14 Chapter Four - 3 || Ambush (2/2)
With trembling arms, Banran lifted the rifle to shoot again, but the barrel clicked emptily. It had been a long time since he last reloaded as he uncommonly used it.
Terror rose in his gut and his eyes shot back to the beast which was now on its feet. Smoky black tendrils gushed out of its wound and covered its body, seeming to make it larger. Dead silence filled the space as the beast stared wildly at the petrified man.
The sudden silence made Essairyn pause by the exit. Wary, she closed her hand in a loose fist, letting magic flow into her palm. A sharp snarl followed by a terrified cry snapped her out of her cautiousness, and she whipped the tent flap open.
The lamp clinked behind her as Chona lit the wick. With the light illuminating behind her, Essairyn's eyes swiftly sharpened, and she took in the scene before her.
A reptilian jaguar demon was careening toward Banran while he rushed toward the open wagon door. Black smoke trailed in the beast demon's wake. Just as his right leg crossed the threshold of the entrance, the jaguar flared out the wings on its forearms and clouted the man with the claws on its right foreleg.
”Banran!!” Chona shrieked in terror as she saw her husband slump to the ground.
At his mother's scream, Jerry jolted awake and looked with shocked eyes at his mother's devastated face. His head whipped from his mother to Essairyn as she dashed from the tent. At the sight of the jaguar beast perched on the side of the wagon, he skidded backwards in horror and entangled himself in the covers.
The jaguar's red eyes snapped toward the incoming girl. It had picked up a particular scent on her, and it snarled viciously as she drew near. The beast scrunched its muscles and lurched at Essairyn from the wagon. The wood splintered into gaping holes where its claws had punctured the wall.
In the background, Essairyn could hear Chona's shrill cries calling for her to come back, but she stared defiantly at the airborne demon.
Gritting her teeth in anger, she hoisted her hand into the air and released the spinning magic ball that she had been building up on the way in one vigorous swoop. The deep lavender light knotted into the beast's underbelly, and the impact sent the demon spiraling away from her.
Essairyn huffed in stimulation as magic suffused her body. She took a deep breath and walked calmly over to the fallen demon while forming a magic weapon in her hand. The stunned beast laid motionlessly on the ground.
As soon as she came close, it jerked up in alarm and scrambled to its feet. The jaguar growled menacingly and flicked its eyes from her to the wagon to the tent. Just as Essairyn was about to reach the beast, the jaguar noticed a small fox in the corner of the tent entrance. Its red eyes lit up in recognition, and it darted toward Akari.
Essairyn's eyes widened as she realized it was heading toward the tent. Chona and Jerry screeched in fright and clambered away from the entrance. Akari tensed, ready to bolt.