---- 299. AMAN ORA WOMAN? MAGNUS, "There are noises up ahead. Stay alert," my wolf, Grimm, sniffs the air and warns me. My boots sink into unstable ground; honestly, this swamp is a pain. Also, a solid ce to hide, because the deeper you go, the thicker this nauseating fog gets. "I think you should cover your nose. Even with my resistance, this stench is getting to me. I think it''s toxic." He warns me, but we''re already swallowed by the mist and, yeah, there are bodies moving up ahead. I don''t get a chance to cover my face before one of the shadows lunges at me. "Yuri...
is that you?!" a man''s voice roars at me, and I narrow my eyes to make him out. "Run, run, damn it!" he yells, confused, but I''m not this Yuri guy, and I''m not running anywhere. l intercept him and, right in front of his terrified, stunned eyes, I ---- go straight for his throat. No doubt he''s one of the rebels who escaped. His scent gives him away. Sorcerer. I move forward, careful not to sink a foot into some death trap in the swamp. A few yards away, sparks and shes, voices and the sh of blows tell me there''s a fight going on. But who against who?
The air is so muddled I can''t see straight, and I dive in blind. I bump into another sorcerer trying to flee, and on a little ind, two more are fighting. The heavy, sharp stink of rot and something... off... is starting to mess with me. "Grimm, clench your damn teeth and hold on," I snarl at my wolf. I still don''t see the need to shift into a lycan. I leap over the bog and hit solid ground hard. Two men are fighting, and my eyes and nose tell me one is using magic and the other is part animal, maybe a werewolf.
---- I shake my head hard to clear it; this ce is dangerous and I''m being reckless, I know, but I trust my strength I see the guy who might be a werewolf hit the ground and the mage letting loose some kind of cold magic. Looks like ice, like Nyx''s mate, but mages can summon cold energy too. I sprint, without wasting time, before he can bring that shiny dagger down and finish him. My ws shoot for his throat, but he springs away from me with quick, clean agility. We square off in the fog, sizing each other up. Something was off here... was I caught in some kind of illusion?
He was a bit short for a warrior, but stocky; face and hair covered by a heavy cloak, only his eyes showing. Smart. He''s shielding himself from whatever this fog is, My gaze slid to the guy groaning on the ground; the scent now read beast-man, not my kind. A rebel too, maybe? Then who''s the hooded fighter? A mage? "Come closer..." Grimm''s curious voice surprised me.<style>
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