It shouldn’t have been hard. The wolf normally blazed like a beacon. That Vir hadn’t found him meant he’d either left the city, or… Or his prana had diminished to the point where Vir could no longer spot it.
As much as he hated to even consider the second option, Vir knew that Shan wouldn’t leave Camar Gadin on his own. If he did, he’d return promptly. Shan knew Vir was relying on him for these fights—he’d stayed close ever since the start of the tournament.
So Vir continued his search, hoping to find even the faintest glimmer of Ash prana.
At his wits end, Vir doubled back, returning to a lower-class residential neighborhood he’d searched hours earlier. Except, this time, he looked for Shan’s body, not just his prana signature.
The streets of Camar Gadin were wide, which made searching easier. It also meant more ground to search, so Vir bounded faster across the rooftops, activating Haste in short bursts at the top of his jumps to scan as much of the area below before he fell to the ground.
It was when he’d searched half the neighborhood that his eyes caught something. A black form on the side of one of the roads. It wouldn’t be the first time—be it a sleeping demon or a bandy or some other animal, there had been more duds than Vir could count. He’d very nearly ignored it.
Nevertheless, he dropped back to the ground and navigated to the spot where he’d spotted the object, and neared.
There was no prana signature at all, and so Vir was about to write it off… When he spotted pitch-black fur that seemed to almost devour the light of the magic tablet lanterns that illuminated it.
Vir’s stomach dropped. He Blinked to the fallen beast, heart pounding.
No. No-no-no-no!
“Shan!” he cried, touching the collapsed wolf’s icy fur.
The world spun around Vir.
This can’t be happening. How!
When Vir shook his friend, there was no response.
The Ash Wolf who had fought at his side, emerging victorious against thousands of Ash Beasts, who had been one of Ashani’s protectors, was now utterly still.
105THAT WHICH LURKS IN THE SHADOWS
Making a split-second decision, Vir slung Shan’s body over his shoulder and Leaped away—all thoughts of staying hidden gone without a trace.
Bounding over streets and homes, Vir Blinked where he could, and within just minutes, arrived back at the tavern, leaving Shan just outside the door.
Vir rushed in, praying to all the gods that Tara was still there. The tavern was far less busy now, with only a few groups of drunkards lingering around.
He turned to Tara’s table… and found her, waving a full mug high into the air, spilling some of the drink on the table. Vir didn’t need to hear her slurred words to understand her current state.
In any other time, he’d have been cautious and courteous, approaching her with every ounce of politeness he could muster.
Now? He Blinked over, grabbed her waist, and foisted her onto his shoulder before she could argue. She hadn’t even noticed, and she was far too inebriated to resist.
Blinking back out, Vir left a stunned group of drunkards behind.
Vir dropped Tara the moment they were outside.
“Your healing. I need it. Now,” Vir said.
Tara’s eyes bulged, then her face turned into a scowl. “You dare! You! I’ve got a lot to say to you, mishter!” She lost her balance, reaching out a hand to brace herself against Vir’s shoulder. “Thash no way to treat a lady. You can’t jes—” She hiccuped. “Er, what was I shaying?”
“Tara!” Vir roared, making her shirk back on reflex. Vir pointed to Shan. “He is dying. I need your help! Now! You need to be sober. Right now!”
Vir’s tone seemed to cut through the haze that clouded Tara’s thoughts, and her scowl faded, replaced by confusion—and a bit of fear.
“W-who are you?”
Oh, right. Vir hurriedly smeared away his makeup, turning his face from red to gray.
Tara’s eyes bulged. “Y-You! Wha—How?”
“Tara…” Vir stressed.
“O-okay. Sheesh.”
Vir saw the enormous silver tattoo inscribed upon her back glow with Life prana. This wasn’t Yuma’s Touch. She was using Yuma’s Embrace—the Panav Clan’s Ultimate Bloodline Art.
“It’s far faster at curing inebriation,” Tara said, her words suddenly far clearer and more even in tone. “Oh my god, Shan!” Tara said, kneeling beside the wolf. “Tell me everything. What do you know?”
She spoke even as her hand pressed against Shan’s ribs, and Yuma’s Embrace activated once again.
“Not much,” Vir admitted. “He didn’t come home, so I went looking for him. I found him like this on the side of an empty street. He looked down since my fight with you today, but I thought he got better, like you said he would. Now… I wonder if he was putting on a tough face.”
Tara didn’t immediately reply. Her face was twisted in intense concentration.
“Is… Is he…” The words caught in Vir’s mouth like glue. He couldn’t say it. If Shan was gone… Vir wasn’t sure what he’d do. The wolf that had once been so cold and aloof had quickly grown on him. He’d become a dear friend—a cherished companion who’d stayed beside him through the thick and the thin.
How could he accept a world without Shan? To say nothing of his promise to Ashani. Or of Shan’s. The whole reason the wolf accompanied him was out of concern for her. How would Vir ever face her again?
And then Tara spoke, and Vir’s world was turned upside down once again.
“He’s alive,” Tara whispered. “Just barely.”
“Can you heal him?” Vir asked, panicking.
“If life flows through a being, there is no disease or wound Yuma’s Embrace cannot heal,” Tara said, giving Vir a small smile. “Your friend will live. Just… if I heal him, it will burn away all trace of the poison ailing him. There will be no evidence left.”
“Do it!” Vir said without hesitation.
Tara nodded and got to work.
Suddenly feeling weak, Vir stumbled, bracing himself on a nearby stone wall. He took several deep breaths. His heart threatened to leap out of his throat, and he had to fully open the Foundation Chakra just to regain a semblance of control over his mind and body.
He’ll… live!
Vir slumped to the ground, back against the wall.
“I thought I lost him,” he said, looking at the unmoving form of Shan. The faintest wisps of prana moved through his body, and his chest began to rise and rhythmically fall.
Tara continued to ply her magic, and sweat beaded on her brow. “This wolf… I don’t understand.”
“What is it?”
“There are thousands of—no, millions—of tiny… things moving around within his body. Like living organisms, almost. I keep trying to target them with my magic, but to no effect. I’ve never seen this. Yuma’s Embrace has never once failed like this! Ever!”
“Wait,” Vir said. “Look closer at those. Are they helping to heal him?”
“Heal? Why would they—?” Tara’s eyes went wide. “You’re… right. They are mending his body. Differently from Yuma’s Embrace, but in tandem. It is as though they are working in harmony.”
Vir let out a breath. “You can ignore those. They aren’t harmful. In fact, I’d wager those were what kept him alive this long.”
“You know of this?” Tara asked, turning to look at Vir for the first time since she started administering aid.