Page 60 of Witch Unbound
The creatures attacked.
Chapter Fourteen
The furry critters spilled into the alley, surrounding us with gnashing teeth and wide, desperate eyes. They reminded me of chimps, but…there was something off about them. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Bramble had her daggers out, ready to defend us. I adjusted Wren in my arms to draw my own dagger, the one Bramble had made for me, iron hilt wrapped in leather to prevent it from hurting my fae buddy Wren.
Wren mumbled something before stiffening in my arms, recharged and wide awake.
“Cora?” He clung to me, peering about.
“It’s okay, Wren, we’ve got this.”
“Have we?” Bramble asked. “We’re kinda surrounded here.”
But although the critters gnashed and growled, they didn’t attack.
It was almost as if…as if they were scared. But the scent of my blood must have brought them to us.
“What the fuck are they?” Bramble said.
“Childrensies,” Wren said softly. “Oh…Oh, poor little childrensies. They hurt. Cora, feel the hurt?”
“What?”
Wren clambered out of my arms and stood at my feet. “Childrensies, go to sleep now.”
He began to sing.
His voice rose up, soft and sweet, echoing around us as it bounced off the alley walls. The furry creatures began to sway, and then one by one they slumped to the ground, fast asleep. Wren kept singing to keep them asleep.
I looked to Bramble, my chest tight. “What the fuck?”
She crouched by one of the critters…one of the children. It was impossible to tell if it was a boy or girl. Its body was slender and covered with hair, but on closer inspection, now that its teeth were no longer bared and gnashing, you could see the childlike features.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Ursula. There was a click and then a different ringtone.
“Hello?” Mel answered.
“Mel, I need Ursula.”
A long beat of silence followed. “I’m afraid she isn’t available. Can I help?”
Shit. “I need a Magiguard pickup. I have…I think I have a group of altered children here. I…I can’t explain it. You need to send a team to retrieve…” I did a quick count. “Nine of them.”
“What’s the threat level?”
“Right now, zero. Wren’s singing to keep them asleep.”
“I’ll send a team right away.”
“Wait, don’t you need to know where I am.”
“I have your cellular coordinates.”
She hung up.
It should freak me out how the Magiguard kept tabs on everything, but it didn’t. It made me feel safe.
