Unfortunately, Wolfe wasn’t the only one who had noticed the undead travelling down the ravine, nor was he the most vicious.
One very territorial mutant bear had also heard the undead coming, and it was not happy about it. The beast wasn’t particularly intelligent, but one thing it knew was that anything the undead bite or get their blood on becomes inedible poison, and it was determined not to allow them in its territory where they could ruin the bear’s food supply.
Wolfe turned to whisper to the group. “Wait up. There is a huge mutant bear going for the undead up ahead that I would rather not fight. If it leaves a heart intact, we have completed our collection without another fight.
If it doesn’t, we can find more targets.”
Getting the material without fighting undead or angry bears seemed like a winning solution to everyone, so Wolfe carefully crawled forward to watch the fight.
What they really needed was a skill to hide their scents. If half the group knew the undead were nearby when the wind shifted, that meant anything downwind with a sensitive nose likely knew there were Witches in the area.
Or maybe they smelt like humans? To Wolfe, they currently smelled like shampoo, body lotion, campfire smoke and magic. But he had no way of knowing if other creatures could smell magic the same way that he could now that his Mana Capacity was expanding.
He watched silently as the bear tore into the undead. It didn’t even bother to roar, as it knew that threats didn’t work on the mindless creatures. It just charged forward and began to tear them apart.
The fight was almost comical, over in seconds as the bear’s large paw glowed with a faint red light and tore through the undead, then slammed them to the ground. Wolfe had thought the beast was just a huge mutant, but it looked like it could actually use some sort of defensive magic.
Wolfe stared in awe as the last of the undead was pinned to the ground, and the bear used the claws of its other paw to tear the skull apart before it wiped itself clean and dropped the spell. For a beast, that was an impressive tactical decision.
As he watched, Wolfe recalled his first fight with the mud monster. The situation in both fights was very similar. Both of them were significantly more dangerous than their appearance suggested, which was saying a lot for the giant bear.
The Mutant Bear’s first kill was when he decided for sure that he didn’t want to risk a battle with that thing without a very good reason. Anything that casually ripped skulls apart like that was bad news. By the time it finished, he was absolutely certain of his decision to stay as far away as possible.
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So, even a minute after it was gone from sight, Wolfe waited before he signalled that the threat was gone.
“The bear could use something like an armour spell to avoid getting undead blood on itself. If we do happen to see it again, be aware of that. But we can go check the condition of the hearts now.” Wolfe whispered.
The group crept forward and descended into the ravine while hoping that the lingering smell of the destroyed undead would hide them from detection.
“The ribs on most of them are crushed, but the heart on this one looks good,” Noor whispered after cutting the chest of one of the zombies open.
The usable organs were collected into plastic jars, and they all made their way back out of the ravine, leaving in the direction they arrived from.
“Do we look for a less scary monster than that bear, or do we use the blood from the store?” Ella asked once they were far enough away to feel safe.”
“Let’s head back toward the last place we camped, and we will decide at the end of the day. We’ve got plenty of time to find a suitable monster to donate blood for our cause.” Parker decided.
It was as good of a suggestion as any, so they started to walk, keeping their senses finely tuned for danger.
“Wolfe, I sense something wrong. Not a monster, but not safe.” The Imp whispered to him right after warning Parker.
“Go into my pack, grab the two pistols that I took from the SUV and give one to Curtis, then give the other to Cassie and split the extra ammunition between them,” Wolfe replied.
The Imp hurried to do as he was told, which startled both recipients when he handed them firearms that they certainly hadn’t left the academy with.
“Keep them out of sight until the opportune moment,” Wolfe whispered while the other Witches passed a hushed warning down the line.
After a few more minutes, Wolfe could feel a threat in the air, so he changed courses, following a branch in the animal trail they were on.
The feeling continued to grow at the same rate, so whatever it was, it was following them.
The Imp was hiding the traces of their passage, so it wasn’t tracking their footprints, and they didn’t have a spell to make themselves invisible or hide their scent like the Wilderness Protectors.
The trail led through a small clearing with a large stone in the middle, and the feeling spiked as soon as they entered.
“What do we have here? A bunch of little girls and their boyfriends?” a voice asked at the same time Noor and Parker began to panic.
“My aura is blocked.” They both whispered at once.
In an instant, all the Familiars except Wolfe and Stephanie, who was sleeping in his backpack and covered by his armour spell, were knocked unconscious by what Wolfe believed was a Curse. As soon as they were down, dozens of people armed with bows and swords stepped into sight all around them.
“Your auras are blocked, and your Familiars are asleep. Now get down on your knees with your hands up. Two city boys are no match for all of us. We just want your gear and a little fun. Then you can go back to your daycare.” The leader, a man with immaculately clean and polished armour that seemed to be made out of a thick, scaly hide, ordered.
“Just listen to him, and nobody has to die. Your armour magic ain’t gonna last long without mana.” A woman in the group requested, using what Wolfe assumed was supposed to be a kind voice.
The leader approached the group, stepping wide of Wolfe to place a gentle hand on Reiko’s face with a lustful look in his eyes.
Cassie caught Wolfe’s eyes in panic, and he gritted his teeth and nodded. She dropped her gaze and shrugged her pack off her shoulders, making the group smile in anticipation even as Reiko recoiled in horror from the man.
Cassie set the pack on the ground, and then her hand flicked back up, holding the pistol that she had pulled from her pocket. The gun barked once, and a red spray shot straight out from the man’s head.
All of the attackers froze at the sudden change in the situation, and Wolfe drew deeply from his mana reserves, spreading [Lightning Bolts] through their ranks.
The commotion woke Stephanie, and she was only a heartbeat behind, launching a volley of [Firebolt] shots at the targets behind Wolfe that caused the ambush to devolve into screaming.
“It’s a Demon Clan dressed like students. RUN.” Someone ordered, but it was too late. The Witches had recovered from their shock, so the four of them that could use Wolfe’s stored magic unleashed a wave of attacks that the mundane humans had no way to defend against.
Most died instantly, but a few managed to avoid the worst of the damage. They tried to scramble away, but Wolfe got them with Lightning, leaving only one woman, who was now short one hand and most of a leg, alive.
“Stop. I want to talk to her.” He ordered as he saw Curtis aiming his pistol.
“Please, my Lord, we didn’t mean it. We were just desperate for food.” The Woman begged.
Wolfe looked beside her to a bush full of withering berries, a bit past ripe this late in the year but still edible looking, and the woman paled.
“You know, it’s rude to lie,” Wolfe informed her.
“Lord Demon, I am so sorry. I know how you feel about lying. Please forgive me.” She cried, still trying to back away.
“Tell me what you are doing here, so close to the Witches academy, and why you followed us,” Wolfe demanded.
“The men we work for need women that aren’t mutants, and Witches sell well once their aura is locked and their Familiar is dead. Every year this time, there are freshmen in the woods. It’s how they make their living.”
“Are you working with any other groups?” Wolfe asked, and she shook her head rapidly.
“Everyone competes. The others kill more capture teams than those students do. Please, Lord, have sympathy. You will never see me again.”
“You’re right. I won’t see you again.” Wolfe agreed before using [Unholy Smite] to burn her to ash.