Chapter 6 – Into the Whispering Rocks
The plains stretched endless beneath a rising sun, painted gold and crimson by the heat that clung to the air. The wind carried the faint scent of minerals—sharp and metallic, like stone wet with blood. I moved with the others through the tall grass, every sound amplified through the heightened pulse of my half-formed senses.
Luka ranged slightly ahead, silent as a shadow. Nox's pace was unhurried but commanding, his mane lifting in the breeze. Chyron, the fox, walked at my side, his movements light and soundless, like someone born to vanish.
We'd been traveling for hours when the terrain began to change. The soft loam gave way to pale rock and sparse, brittle brush. The cliffs rose around us in jagged teeth, their edges flecked with quartz.
"The Whispering Rocks," Luka said quietly. "They say voices linger here—the echoes of beasts that died trying to claim the crystals."
Chyron's ears twitched. "Superstition," he said, though his voice lacked conviction. "Rocks don't whisper. They remember."
"Sometimes that's worse," Luka replied.
I listened—and then I heard it too. A low hum beneath the wind, like the faint breath of something asleep. It pulsed in rhythm with the earth itself. The closer we walked, the stronger it became, until my bones seemed to vibrate with it.
Nox stopped suddenly, lifting his head. His golden eyes narrowed, and he inhaled deeply through his nose. "It's close," he said. "Stay low. Move with the wind."
We crouched, following him through a narrow ravine that split the rocks like a wound. The light dimmed, the air cooler now, the stone walls around us glittering faintly with veins of crystal. Every color shimmered—brown, clear, red—but beneath them all, I saw faint flashes of green.
Chyron brushed my shoulder as he leaned to peer around a boulder. "You see it?" he whispered.
I followed his gaze. In the hollow ahead, sunlight spilled across an open cavern, and there it was.
The crystal beast.
It was enormous—part stag, part lizard, its scales glinting like shards of glass. Emerald veins ran through its body, glowing from within. With every breath, a low rumble passed through the ground, shaking dust from the rocks above. Its eyes were pale green, almost translucent, but there was thought behind them. A cruel, quiet awareness.
Luka exhaled softly. "It's feeding."
The beast's head dipped toward a carcass—something unrecognizable now, bones crushed to dust. Its tongue flicked across the remains, drawing the faint shimmer of leftover crystals into its mouth.
Nox crouched beside me. His voice was barely a growl. "We strike when it moves away from the wall. Chyron, flank right. Luka, take the ridge. Maise—stay behind me until I give the word."
I nodded, but my pulse quickened. The scent of the creature filled my lungs—metallic and ancient, tangled with something electric that made my fur rise. I felt the instinct beneath my skin, the part of me that wasn't human at all. It wanted to move, to hunt.
Chyron darted off without a sound, a blur of russet and gold. Luka climbed the slope, claws digging into rock. Nox rose, his form rippling as he shifted further, muscles expanding, claws unsheathing like curved blades. His mane flared in the sunlight, catching sparks of green from the crystals.
The beast turned its head slightly, nostrils flaring. Its gaze swept over the ridge where Luka crouched. For one still heartbeat, no one moved. Then the creature roared—a shattering sound that split the air and sent stones tumbling down.
"Now!" Nox's roar was deeper, layered with something primal.
He lunged forward, a blur of gold and fury. The ground shook beneath his charge. Luka leapt from the ridge, landing behind the beast, and his blades flashed. Chyron's daggers gleamed as he struck for its eyes.
I stayed where I was for a moment, frozen between fear and instinct. The crystal beast moved faster than I'd thought possible, tail whipping through the air like a blade. Nox blocked the strike with his arm, claws slicing deep into its flank, but the creature didn't bleed—it cracked, shards of green crystal spraying outward.
I took a breath, tasting dust and power. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. And then I moved.
The world narrowed to sound and motion. My body flowed into full beast form before I realized I was shifting—bones lengthening, muscles rippling, claws digging into rock. The roar that tore from my throat wasn't human. It echoed off the cliffs, loud enough to make the beast turn toward me.
Its gaze met mine, and I felt something shift inside me. Recognition. It saw me not as prey, but as challenge.
Nox shouted something, but I didn't hear it. I ran, the ground cracking under my paws, the air burning in my lungs.
The hunt had truly begun.