Sixteen

sixteen

Kris

I felt a tremor go through me at the sheer size of this thing. Enoli called it a wolf, but it was easily the size of a cargo van. It loomed over us in the mist, and my survival instincts said to get out, and get out now .

Problem was, there was nowhere for me to go.

Except back into the territory of a different monster.

I scrambled for the weapon on me, snatching the Glock out of my purse and aiming—only to have Jake step into my sight line. Panicked all over again, I immediately checked the gun, pointing it up toward the sky. I’d nearly shot Jake in the back of the head.

Joe and Enoli were doing some serious chanting and quickly pulling something out of their bags, but they were clearly not ready to engage just yet, needing another minute.

Zhen? Oh, Zhen was laughing.

No one was surprised.

Despite his bad leg, he’d pulled a sword out, immediately engaging with the Wolf. He moved so quickly and with such grace, it was hard to remember he was injured. The man spun like a dancer. I was worried, though, because I’d seen him injured and still willing to fight, so him moving like this didn’t assure me any.

I still had my heart in my throat, as this was beyond dangerous, but seeing Zhen like this, fully in action, stopped my heart for a totally different reason. He was so incredibly in his element. Like some warrior king on a battlefield.

What it truly reminded me of was the historical romances that I liked to read, where a dashing warrior wielded a sword in defense of his lady. Ladies, let me tell you, in real life? It was even hotter.

Also scarier. Much scarier. My heart was going to beat its way out of my throat at this rate. Plus, our bond was Very Not Happy and letting me know it. I thumped a hand against it and told it to shut up. We could hardly cuddle and relax in this situation.

Zhen flipped in midair, avoiding a massive paw, still grinning like the lunatic he was. I could barely see his expression in this dim dawn lighting, with the storm still going strong overhead.

“Wolf!” Zhen shouted at it, dancing a bit back and forth to bait it forward. “I’ve been on a long, all-night trek after only three hours of sleep. Very frustrating. My wife’s tired, my friends are tired, I may have screwed up my ankle earlier… Needless to say, I’m not in a good mood. Now, I realize none of this was your fault—”

Another snap of the gigantic mouth, which Zhen dodged, then he immediately closed in, sword aiming for its head.

“—but I am taking it out on you!”

Finally, everyone was out of my sight lines. The Wolf was going corporeal, then incorporeal, deliberately giving no one a clear chance of hitting it. Bastard. I aimed again, and this time, I had a perfect shot. I was taking it. Even if it didn’t hit, I could at least distract it for a second, and a second might be all Zhen needed.

Jun Hie out of nowhere screamed, “ Guo, down !”

I was still on Guo, so when he heard this warning, I dropped with him, going from standing to prostrate with only a second in between. My shot harmlessly discharged into the air, but my main concern was me not losing my seat, as I kind of flopped forward and sideways under this abrupt movement.

What the hell?!

Not a heartbeat later, I felt the grasp of claws overhead. The rip of material along my back told its own story, and I shuddered at the realization that something massive and flying had almost grabbed me.

I twisted my head about, desperate to see what was going on, and—Oh shit, the Raven. The Raven Mocker had come back. It was completely terrifying. It looked just like a regular raven, only about six hundred times the size of one. The size of it alone scared me, like instinct insisted running was a great idea and to get on that pronto. Its wingspan covered our group, throwing us into shadow, and I felt my heart squeeze into my throat as it flapped overhead. Why was it here?! Drawn by the sounds of combat?

Or had it been hunting us while we hunted it?

Cries of alarm went up from the men. Me? I got off Guo immediately, ignoring my ripped shirt and trying to get as low as possible so it couldn’t grab at me again. Fuck, that had been scary.

Zhen called out to me, “KRIS?!”

“I’m okay!” Physically, at least.

Guo swiped me with a paw and pulled me sharply under his body. I kinda felt like a toy a cat played with, not going to lie. It was about the same size difference. Then he crouched over me. Just up enough so I could breathe, but low enough there was no way anything else could get to me. The other huodou were still snapping at the Wolf, keeping it off balance and trying to get a bite in that would actually hit flesh.

“Jake, tag!” Zhen called.

Like they’d choreographed this for years, they immediately switched positions, Zhen falling back to me, Jake going ahead toward the Wolf. Then again, considering how many cases they’d worked together, was it a surprise they could move like that?

Zhen sheathed his sword and knelt down next to me, one eye on the sky even as he talked.

“You really okay?”

“Yeah, it tore my shirt, but I think I’m fine.” I didn’t feel any pain or blood, at least. Adrenaline could prove me a liar later.

“Do not move from there. Guo, you got her?”

“I will not move from this spot until it is safe,” Guo assured him, his voice like a deep vibration all around me.

“Good. Let’s see if I can hit this damn Wolf this time.”

I heard more than saw Zhen palm his gun, and he twisted in place, acting as another guard for me.

Then all hell broke loose.

The Raven came back, diving with a scream and getting shot at in return. With the mist all around, the rain still pouring down, visibility was shit. It was especially hard seeing out from underneath a huodou , but I could hear the men calling to each other, as well as the screams of the Wolf and the Raven as they engaged the men in battle.

The report of guns and huodou snarls all around me said people were fighting hard, but I had no desire to join them. Honestly, this was scaring me spitless. I felt a tremor shake over me from head to toe and especially in my hands. God, I hated this. I hated it so much.

Zhen’s gun spoke again, and this time it was accompanied by the pained yelp of the Wolf. I heard a heavy thud and peeked out, watching as the Wolf toppled over sideways, clearly dead.

Oh, thank god, he’d gotten a head shot in. Trust Zhen to get the right shot when no one else could quite manage it.

“One down,” he told me, even as he paused to reload. “One to go. How you doing, honey?”

“I hate this.”

“I do not like you in danger, either. Let’s wrap this up.”

The sad thought came to me that I really was a liability to him out here. Without me, he’d probably have gotten both Raven and Wolf in half the time. And had a ball doing it. That just made me feel worse.

Everyone’s attention turned skyward. Mine, too, although I couldn’t see the Mocker. Wait, was that the flap of wings?

Maybe not. Ears might be playing tricks on me.

No, wait, that really did sound like the flapping of wings.

The scream of the Raven came again, and it was so loud that it sounded immediately overhead. Not that I could see anything. Too much fur in the way. The sound made my heart, already beating a thousand times a minute, jump. Not to mention jumpstart the origami knot in my stomach.

“Damn thing reminds me of a chihuahua,” Zhen muttered, almost rhetorically. “Just won’t stop yapping. Now, how will this round of fuck around and find out unfold?”

I unbent enough to ask, “Zhen, do you normally talk to yourself like this in a fight?”

“Someone’s got to narrate for the camera. Ooh, here it comes again.”

From the dark, cloudy sky, the Raven abruptly appeared, diving for us.

Guns went off in all directions, including Zhen’s, and I clamped my hands over my ears. Too loud!

The Raven didn’t seem to even notice the bullets coming at it, but it did swerve up at a weird angle as it abruptly went back into the sky.

Jake called to Zhen. “Did you assault its balls?!”

“Now, how am I supposed to know where its balls are? I’m not an expert on bird anatomy!” Zhen dropped his voice to a more modulated tone. “Guo, did I hit its balls?”

“Sure looked that way to me.”

“Maybe that’s why it veered off.”

Guo made a noise of disagreement. “There’s barely any opening in the tree cover here. It’s either forced to do short dives or land entirely.”

“Or that,” Zhen acknowledged. “What’s also the problem is these damn bullets don’t seem to be impacting it. Joe!”

“I know.” Joe’s voice was beyond aggravated. “It should have worked, but I can tell it’s not. I don’t have anything else on hand to offer.”

“Well, now, that’s problematic.”

“Your silver sword should hurt it,” Joe called in encouragement. “I saw the enchantments on it.”

“Ahhh. Well, in that case, I can do one better.” Zhen pulled out two dirks strapped to his thighs.

Ohh, the blessed ones. The ones with a silver coating on them. Those could be thrown. I saw sense in his logic the second he palmed both weapons.

Taut seconds went by, and then the wet flap of wings sounded overhead once more. Zhen stayed crouched near me, as still as a statue, like his ankle wasn’t throbbing and hurting him.

There was another screech from the bird as it dived toward us. This time, Zhen stood as it rocketed downward, throwing one dirk, then a second later throwing the other. The first one just missed, but the second struck its neck.

The Raven screamed with pain, lurching sideways in an ungraceful maneuver, then abruptly reverse flapped, pulling itself toward the sky.

“Ha,” Zhen gloated. “That hurt it.”

In seconds, the Raven was gone.

We all waited. Then waited some more. A tense minute ticked by, but there was only the sound of rain hitting leaves and earth, nothing else.

“I think it retreated completely.” Joe clapped his hands once. “Everyone, let’s get out of here. It’s long gone, and there’s no point in staying.”

Yeah, truly. Even though we had a more recent direction to follow the bird from, most of us didn’t have the weapons to do any damage. It would be a suicide mission if we tried going after it right now. Plus, Zhen was hurt, and I wanted out of here and back at the cabin to help him.

Guo finally stopped crouching over me, and I pulled myself up, accepting Zhen’s hand in the process. Dawn had fully broken at this point, leaving us in this wan lighting, but at least I could fully see things now. Zhen looked soaked to the bone, hair stuck to his skin, and he seemed torn between being very pleased with himself and worried about me.

“Kris? You’re looking kind of shaken.”

“Yeah. Well. That’s ’cause I am.” I closed in for a hug because I really needed one right then.

Zhen immediately hugged me back, and this time he was truly worried. “Did it hurt you after all?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Let me check.” He bent his head over my shoulder and gave a huh . “Well, this shirt’s a loss, but it didn’t seem to touch skin.”

That was a relief to hear. We were in enough of a situation as it was without me being hurt on top of it all.

His hand stroked my back, comforting. “Kris, you’re seriously white as a sheet.”

I believed it. Shock was alive and well in my system right then, and it left me shaky as a result. “Can we please get off this fucking mountain?”

“Yeah. I’m all for that. I’m taking the nappiest nap once we’re back at the cabin.”

“Saaaaame.”

Guo squatted low so I could climb back on top of him. Not that I felt comfortable doing that, what with the Raven having nearly snatched me off Guo to begin with, but I had to trust the Raven was hurt enough to not pursue us right now. And the fastest way out of this place was Guo.

“What about the Wolf?” I so didn’t want it just lying there. Who knew what the corpse would turn into?

“It’ll dissipate and become air,” Joe assured me. “Only magic gave it a physical form to begin with, and it doesn’t retain form in death.”

“Great to know, thank you.” One worry off my mind.

“Zhen, you get her, I’ll retrieve that dirk,” Jake encouraged.

“Thanks, man.”

Everyone else followed suit, also hopping up on my huodou friends. The second we were all seated, they took off in a dead run, like they didn’t know what fatigue was. I envied them, as I was exhausted down to my bones. In fact, even my bones sent up complaints.

I clung to wet fur and focused on staying on. The second we hit town, I wanted food that I didn’t have to cook—I was starving at this point—a hot shower, and twelve hours of sleep. I’d be very cross if anything interrupted me from attaining those goals, too.

Guo turned his head just enough to glance back at me. “Human that feeds us, you are well?”

Now, there was the question of the ages. My body thrummed with residual shock and terror, anger at Zhen for dragging me out into this mess when he knew I wasn’t okay with danger, and a tiredness so bone deep I felt like I could cry. I was also too drained to emote properly. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this. This running around hunting down monsters thing. I’m just not a fighter like Zhen.”

“A married couple can be one in heart, but not one in purpose.”

Yeah. He made a good point there.

But how would we balance it so that Zhen could do what he was so good at, while I wasn’t in the line of fire?

Right now, I didn’t see a solution.