Chapter 5: Night Raid
Leon's slit pupils snapped tight. "Get inside—"
"Shut up." Violet stood at his left side, gripping the tent pole, sharp end facing out. She faced the wolf on the left.
"Take the right. I'll take the left. You only need thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds?"
"Those three didn't come together. If they were together, there'd be more than three. The main group is behind them. These are just scouts. If they don't win in thirty seconds, they'll pull back."
Leon stared at her for half a second. "How do you know?"
"Because they hesitated. They saw you're injured but didn't charge straight in. Fang made two gestures before the others moved. Means they're not in agreement. A scouting party with internal disagreement means their main force is far away. Thirty seconds. No more."
Leon's slit pupils contracted sharply. He looked at her—not assessing. Something deeper. Faster. Then he turned back to face Fang.
"Thirty seconds," he said.
The wolf on the left moved. He charged at Violet.
Violet's heart felt squeezed. Her body screamed at her to run. She didn't run. She stood there, gripping the tent pole, sharp end forward.
Her whole vision narrowed to the figure rushing toward her. Seven meters. Five. Three.
She remembered a line from Chapter 123 of the original book. Wolf clan attacks right first, then left. Their right claw is stronger. If you face a wolf clan, dodge to his left.
She didn't dodge left. She stepped right—straight into his strong side.
The wolf's right claw came down. Violet dropped low. The claw swept past the top of her head, brushing her hair. She drove the tent pole upward and buried it in his thigh.
"Ah—!"
The wolf howled. His balance broke. He pitched forward. His falling weight knocked Violet back. She stumbled and hit the tent frame. Pain shot down her spine. She didn't fall.
She stood up. The tent pole in her hand was wet with blood.
The wolf on the left lay on the ground, clutching his thigh. Blood leaked through his fingers.
The right side—she snapped her head around.
Leon's blade rested against the throat of the wolf on the right. The edge pressed against skin. Blood beaded along the steel. The wolf didn't move. His pupils were pure fear.
Leon's right arm was bleeding. The bandage was completely soaked. Blood dripped down the hilt. But his blade didn't shake.
The front. Fang stood where he was. He looked at his fallen comrade. At the one with a blade at his throat.
His eyes landed on Violet. A woman covered in blood. Holding a bloody tent pole. Standing half a step behind Leon. Her right foot was bleeding. The claw marks on her collarbone were still raw. The scratch on her neck was still red. Her whole body was shaking.
But she stood there.
Fang was silent for three seconds. Then he turned and ran. The other two wolves ran after him.
Footsteps faded. Farther. Farther. Gone.
The camp fell quiet.
Violet stood where she was. Her whole body shook. Her heart pounded like it would burst. Her knees went weak—she braced against the tent. She didn't kneel.
Leon stood in front of her. His right arm was still bleeding, dripping into the sand, pooling. But his spine was straight.
He looked at her. "Thirty seconds."
"Yeah."
"You counted it right."
"Yeah."
"That step to the right—"
"Wolf clan attacks right first, then left. Right claw is stronger. Dodge left, they follow with the left claw. Dodge right, the right claw can't recover in time."
Leon stared at her. A long moment. "Where did you learn that?"
Violet looked up. The firelight caught in her gray-blue eyes. "I read it. In a book."
Leon stared at her for three seconds. Then he reached out. Not to shake her hand. He took the tent pole from her.
"You don't need this anymore." He tossed it to the ground. He turned toward the fire. Two steps in, he stopped. Didn't look back.
"Come warm up. Your foot's bleeding."
Violet paused. Then she walked over and sat by the fire.
Leon sat across from her. He picked up a bandage from the ground and set it on the stone between them.
"Wrap it yourself. I won't do it twice."
Violet looked down at her foot. The cloth was soaked through, dark with blood. She unwrapped it. The puncture wound on her arch was worse. Swollen tight. The bruised purple skin stretched shiny.
She rinsed it with the last of the water. The pain made her suck in breath. She tore a clean strip of cloth and wrapped it. Tied the knot. Her hands shook less this time.
Leon watched her do all of it.
Far off, the Thorn Wolf howled again. Distant.
But there was another sound. Soft. Close.
The rustle of turning pages.
Violet's eyes snapped open. Not the wind. Not the fire. Not leaves. Paper. In a world that had no paper.
She peered through the gap in the tent. Leon sat by the fire, back to her. He hadn't moved. The sound wasn't coming from him. It came from outside the camp.
Then—a woman's voice. Soft. Light. A hint of a smile in it.
"So this is where it is."
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End of Chapter Five
She won her thirty seconds. But this new arrival won't be settled in thirty seconds. Paper shouldn't exist in this world. And the one holding it—she's far more dangerous than any Thorn Wolf.