Diaz groaned. “You’re one ofthosebestial users.”
“Let me and King Clucks at him.” Gael twirled his meteor hammer, letting the heavy metallic ball whirl faster and faster, adding a bit more slack to the chain with each swing. “We can take this cocky lil bitch on our own.”
“Cl-cluck.”
“Don’t be arrogant, Gael.” Diaz shifted his stance. “You wouldn’t wanna come off like this fool.”
“You wanna see fools?” Finch scowled. “I’ll show you what fools you lot are challenging me.”
Finch’s eyes turned a golden brown. His nails grew long and black. His teeth turned fanged. Muscles swelled across his body,making him inflate and rip through his shirt. His heels arched like a cat’s. Fur covered patches of his body.
Flickers of his thoughts bled through his protective warding.
Eagle’s vision. Elephant’s smell. Tiger’s claws. Crocodile’s jaw. Great White’s fangs. Cat’s reflexes. Gorilla’s strength and adaptability. Worst of all, Inland Taipan Snake venom secreted on his claws.
“You all need to be incredibly cautious.” I shared what animal intel I could, and Diaz filled in the blanks on the few I hadn’t noticed.
Apparently, he had a strong encyclopedic knowledge of different animals, spending his efforts searching for fellow bestial witches of all types and helping them thrive in the enchanter world.
Priscilla growled, shaking her head and tearing off her helmet.
“Girl, what’s wrong?” Diaz turned to his familiar.
“Ba-ba-bawk!” King Clucks flapped his wings, fluttering and jumping away from Gael.
Duchess made a strange noise and thwacked her tail a few times before levitating in the air.
“Moo-Moo, chill out.” Wesley attempted to settle his cowfish, who circled the tiny fishbowl enclosure at a dangerous speed, knocking water out in the process.
“It’s a pheromone cocktail of my own creation,” Finch explained. “There’s a lot of tragic branches out there, but I’ve found familiar witches utterly worthless. You share your magic with an animal, reliant and pathetic. Without your beasts, you’re nothing. This cocktail blurs their senses, drives them primal,and severs that telepathic link y’all share while they’re in a feral state.”
Priscilla roared, then turned to run away. She bulldozed into the street, casting telekinesis erratically at nearby cars.
“Shit,” Diaz muttered. “She’s going to kill someone at this rate.”
“Duchess, stop it.” Tiffany tried to grab her levitating beaver, who chased after Wesley.
Not Wesley, but his fish familiar in the small fishbowl.
“Leave Moo-Moo alone!” Wesley screamed, running from Duchess, who gripped the teen’s shirt with her tiny, grabby hands, gnawing on his clothes with her chattering teeth.
“I have to stop Priscilla.” Diaz sheathed his sword and flew after his raging familiar.
“Pathetic jokes.” Finch snickered. “I’ll kill you lot when I finish my assignment. Save you the embarrassment of living with such failure.”
“I’m no joke,” Gael said, flying in front of Finch and blocking his path inside. “And we’re no failures.”
“We?” Finch laughed. “It’s just you, boy. Your coven is busy chasing their stupid pets.”
At that comment, Gael swung his meteor hammer, aiming the large metallic ball at Finch’s head. But the witch’s reflexes were superior, and he quickly pivoted out of the way.
“King Clucks isn’t a pet.”
“Ba-ba-bawk!” From out of nowhere, the rooster fluttered beside Finch, attempting to claw or peck the man, only to miss.
Finch snarled at the bird but unknowingly walked right into the path of the meteor hammer. It smacked him on the backof the head, flipping him around until he landed flat on his stomach.
“All those animal traits you copied, and you didn’t think to mimic the genius prowess of a rooster?” Gael shook his head disapprovingly. “Big mistake.”
