’t have the time, nor the space, to stop.

  On pure instinct, I threw my mana forward. A wave of mana flowed under and around everything as it rushed over the paving stones. With a bit of fire, a dash of water, and a shit ton of earth manipution, the surface of each stone grew rough.

  The skidding sliding scramble that my paws were working to counter instantly vanished as the pads finally found traction. It wasn’t a gradual buildup, but instant. Between one moment and the next, I went from being unable to stop my forward motion to suddenly flying as my paws were pulled out from under me.

  My heart pulsed in my mouth as I found my eyes staring at the sandpaper-like surface as it fshed beneath me. The moment it vanished, my nose scraped across the top of a low wall. A wall that happened to be holding back water.

  As gravity finally managed to pull me to earth, I found myself coming to a fast and wet stop. Thankfully, while my nose and paws told me that the water was cold, my fur seemed to keep the cold from reaching me. Not that I wanted to see how long it would do so.

  Unable to see the bottom of whatever water I was in, I focused on swimming up. Let me tell you, learning how to swim was bad enough the first time, learning to swim in a body I am still getting used to at times is worse. Still, though, I manage to get to the surface just as the dark spots in my vision start to clump together.

  As my head breaks the surface, I drag in as much air as I can before looking around for a way out of this pce. To my surprise, I am not the only one in the water. In fact, quite a few people were filing about between me and the nearest edge. Other people were jumping in or casting magic as they raced to get to those struggling to stay afloat.

  “Get that fox!” Someone yelled from somewhere. Given that I was the only fox that I could see, I raced for the opposite edge. Sure, they could go around, but I hoped that most of them would be too distracted with saving others to give chase.

  It didn’t take me more than a meter or two before I got sick of doggy paddling. Fucking hell was that slow. With a burst of mana, I forced the water around me to move, to push me faster. In a fifth of the time, the edge of the water came racing toward me. Given the shouts, it sounded as though the people around me had realized where I was going. I scoffed at those calling for me to stop. I mean, who in their right mind would stop when running away? That would be stupid.

  Sure, I could have slowed down and climbed out of the water myself, but I already had control over enough water to propel me. Using it, I unched myself over the edge and found myself looking at a thirty-foot drop. Apparently, this pool was split between two levels, an upper market and a lower one. Unfortunately for me, my forward momentum wasn’t going to nd me in the lower pool. The moment I realize this, all I could think was that this was going to suck.