The coolness of the stones washed over Chuck as he stepped into the cliff wall. He’d taken every opportunity during the morning to slide in and out of any rock he could. Careful to never go deeper than two or three steps. The cliff allowed him to walk parallel with the group for several steps. He’d just celebrated making eight steps without the resistance Mergrex had warned him about.

  Gelatin, watery gelatin, that’s what this feels like. Chuck smiled. And I must escape before it sets. He looked over his shoulder at the shadowy forms walking down the path. He noted how being in the stone dulled all the colors outside. Rahmys’ lavender hair looked dirty gray, Marl’s green skin looked murky.

  Chuck stepped back into the sunlight and paused a second to let everyone catch up.

  “It is good to see a smile on your face, young one. Mergrex shares in your joy at stone walking.”

  “I had one question come to mind. Is walking through…um,” Chuck motioned back to the cliff, “natural stone the same as walking through stone cut for walls or other construction?”

  “Excellent question, most excellent. Unless whoever worked the stone did something to the stone, there would be no difference. I have walked within many walls over the years and have yet to find a difference of note.”

  Chuck nodded. “Good to know. How much longer is the walk? I haven’t been paying much attention to our progress.”

  “Really?” Rahmys’ drew the word out.

  Marl clicked his tongue. “Now, now, we both know you’d be testing out your new toy, the same as Chuck. All of us would be.”

  “I would,” Rahmys agreed. “Still doesn’t change my response. I have to take any opening I can to keep all of you in your place.” She grinned, raised her nose in the air, and took several swaying steps down the path before giggling.

  Chuck felt his ears heat when Whyth caught him staring at Rahmys’s rolling hips.

  Whyth grinned and shook his head, then answered. “We’ve been walking for about three hours. Leaves us six or seven more hours until we come to the marsh's edge. Be close to dark by then, so we may want to stop before we get that far.”

  “Think we can go that far without a rest stop?” Marl asked.

  The group agreed to try as they headed down a path leading away from the cliffs into a grassy meadow.

  Mergrex spent several hours of the journey asking Chuck how he’d gotten to Crawtna and his life back on Earth. Chuck was thankful that the back and forth helped pass the time—even if he had to fight off some melancholy from time to time.

  A piercing shriek brought conversation and movement to a halt. Everyone’s heads jerked from side to side, trying to find anything that may have made the abrupt noise.

  “Anyone see anything?” Marl whispered.

  “Mergrex does not see anything unusual.”

  “Neither do I,” Whyth added.

  Rahmys shook her head.

  “I don’t have a clue what is usual or not,” Chuck muttered.

  “I feel more than a little exposed out here in the open like this. Should we make our way to those trees?” Marl pointed to a small copse a few hundred yards ahead and to the right.

  “What if that is where the creature that made that noise is?” Chuck countered.

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  “Are we going to stand here and argue?” Rahmys hissed. “Let’s keep going in the direction we were, for now, and all of us stay alert.”

  She started walking again, and the group followed. All of them stopped suddenly when the shriek sounded in front of them.

  “Still don’t see a thing,” Whyth said.

  The group grumbled their agreement.

  “Meet it head-on? Or…” Chuck looked at everyone, but nobody replied for several seconds.

  “ I could cast something to see if we can flush it out,” Whyth said. “Probably an argath or some other furry little creature.”

  “Never heard an argath sound like that, though,” Marl answered.

  “Me neither,” admitted Whyth. “If no one objects, I’m going to spray some water over there.”

  Shrugs and grunts led Whyth to extend his arm and fan his fingers. Streams of water shot out of his fingers in short bursts. He stopped after thirty seconds, the grass in front of him bent with the weight of the water from his spell.

  “Keep moving?” Rahmys asked.

  “Mergrex would suggest such.”

  “Better than standing here, doing noth—”

  Crashing over the conversation, a deafening roar erupted from the grassy meadow. The group spun around, their eyes widening in terror as a massive creature emerged, towering over them with razor-sharp claws and gleaming fangs. Its scaly hide shimmered in the sunlight.

  Chuck stared and trembled, freezing for a moment. Then, Rahmys shouted, "Run!" and he snapped out of his trance-like state.

  Without hesitation, he joined the group sprint towards the trees Marl had pointed out earlier. Chuck questioned the reality of the hot breath on his back. He risked looking over his shoulder and took a small amount of comfort in the gap between him and the monster. The comfort vanished when massive gray wings spread from the creature’s back, and it lifted from the ground.

  "It can fly!" Chuck's voice cracked as he screamed, his eyes wide with terror at the sight of the creature lifting off the ground. Fear motivated him to find out he could run faster.

  Rahmys planted her foot and spun around, running backward. Her eyes widened as she cocked her head.

  “What?” Chuck asked, not missing a stride.

  She stopped and pointed behind Chuck. “It’s gone?”

  Chuck twisted his head, then came to a halt, his eyes scanning the sky. “Flying? Can’t see it, though.”

  “Keep heading to the trees!” Marl shouted. “We can think about it after we get some cover.”

  “Good point,” Rahmys replied. Both she and Chuck turned and resumed their run.

  Chuck stopped at the edge of the woods, joining the others. How can my lungs burn if I don’t breathe? Do I even have lungs?

  “Anyone see where it went?” Marl asked, his head tilted back as he scanned the underside of the tree canopy.

  Everyone answered with shakes of their heads.

  Whyth pointed at Chuck. “Your legs are longer.”

  He looked down and noticed they were longer and thicker. “Hmm, not sure when that…Oh, I bet it was when I saw that thing’s wings. I told myself to run faster. Guess in the moment, I didn’t notice the change.”

  “Something to practice and work on.” Whyth scratched at his chin. “Longer arms, extra arms, a whole lot of advantages come to mind. Especially if you can make the changes with little concentration.”

  Chuck’s laugh came out like a bark. “I concentrated, screaming to myself to go faster. But, I had nothing other than faster in my head. Brain did the work on its own? I mean, I have been manipulating myself for situations already.”

  Whyth nodded. “Point, guess I just hadn’t noticed it as much.”

  “All valid points.” Marl grumbled, “Doesn’t help us figure out what is happening.”

  A rumbling growl grew to a roar. The enormous monster rose from the grass, wings outstretched, and leaped toward the group.

  Everyone turned and crashed through the sparse underbrush, deeper into the woods. They all stumbled to a halt when Mergrex appeared in front of them.

  “Illusion! The monster is but an illusion.”

  In near unison, the group turned and stared back at the monster as it made its way into the trees. Tree limbs passed through the wings without damaging either.

  Marl grumbled under his breath.

  Chuck blinked his eyes. “Is it me, or is its form changing?” He paused for a second, “And is that streams of shadow going into it?”

  “Chartris,” Rahmys hissed. “She’s herded us to these trees with her illusion, but it’s not an illusion anymore. If we attack now, it may still be weak enough to kill it.”

  “Kill a magic spell?” Chuck asked.

  “Like you did the dowan, terminate it might be a better way of putting it,” Marl answered.

  “Running might be a better plan.” Whyth pointed at the beast.

  The wings flowed into the creature's body. Its muzzle twisted as it expanded in size. Dark gray fangs now protruded from the bottom and top lips. Swirls of black and gray surrounded its form.

  Chuck whispered. “It’s shrinking if going from huge to only giant can be considered shrinking. How can something getting smaller seem like it’s getting much bigger?”

  “Consolidating magic to give it substance.” Rahmys’ whisper was softer than Chuck’s. “Much higher level of magic than I can do.”

  “Mergrex cannot help but admire the level of skill it takes to do that.”

  The ground shook when it took its next step. It blinked. When the eyes opened, they were glowing orange.

  “That’s not good.” Marl muttered.