Content Warning: Physical violence and some mentions of blood

Ulanbek and Murat stared up at the giant three-eyed wolves.  The wolves snarled and bared their curved fangs, which looked large and sharp enough to impale a grown person.  Their fur stood on end like a porcupine’s spines and their large tails moved back and forth like serpents.  Giant globs of viscous saliva fell from their jaws and plopped onto the forest floor, making the leaves curl up and sizzle.  Murat trembled and squeezed Ulanbek’s torso more tightly.  Ulanbek tightened his grip on the hilt of his kilij saber.  The silver orb floated towards them.

“I’d say your chances of successfully defeating these wolves are slim,” the orb remarked.  “Not without the assistance of magic.”

“Are you going to help us then?” Ulanbek demanded.

“Haven’t I always been helping you?”

“In the most infuriating way,” Murat muttered.  “Can’t you please just take care of this and not put us in danger?”

“Murat, do you want to avenge your people or not?” the orb asked.  “How are you going to do that if you don’t get practice?”

”But these are giant wolves!” Murat protested.  “That’s way beyond what we’d be taking on if we are fighting the Vargoranth.”

”Not quite so,” the orb said.  “The Vargoranth, as you call them, tend to come in hordes.  Not much different in size from a giant wolf.”

”All right, that’s enough!” Ulanbek cut in.  “Help us or don’t help us.  We don’t have time to sit here and chat all day.”

“Certainly,” the orb replied.  It floated above Ulanbek and Murat and shimmered.  Thin silver threads shot out and descended onto the two humans and the horse, wrapping around them.  Once they were completely covered in a glowing silver cocoon, the threads burst into sparkling droplets that floated away.

The wolves were entranced by the silver glow and stayed still until the last of the sparkling droplets disappeared.  Then they lunged forward with thunderous growls, opening their menacing jaws wide.  Ulanbek pulled on the reins and his horse jumped out of the way as one of the jaws clamped down.  The wolf spat out a mouthful of detritus and turned its head sharply.  Its three eyes glowed red with anger.

The two other wolves surrounded Ulanbek and Murat.  One of them lifted its paw and threw it down towards them.  Ulanbek pulled on the reins again and the horse darted out of the way.  The other wolf behind them threw its paw down.  The horse jumped forward and its hooves pounded down on the paw of the first wolf, who was still curling its nails in the dirt.  Ulanbek raised his eyebrows, then decided to make the best of the situation.  He pulled on the reins and the horse galloped forward, running up the wolf’s arm.

”Murat,” Ulanbek said.  “I’m going to lean to the side and attack the wolf.  Take the reins.”

“What?” Murat gasped.  “I can’t-“

”You can.  I trust you.”  Ulanbek unclasped Murat’s hands from their vice-like grip around his torso and placed the reins between his fingers.  “You got it?”  Murat nodded.  “All right.” 

Ulanbek leaned over to the right and held his kilij saber low.  The tip of the blade dug into the wolf’s flesh.  The wolf threw its head back and let out a high-pitched howl.  Ulanbek shut his eyes as the spiky fur smacked against his face and blood spewed all over his arm.  The blade left a long gash as the horse continued galloping up the arm.  Murat gripped the reins with sweaty palms as if both their lives depended on it.  His vision was shaky and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his ribcage.  When they reached the shoulder, Murat pulled on the reins and the horse leapt upwards.  It was airborne for far longer than normal.  Either that or time was slowing down.

Ulanbek repositioned himself so that he was upright.  He took Murat’s left hand, moved it in front of his waist so that Murat would have something to hang onto, and then took the reins back.  Murat wrapped his right arm around Ulanbek’s waist and clasped his fingers together.  While all this was going on, the horse descended through the air and stomped down hard on the wolf’s third eye.  The wolf shrieked and swung its head vigorously from side to side.

The horse lost its balance and began to tumble forward.  Murat shrieked and clung even more tightly to Ulanbek.  Ulanbek gritted his teeth and held fast to the reins with one of his hands.  He was still wielding the kilij saber with his other hand and shoved the curved blade downward.  It pierced the wolf’s cheek and slid toward the menacing jaws, leaving a trail of crimson in its wake.  The horse rolled out from under them and gave a panicked whinny.  Murat felt himself slipping and screamed.  Ulanbek panicked and let go of the reins so that he could grab Murat’s hands.  He turned and his heart sank when he saw his loyal steed in freefall.  

Right before the horse made contact with the ground, a web of silver threads appeared below it and broke its fall.  The horse landed softly on the leaves.  After shaking its head and kicking its legs, it stood back up.  Ulanbek breathed a sigh of relief, but could not relish the moment for long because he was still holding onto Murat.  His kilij blade was lodged between the wolf’s teeth and he and Murat dangled precariously in the air.  Murat’s hands began to slip and he looked up with frightened eyes.  For a split second, Ulanbek thought he saw Luka’s face and tightened his grip.  His teeth ground against each other and his muscles burned as his arms were being pulled into two directions.  He blinked and saw Luka’s face replaced by Murat’s.  Nevertheless, he kept his tight grip, not wanting to lose him.

The wolf opened its jaws and flung them as hard as it could.  Ulanbek’s grip slipped from his saber’s hilt and he felt himself being thrown in the air.  His heart lurched when he could no longer feel Murat’s hand.  He panicked when saw the younger man flail his arms in freefall.  The next moment, he felt an intense pressure on his chest and back and realized that the wolf had clamped its teeth down on him.  The silver threads that wrapped around him earlier provided some buffer, but he still felt like he was being crushed.  As the pressure increased, he screamed out in pain.

Murat was also screaming.  He plummeted toward the ground and squeezed his eyes shut.  Just when he thought he was going to meet a painful end, he felt two familiar arms wrap around him and his descent slowed down.  He opened his eyes and saw his own face staring back at him.  He felt a chaotic mixture of panic, relief, and indignation.

“You!” He choked back hot tears and his voice faltered.  “Why do you always show up so late?”  The tears started to stream down his cheeks.

Instead of his usual snarky remarks, the Silver Sorcerer pulled him into a tighter embrace and whispered,  “I’m sorry.”  Murat buried his face into the white robes and sobbed.  He then heard Ulanbek’s screams and looked up.  His eyes widened and he gasped when he saw Ulanbek trapped in the wolf’s jaws.

“No!” he cried.  He turned to the Silver Sorcerer.  “We have to save him!  Please do something!”

The Silver Sorcerer looked at the wolf biting down on Ulanbek.  He then shifted his gaze to the two other wolves.  He frowned.  The odds were not in their favor.

“Murat, I can help you save him but…”

Murat panicked.  “But what?”

“I will need to merge with you.”

Murat’s eyes widened.  “What?!  What does that mean?”

“You will become my host.  I will imbue you with my magic and superhuman strength.”

“Is it permanent?”

“No.  Unless you want it to be.”

Murat gave him an exasperated look.

“Sorry, I know now is not the time to joke.  I can unmerge us after we’ve saved him.  I don’t think you’d want it to be permanent anyway, since I have no idea how it’ll affect you in the long term.  It might turn you into something other than a human.  Which I don’t mind, but I’m sure you do.”

Murat glared at him.  “Why do you need me to do this anyway?  You’re going to get me killed!”

“No, you’ll be shielded from any real harm, like you always are.”

“But still!  Why do you need ME?”

The Silver Sorcerer sighed.  “If I channel my magic through a host, my powers will be amplified.  It would be better than if I tried to go it alone.  But also…” He looked at Murat solemnly.  “If I try to use that much magic and strength on my own without a host, I will become unstable…and disintegrate.”

Murat looked at him in shock.  He felt a dreadful sensation run down his spine that chilled him more than the coldest night of winter.  “You mean…you’ll die?”

“Not sure.  I’ve never officially died before so I can’t say whether I will or not.”

Ulanbek screamed again.  Murat panicked.  “We have to hurry!”  He looked at the Silver Sorcerer.  “Just do the merge!  We’ll worry about the consequences later!”