Ethan grabs Lara, throwing her into a tree. He flung Maple into a tree as well. Something hit Lucy's shield hard as he turned towards Grace, and she grunted with the impact. Wendy passes in front of Ethan with a burst of speed. He grabs Grace and throws her at the tallest tree.
Blood splashes on Ethan as a dire wolve is cut in half by Ting-Ting. He surges forward using his seven-step martial technique. His foot surges and slams down on the dire wolf's neck. Bones breaking echoed through the clearing as metal on teeth and claws rang out. He stiffened his hand, fingers pointing as he jumped and slid underneath a dire wolf snapping at Wendy, her swords flashing in the sunlight as she fended it off.
A hand pierced fur and flesh, ripping out a heart. Ethan surged sideways on the ground, his form inches from the grass, catching a dire wolf in a scissor with his legs. He twisted, and the dire wolf's head came off. Lucy and Wendy cut down a dire wolf together as Grace fired arrows at the dire wolves that flanked Wendy.
Four bigger-than-average dire wolves entered the clearing. A surge of blood rabbits emerged from the forest. Grace fires arrow after arrow at the beasts, pinning them to the ground. Ethan held Zelda and Ting-Ting in reserve should something else target them.
Lucy hit a dire wolf on the head with the side of her broad sword. The blow dazed the dire wolf. She pierced the dire wolf's paw with her sword. She crushed its head with the side of her shield on the ground. Wendy somersaulted, skidded, and sprinted around the clearing, jumping at the last second and cutting into the dire wolves' necks. Golden mist flowed in the clearing as they fought for their lives.
Ethan positioned his feet in a stance for an attack, measuring the four dire wolves—the dire wolf in the middle, obviously the pack's leader. Four dire wolves disappeared, appearing before Ethan. Jaws snapped at Ethan, injuring his legs and left arm, and the dire wolves retreated. He stumbled to the nearest tree, placing it between himself and the wolves. Grace called to Ethan from above.
"Ethan, lure them closer. I have two arrows left."
Ethan looked up, and a glorious sight met his eyes. Grace stood between two thick branches, a foot on each, balancing in the middle, and the view was magnificent. He could feel his resolve bolstered. He tore his eyes away from Grace's underwear. The four wolves were spreading out. Lucy and Wendy still fought with three dire wolves. They used a hit-and-run manoeuvre trying to tire out the two girls.
He looked up again, memorising the scene above.
"Alas. Shoot the one on my left. My arm feels numb."
He pulled Zelda from his robe.
"Alas, Zelda, kill the one circling to attack me from behind. Ting-Ting takes the one on the right and beheads it. We need the leather. Mei, are you ready just like we did it on the plains of Grasher?"
Ethan pulled an arrow. Mei floated before him on his left side. He could not use his left arm anymore. The damage was too severe. He jumped out behind the tree, his feet inches above the ground as blood dripped on the grass, and Mei moved in perfect sync with him.
Ethan knocked an arrow—the leader of the dire wolves and the three he could not see disappeared. He pulled back the string, and a display appeared; it showed the dire wolf in infrared. He loosed the arrow. The dire wolf stumbled and skidded to a halt, its head touching his boots and an arrow deep inside its right eye.
A dire wolf's head rolled against the dead dire wolf. To his left, a dire wolf stumbled two arrows in its flank. Ethan looked at Wendy and Lucy. They stood back as Zelda went postal on the three wolves. He did not want to look at Zelda's rampage. That would make three unusable skins. He sighed as Ting-Ting floated next to him. Mist covered the area, flowing up Wendy's and Lucy's legs.
Maple jumped out of the tree, a potion in hand. Maple popped the cork on the vial and pulled Ethan down.
"D-D-D, drink this for your arms and legs."
Lara and Grace jumped out of the trees. Let us move towards the structures and bring the carcasses with us. Lara tied the dire wolves with thick rope, making a rigging of sorts. Lara pulled the fourteen dire wolves and seven blood rabbits without effort.
Lucy took the lead, her shield ready. No attack came as they stopped near the entrance of one of the structures. Lara started hanging the dire wolves in trees, and Maple harvested the blood rabbits.
Sophia spoke.
"Alas, look at the ground. It is a ritual communication circle."
Ethan looked at the ground. A circle the size of a table that could seat twelve people was burned into the ground. Blood painted the grass red around the circle. The circle was fresh as no flowers grew around it in the blood.
Sniffing sounds came from inside the structure in the middle. Five firedogs appeared, sniffed the air, and focused their attention in their direction. They were bigger than Ethan had thought, and the stories did not justify their size. Grace pulled her arrows from the dire wolves as fast as she could.
"It's the blood they are drawn to the blood."
The firedog in the lead barked loudly as it ran towards them. How to fight: Their blood caught fire and could burn for hours.
Grace fired arrow after arrow at the leading firedog, the arrows just penetrating the thick leather skin. Blood trickled down its side, leaving a trail of fire droplets. Grace's arrows were burning, forever lost to her.
The fire dogs were dark grey with mustard-yellow patterns on their thick, leathery skin. Black canines protruded like coal. Ethan gazed around, taking stock of their situation.
There was no way they could face five firedogs and live to tell the tale. Grace's arrows had barely penetrated the leathery skin. He did not want to risk losing his woman.
Ethan grabbed Maple under her arms, hugging her to his chest with his right arm. Maple was the weakest among them; her talents were healing and cooking. He flew up into a tall tree, and Wendy and Lucy climbed the same tree he flew into.
Grace and Lara climbed a tree next to Ethan's tree. The firedogs sniffed the air. The dire wolves' carcasses were too high for them. Three firedogs rushed to the tree Ethan sat in, ramming the trunk. The tree shook, everyone holding on for dear life. The firedogs wanted living prey. Now, they were an easy target. The dire wolves were out of reach. He noticed they left the blood rabbit carcasses alone.