He gasps what air he can and dives aside. The cold makes him sluggish.
His hand goes to his tool belt, searching for the hilts of his daggers. He finds one, not the second. He must have lost it.
He exhales. The elk is no mere elk. It is the Nhiven, the sacred protector of the Stake, an apex predator of this mountain. Bears and wolves do not compare. Only a Garm might, and a Garm does not usually come this high. It does not need to.
The Nhiven's eyes are on him. The horizontal slits blink. Its maw hangs half-open, fangs turning it into something far worse than any bear or wolf.
Sol grips his dagger and draws. His eyes flick left, toward where the girl stood.
She is gone.
Of course she is. She must have run the moment she heard the commotion.
He inhales. The air is crisp and burning in his lungs. Survive first. He can find the human sorcerer later.
He blinks. In that split of a split second, the Nhiven's maw is on him.
He rolls again. The dagger finds no purchase. He aimed for the legs to dissuade pursuit, but this thing is too fast.
Without a pause, the Nhiven charges. Sol has not recovered when it closes half the distance.
The impact slams into his chest. The pronged horns drive into him. Two tines stab through his left and right arms. He coughs blood.
The blow flings him. He lands with a heavy thud, even through the snow.
His consciousness fades. His breath turns shallow. He lifts his head. The Nhiven is no longer where it stood.
He searches with his eyes.He sees no movement.To his left, heavy steps pound toward him with haste.
This is it.This is why they sent him west.Why they pointed him to the ridge.They wanted the Nhiven to find him. They wanted him to die here.
From the left, the Nhiven gores him again and sends him flying.
He does not really feel the pain.
He knows he can no longer move. What is the point of resisting?
Thud.
He lands between two massive rocks. He tries to slide deeper inside. The crack is smaller than the Nhiven's head. If he dies inside, at least the beast will struggle to eat his carcass.
The Nhiven sees him and rams the rock with brutal force. The vibration sends pain through him like fire.
"Shit. Is this it?"
The elk peers through the crack. Green slits weigh whether to dig him out or drop the boulder.
Apparently, it wants him dead. Now.
It shuffles back, horns forward. A full charge that will likely bring the stone down.
Sol looks into its eyes, and it looks into his.
It charges. Sol does not flinch.
The charge ends midway as a massive white wolf crashes down from the ridge and slams into the black elk.