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  “I found a pine cone.” He lifts the large cone up to show me, as proud as if he’d found a gold piece. The pristine cone is covered in dirt, and he brushes it away with great care.

  “Nice,” says Dean. “Let’s go.”

  Kyle takes my hand in his other one and I pull him to his feet. His dirt-covered clothing now has leaves stuck to them too and I brush at him. "You can show your gran your pine cone, but we have to be quick."

  We move on at a steady pace for another half hour, on alert for sights and sounds of wolves. Nothing. Kyle's pace slows as he's constantly interrupted by more exciting objects on the forest floor. Pine cones, stones, sticks: this boy has a collection in his hands growing by the minute.

  "Come on, before the wolves appear," Dean can't hide his exasperation as Kyle stops yet again. "Bloody escort quests," he mutters to me.

  I laugh. "Thanks for helping out. I didn't think we'd take this long."

  Dean shrugs. "All good. You can help me next time."

  "Of course. Teamwork."

  A noise from above jerks me away from our conversation as my heart speeds. Dean spins around with his dagger and a raven launches into the air with a loud 'caw'. We need to finish this and get back to town.

  Kyle scampers up to us, cones bunched in his arms. "You're a nice man and lady."

  Dean's mouth tips at one corner. "Thanks."

  Another sound.

  Sticks cracking.

  Snuffling.

  I place a hand on Kyle's arm and peer towards the nearby clearing. "Don't disappear."

  Resting my hand against the peeling bark, I peek around a wide tree trunk into the open space. A grey wolf stretches across the ground, on its belly. The wolf pants heavily, mouth pulled back revealing sharp teeth. Large, sharp teeth.

  Dark Wolf

  Level 5

  Aggressive

  "Are they usually that big?" I whisper to Dean.

  "Wolves? Yeah. Haven't you ever seen one?"

  "No. I always imagined they'd be like large dogs, but he's huge."

  "He's just a little one," whispers Kyle from the other side of me, and I exchange a glance with Dean. How many 'little' wolves are in the clearing?

  I edge to the other side of the tree branch and peer into the clearing. Grass grows in patches on the ground, other parts gouged by large footprints. Three sleeping wolves bask in the sun between us and the cave, and I swallow as I look at the size of their paws. I weigh up the distance between them all. A hundred metres away, a bank looks over a small lake shimmering beneath the cloudless sky. Rocks piled closer to the bank create a cave. A wolf sprawls half in and half out of the dark hollow and my stomach flips in fear.

  This wolf is twice the size of the others.

  Chapter Eleven

  I rub a hand across my face. The boars barely touched us—we hit them before they could fight back. These? They're bigger. Higher level.

  "What do you think?" I whisper to Dean. "Is that your wolf?"

  "Maybe. I need to get closer and see if my band alerts me.”

  He narrows his eyes and shifts his gaze from one wolf to the next, calculating the size and distance. Do mobs in this game have an aggro range? If they do, surely the wolves are too close to avoid alerting them all.

  "We can attack at the same time?" he whispers. "I don't think the wolf in the cave will notice if we take the others down quickly and quietly."

  "I'm not close enough to rain fire on the whole group. We need to pick them off one by one or risk being mauled by the whole pack," I reply in hushed tones.

  I step back.

  "Ow!" yells Kyle. "You stepped on my toe!"

  "Shush!" I hiss.

  The nearest wolf moves, turning its large head in our direction. In seconds, the creature springs to its feet, lip curled. The size of the teeth in the wolf's slobbering mouth triggers panic and magic in me. I push Kyle backwards, ignoring his complaint, and hold my hand to the sky.

  A pillar of fire shoots downwards from the sky, focusing on the wolf. The flames glance off the wolf’s side and it stumbles. The creature tips back its head and is arrested mid-howl as a second pillar of flames descends. The Dark Wolf dies.

  I blink. That was easier than I expected. Dean creeps away to my left and disappears into the shadows. I blink. He literally blends into his environment. Wow.

  A nearby wolf lifts its head but doesn't see us. Dean appears from behind and before it can make a sound, he grabs the wolf's head and slices his dagger across its throat. Blood spurts across his hands and he drops the creature to the floor.

  The third wolf grumbles and moves its paws. Dean steps backwards and fades as I gather more magic in my fingers, ready to assist.

  A pine cone hits the wolf squarely on the muzzle and laughter peals from Kyle.

  What the hell?

  "Don't!" I shout.

  "But your fire killed him quick. I’m helping.”

  "And he could kill us quick." I mutter less kind words under my breath and side-step the wolf as it hurls itself at us, a blur of fur and claws.

  My instant spell hits and stuns the creature and I back off, another spell building as I throw fire from my fingers at the wolf's chest as it bears down on me.

  The wolf is the same level, but my spells don't touch it. I sidestep, wishing I had a movement speed increase as its claws hit my arm. Pain lashes through the gored flesh and I shake as I lift my arm to the sky again.

  A flash. Flames.

  Magic hits and the wolf's corpse smokes next to me as I sink to the floor. Glancing between the dead wolf and remaining live one, I back away and pull open the backpack with my teeth and uninjured arm, looking for the cloth I found earlier. The wristband flashes red, numbers ticking down as my health drops.

  Dean reappears beside me and sheaths his dagger. "El? Are you okay?"

  I wince as he takes my arm and examines the gash. "Don't touch it!"

  "I won't." He pulls out the cloth from my bag. "We can bandage this."

  I shuffle backwards on my backside, away from the clearing in case the commotion woke the final wolf. Dean works quickly, binding the cloth around my arm.

  "You need to eat this." Blackness clouds my eyes as I focus on the item in Kyle's hand. He proffers a round lollipop, bright red and twice as big as a boiled sweet. "My granny gives me these when I cut myself."

  "This is more than a cut." But I take it anyway and pop the treat into my mouth. The hard lollipop softens as it touches my tongue and the blackened vision lifts instantaneously. The numbers indicating my health tick back up accompanied by new text.

  Kyle's Kool Kandy

  Instantly restores 200 Health and 200 Magic Energy

  Blood soaks the dirty cloth around my arm, but the pain fades. Dean helps me to my feet; I'm shocked when I don't stagger. The world takes on a new brilliance, the sunlight in the trees is brighter and the colours litter rainbows across the ground. I shake my head. I've heard of sugar rushes, but this is ridiculous.

  "Okay?" he asks. I nod and grip his shoulder while eyeing the larger wolf, who's still sleeping by the rocks and oblivious to the carnage around. "Do you have any more of those, Kyle?"

  He chews his lip. "I have two lollipops, but I'm saving them."

  "It will help us kill the big, bad wolf," Dean says.

  Omigod. Big Bad Wolf. One who may have Grandma’s bonnet. The obvious hits. "Kyle, do you have a sister?"

  "I did, but I'm not allowed to talk about her anymore." He clamps his mouth shut and his big blue eyes glisten with tears.

  "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," I reply.

  "I didn't lose her, she ran away. Granny says with a big, bad man."

  Dean catches onto my meaning. "Uh. Does she like to wear red?”

  “Yes. Have you seen her? She had a birthday and the man came. He gave her a pretty red coat and she left.”

  I can’t help but splutter a laugh. Dean catches me around the waist as I stumble, and I steady myself again, hand on his chest. “I hope
she’s not nearby with her big, bad... man.”

  Dean gives a wry smile. “Let’s finish this quest and get out of here.”

  I straighten and step back from Dean. Focusing on my regained strength, I pull energy from my magic reserves and throw fire across the clearing. The wolf rolls onto its side and howls, and I immediately duck back behind the tree.

  I rest my head against the rough bark, breath coming quicker. Dean winks and steps into his shadowed form again.

  Man, what I wouldn’t do to have an ability like that right now.

  The big wolf pulls himself to his feet and his hackles rise as he lumbers away from the rocks. Closer. He’s a metre taller than the other wolves, and half as long again. The wolf tips his head, sniffing the air. His head turns, and yellow eyes meet mine

  Bad Wolf

  (Although he’s big too)

  Level 5

  Highly Aggressive

  Oh. Crap.

  “Kyle. Lollipops. Now.”

  He tentatively pulls them from his pocket, and I snatch them from his hand. One blue, one red. Ignoring the dirt and lint attached, I hold the red one between my teeth and shove the blue into my pocket.

  As the first flaming embers I conjure rain from the sky, a thought crosses my mind.

  How permanent is death in this game?

  Chapter Twelve

  The wolf pads in a semi-circle around me, pacing back and forth as we size each other up. The clearing smells of excrement and has a heavy odour, which reminds me of a zoo. Scratched earth and flattened grass is littered with half-chewed bones and unidentifiable corpses.

  "Stay behind the tree," I tell Kyle.

  He nods, eyes as wide as saucers as he flattens himself against a nearby trunk.

  "C'mon, c'mon," I mutter as the animal steps forward before my first spell is cast. Where's Dean?

  Fire bolts from my hand and smacks the wolf on its haunch.

  The wolf shakes his paw and throws himself forward. Cursing my lack of agility—or decent armour—I stumble back as he nips at the edge of my robe, teeth grazing my leg.

  Fire shoots between us again and stuns the creature as his swipe shreds the front of my robe. Another laceration hits my extended arm and the loud ticking starts on my wrist, red numbers flashing as my health drops. I stick the lollipop into my mouth and the sickly sweetness dissolves on my tongue.

  My energy buoys a little and I lance the wolf with fire from my fingers, then dash to one side, far enough to keep him away while I cast more. He's injured, lumbering forward as I nimbly move away.

  I grin and praise the game gods for the lollipop's ‘sugar high’.

  Something else flies through the air—Kyle's pine cones joined by his shrieked words, "Die, wolf, die!"

  I startle as one lands at my feet, and my wristband chimes.

  Pine Cones

  (They hurt. Ever accidentally stood on one?)

  Inflicts 10 damage and decreases movement speed

  The pine cones scatter on the floor between the wolf and us, which yelps as he stands on the ones in front. The animal lifts its paw and whines. I whip the blue lollipop from my pocket and stick it between my teeth again, ready to go. Circling the wolf, I dash to the opposite side of the clearing, where the lake still sparkles with dancing rainbows.

  The wolf turns, struggling after my latest attack, and limps closer. In one last desperate move, he throws himself at me and knocks me to the floor. My breath huffs out as I hit the forest floor. The blue lollipop falls into my mouth and disintegrates on my tongue. Holy hell that tastes like Hot Tamales.

  Kyle’s Krazy Kandy

  Hopefully will only burn your mouth

  + 10 damage to opponents who touch you

  The wolf flies backwards as heat streams through my whole body, and my outstretched arms flame. I yell out, waiting for the agony, but the burning only affects my tongue. I grab a nearby tree branch to pull myself upright and the branch disintegrates in the heat radiating from me.

  "What the hell?" I peer at my flaming hands. This is more than magic fireballs; my whole body ripples with fire. The heat surrounds me, but I remain unsinged, as if I’m wearing a protective suit.

  This is insane. Nobody could burn like this and survive. I swipe a flame-covered hand across my perspiring brow and wince in anticipation of the pain.

  Nothing.

  I’m distracted and the wolf charges at me again in a flurry of bloodied fur and teeth. A blade catches the sun and flashes into the wolf's eyes. Dean materialises and pauses as he stares at my new form.

  "Kill it!" I shout, my voice low and growly—nothing like my normal one.

  Simultaneously, fire from my hands hits the creature’s side as Dean plunges both daggers into its back. Bad Wolf crashes to the ground, one side of his fur singed completely away and daggers protruding from his flesh. My lungs hurt as hot breath rushes in and out, and I bend over, placing my fiery hands on flaming thighs.

  The wolf remains still, smoke rising from his wounds.

  I dart a look around the copse, flames flickering from side to side as I move my head. Where's the loot?

  Tucked behind a nearby rock, amongst bones and animal carcasses, is a chequered bonnet with a neat frill around the edge. Pink, but soiled closer to brown.

  I clench my jaw— I can't pick it up because apparently, I'm a fire creature now. I gesture at the item. "Dean. Grab that for me."

  He watches me, mouth open as if he’s been knocked semi-conscious in the fight. Only I'm the one who's stupefied him. "Is that form a new mage ability?" he asks. "Because that's badass."

  "No. Something else. What happened, Kyle?" I ask him.

  "That lollipop makes you hot."

  Hot? That's like saying the big bad wolf was slightly naughty.

  "How long will I be like this for?"

  He shrugs and points at the water as the flames roar in my ears. "I swim in the lake when it happens to me."

  Chapter Thirteen

  A swim wasn't on today's 'to do' list, but I emerge from the water shivering and soaked. My blue robe I looted yesterday is decorated by a new blackened pattern around the edges and my hands still glow a faint amber as I regroup with Dean. His fascination remains, and he spends a few minutes examining my arms and skin, asking how being a fiery monster felt, and whether I'm still hurt.

  He gestures at my injured arm with fingers covered in wolf blood. "Looks like you burned away the cloth bandage, but you’re not hurt."

  I play my fingers over the unmarked skin around the wound from the wolf. "Weird."

  "My lollipop did that." Kyle smiles proudly.

  "Really bloody weird," mutters Dean in agreement. “Let me get the big bastard’s paw.”

  I drip water onto the floor, hair falling across my face in tendrils, and look away as Dean hacks at the animal’s leg. Wolf corpses and blood surround us and my body trembles. He shoves the paw into his backpack and wipes his daggers on his dirty pants before sheathing them. My clothes glue to my body and I'm thankful the rough material is thick enough to stop Dean getting an eyeful of my breasts.

  "Do you want to borrow my shirt?" he asks.

  "That's okay. I'm sure I'll dry soon in the sun."

  He nods. "At least your clothes were fireproof. That could've been awkward."

  I raise my hands and face to the sky. "Thanks, game developers."

  Kyle watches us with his little mouth pursed. He points at the river bank. "I think we need to go this way."

  After another half hour wandering along the muddy bank, we reach a rough, stone-covered pathway into another clearing where a small roof is visible. I grip the bonnet in my hand as Kyle leads the way to a tiny cottage surrounded by lush green grass. The door is bordered by briar and pink roses, and white-latticed blinds are folded away from the two windows. Dean's footsteps crunch beside me, but instead of watching Kyle and our path to the house, he's focusing on our environment. Startling at every rustle in the trees, or sound from in the woods.

&
nbsp; I eye a nearby crow and the silver band buzzes.

  Crow

  Level 1

  Non-Aggressive

  Good, because I don't want any additions to my slashes and bruises. I wince as I step over a rock and the wound on my leg pulls and burns.

  "I can get you another lollipop from my granny?" suggests Kyle as he sees my face.

  "Maybe not a blue one," says Dean with a laugh.

  "She has other colours. And other candy."

  I'd offer to buy more red lollipops but haven't found any gold or silver coins yet. I doubt the animal bones, raw turnips, and ragged cloth in my pack would trade for much.

  A woman appears in the doorway, wiping her hands on a white apron with a frilled edge matching the bonnet in my hand. I proceed with caution, remembering the quest text. She's taller than me, with piercing green eyes, but that's not what I notice first.

  She's an elf.

  Sonara

  Dryad

  Level 50

  Non-aggressive

  I look down at Kyle, who has no elven features, then back to her. Her slanted eyes flick between us as Kyle rushes at her, as he slams into and hugs her legs.

  "Kyle! Where did you go?" she chastises and cups the back of his head with a hand.

  He gazes up at her. "The wolves chased me."

  "I've told you not to go into the woods on your own." She sizes up me and Dean. "And who is this you've led straight to our home? You know strangers can’t come here."

  I clear my throat. "I'm Eleanor. This is Dean. We found Kyle a couple of miles away and helped him find his way back home."

  "And where did you get that?" She points at the bonnet scrunched in my hand.

  "From a wolf," I say. A cartoon vision of a wolf in a bonnet crosses my mind; but here's nothing cartoon about the pain in my side.

  I approach and hold the quest item out to her. She takes it from me and winds an arm around her non-elven grandson's shoulders. "Thank you. You should leave now."

  I stare at my silver band. Nothing. No text or 'ping'. I tap the screen. What the hell? Quest complete, guys?

  "Wait!" I call, and she turns back to me. "I um... would like to buy a lollipop. Or several."