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But I dealt with close contact to silver every day. The metal tipped my crossbow bolts for a reason; it was effective against most supernaturals. That didn’t mean I had to like it.
Panting hard, I shifted into my lynx form, letting out a roar of pain as the silver merged with my magic, burning into the change, making it a hundred times worse than normal. I staggered as the silver clouded my mind. I shook my head and fought to think straight.
The manticore reared up, its claws flashing in the dappled light that shone between the forest leaves.
I leapt.
I landed on its furred back and dug in my claws. The creature roared out in pain and whirled around, trying to shake me. I crawled forward, inching my way along its massive body, my teeth gritted against the pain of silver. I had one shot at this.
I reached its neck. Its thick, greasy mane got in my mouth, choking me. It shook its head, rattling my brain. I hung on.
It lunged forward, aiming to scratch me off with a tree. This was it.
I shifted to my human form. The agony of the shift while holding silver sent spots of white light across my vision and stole my breath. I pressed the net against its skin as it collided with the tree, sending me sprawling down the trunk.
But the net did its work.
It expanded, fuelled by whatever magic it contained, wrapping the manticore’s head in the light silvered webbing.
The manticore roared in frustration, then whimpered and sank to the ground, clawing weakly at its restraint as it fought a yawn. What sort of knock-out magic was this? The net grew again, trapping its front paws before snaking up its body and entangling every inch of the huge creature from its nose to its wicked spiked tail. The manticore didn’t mind; it had already fallen asleep, and innocent snores huffed from its wet nose.
I pushed myself up from the floor. Every part of me sang in pain. The impact with the tree and the silver had taken its toll even on my quick healing body. I might have to take the weekend off to recover. I snarled at the thought.
John and James stepped forward, looking ruffled but otherwise no worse for wear. Either they had strong glamour, or they were tougher than they looked.
John walked up to me. He said something in a language I didn’t understand, and his human form wavered, revealing a tiny demon complete with forked tail. I blinked. But he was back to his usual self. How hard did I hit my head?
He adjusted the bangles at his wrist, and when he next spoke, his words were in English.
“Thank you.” He held out his hand.
I stared at him but shook it, enjoying his slight wince as I squeezed with my shifter strength. Yes, it was petty, but I wasn’t sorry.
Behind us, James conjured a sparkling portal that swirled with a black so dark it sucked the light from the clearing.
“You have a favour from Hades should you ever be in need of it.”
I started to ask who the dzrak Hades was because they couldn’t mean the god of the Underworld, but they had grabbed the net and disappeared through the portal before I could ask the question.
Forming a fist, I thumped the tree and groaned as pain lanced through me. I scanned the forest for my teammate and found Dot curled on the ground. I hurried over, half crouched, half limping, my teeth clenched.
It was impossible to tell if she was alive. Her vampire skin was badly burned but cool to the touch; vampire pulses were so slow, I couldn’t use that as an indicator. There was only one way to know for sure. Holding my breath, I brought my forearm in front of her face and let blood fall from the open wound onto her lips.
Her tongue flicked out, licking my blood. Dot lunged forward with inhuman speed and plunged her fangs into my arm. I winced at the initial pain before the anaesthetising effect of her saliva took over. At least my arm didn’t hurt anymore. When she opened her eyes, I knew she was alright.
My head swam. “That’s enough, Dot.”
Her eyes flashed red, but she withdrew her fangs and licked the wound, helping it to close. “You taste like wet cat.”
“You’re alive then.”
“Just give me a week’s leave to recover. That should be sufficient.”
I snorted out a laugh. “You can have a day.”
She sighed and lay back down. “Fair enough.”
The captain of the elven guard blinked and rubbed her forehead as she used a tree to prop herself upright. She lifted her sword. “Where is it? What happened?”
