Chapter 35: Touch of the Void

The machine gun fire was deafening inside the cavern. Bullets ricocheted off the glowing green crystals with sharp, high-pitched cracks, sending shards of stone flying. The pack scrambled behind the largest formations they could find. Roan grabbed Cass by the scruff and yanked him down behind a thick pillar of crystal, shielding him with his body.

“Stay down!” Roan barked, voice cutting through the chaos. “Nobody moves until I say!”

Cass pressed his back against the crystal, heart hammering. The air smelled like cordite and wet stone. Across the cavern, the panthers were advancing in a loose formation, firing in controlled bursts. And at the front of them stood the massive white tiger with black stripes. His sea-blue eyes were cold and focused as he swept his rifle across their cover.

“Fuck off, cowards! Put the guns away and lets do this right!” Cass yelled. Roan smirked and motioned him to stay put.

Cass’s ears were ringing. He risked a glance around the crystal just in time to see the temple guardians move.

They didn’t run. They simply appeared among the panthers, moving with that eerie, gliding stride that made them look like they were gliding across the stone rather than walking. The first guardian reached a panther who was reloading and drove a long white blade straight through his chest. The stone knife didn’t even slow down. It passed through fur, muscle, and bone like they were nothing.

The panther dropped without a sound and showed no sign of moving again, despite the killing weapon being stone and not cursed silver. But it took his life, and sent a chill up Cass’ spine.

Another guardian caught a second attacker by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground. The panther’s legs kicked wildly as he fired his rifle point-blank into the guardian’s face. The bullets chipped away small pieces of white stone, but the guardian didn’t even flinch. It simply drove its blade upward under the panther’s jaw and twisted.

Cass looked away quickly. He didn’t like the killing. Before he was involved in anthro society he never imagined harm coming to one of these beautiful creatures that he lusted after as a human. But the reality is brutal in anthro society.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, a flash of white stone near another panther’s groin. The man let out a horrible, high-pitched howl and collapsed to his knees, clutching between his legs. Cass squeezed his eyes shut for a second, stomach turning.

Roan’s voice was low and steady beside him. “Don’t watch. Just stay down.”

Cass nodded, but he couldn’t stop himself from peeking again.

The white tiger had stopped firing. He stood in the middle of the chaos, rifle still in his hands, watching the guardians cut through his men like they were nothing. For a moment he looked almost impressed. Then his expression hardened.

He threw both rifles to the ground and slowly raised his hands.

The remaining panthers were dead or dying within seconds. One of them the guardian held it’s head through the water barrier membrane, drowning the poor fellow. The guardians turned as one toward the tiger. They surrounded him without hurry, their void-like faces tilting as they studied him. One of them stepped forward and placed a heavy stone hand on his shoulder, forcing him down to his knees. The tiger didn’t resist. He sank down onto the stone floor, back straight, hands still raised.