Chapter 102 - Grinder #2

Rivyn's fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword, tugging against the well-worn leather binding of it, as the last manticore vanished from his sight, leaving naught but a faint impress of its passing. The ground beneath him was a turmoil of almost rhythmic pulses of energy, garish reminder of the life-and-death combat that had so recently taken place. He had little time to still his breathing, to clear his mind and compose his thoughts, before the stirring of the air around him drew him instinctively to awareness. His senses pricked strongly, warning him that something quite different approached-something that would require his most immediate notice.