The Xalinor Chronicles

Run for your lives

Without waiting to find out what blood hounds were, Jake started running along with Zill. The howls were soon replaced by ferocious barking noises which made their hearts tremble with fear. Though they were running as fast as possible, the barking noises kept growing louder. It was clear that the blood hounds were on their trail by now.

“Zill, how far is your warren from here?” asked Jake, gasping for breath.

“My warren lies at the end of this road. If we keep running, we should be able to reach it in a few more minutes,” replied Zill.

The pair kept on running with the blood hounds in close pursuit. Jake realized that the beasts were gaining on them really fast. Outrunning them seemed like an impossible task.

“I can’t run any farther. I... need to...breathe”. Jake felt his legs giving in under him. His lungs were aching due to the extreme exertion. “Please stop, Zill. I am going to... die.”

Zill looked towards Jake; he was drenched in sweat and breathing with immense difficulty. Suddenly Jill’s eyes fell on that blood- stained dagger with which Jake had killed the Zolvan. The weapon was tucked inside Jake’s leather belt. “Jake Riley, you need to throw the dagger away. Blood hounds are attracted to blood!”

Jake slowed down and eventually came to a halt. He couldn’t run any farther. Though Zill wasn’t the bravest of gnomes, he was a great friend. Seeing Jake, leaning against a tree while gasping for breath, made him feel sorry for him. Instead of running towards his warren, he stopped and ran towards Jake. The blood hounds emerged out of the treacherous darkness and surrounded the duo. Jake turned pale in horror at the sight of the ferocious beasts. As the moon cast aside its cloudy veil, he caught a glimpse of several pairs of cerulean blue eyes and sharp white fangs which glistened in the dark. It was impossible to tell how many blood hounds there were. Before he could make out any of their other features, the moon again disappeared behind a blanket of dark gray clouds.

A large adult blood hound started moving towards Jake. Its eyes were fixed on its prey. Since gnomes had a passive ability which allowed them to see quite well in the dark, Zill could see the fierce gray wolf even in the darkness. It was the alpha of the pack. The hungry wolf was only a few paces away from Jake. Saliva dripped from it's gaping mouth filled with rows of sharp, serrated teeth..

Zill knew the wolf would pounce on Jake at any moment now. In a flash, he pulled out the dagger from Jake’s belt and flung it into a blueberry bush at the side of the road. Immediately, the bloodthirsty wolves darted towards the bush, forgetting all about them.

“That should keep the wolves busy,” said Zill. He tugged on Jake’s arm and urged him to get moving immediately.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “Okay, I am ready to run again.”

The two of them started running once again. They had to reach Zill’s warren as soon as possible. No one could tell what other danger lurked in the shadows of the night. As they passed a wooden statue on their right, Zill remarked, “That’s the statue of the Great Seer. We are very close to my home now.”

Hearing Zill’s words made him tear up ever so slightly. He just wanted to rest in a safe place where he wouldn’t be hunted by fierce beasts or crazy old warlocks.  He was too exhausted to do much more.

Just when Jake thought his ordeal was finally about to end, the barking sounds pierced his ears yet again. “Why are they still following us? We even got rid of the dagger now!” he cried in desperation.

Zill turned towards Jake and he immediately realized why the wolves were still chasing them. Jake’s fingers were still laced with Zolvan blood. Zill was about to tell Jake about it when the alpha of the pack pounced on Jake from behind and pinned him to the ground.

Zill let out a cry of terror as the other blood hounds surrounded his friend.

“AAAH. HELP ME!” screamed Jake.

Zill tried throwing stones at the wolves to distract them but they ignored it completely. All 5 wolves pounced on Jake at once. All Zill could do now was watch helplessly, with tears dripping from his large black eyes, as the blood hounds sunk their teeth into Jake’s flesh. He struggled in vain, trying to shake them off. The night sky resonated with his screams as the wolves ripped his worn leather armor and started gnawing at his flesh.

The hungry blood hounds dug their fangs into his skin and pulled at his limbs, trying to tear him into pieces. Jake felt as if he was being stabbed with a thousand sharp daggers at once. ‘So, this is how it ends,’ he thought to himself, as tears rolled down his bloodshot eyes.

Unable to bear the sight of his friend being torn to pieces, Zill closed his large black eyes in terror. The scared little gnome cupped his hands around his leafy ears to block the screams of his dying friend. Even the moon melted into darkness, as the howling night engulfed the land in a sheen of grieving black.