by Sarah Makela
"Well now Kevin, tell us—do you have enough magic to use the talisman? Don't you want to save yourself and your little girlfriend here? Don't make me think you’re useless. I hate uselessness. Useless things are of no consequence, and to be honest, right now I don't feel charitable enough to keep you alive, unless you can do something for me. It's simple. Just use the talisman, and get free," McGuire taunted Kevin as he paced back and forth in front of him.
I could hear the eager breaths of Jasper close by. It seemed that he was enjoying the situation, maybe a bit too much. I felt my hands and tried to move softly. Jasper had tied my hands so tightly that my blood could barely circulate. The knots were pressed into my joints, digging into my skin. I ran a finger over them tentatively, feeling how much room I'd have available. Slowly, I began working on the ties. To a normal human, they were too tight to budge. To tie someone up properly is a matter of countering movements and the effort to undo them. The ties Jasper had made were tight and straightforward. They merely restricted my movements, trying to keep my muscles from shifting. A sharp jab to one side nearly broke the skin as the cords dug further into my arm, but I managed to get a section of my wrist lose.
Kevin's eyes darted to me for a moment before returning to the angry wizard in front of him. "Maybe you should’ve thought about that before beginning to torture me. Right now, I can barely stay awake. You know how the magic works, do it yourself. I know what happens when wizards are pushed too far, and I'd rather not explode in this chair," he said, trying to keep his voice confident.
McGuire pointed at me over his shoulder. "Well, maybe if we beat her up a little, it'll change your mind." The words clearly had an impact on Kevin. A look of resentment crossed his features as he slowly nodded his head.
"Fine, asshole. Give it to me," Kevin said, sounding defeated. The wizard handed him the talisman, and the effect was something I hadn’t expected. A smell of tribal magic filled the cabin, and Kevin was knocked backwards against the wall. His eyes glazed over, and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out his name.
A chuckle came from McGuire. "And that's why I'm not the first one to try things out, Morgana. I believe you brought me the wrong thing. That means one of two things: either you betrayed me and gave me the wrong object on purpose, or you got the wrong talisman. Somehow, a woman of your skills, I think you betrayed me. Jasper, get rid of her. We'll find it on our own."
With just one wrist free, I couldn't resist as Jasper pulled me up from the floor and dragged me outside. A truck pulled up as I was dragged along the ground around the building. "Hey Jasper, he got what he wanted?" Rudy yelled from the open window.
"Not yet. It's up to us," Jasper replied without stopping.
It hit me then. Regardless of what talisman I'd given them, they still intended to hurt me. The constant friction from the dirt had dragged the cords from my loosened left wrist upward, allowing me limited motion on that hand, but it didn’t help me much as Jasper pushed me firmly against a tree trunk in the back.
"Now, take it like a nice little lady, and you won’t hurt so much." A darkly charming smile played on his lips. It promised false hope, but I didn't fall for it, and spat on the ground. "Have it your way," he said, and backhanded me.
It felt like a truck had hit me. My vision swam for a few moments. I didn't know how much more I'd be able to take.
From the front of the house, a surprised, high-pitched noise came before it was cut off quickly. Jasper didn't notice. He brought his leg up for a kick.
I tossed my weight to the right, pulling myself away from the tree. The kick connected with the tree with a mighty thump, but I’d dodged it in time. The force of it probably would have cracked my ribs. A thud came from the yard, gaining Jasper’s attention. He turned and yelled for his friend.
The impact had dislocated my right shoulder, and I writhed on the ground, slowly able to move the loops of cords enough to bring my hands in front of me. Jasper was quicker than I’d anticipated, though. He charged me as soon as he caught me breaking free, grabbing my hands and lifting me from the ground. "Pathetic. It's going to hurt now, stupid," he said and punched me with his right hand.
He kept punching me. I tried to keep my muscles pulled taut to keep him from doing permanent damage, but if I stayed at his mercy for too much longer, I was going to die.
Something was moving gravel along the side of the building, and Jasper turned his face to take a glimpse of what it was. When he was distracted, I flung myself upward on his grip and bit down on his ear. I’d aimed for the neck, but it was difficult to focus. The taste of blood filled my mouth as Jasper yelled out in pain. He threw me aside, holding his torn ear against his head.
"You bitch!" he yelled, and ran toward me. Calmly, I stared at the oncoming charge. Taking a quick two steps forward, I let my weight slink down against the dirt, and hoped that he was too dedicated in his charge to notice. Before Jasper could slow his movement, he stumbled against my leg, and rolled on the dirt.
Knowing I didn’t have much time, I ran toward the front of the house, hoping to make my escape from the charging sadist behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cody
I saw how the big guy had manhandled Morgana into the building, and couldn't help but growl. The man's eyes never darted toward me to answer my challenge, and I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't be exposed, not yet. My coyote slowly slunk against the dirt of the forest floor, and I made my way toward the building, taking my time. I could hear a discussion inside about using the talisman. I didn't hear Morgana, but I could easily pick out the tension. An argument built up inside the building, followed by the buffeting winds of the talisman being activated.
The clean air of the forest was quickly complemented by the smell of tribal magic from inside the cabin. I only hoped that the wizard had activated the talisman on himself. I made my way along the side of the building toward the front, in hopes of getting a peek at what was going on in the cabin, and someone big almost walked into me, dragging Morgana with him. Sinking to my back legs, I let him go by the door to the other side of the building, before peeking around. I spared a glance inside the building, to see a man staring down at Kevin, who was tied to a chair. He looked nothing like his picture after the way they’d tortured him, but his features were still identifiable.
Picking up the sounds of an approaching engine, I shied away from the door and waited to pounce on whoever was arriving. Soon, a truck made its way up to the cabin. The man inside seemed familiar with the big guy dragging Morgana with him to the side of the building.
"He got what he wanted?" the guy yelled, trying to get his voice over the sound of the idling engine. Before even hearing a reply, the man shifted in his seat, moving around a rifle and some groceries inside the cab. My attention was focused on the gun. This upped their game again, and my coyote was uneasy about them carrying a rifle into the building.
They wouldn’t have it for long. I jogged around the small clearing, behind the truck.
The man inside the vehicle was struggling to get everything moved at once, his attention focused down on the seat next to him. I waited a few minutes to be sure he hadn't seen me, as he picked everything and headed toward the cabin. The moment the door closed, I jogged behind him. A few moments later, we were in a blind spot from the cabin’s doorway, and I decided to make my move.
I bit down into his ankle. My sharp teeth sliced the leather boots he wore, and I felt a hot stream of blood on my tongue. There was a surprised, muffled cry as he fell face-first toward the dirt. Not wanting him to recover and alert his friends, I let go of the ankle and walked onto his back. My weight was enough to press him lower in the ground, and I heard him whimper as I let out a satisfied growl.
I felt his muscles tense below me, trying to catch a breath. Timing myself, I pushed down just as he heaved a breath, before lunging against his throat. The cry he’d been building up was stifled. Instead, the only sound he managed was gurgling as the life bled from hi
m, his vocal cords and throat now a bloody ruin.
I dragged his bleeding corpse next to the house, hoping that the pooling blood wouldn't be too obvious. Now, with him out of the way, I needed to find Morgana. Turning to the side of the building, I saw a huge man repeatedly beating her, holding her by the wrists. I thought about just running for her, but this man seemed different. There was something off about him that made me wary. If I just ran at him, there was a chance he’d snap her neck, killing her instantly. No, I needed her to get away first.
I walked into a small opening in the back, intended to hold the house’s trashcan. After snooping for a few seconds, I found a can of soda on the ground and bit into it softly. The crunch of aluminum distracted from the sound of Morgana being beaten, and a loud thump as something was thrown.
I could hear the man cursing and calling Morgana names, before I heard her footsteps retreating from the tree line toward the house. Soon, something massive followed. The man was doing a full head-on charge at Morgana, and I decided to act. I was happy to have such soft pads in my paws as I ran to close the gap between us. Where he made a huge racket, my running was barely audible. With a final push, I shoved my fangs along his falling leg and dug into the joints of his ankle.
There was a surprised yell, but the man barely punched me off, ignoring the gash my teeth opened up as my fangs were forcibly removed from his leg. The punch had been a strong one, but it connected at an off angle. If it had hit me full-force, I would’ve blacked out. Whatever he was, he definitely wasn't human. The blood on my tongue from his wounds tasted like an animal instead, like that of another shifter.
I pulled myself up from the ground in time to see the man's knee heading for my nose. "Don't meddle. You'll pay the price for interfering," he said as it connected with my face.
The back of my head snapped toward the right, and instead of fighting it, I rolled with it. My left side slid on the dirt as I hit the ground. I knew I was in shock. The end of my muzzle was bloodied, and I felt like I was missing a few teeth at the front. My tongue had barely missed being serrated inside my mouth. Assessing the damage, I realized the entire length of my nose was numb. I just hoped there wasn’t a fracture.
I tried opening my mouth, but to my horror, my jaws barely moved enough to let me pant. Dizzily, I took a tentative step up and saw the man preparing to charge at me. I didn't think I could take the full force of his impact. I had to move.
Pushing my weight up hurt, and I knew there were a number of bruises building, but those could be ignored. For humans, pain was there to prevent you from hurting yourself further. Shifters typically healed faster, and from nearly any kind of abuse our bodies took on a regular basis. To us, pain was an annoyance, just something to push through.
The man had built up his charge and took off at me. My coyote grinned. He was strong, but we were quicker. If I couldn’t overpower him, then I'd outmaneuver him. Pushing my abused body to the edge, I prepared for the inevitable torture I'd make my legs take. Time seemed to slow down as I focused on his muscles bulging, giving me a tell when he was fully committed to it. There—a small change in angle on his right foot. I patiently waited for him to begin the swivel-like motion that would end only one way, a massive kick that would carry his full momentum to a deadly impact.
To his surprise, suddenly I was no longer on the ground. My back legs were screaming from the push, but it was worth it. My jaw could barely open, but my paws weren't useless. As I jumped over him, I let them scratch against his face. The long claws in my abused back legs bought purchase off his skin, and I could feel him howl beneath me, even before his charge had come to an end.
My coyote wanted to let out its satisfaction for having outsmarted the opponent, but I knew it was a trick that would only work once. The man turned to me, and I saw the damage to his face. Long scratches ran from the top of his forehead down to his jawline. I’d barely missed his eyes, but the deep gashes were bleeding massively. For a human that would be a thing of concern, but he just shrugged and took slow, deliberate steps toward me.
A loud shot came from somewhere to my right, and I saw a surprise in the man’s face as an opening started to form in middle of his chest. Behind me, Morgana yelled something that I had a hard time focusing on. My attention was on my opponent, who slowly tumbled to the ground. The round had struck true to his heart. She must have found the rifle and come to my aid.
To be safe, I jogged over to him and made sure he was dead. Since my fangs were useless, I decided to change back to a human. The process was painful, since shifting helped accelerate my healing. When I was done, I was spent. The impact that had hurt slightly on my nose as a coyote, now throbbed painfully against the entire side of my face. Hairline fractures most likely crisscrossed my skull, but at least I was still alive.
She came to support me as I recovered. Inside the cabin, I heard a yell of frustration. "Get out of here," I said weakly, looking into Morgana's eyes. She had to get out before the wizard came out. I doubted either one of us was up for a fight with him.
There was a change in her eyes, a steeling of her will. "No. Not this time," Morgana said gently and turned toward the opening of the cabin. I tried to drag myself upright, but before I had a chance, the wizard was on us.
A jolt of lightning hit Morgana and branched off to me as the wizard made his way toward us. "You killed my pet," he yelled as he threw another bolt at us. The convulsions were bad, making us arch into shapes not intended for human form. My muscles and nerves were on fire as the current ran through us. Unable to scream, I waited for the pain to end. My coyote was focused on survival, dragging us slowly along the dirt toward the edge of the forest.
"See, Morgana, he's crawling away from you. All of your friends are abandoning you, or they’re already dead. That pathetic boy in the chair back there, this guy here, and everyone else," he taunted between casting his spells.
"Kevin!" Morgana yelled as the tied-up man from inside the cabin turned the corner, looking barely conscious of what was going on.
The wizard slammed us all with an invisible wall of force, throwing us around the yard. "You will all suffer," he muttered as he began to chant something different. The air around him seemed to thicken, and judging by Kevin's reaction, whatever he was casting now would make everything before it seem insignificant.
I was dragging myself backward, trying to get my muscles to function, when my hands touched my bag of clothes. I turned around and tore it open, looking for the talisman within. Whatever it would cause should at least distract the wizard. I needed some more time, though—Morgana had said that it took time for the talisman to work its magic.
I pulled it against my chest, ignoring the fact that it was covered in my blood, and began to chant quietly. It was one of the older chants my grandmother shared with everyone as they were growing up. It was a child's chant for protection, and a plea for help from the spirits.
Out in the yard, I saw Kevin drag himself upward from the ground and throw a ball of white energy at the wizard. McGuire laughed as the ball of energy simply fused with his body. "You got to do more than that, kid." He lashed out at Kevin and Morgana with black tendrils of energy. I’d never heard anyone scream the way they did. The tendrils burrowed inside their skin and danced underneath, pulling on every vein and strand of muscle.
I could suddenly smell the tribal magic building up, and I knew that the wizard had detected it too. "Ha! That's where you have it. Don't worry, I'll kill you soon enough." He began to walk my way, releasing Morgana and Kevin from the tendrils and turning them toward me instead as he walked closer. The scent of rotting meat rolled off him in waves. The closer he got, the stronger the smell became. I closed my eyes, focusing on the chant and keeping the talisman safe from him.
A sudden yell of surprise came from in front of me and I allowed myself to steal a glance at what was going on. Kevin had thrown a rock at the wizard, and it seemed to have distracted him, making him turn around. With a flick of a wrist, the wizar
d sent his tendrils out toward Kevin again.
Before they connected, I felt the talisman vibrate in my hands. "You want power so much? Here!" I yelled, and singled out McGuire in my mind. Without a lot of effort, I felt the talisman begin its magic.
The tendrils waned midair and began to retract toward the wizard. An ululating cry came from his lips as the outer edge of his skin began changing: first into blackened, rotting meat, and then into pure gold. Slowly the change took him over, layer by layer, until he was merely a terrifyingly realistic gold statue.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cody
My body ached from the fight, but we'd made it out alive. I placed my arm under Morgana's shoulder, supporting her as she limped from the cabin. Whatever bruises she'd had before were nothing to what she sported now. We both looked like we'd been doing some serious cage fighting. With my other arm, I helped Kevin who nearly tripped and fell on his face when he finally got to his feet. He looked dazed and completely out of it.
If I'd been thinking more clearly, I would've taken my grandmother's truck here, because now we had to walk her friend and ourselves back to her home. It was the closest place that we could go. But the downside of bringing the truck would've been finding a place to park it, and potentially letting people know we were there, which would've put us at even more of a disadvantage. While we could’ve taken the bad guys’ truck, we would’ve drawn more attention to ourselves than necessary. This was safer.
The walk took quite a while, and by the time we were done, all of us had managed to fall to the forest floor a few times and acquire new bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Time had morphed and become a fantastical thing. It no longer mattered, really. The only thing that mattered was that we were safe. My feet would normally have hurt like crazy due to the massive amounts of walking we'd done in the past twenty-four hours, but right now they didn't. Probably because so many other things hurt too.