I froze, halfway across the bridge now, and glanced quickly from side-to-side, seeking the origin of the sounds. The lava on my right rippled and bubbled, then an enormous form erupted from the molten rock. It was shaped like a monstrous gorilla, and I recognized it immediately as the third evolutionary stage of the ape depicted in the mansion’s gallery.

With horrifying speed and agility, the gorilla launched itself onto the bridge. Fire and molten stone scattered over the black surface and dripped down behind it.

The creature was huge, with teeth the size of my hands, and it seemed to be almost made of magma. Segmented plates formed the outer layer of its skin, and each plate was separated by fissures filled with glowing magma. The ape’s body glowed with a deep red light from inside, and flames licked out like tongues from its gaping mouth.

Tiny, beady, evil eyes burned as they fixed on me. As it opened its mouth to roar, a blast of flames belched out from between the viciously sharp canines. The terrible Magma Ape thumped its forearms on the bridge. The huge limbs were as thick as my torso and bulging with muscles.

This thing was ready to kill. It wasn’t attacking me, yet, just watching me with its burning eyes, but I wasn’t holding out much hope for a lasting friendship.

I’d seen recordings of much smaller versions of this creature before. The Magma Ape was infrequently sighted in volcanic regions, and there’d even been a sighting in the Valley View Hot Springs in Colorado. But this ape was much clearly much stronger than any of those.

The only spells I had were Force Barrier and Ensnare. Without personal mastery over a detection spell, I couldn’t read its exact level, but it was clearly strong. I could feel the magic pulsing from it in waves that made my skin prickle, way more than the sensation of the magic from the paintings earlier in this crazy day.

I’d heard more than one roar, so I whirled around in expectation, looking for more enemies. My prediction proved to be true—with a rush of flames and another deafening roar, two more of the beasts sprang from the lava to land on the bridge behind me. They were blocking any chance of retreat. With one monster in front of me, and two behind me, I was hemmed-in.

“Is this your idea of a welcome party, Kyrine?” I called out, glad to hear that there was still no trace of fear in my voice. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Despite the imminent peril, I actually felt strangely calm and lucid. My senses felt sharp and my heart was steady. Sweat dripped down my face and soaked my t-shirt, but it was because of the heat, not because of fear.

I took a deep, deep breath of the sulfurous air, and waited.