Finally, I managed to spin around and sneak a look at the creature before it could hide again. It was a shadow wolf—a massive black and gray creature with glowing red eyes and claws sharp enough to gut a talme with one swipe. It didn't bother hiding which I looked at it, which made my blood chill. It had realized Leera wasn't a threat.

I held my sword at the ready, trying to imagine it all as just another practice exercise. Not that we'd ever practiced fighting giant wolves, but imagining it made it slightly easier not to flee in panic.

The wolf charged. We came together in a clash of claws and steel. I slashed at its neck, but the wolf swiped the blade away with its claws. I held onto my sword despite the strength of the beast's swipe and swung again as it lunged at me.

It dodged to the left, striking out faster than I would've though possible. Hot blood ran from a cut in my side, but I knocked away the wolf's claws before it could disembowel me. Fear sent off sparks from my hands every time I moved. My heart pounded in my ears as I stabbed at the wolf's chest. It jumped back to circle me.

[Leera, now would be a great time for you to wake up,] I shouted as the wolf charged again.

She growled loudly, finally awake. The wolf jumped back as she struggled to her feet, but the vines pulled her back down, pinned her to the ground, and wrapped her muzzle tightly when she tried to bite them.

She would be no help in this fight, and the wolf knew it. It lunged again. In a moment of terrifying clarity, I knew what to do. I jumped forward as the beast closed the distance between us, going much closer to it than I would've liked. With a strong thrust, I used the wolf's own momentum to run the sword into its chest. Even though it must have known it was dying, it wouldn't give up. When I tried to pulled my sword free, the wolf sunk its teeth into my left shoulder. It died, and we both went down hard. I fought to pry its jaws apart with one arm, but they were locked closed. I couldn't get enough leverage with just one arm.

I started feeling faint and remembered shadow wolves were venomous. Just another reason why you wouldn't want to fight one of them. Unfortunately, I hadn't had much of a choice. Blood flowed from the wound in my side, and my hands started glowing hotly from fear as I realized I might bleed out from before I got free. I redoubled my efforts to pry open the wolf's jaws, ignoring the strange haze that started to fill my mind. I paused for just a second to take a breath and was disturbed to find that I no longer remembered what I'd been doing. It'd been something important, I was sure.

When I moved a bit to look around, a bolt of pain exploded from my shoulder and reminded me.

Leera momentarily stopped her battle with the vines.[Use your sword.]

[For what? It's already in the wolf.] I pushed the sword deeper. It didn't help.

[Get it out and use it as leverage. Hurry, before you're too out of it to remember what leverage means.]

Somehow, even with the trouble I was having thinking straight, I managed to keep Leera's plan in mind long enough to try it. Using the sword as a lever worked, luckily, and I extracted myself from the wolf's fangs soon enough. When I looked down at my side, I saw the bleeding was even worse than I'd thought. I cut off the bottom few inches of my shirt and tied it around my midriff, covering the cut.

[More are coming. I can smell them,] Leera said from beneath so many vines I could hardly see her. [You have to take the potion. Transform and fly away.]

I froze, my hand instinctively going to the pocket with the vial in it. [How did you know about it?]

[You think about it almost every time you look at me. Just use it. I can't get free, but I'm not going to bring you down with me out of spite.]

[But you'll die.]

[Obviously. Now, take the potion.]

My hand seemed to go into my pocket of its own accord, like someone was controlling it. Leera, she'd figured out how to control me.

I desperately fought against her will. [I won't leave you to die.] I yanked my hand away from my pocket and back to my sword.

[Then we will both die.] Exhausted, she released her control.

A soft growling came from the edge of the clearing, and I looked up to see a pair of red eyes. And another. And half a dozen more. The pain I felt was somewhat dulled by the wolf's venom, and I managed to stay on my feet despite how woozy I was. These wolves approached more slowly than the one I'd killed, no doubt realizing that I had to be a bigger threat than I looked if I'd brought down one of their kin. Then again, they could've just been so certain of their victory that they felt no need to rush.

I tightened my grip on my sword as they advanced. In the distance, I heard what sounded like a foghorn and wondered vaguely if it meant someone was looking for me.

One of the wolves broke out of the circle and rushed at me. I screamed, hoping to startle it, and lunged forward. Being as off balanced as I was, I tripped over my own feet and fell flat on my face. As I tried to get up, darkness closed in on my vision. I felt claws bite into my back and heard the roar of a dragon before passing out.