CHAPTER 87

"Oh, I will only be honest with you, Mike Radley." Those crimson eyes glowed, as if burrowing into Mike's soul. "You see, I wanted to do this long before you took notice of this place. It would have been so easy to take this land, to become part of the Great Game before you even knew what was happening."

"So why didn't you?"

Leeds shook his head. Mike still couldn't see his features. "Because the spell I used to get everyone in required too much time. I couldn't accomplish it while that human was about, the father of the Arachne. On more than one occasion, he disrupted my runes without even knowing it. When he died, I only had to wait for the spiders of the forest to slumber to complete my plans."

"My dad?" Velvet lowered his gun. "You were afraid of him?"

"Afraid is the wrong word, little spider. I respected him. He demonstrated true dedication to defending this place and an attention to detail that his progeny lack."

Yuki started to ask something, but Mike didn't hear what she said. Instead, he heard the distant hoots of the Nirumbi. They were excited again, which meant that something had changed, but what?

When he turned to look back toward the forest, he saw an immense figure moving just behind the trees. A pine was toppled as the being pushed its way into the light. Standing taller than even Bigfoot was a creature with stretched-out limbs and the head of a deer. It snatched up a Nirumbi that tried to run past and shoved the whole thing in its mouth. It chewed on its snack and let out a howl before charging at them.

Mike opened fire, but the thing kept coming. Velvet fired off a couple of rounds before Quetzalli summoned a lightning blast that knocked the creature off its feet. After only a couple of seconds, it leapt into a standing position, its whole body smoldering. Yuki summoned a wall of ice to protect them, but Mike knew it wouldn't last long when the creature dragged long fingernails against the other side and let out a howl of anger.

"Many men have met my Wendigo, Mike Radley. None have lived to tell the tale." Leeds laughed, then vanished. The Wendigo raised massive fists and slammed them into the ice, causing it to crack.

"Bastard distracted us." Mike chambered another round and raised the rifle. Did it have a weak spot? "What do we know about Wendigo?"

"Eaters of flesh." Quetzalli snorted in disgust. "Not like Dana, not at all! They are once-men, driven by greed and power! Dark spirits walk these lands, and I will have none of it!"

Her eyes flashed a bright purple and lightning from above blasted her horn. Instead of discharging, her whole body glowed as she stored it inside her body and repeated the process. Mike covered his ears and closed his eyes. He could feel the thunder rushing through his body and the hair on his body stood on end as the dragon's electrical charge grew.

The Wendigo shattered the ice and tried to force its way through when Quetzalli let loose a lightning blast that caught the Wendigo in the chest and hurled it away from them. There was an explosion, and the air filled with the scent of blood and burnt flesh.

"Gah!" Mike's ears were ringing, and he couldn't hear what Yuki was shouting. But he did see the Wendigo stand up, its body smoldering. It picked up the nearby corpse of a Nirumbi and devoured it, walking toward them with purpose as it feasted with every step. A large hole had been blasted in its chest, revealing the Wendigo's rib cage.

Someone yanked on Mike's arm. It was Velvet. She pointed at Quetzalli, who was lying down on the ground.

"Understood!" he said, his voice sounding muffled to his ringing ears. When he knelt down to grab her, a jolt of energy ran through his body, numbing his legs. Cursing, he stumbled for a moment before scooping Quetzalli up in his arms.

The Wendigo growled, then snatched up a Nirumbi that ran up and prostrated itself. Upon consuming the little person, the Wendigo's wound closed even further.

They're feeding themselves to it?!? Mike stumbled into the cabin and laid Quetzalli on the ground. She was still breathing, but her horn was hot to the touch and she was out cold.

He made a quick detour to his room and dug through the potions that Zel had sent with him. The healing ones had cute little handwritten labels that described their application, but he didn't want those. Instead, he dug for the ones that Zel had put warning labels on. He scooped up a bright red one.

Dragon's Breath, the label declared. Use with caution.

Mike and Zel had become coated in Dragon's Breath shortly after they first met. He could still remember her stern warning to wash it off immediately and definitely to never scratch it or the burning would get worse.

He ran out of his room and then straight out the front door. The Wendigo's legs had been frozen to the ground and the Nirumbi were rushing within arm's reach.

"I can't stop them all," Yuki said as Velvet fired her gun at the Wendigo, shattering part of an antler. "There are too many of them!"

"Where are your snowmen?" he asked.

"Fighting off the rest of the Nirumbi!" She chanced a look over her shoulder. "Mike, there are hundreds of them!"

His jaw dropped. Hundreds?!? "Wh...why aren't they all attacking?"

She turned her attention back to the Wendigo. The ice had encased its waist, but cracks had already formed. Was the Wendigo getting bigger?