Page 142 of Let Us Prey
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Enhancednight vision is a blessing when you’re soaring above the trees, searching the night for your missingwererabbitgirlfriend.
Aubrey and I have made several passes over the forest, and now we’re headed towards the east side of campus where the training ring is located. I’ve had to coax my old friend out of simply burning the entire place down—despite the obvious drawbacks of that solution—at least four times. He’s been belching fire and billowing smoke like a volcano the entire time, and if the campus didn’t know there was a dragon in their midst before, there’s no mistaking it now.
My fear for her safety, and the safety of others is all-consuming, but Aubrey needs my calm support right now.
Suddenly, a flash of white appears in the corner of my eye, and I adjust my course to get a better look. A column of flames rockets past the tip of my wing, and I whip my head around to glare at the infuriated dragon. “Careful! I saw something. Let’s take a closer look…withoutscaring her off.”
I’ve barely finished speaking when Aubrey dives for the ground like a heat-seeking missile, and I groan under my breath. If it’s not our girl, he’s likely to fry whatever unfortunate shifter distracted him from his search. Flexing my wings into position, I angle myself toward the snowy fur, intent on hitting the ground before he wrecks havoc with his anger.
My landing isn’t particularly graceful given my speed, but at least I’m close enough to intervene before the rainbow-eyed lizard goes berserk. “Aubrey, we have to becalm, because Dolly may be frenzied. She needs us to help her gain control of her animal brain, and you,mon fougueux ami, need to find your zen and help me follow this trail.”
Sliding into a half-shift, he glances behind me before smirking. “You mean the trail of blood behind you?”
The scent finally registers and I turn in the direction he’s staring. My hands tighten into fists as I see the haphazard drops and splatters leading across the field toward the Shird. I close my eyes for a brief second, taking my own advice, then nod at Aubrey. Together, we follow the trail in hunting formation as more blood and… what looks likeentrails… appear in our path.
“Troubling,” the dragon rumbles softly.
“More like… curious... " I reply as the gore leads us through the patio area behind the arts building and towards the edge of the lake.
Aubrey snorts, his reptilian eyes full of worry he’s trying to get a handle on.“Curious?Aren’t you concerned that Dolly’s in trouble? Look at this fucking massacre, Rennie.”
I think about it for a moment, realizing that as we’ve prowled along this trail, my worry for her safety has actuallylessened.My concern for everyoneelse, however, is rising by the second. This trail of fluids and fleshy chunks isnotour girl—it’s someone who made the mistake of crossing her path. I just hope it wasn’t anyone she’d regret ripping limb from limb when she emerges from whatever headspace she’s in.
“No, actually.Ma petitehas transformed into a shifter who can truly take care of herself from now on—once she learns to control it. The how and why this happened are vital to understanding the events of tonight, but at the moment, our focus has to be on locating and helping her through what had to be a painful, terrifying shift.”
“Not to mention cleaning up this fucking mess,” he grumbles. “Let’s not forget the paperwork involved in an accidental death on campus, either.”
Barking a laugh, I look over at my companion. “Nothing trumps your bone deep hatred of paperwork, does it,mon ami?”
He pauses for a moment, turning to look at me seriously. “Humor aside, Rennie, how do you propose we get a newly changedwereto leave the primal hunger phase and come back to reality? It’s not like we’ve ever met one. What are we going to do—tie her up until the moonlight fades and see if it helps?”
“As fun as that might be, I don’t thinkshibariis the answer you always seem to think it is.” He gives me a fangy grin and shrugs as I tilt my head. “For now, we need to figure out who these pieces belong to, subdue her, and strategize from there. I’m uncertain how strong thewerepart will make her—we’ll need to research that later—so let’s proceed with caution.”
“Got it. Identify leftovers, pin her down, and then decide how to calm her down,” Aubrey repeats as we move again.
The trail is heading towards the Tower, and I’m fairly sure that at least one shifter is dead, if not more, based on the detritus on the ground. Something in her brain, even as animalistic as it may be at the moment, sent her running towards our home. That bodes well for our mission to soothe her until she shifts back.
I hope.
Winding our way around the base of the Tower, we approach the courtyard carefully. Aubrey sucks in a breath, pausing as we take in the sight in front of us. I stop as well, muttering softly, “Until at last, serene and proud, In all the splendor of her light, She walks the terraces of cloud, Supreme as Empress of the Night.”
Standing in the center of the courtyard, bathed in moonlight, is a 20-foot-tall, blood-spatteredwererabbitholding the head of Professor Abel in her clawed hand.
Our girl whips her head towards us, ears twitching as she roars an unmistakable warning through sharp fangs. The sound makes my eyes flash and my tail flick, although not in agitation—my gargoyle likes it. A blast of smoke fills the air as my dragon companion chuckles to himself, despite the seriousness of our situation. The white fur around Dolly’s mouth is stained like a sociopathic clown did her lipstick, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why we’ve been dodging chunks of flesh as we tracked her down.
She stumbled on her least favorite professor and ate him.
Shaking my head to dispel the primal urge to chase her until she submits, I slowly move towards our girl, keeping my voice level as I speak. “Ma petite, drop the head. You’re done for the night.”
“Tasmanian devils are stringy and tough anyway,” Aubrey offers as he follows me. “And the hairballs are murder.”
Her furry face twitches with what appears to be a fangy grin, but she doesn’t let go of the gruesome trophy.
As I reach the edge of the courtyard, I try again. She seems to recognize us at least, as she’s not attacking, and that’s a point in our favor. “If you drop that, perhaps we can dance again? The moonlight is—”
A roar echoes off the stones of the surrounding buildings, and I have to bite back a sharp retort. I don’t dare look away from the rabbit to see why Aubrey lost his temper, but as the blur of scales passes me, I know our luck just ran out. “Youwillcalm down!”
