They appeared a few feet above the forest, thousands of miles away from the mountain, and continued flying. They flew West at a leisurely pace and Jerome made small talk with Csala to calm her anger. They talked about the races that existed on Terra Praeta.

Jerome knew most of this information, but it was better to placate her than let her remain angry and devise ways to sabotage any future plans. Csala didn’t talk about the succubi or their closely guarded secret — their union with the opposite sex and the Life Bond that comes with it. No memory stone could reveal that to him as not even the fae knew about it — at least to Achille’s knowledge. But Achilles was no ordinary AI and he had found out millennia after the Fae went extinct.

Jerome didn’t reveal to her that he knew though. And he promised himself not to reveal it to any other soul. This was one of the reasons why he hadn’t taken her since he found out the truth about their race. And according to Achilles, there was no way around it. No one would love to be chained to someone else, losing all thoughts of self-preservation and self-interest. 

He shook his head absently as she talked about the naiads — a race of water nymphs who lured men and stole their vitality with a kiss. They were almost as beautiful as the succubi. Almost. Jerome rolled his eyes at that. The naiads had pale skins since they lived at the bottom of rivers and lakes, with little to no sunlight. They weren’t as strong — both mentally and physically — as the succubi. Their singsong voices, a captivating melody that had ensorcelled many outworlders, was their only true weapon. When they kiss you, you lose a little bit of vitality, but the kiss is so good, you want to continue it. But continuing it leads to death.

They flew for days without stopping, passing over mountains and valleys as they did. They came across other teams but flew by not bothering to stop. Jerome didn’t recognize many of the teams. But as he flew over a steppe, one such team he recognized from their rough-looking appearance. They traveled with about four wolves with them and as he focused his senses on the wolves they looked up at him alert and with eyes filled with intelligence, and wariness. Somehow he knew that those weren’t normal wolves.

He looked away but didn’t increase his speed so as not to look like he was fleeing.

“They are huge!” Csala remarked as she gawked at them still. At shoulder level and standing on all fours, the wolves were almost as tall as the Shifters still in human form. “Do you know them?” 

Her question brought him back to the now. That and, he quickly became aware of the suppleness of her body and his member responded. Csala gave him a wary look and he looked away clearing his throat.

“Not exactly. But I know what they are,” he responded.

Csala relaxed at that. “I’ve never seen ones as big as that. They are like the unbound,” Csala said, and Jerome looked at her, puzzled.

“The unbound?” This was probably one species he hadn’t gotten to in the library.

“Hmm. Long ago there was a race that didn’t bow to the fae as others did. I don’t know what they were called then, but the Fae increased their burden a thousandfold after they enslaved them. They were stubborn and prideful. They fought against the Fae for many years before they were completely defeated. Their race was reduced to a handful with that. It is said that they could take the form of predators. Or perhaps they were predators that could take the form of bipedal beings. It was not known.

“But what we do know was that they were huge and muscular. Very hairy too. They moved in packs like moon howlers…” Csala looked back at the Shifters. They hadn’t flown too far and the Shifters were still in view.

“Wolves,” Achilles supplied.

I know. Jerome replied, rolling his eyes.

“...Then again, perhaps moon howlers are their descendants. After the fall of the fae they became unbound from their oath. Hence the name unbound,” Csala concluded.

“That’s quite the story,” Jerome said. “We call these guys Shapeshifters — Shifters for short. They absorb the cores of magic beasts; mostly felines and lupines. And it makes them stronger. Perhaps the different genetic limiters cancel out each other as the two genes mix, making them grow bigger than usual…” Jerome trailed off in thought.

Csala looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time as she clearly didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Tara!” a scream tore through the air. And it came from the direction of the Shifters. “Tara, I’m coming to get you! Hold on!”

“Tara?” Jerome whispered as memories came flooding in. He was already turning around and flying back. He flew so fast, he was above the Shifter who shouted in a mere second.

Jerome dropped from the sky and examined the female Sprout who called out the name. She looked to be a little older than he was. Strong limbs held onto the ledge of a big hole in the ground, her brows creased in worry. Seeing him, she shot away from the ledge with lightning speed, her expression one of near terror. But he was aware that he probably looked like the dead come to haunt the living.

There was a response from deep within the cavern below and he felt he recognized the voice.

The tall grasses of the steppe were nonexistent around the hole — no, it was a crater-like valley, which stretched out in both directions for at least a mile — and he could sense from a quick scan that this was some kind of mine shaft, probably dug out millennia ago. It should have collapsed, but when a race of beings had magic, they could preserve their structures for eons. Thick fog was pouring out of the valley, making for a mysterious sight.

The other Shifters had fled when they heard the scream. Or perhaps it was when they saw him turn around.

“Who… what are you?” the young woman asked hesitantly, rising from her crouching position, with claws out and ready to attack. She looked terrified to see them… to see him.

Jerome studied her. Wild black hair and gold eyes glared hatred at him.

“I heard you call out to someone… and the response.” He’d heard her call the name, Tara. He couldn’t help but think that the voice that answered in response sounded like the Tara he knew. With his heart beating wildly in his chest, he asked, “Can I help?”

“No!” She crouched down again, like a cat ready to pounce. “Come nearer and I’ll rip you to shreds.” She bounded into the fog-filled valley below and not even her footfalls echoed into the surrounding.

“Guess that’s a no. Unfortunately for you, I’m persistent.” 

“Jerome, who is this Tara?” Csala asked, holding him back from jumping into the foggy hole in the ground.

“Someone from my past,” he replied. “Are you going to stay up here, or are you coming with me?”

Csala sighed but he knew she’d follow. Jerome flew in after the Shifter, as silently as he could. But the wind stirred around him, lifting his robe and fluttering it in the air. So much for stealth, he thought. Csala on the other hand was as silent as a mouse. She didn’t fly, well she couldn’t, having lost most of her psychic energy. But she lifted herself into the valley with surprising silence.

“If you like, I can prepare a memory stone that can impart the knowledge to you, Xerae. When you’re settled of course.” Achilles said.

Not now, Achilles. He flew downward, following the smell of the Shifter. She smelled like a cat — and moved like one too. If she could lead him to Ms Tara… Jerome sighed. Now he was thinking of this Tara as his Ms Tara. Better not get too hopeful.

But his heart couldn’t stop beating wildly in anticipation. The fog in the valley was so thick he could barely see a foot away from himself. And it was getting colder the deeper he went. With how little the Shifters wore, the Shifter down there would probably be suffering from hypothermia now.

Jerome sped up. He sensed the Shifter closer now, sensed her look his way even. Since she was a Shifter, her senses would be sharper than that of the average sacred artist. So no need to bother with stealth around her.

He dropped noiselessly beside her — well, as noiselessly as he could manage. Csala stopped on an outcropping above him.

“So,” he said, ignoring the glare focused on him. “ How deep do you think she is?”

The Shifter didn’t answer. She huffed and distanced herself from him.

“Sheela?” someone called again from below. The voice echoed upwards from deep within the valley. Jerome stiffened at the sound of the voice. That was definitely Ms Tara’s voice!

“I’m coming to get you!” Sheela called back in alarm. She jumped over the ledge they were standing on, dropping deeper into the valley and away from view.

Jerome wanted to follow, his instinct to protect his loved one pushing for him to jump too. But his memories held him back — memories he’d acquired from Sanctum. There were monsters down there. Monsters that dealt in stealth. He had to be careful going down.

“Stay here,” he said to Csala.

“Oh, I’m not going down there. It’s too cold.”

Jerome vanished on the spot, startling her.

 

~~~

 

Sheela

What was that thing that was following her? She had to be careful of it. But it seemed strong. And she hoped she could defend herself and Tara if needed. Just thinking about its emancipated frame and dried lips brought shivers to her skin. Its patched skin and near-hairless head gave it the looks of someone who had been dead and buried for centuries. How could anyone survive like that? Yet the thing wore very nice-looking robes.

Right now she couldn’t trust anybody. Even her own pack had betrayed her because they hated Tara.

She carefully went down the rough terrain of the valley walls. Thankfully she was a Midnight Panther; stealth was her strength. And there were no plants growing on the walls which could have caused moisture that would make the terrain slippery. She could feel that this valley wasn’t entirely natural. Grooves had been dug out in the wall to help people climb up and down the valley. So there was sure to be intelligent lifeforms down there.

The lower she went, the colder it became. The fog seemed to be the cause of the cold. She had to cycle from time to time to keep herself warm. But for how long? The bottom of the valley was nowhere in sight, but Tara was still responding.

“Tara?” she called again just to be sure her friend was still there.

“I’m here!” Tara said. “Please get down here fast. I can’t seem to use my Sail to fly.”

That was new. “What do you see down there?” she called.

“Nothing! The fog is too thick. But there is an underground lava pool here keeping me warm!”

Oh, that was better. But where did the fog come from then? Sheela didn’t want to wait to find out. Get Tara, and get the fuck out of here. That was the plan. They could figure out their revenge later.

Soon her booted feet touched dry ground and the cold evaporated from her bones. She sighed. That was a relief. She could hear bubbling sounds now and she was sure that was the lava pool. She walked toward the sound making sure to stay close to the wall.

Something slimy dropped on her shoulder and she almost screamed. She quickly wiped the slime off herself and hastened her steps towards Tara. As she got nearer the bubbling sound, her senses flared to alert her to danger! She stopped in her tracks and extended her perception but everything came back foggy. 

Sheela looked around her as realization dawned on her. The fog was hindering her senses.

“Tara?” she called out.

“Sheela!” came a response. “You’re close by. I should be only a few paces away from you.”

Yet she hesitated, her heart beating wildly and her instincts flaring to the danger ahead.

“You sense it don’t you.” 

This time, she screamed and jumped in terror. Looking to the side, the thing from before was standing two paces away from her. How did he even get there?

“That voice doesn’t belong to your Tara,” he said again, ignoring her outburst.

She shook her head in denial. “That can’t be true. Tara is not—”

“Dead? I never said she was,” the thing said. She felt it come alert all of a sudden and quickly stepped in front of her, as if to protect her. “Stay behind me. Stay alert and out of the way.”

An impressive black spear appeared in its… his gauntleted hand, right before a giant claw, like a crab’s, swung at him!

 

~~~

 

A list of creatures ran through his mind as he fought the crab-like extremities that kept shooting at him from the fog. Problem was, crabs only had two of these limbs. This thing seemed like it had dozens. And they were slimmer than a crab’s, and more flexible it seemed. They had the hard chitinous exoskeleton which was incredibly tough to break. He sent tendrils of living steel to spy on the creature but he might as well have not tried. The fog made it impossible to see any damned thing.

Jerome shot fiery bullet after fiery bullet at it as he stabbed the limbs that got close. The shots were eerily silent. He almost enjoyed the kickback from using the shots fired with the gauntlets. It made him feel alive, somewhat. The stabs made the creature retreat more than the bullets. He could sense its pain and dilemma at being stabbed, like pain was something foreign to it.

Pain, Jerome thought. This is a Chimera of sorts.

Chimeras had a very high threshold for pain. Due to the several mishmash of DNAs, they had evolved over millennia to have near absolute control over their nerves.

“Correct, Xerae,” Achilles said as he shot forward. “There are different types of Chimera as you know. They evolve based on whatever creature they consume. They were created thousands of years ago by a mad Fae mage who thought he could make an invincible being. Perhaps to become invincible himself. That didn’t go well as you’ve learned.”

This is not the time for a lecture, Achilles, Jerome replied. And it irks me to know that I slept in that mad scientist’s tower on the way out of Terra Praeta’s Night.

He dashed underneath the Chimera but the monster shot back with surprising speed. It smacked him to the wall but Jerome severed one of its limbs. The thing was lightning fast. But Jerome was fast too. He felt he could match it in speed. They went back and forth trying to subdue each other. But Jerome was fighting blind as it were. The fog made it impossible to sense anything.

But what about underground, he thought. Jerome calmed his heart and pushed his senses downward. He sent tendrils of living steel into the earth to support his perception. He quickly had an idea of the terrain he was fighting on. And more than that, the Chimera was only a few dozen paces away. He could sense every of its movements through tiny vibrations in the earth. And he got a vague imagery of what it looked like in its completeness.

Jerome shot towards it and activated his x-ray vision. The Chimera’s chitinous exoskeleton became transparent before his eyes and what he saw made his blood boil!

Fuck! The beast had swallowed Ms. Tara already!