Free The Compass Key (Book 5) by Charles E. Yallowitz Page A

off again,” Delvin announces with a friendly smirk aimed at the eye-rolling forest tracker.
    They watch Fizzle dart into the air and hover above the swamp for a few seconds before he vanishes in a burst of purple smoke. Luke throws water on the smoldering ashes of the fire while the others finish gathering their gear. Within minutes, they are trudging through the swamp with Luke in the lead and Timoran protecting their flank. It is a slow journey with thick mud and a few times when they have to backtrack to get around a large pond. The sun is in full view by the time Luke stops and turns around.
    “Something isn’t right,” the half-elf whispers as he scans the area. “We’ve been traveling for an hour and there are no signs of predators.”
    “I was thinking the same thing,” Timoran agrees. He sniffs the air and feels a wave of nausea wash over him. “There is something unnatural in the forest. Not dead, but not truly alive and not undead either. The best guess I can make is a creature covered in so much death that it permanently reeks of it.”
    “Do we keep moving forward?” Delvin calmly asks.
    “As cautiously as possible,” the barbarian suggests. He looks at Luke, who nods and takes a short lead ahead of the group.
    Luke makes it a few more steps when a chorus of ravenous howls fills echoes throughout the swamp. His eyes scan the area and he occasionally notices a brief flicker of motion. For an instant, he clearly sees an emaciated wolf before it disappears behind a mossy boulder. Risking a glance at his friends, Luke can see Timoran and Delvin shielding Nyx. The caster has lightning dancing between her hands, her breathing heavy and labored from the stench of dark magic in the wind. Luke is about to call out to ask Nyx if she recognizes the howl when her eyes shift toward him.
    “Behind you!” Nyx shrieks. She fires a lightning bolt over Luke’s shoulder, grazing his hair. The spell collides with a famine varg that is pouncing on the forest tracker. With a high-pitched whine, the beast crashes to the ground at Luke’s feet.
    The rest of the pack race out from their hiding places, most of them rushing to cut Luke off from the others. A deafening howl draws Luke’s attention to his left where the largest famine varg is patiently standing on the edge of the battle. He has no time to think about what it is going to do when three other famine vargs rush him. Spinning on one foot, Luke kicks one of the predators to the side and slashes at the others. His right-hand saber slices the muzzle off one famine varg while his left-hand saber barely slices the neck of the other beast. It crashes into him, knocking him to his knees before he shoves it away. The surrounding famine vargs are about to swarm Luke when he gets to his feet and charges the ring. He grins as the famine varg he is running toward gets low to pounce. With all of his strength, Luke leaps over the crouching famine varg and sprints to get some distance from them. The monsters snarl and howl as they chase him into the swamp.
    Timoran and Delvin continue protecting Nyx from the handful of famine vargs that are brave enough to approach them. After the first three are hacked and cleaved by the warriors, the remaining pair attempt to rush in low to snatch Nyx. When all three adventurers turn to face the same famine varg, the second one darts in and sinks its teeth into Nyx’s ankle. Her boot protects her from most of the bite, but she can still feel sharp teeth drive into her skin. Timoran kills the first famine varg, letting Delvin take care of the one that has Nyx. The warrior’s longsword slices the beast’s head off, but the mouth is still clamped around Nyx’s ankle.
    “Don’t try to help me,” she snaps. Reaching down, she grows a fire knife from her hand and cuts the lower jaw off the monster’s head. “Go help Luke. Those famine vargs must have eaten the local predators, so they’re going to be too strong for him. We need to chase