Though his people were from the mountain originally, Andreas could still feel the weight of the magic seeping through his pores, strengthening him. If it affected him this much, he could only imagine what the other three were feeling. Sweat started to bead down his forehead as the tunnel they walked through warmed. It seemed they were climbing higher, deeper into the mountain, rather than out. But he kept his thoughts to himself for the moment. There was still hope that it would lead them to fresh air instead of dank earth and rock.

After a short while, more light penetrated the tunnel. The opening they walked through widened more, and the smell of water filled his nose along with a breeze that gently blew toward him. Relief filled him. The sooner they were out of the mountain, the better they would feel.

Another smell blew into him, and he covered his nose, stopping in his tracks.

“What is that smell?” Edric asked, keeping his voice low.

“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this,” Andreas said.

Sophia joined his side, mouth twisted down. “Let’s take the rest of the way out of here slowly. The opening shouldn’t be too much farther. I think we should also extinguish the lights.”

Edric nodded. “Agreed.”

Ezekiel muttered a single word and the lights all dimmed until there was nothing left.

It took a few moments for Andreas’s eyes to adjust to the new dark, but as soon as they did, he noted a light up ahead. He pointed. “That’s the exit.”

Everyone nodded, and he made a move toward the opening. Just before they reached their freedom, a loud, bone-chilling roar echoed from nearby.

This wasn’t good. They didn’t have weapons and he was next to useless in his wraith form. Still, they could probably sneak past the creature without being detected. At this point, they really didn’t have another choice. If cornered by the creature—from the sound of it, a massive creature—they would likely perish. That wasn’t an option.

But what Andreas didn’t count on was the mass of cracked earth, as far as the eyes could see, straight in front of him and a massive cliff to the right of that. To his left stood a grove of trees, but it was too far away. The creature’s form emerged and drew closer to where they stood, charging at an alarming rate.

“What in the gods’ names is that?” Ezekiel asked.

“I don’t know, but it looks angry,” Andreas said.

“Or hungry,” Edric added.

“Either way, we have no choice,” Sophia said. “We’ll have to fight that thing.”

So be it.

Once the creature was close enough for its features to be discerned, it baffled Andreas as to what it could be. It had the head and body of a lion, but the face was humanoid in nature, save for the rows of sharp teeth that protruded from its bottom jaw. And a scorpion’s tail was poised and ready to strike them down. It skidded to a stop a few feet in front of them. The beast faced them, pacing back and forth, snapping and growling, dripping saliva from its malformed maw.

Andreas shifted into his wraith form. Whatever this creature was, he wasn’t going down without a fight. As he shifted, Ezekiel started muttering some sort of spell or curse. Edric stood in front of Sophia. She scoffed and took a stand next to him, her gloved hands glowing with magic.

Andreas turned his attention to the creature as it lowered itself in such a way that it looked like a cat ready to pounce on its next meal. It sniffed and shook its head, then sniffed again like it could smell the blood. Its nose drifted from Andreas to Sophia, sniffing toward each of them. Then it stopped and sniffed more at Sophia and growled.

“Magic,” the creature said in a blood-chilling voice. “Delicious magic of Ripthorn.”

There was no time to react.

The creature lunged toward Sophia.

Andreas rushed toward them, feeling less weighed down. His initial feelings in his form must have been an after effect of the hemlock. Interesting.

A bright flash of light burst between Sophia and the creature. A powerful wave crashed into Andreas, sending him flying backward. He landed with a hard thump and shifted back to his human form. His head felt like it was spinning, and he tried to make sense of what just happened. As he sat up, a wave of dizziness came over him. His vision blurred, and he held his head in an effort to keep things from tilting in his vision. Groaning, he squeezed his eyes closed and waited for the few breaths it took to calm the spinning.

Opening his eyes again, he saw Ezekiel, Edric, and Sophia sitting and trying to get to their feet. They were tossed near the outside of the cave. The creature, or what was left of it, lay scattered in a smoldering pile of charred bones and ash.

As he stood, he kept his eyes on Sophia who stared at the remnants with a puzzled expression. She shifted her gaze to her hands as she lifted them in front of her. She picked off bits and pieces of black and dropped them to the ground. Andreas realized the gloves she always wore had been destroyed. And the magic that she had done had only burned the creature instead of everything in a fifty-foot radius.

Once he joined his companions and made sure everyone was okay, he set his gaze toward the grove of trees. Something glowing poked its way out from behind a tree. It disappeared only to poke out from behind another one, this time closer. He could tell it was humanoid in shape, but beyond that, nothing. Then it disappeared altogether.

“What is it?” Sophia asked.

He turned to her and smiled at her worried expression. “It’s nothing. Just saw something in the jungle.” He nodded his head toward that direction.

“Are you sure?” she asked and set her eyes on the same area. “Maybe it’s someone who wants to help?”

“After what just happened,” Edric said, “whatever it is will likely not come too close.”

“Yeah,” Ezekiel said, eyeing her with admiration. “You are amazing. Sophia, you’ve done well to control your power.”

“I’m just glad no one is toasted. Well, besides whatever that thing was.”

“A manticore,” Ezekiel said. “I believe that’s what they are called.”

“Well, whatever they are, let’s make sure we stay as far away from them as possible,” Edric said. “Until we get weapons.”

Andreas shrugged and settled his eyes on something father in the distance, moving along the horizon. Warning pulsed through his blood. Winston had Tryce curse him with a spell to be hunted by the vexsnare. It was in full effect now and being in the mountain made it easier for such a creature to find him.

“Let’s head that way,” he said, pointing to the jungle.

Everyone agreed, and they made their way toward the shelter of the trees and grass and whatever else lurked there. Hopefully, that would buy them time to get the curse off him or find a guide to lead them out of the mountain.