Page 126 of Awry
“When Muta strikes,” I murmur, “we run.Forward.”
“Forward … ?”DeVille asks doubtfully.
“We’ll stay with you, Zaya.”Presh presses her face against my back, between my shoulder blades, almost as if she’s gaining strength from the connection.
The fog suddenly presses down around us, a swirling vortex encasing us and the berserker.Then it parts overhead.I blink up through the torrential rain as a huge shadow sweeps past, then spins back.Sharply taloned legs drop into strike position.
The creature’s body composition is … odd …
The winged form emits an ear-shattering shriek.
I clap my hands over my ears, noting the teens all doing the same, though they’re ducking down even as I stand upright like an enchanted idiot.
The berserker has a moment to look up and get an arm over its head before the creature slams into it from above.
I catch sight of gold-edged wings, a sharp yellow beak the length of my forearm, the wicked talons of an enormous bird of prey, and the muscled, golden-furred body of a huge lion— then the creature and the berserker are in an all-out brawl of tooth and claw, literally tearing into each other as they roll off into the thick fog.
I instantly break into a run.Muta cinches just a little too tightly around my neck, which is his oh-so-subtle way of letting me know he doesn’t enjoy being jostled.Drawing the teens with me, I race for the beach — I can hear the surf clearly now.But I can’t help but gasp, “Was that a fucking gryphon?”
“Rought!”Presh announces proudly, tucking her hand back into mine.
Fuck me.A celestial dragon and a gryphon in the same familial line?I know they’re half-brothers, but … mythical creatures no longer walk the earth.At least not to my knowledge.
The universe — or maybe the sleeping gods — is having a colossal laugh today.
As I let the steady tug of theknowingdraw me on, I glance briefly back.I’ve got Presh’s hand in mine, but taking off again without warning DeVille has left him a few steps behind.Sneer firmly in place, he’s got Kris clinging to his upper front body like a cuddly bear— and looks pissed as hell about it.Understandably so, since having her over his shoulder or on her own feet would make it easier to fight if he needs to.
Whatever kind of shifter Kris will eventually transform into, she’s definitely prey.Though understanding that the pegasus is her sister, Doc Z, I’m reminded that not being a predator doesn’t necessarily make her any less fierce.
Theknowingsnaps back to me, almost as if the thread has been snipped …
I stumble to a stop, the fog thickening again.
Something has shifted.
Something powerful enough to momentarily stymie the fucking universe.
A sharp curl of fear runs through me.I tuck the three teens behind me as best I can while I slowly pivot.DeVille gets Kris on her own feet finally, then sandwiches her and Presh between us as he turns to face the other way.
Theknowingroils in place under my feet, as if waiting … waiting … to send me off in the correct direction.
The fog slowly thins in a circle around us, as if pushed back by a force I can’t feel.The rain eases to a light shower.We’re soaked and panting, but too pumped from running to be cold yet.
The fog clears even more.And I finally see that we’re surrounded.
A dozen or more shifters are arrayed at our backs, bloodied and bleeding.I can see the kitsune and the pegasus— who’s favoring a broken leg.The Outcast shifters stand grouped together, holding but wary.
The group blocking our way to the beach includes Chains and one severely mauled and panting berserker.Chains holds a weapon the size of a small cannon, and he points it at me the moment he catches sight of us in the thinning fog.He’s scratched and battered, but clearly hasn’t been injured enough that he’s been forced to transform to help himself heal.
Needing to heal might explain why the Outcast have all taken their beast forms, even when some of them, including Doc Z, might be more effective retaining human form.Rath would definitely have preferred to not destroy the clubhouse if he could help it.
Silence hangs, disrupted only by the steady sprinkle of rain on the metal rooftops of a restaurant to our left and an antique shop to the right, both closed.
The berserker trembles, vibrating.In anger, not fear.Its mouth is still dripping a steady stream of blood-laced saliva.
A huge form pads out of the fog to our left, past the restaurant and directly in between the two groups.It heads in our direction even as its broad head swings side to side.Though shaped vaguely like a huge hound, it’s as large as the largest bull I’ve ever laid eyes on.Its soft-footed paws are the size of dinner plates.It’s covered in thick and shaggy green hair, and its glowing gaze, its energy, is utterly malevolent.
I have no idea what sort of creature this is, but each group of shifters, friends and foes, collectively takes a step back as it reveals itself.
