THERE WAS NO TIME TO assess the round cavern this time. Instead, I caught mere flashes of image.
Benjie, dancing and chanting. The flame on my shoulder snuffing out in a burst of floral/furry smoke.
Patricia leapt to human feet, unscathed and smiling. Fresh air breezed through our fur, coming from nowhere. My wolf and I reveled in our unity even as we joined Patricia in a two-legger dance.
It had worked. We’d made it. Benjie knew what he was doing.
We had one second to bask in our victory before the tide of hellhounds poured into the room behind us.
For Patricia and me, it had been easy to fight off the floral infection. We’d been harmed but not transformed by it. Not so the wolves who followed us inside.
Shamanic magic hit them like a swarm of yellow jackets. Frantic wolves bit at t
