The Golden Claw

by K A Faul

  “So mosquitoes would be all like, ‘Time to suck some blood, bro.’” Ryan grinned.

  Jorge laughed. “Do they tell jokes? I mean, I always wondered if normal animals found stuff funny.”

  “Yeah.” Ryan bobbed his head. “What other sort of things do they talk about?”

  Mina looked between the two of them, unsure if they believed her. “Look, they are animals, not shifters. It’s not like they are the best conversationalists. From what I can tell, stuff like mammals and birds can at least give some decent information, but lizards are barely on the verge of being understandable. Bugs, as far as I can tell, have nothing much going on that I can begin to describe as thought.”

  “Weird,” Ryan said. “What about fish?”

  “Don’t know. Haven’t tried them, but figure they’d be worse than lizards.”

  “Even dolphins?”

  “Dolphins aren’t fish, Ryan. They’re mammals.”

  He nodded, though confusion remained on his face.

  Mina shifted her attention back to Thomas. He was the one she needed to convince, and his dark glare suggested he didn’t buy the existence of her new abilities.

  “No, you seem to be too with it for this to be a hallucination,” Thomas said. “This is one of your stupid jokes. Isn’t it? We don’t have time for this crap, Mina.”

  “It’s not a joke. You have to believe me. You think I would choose now, of all times, to pull a joke? This is the damn truth, and I’ve brought it up because I’m trying to provide useful information to my alpha in a potentially dangerous situation, despite the fact he doesn’t believe me.”

  Anna smiled at her. “I believe you. I told you before that I thought you’d have a power.”

  Thomas ran his hands through his hair. “Come on. Think about the timing. She doesn’t gain her special power until she consumes a mind-altering substance? That doesn’t strike anyone as weird? Either she’s still under the influence, or she’s trying to play off the mushroom thing to trick us into believing this crap.”

  Ryan and Jorge shrugged. Anna shook her head.

  Mina sighed. “I had the ability before. I just didn’t realize what it was. Yes, it’s become stronger recently, though.”

  “You could talk to animals before?” Thomas asked, his voice dripping with contempt. “And, you, Mina Golden Claw, the girl who can’t go three seconds without being arrogant, failed to mention it? That’s probably the most unbelievable part of this entire thing.”

  She slapped her hands on her hips. “I didn’t know what it was before. It’s not like I immediately understood what was going on. I just kind of thought I was picking up the body language of animals, but it’s been getting stronger and stronger, and as for why I didn’t say anything,” she threw a hand in his general direction, “I expected this exact reaction, especially from you. I expected no one to believe me.”

  “But I believe you, Mina,” Anna said.

  Ryan shrugged. “I do, too. Maybe I don’t know you as well as some people, but you’re only sarcastic and not a liar.”

  Jorge looked between Mina and Thomas. “Yeah, if anything, your problem is that you’re too honest. And as for this animal thing, it’s not crazier than a lot of stuff on Esper.”

  Thomas took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “So, let’s assume, just for a second, that I buy into this craziness.” He held up a hand. “Not saying I do, but let’s just pretend I do. So how does you being Mina Doolittle translate into mages being in the forest? Can you see through the animals’ eyes or something?”

  Mina shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Like I said, it’s me kind of interpreting their thoughts and feelings. Not true language, but I’m getting better at it.” She gestured to the tree. “And some of the animals seem to be getting more comfortable with me. They mentioned two legs who spit fire. Two legs who can fly without wings.” She shrugged. “Two legs have to be humans. It’s clear they aren’t talking about us, and so we got other people in the forest. Spit fire? They can fly? That sounds a lot like a mage.”

  “Or maybe these birds just don’t know what an airplane is.” Thomas frowned.

  “Have you heard or seen any airplanes?”

  “No, but how do you know they aren’t remembering something from a while ago?”

  “I asked about metal birds, and they said no.”

  Thomas shook his head. “I’m still not buying this.”

  Mina groaned. “If there’s even a chance that I’m right, then we have to be careful.”

  “We’re already being careful, and even if there are mages in the forest, we don’t know that they are hostile.”

  “Okay, okay, good. I agree. Maybe we can talk to them or something.”

  Thomas motioned for the pack to continue walking. “On the small, and I mean damn small, chance that you’re telling the truth, we’re not going to run into any mages.”

  “Who do you think is out there, then?”

  “Some lost hikers. Let’s get going. We still have a Rite to complete.”

  Everyone fell into silence as they trailed behind Thomas.

  Mina remained unsure of whether her acting alpha believed her, but at least now, the truth was out there. The rest of the pack’s faith did dampen her irritation, but she couldn’t help but worry about running into the mages. Even if they didn’t mean any harm, they might freak out if they ran into a group of werewolves.

  Sure, it’s just totally coincidental that a group of reality-bending people are in our forest during our Rite. I’m sure they aren’t here to harvest any werewolf tails or eyes for potions or whatever.

  She swallowed. It might be a coincidence, but it might still relate to the Rite. The portal could only open a few times a year. For all she knew, mages had been using it as an easy passage to Earth for as long as the werewolves had been using it to get to Esper. If it weren’t for her abilities, she wouldn’t even know that anyone else was in the forest.

  Mina tried to let that thought calm her thundering heart.

  Nothing but a few mage tourists. That’s all it probably is.

  Chapter 20

  Mina glanced up at the stars, finding their presence relaxing. The rest of the day had passed without incident or even much discussion of mages or chatting animals. She couldn’t help but wonder if her friends truly believed in her new ability.

  She reached out to a few forest denizens here and there, but she’d not learned anything new, other than more cryptic references to other two legs being near the pack. Considering how far they’d traveled, it was hard to escape the feeling they were being followed.

  Ryan stretched and sat against a tree. “That was a long day.”

  “Tomorrow, we stay in wolf form for most of the time,” Thomas said. He glanced over at Mina. “Now that I’m sure that everyone’s stable, there’s no reason to be so careful.”

  “I didn’t imagine any of that,” Mina muttered. “And I’m not crazy.”

  Her alpha let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what to believe, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I ignored the possibility that you’re right. So for now, we’re going to proceed with the assumption that you are.”

  “Now, you wait one second… wait, what?”

  Thomas shrugged. “Tonight, we’ll all sleep in wolf form and each take shifts doing guard duty. A few hours less sleep isn’t going to hurt, and if you’re right, we don’t want to be taken by surprise, in case we do have unfriendly supernaturals in the forest. They might be waiting to get us in an open area at night. Depending on their strategy, the cave might not have been a good place to go after us.”

  Mina stared at Thomas, unsure of what to say. She’d been prepared to deliver a huge speech about him putting the pack at risk because of his arrogance, and now he was taking her seriously, even though it didn’t seem like he believed her. As much as every cell in her body hated the idea, she had to admit it was quality leadership.

  “I’ll take first watch,” she said. “Since I’m the one so
concerned about everything.”

  “I’ll stay up with you,” Anna said.

  Thomas shook his head. “No. I want everyone sleeping if they aren’t on watch. That way, we spread out any fatigue and maintain overall pack readiness. Even if we don’t run into anyone on Earth, there’s still a chance we’ll run into trouble in Esper, and we can’t afford pack members being too tired. Understood?”

  The other werewolves all nodded their agreement.

  “Then who will take first watch?” Mina asked.

  Thomas pointed a thumb to his chest. “Me.” The alpha nodded at Mina. “And I want you to take the last watch.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I think you’ve been working yourself up for a while over this, and I’m worried you’re more tired than the rest of us.”

  Mina opened her mouth to complain but couldn’t find any valid reason. Everything the man said took her concerns into account, and more annoyingly, he was right. Her concern over mages being in the forest had taken their toll.

  “Okay, sounds like a plan,” she offered.

  She stared into the darkness choking the trees around her. Maybe they’d get lucky and not run into any of the mages at all.

  Mina padded around in wolf form, occasionally checking out movement in the bushes or trees. The only thing she’d spotted were a few confused foxes, but they didn’t have much to offer her, other than obvious concerns about her stealing food from them.

  The more she communicated with animals, the more natural it felt, and the more she could understand. Their inherent limits meant they would never be discussing complex topics anytime soon, but the translation from sensation to concept flowed easier.

  Confused foxes or hungry lizards were far from flying, fireball-spitting mages.

  Maybe whoever the animals were talking about already left. They might have just wanted to use the portal to get to Earth and now are on their way to Portland or Seattle or something.

  Shadows still cloaked much of the forest, but the dawn rays had already begun filtering through the trees, pushing back the lingering vestiges of the night.

  A hoot above caught Mina’s attention, and she looked up to return the stare of an owl.

  See any other Two Legs? she sent.

  A flying two legs without wings comes.

  The bird watched for a second more and then flew off.

  Mina let out a low whine. So much for their guests being on their way to Portland.

  She paced back and forth, growling. She could wake the pack, but if she were wrong, it would only undermine her position and make her lose what little respect she’d managed to yank from Thomas.

  It wouldn’t hurt to go investigate, though. She took one step away from the pack and then halted.

  No. It was stupid to leave. Going all stereotypical horror movie was idiotic, even if she was something that normally would be the monster. She might be a werewolf, but mages had tricks she couldn’t even imagine.

  The strength of the wolf was the pack, and she might be stubborn at times, but even she accepted that truth.

  Mina rushed over to Thomas and nuzzled him. The light-coated wolf stirred, and then she repeated the process until the entire pack was awake, if dazed.

  What’s going on? Thomas sent. You spot something?

  An owl told me someone is coming. Someone in the air but human.

  The other wolves watched in silence, both verbal and mental. Ryan yawned and rested his head on his paws.

  Let’s just move out, then, Thomas sent. If anyone’s coming, then it’s better we head toward the portal than sit around waiting for them to jump us here. If we’re on the move, we’ll be more alert.

  Several birds fluttered into the sky in the distance. Mina’s heart kicked up. The movement wasn’t close, but it wasn’t across the entire forest either. There could be any number of reasons for the birds to fly away, but all the evidence pointed to trouble.

  Let’s go, Thomas sent. And everyone keep your nose and eyes ready. If we run into someone, we don’t attack anyone until we know they’re an enemy. Even if Mina is right about mages being in the forest, we don’t need to start a war here. But make no mistake, we will defend ourselves if attacked.

  The alpha set out, and the other wolves fell in formation behind him in a loose inverted wedge, Ryan and Anna at the outmost edges on either side. The pack’s path toward the portal would take them even farther from the bird disturbance, which meant if someone were coming after them, they would have to hurry to catch up.

  Mina couldn’t decide if that idea made her feel better or worse. The idea of confronting spellslingers didn’t appeal to her at all, but neither did the idea of running from an enemy. She wondered what would happen if the pack couldn’t make it to Esper and back in time. For all the talk about people dying on Rites, no one mentioned any sort of time considerations if the Initiates were attacked.

  Guess we’ve got to make sure the fight is short.

  Making it to the portal might end the pursuit. If a mage wanted to hunt a werewolf in Esper, it would make more sense to wait on their world, where they’d have greater familiarity and an advantage, especially if they already knew about the portal.

  As the distance grew between the pack and their nighttime rest spot, the tension faded from Mina’s muscles.

  Ryan let out an echoing howl of pain. He collapsed, growling, and rolling back and forth. Another howl ripped from his mouth.

  Damn it, he sent, still growling and thrashing. My paw. It burns. It burns so damn bad.

  The hackles of every wolf rose, and the pack reflexively formed a circle. Mina snapped her head back and forth, looking for an attacker. She sniffed at the air, seeking any strange scents.

  A downed werewolf without them even seeing the attacker didn’t bode well for their chances of survival.

  Chapter 21

  Mina, Anna, and Jorge held their positions, scanning the trees for enemies. Thomas padded over toward the growling Ryan.

  Shift, Ryan, Thomas sent. The rest of you keep watch while I shift.

  Ryan’s body contorted and shook as his bones and muscles grew and changed position. A normal shift brought enough pain, but most wolves were able to pass through it without too many issues, but shifting on top of an existing injury was a different matter entirely. The werewolf growled in pain until his throat became human as loud groans escaped.

  Mina’s heart pounded. She continued searching for her foe and sniffing the air. The enemy she’d feared had finally made a move.

  “Damn it,” Ryan yelled, now sitting on his butt in human form. He gripped his wrist with his unwounded hand. Blood soaked his hand and his shirt. His arm trembled. “It’s like my hand is on fire.”

  “Not good.” Thomas knelt beside him and narrowed his eyes. “Golden spikes.”

  Mina jerked her head toward Thomas. The chance of random golden spikes ending up on the forest floor approached zero in any reasonable estimation.

  The three still in wolf form all let out long, low growls.

  Their alpha pulled off his shirt, leaving only his undershirt. He wrapped the shirt around his right hand and put his left hand on Ryan’s shoulder.

  “I’m going to yank them out,” Thomas said, his voice level. “It’s going to hurt like hell, but we need to get them out of there, or they’ll continue to burn. Understand?”

  “Just do it. It hurts worse than hell now. I didn’t know that gold was so… bad.” Ryan gritted his teeth and shook his head.

  Thomas nodded. With four quick movements and using his covered hand, he pulled the small barbed spikes out of Ryan wounds and tossed them to the ground. The other man cried out in pain.

  A closer examination of each spike revealed they sat atop three smaller legs. They weren’t random pieces of jewelry that had been lost, but weapons meant to wound.

  Ryan shook out his arm. “It still hurts like hell. I can barely move it. I’ve been stabbed before, and it hurt less than this.”

  �
�Welcome to gold injury.”

  Thomas looked around and shook his head. He gestured to the ground. “It’s not safe without some boot protection at least. Everyone shift to human form immediately. If we were going to be attacked as a follow-up, it already would have happened.”

  The other three changed. Jorge hurried to Ryan’s side to help him up.

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem, bro.”

  Mina was grateful for the protection her returning clothes brought her and even more grateful they’d been given preservation amulets. She peered down at the ground. At least a dozen golden spikes littered the area.

  “What now?” she asked, staring at a spike. She grabbed a leaf and used it to pick up a spike. “Who the hell leaves golden spikes in the middle of the forest?” She rubbed with the leaf and some of the gold coated the leaf. “It’s a very thin layer. These are some other metal, and they’ve been coated with gold. They cheaped out.”

  “Is that something a mage can do?” Anna said.

  “I don’t know.” Mina dropped the leaf and the spike. “It’s obvious that someone’s targeting us, though, and they know enough about our kind to know our specific weaknesses.”

  Thomas grunted. “Agreed. There’s no way some random gold-covered spikes end up in this Rite forest without someone expecting werewolves to be here. It also means they’ve been watching us enough to know our general travel direction.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Because we haven’t hit any spikes yet, and we’ve been mostly traveling in wolf form.”

  Ryan took several deep breaths, his face still creased in deep pain, but he appeared more in control than before. “This is going to scar, isn’t it?”

  Mina shrugged. “You know what they say? Chicks love scars.”

  “Do you?”

  “Um, no.”

  Ryan looked over at Anna.

  She shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “Some chicks love scars?” Mina offered.