Emma knew there was a chance she would be able to dodge the blast. Sly would be able to as well. But there was no way Hunt would be able to escape or even survive it. She had to stop him from firing at them. “Garret, you have to listen to me. It’s not too late to turn whatever this is around.”
“Really?” he asked, genuinely amused.
“Yeah, we can change this,” Emma argued. She paused for a moment, wondering if she meant it. Looking up at Garret, she knew what she saw. A scorned Dragon who wanted to be more, who needed to be more. He wasn’t much different from Hunt, and if he was ready to change, it would be a bit of work. “Garret, this is a Hunter.”
“And?” Garret asked.
“He’s helping me. If I can forgive him, if we can forgive him, we can do the same for you. We can talk things out, we can figure out what this is, what is going on and how we can end it. You can help us stop this demon thing,” Emma pleaded, shifting back to her human form as she did. She walked until she was in front of Hunt, using her body as a shield in case Garret fired. “Just think about it, please.”
Garret put his hand to his chin, his face contorting as he seemed to actually be deep in thought, thinking about her offer. A small part of Emma wondered if that was all he needed to change. Someone to offer him what he hadn’t gotten. If that was all, she would have stopped a lot of bloodshed.
“I thought about it and…” Garret began. “—Nah.”
Chapter 12 - Hunt
Hunt watched as the bracelet glowed. He was sure that Emma was using herself as a shield, hoping to save him from the blast. But he wasn’t going to let her do it. Emma wasn’t going to die here, Hunt was going to make sure of it. Garret raised a hand, looking to fire at him.
“I thought about it and…” Garret began. “—Nah.”
“Wait!”
Hunt turned around to see Conan and his Wyverns behind him. Conan held up a hand, telling Garret to wait. The demon-dog creatures between Hunt and Conan instantly turned to face the Wyverns. It was the worst-case scenario, where they were trapped between two forces.
“What’s the closest way out?” Emma asked in a low tone.
“Five minutes run in that direction, but we have to get past him first,” Hunt replied.
“They have something really important to you!” Conan yelled. “You said you want to get the Key of Barishem. They have a map of his realm, and the ritual you need to get access to the key.”
“Oh?” Garret asked, turning down the energy in his bracelet.
“Yeah, they have it on them,” Conan continued. “I was going to bring it to you. But that one stole it from me. But now, I bring you all of them, along with the map and the ritual.”
Hunt felt a shiver run down his spine as he imagined what could happen if Conan and Garret joined forces. There was no chance that they would get out of the fight alive. Garret on his own would completely cut them off from moving forward. Conanand his men on the other side would be a touchy issue for them. But still, if they could get through one side, they would escape.
“I’ll hold Garret off, you have to stop Conan,” said Emma quietly. “We got this. Okay?”
“What do you want?” Garret asked Conan loudly.
“Power!” the Wyvern replied. “I know you, and I respect you, and I know you can make me powerful. I give this to you as a gift. If you can give me power in return, I will give you all of my time and strength. My men too!”
Garret chuckled. “What business do I have with a bunch of weak Wyverns?”
“Garret?” Conan said, his voice laced with the pain of betrayal.
“I have no use for you, so I’ll just be taking what I want,” Garret said with a smile. He waved his hands and the dogs snarled, splitting into two groups, charging at the Wyverns and at Hunt. One of the creatures leaped through the air, throwing itself right at him.
Emma caught it before it could hit, ripping its jaw apart and slamming it into the ground. She turned to Sly. “Fight, Sly! Fight!”
Hunt moved quickly, keeping the corner of his eye on Garret. He saw that the Dragon had stayed back, watching the fight. An idea occurred to him, one which he knew would give them the best chance of surviving the fight. One of the creatures rushed at him, swinging its clawed limbs at him.
Hunt put his blade in the path of its attack, allowing it to slice itself with its own momentum. As it opened its mouth to scream in pain, he drove the weapon into the mouth of the creature before ripping the head clear off its shoulders. Huntspotted Emma slashing at one of the creatures before turning to face Garret. He had to act quickly.
Hunt rolled underneath one of the demon dogs, placing a hand on the back of the creature and channeling magic to his fingertips, instantly setting the creature on fire. It let out a deathly squeal as it ran straight for Garret, blocking the path behind him and Emma.
Feeling the vibrations of footsteps rushing at him from behind, Hunt ducked low, rolling out of the way of the attack that would have taken off his head. He turned to see a Wyvern, the same one he had sliced through earlier. The Wyvern growled at him.
“If you want to feel even more pain than the last time, come at me,” Hunt challenged.