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Nope.
Not ninety seconds.
And the tripping pulse was heading this way.
Fast.
Chirping rose from the pasture to my left, and I pivoted to triangulate the noise as I drew my wand.
Phone in hand, I used voice commands to dial Asa, who didn’t answer, and then Clay. “Little help here.”
After I opened my big mouth, giving the creature my location, it lunged across the road with more of those whistle-chirps.
“What in the…?” I gawked as it flew at my head. “This is wrong, on so many levels.”
A thick red arm smacked the furball out of the air with a meaty thwack before I could zap it.
During the few minutes where I quit listening for Asa, the daemon had stolen control and come for me.
“Careful, Rue.” The daemon pointed at the crumpled beast. “Poison.”
Forget the dobhar-chú, I heard only my racing heart. “It didn’t get you, did it?”
“No,” he said smugly. “I too fast.”
The urge to roll my eyes was strong, but he had protected me, and so I let it go.
Leaning around him, I got my first good look at the creature. “How is it so adorable?”
“Not adorable.” He curled his lip. “Mean.” He sniffed. “Ugly too.”
“You’re right,” I said dryly. “There’s nothing uglier than a giant otter.”
Pleased by the sarcasm that flew over his head, he pressed his hair into my hand. “Pet.”
“We need to make sure it’s dead.” I hated to do it, but it was a threat. “We need to dispose of it too.”
On the edge of my vision, I spotted the twitch of a plush paw and almost caved to a catch and release. His tail swished next, and I waffled on how dangerous it could possibly be to round him up and relocate him.
Its liquid eyes opened, glistening and full of the kind of cute memes are made of, but then it bared its teeth.
The inside of its mouth was a cavern of horrors that reminded me of a payara, whose six-inch incisors had earned it the nickname vampire fish. Except on this already oversized otter, they were more like twelve. It must have negative spaces in the upper portion of its skull to accommodate those saberlike chompers. Otherwise, it couldn’t sheathe them without lobotomizing itself.
On its right ear, I spotted a black disc, too glossy to be natural. I inched closer, and it did not like that.
With a shrill chirp, it shoved to all fours and arched its back like an iconic black cat on Halloween décor. I lifted my wand, ready to strike when it got near, but my jaw fell open when spikes pierced its spine in an alarming threat. Nictitating lids slid into place over its eyes, turning them opaque, and its tail plumped at the end, fattening into a club that it swished back and forth in agitation.
“You didn’t mention it was half porcupine,” I squeaked at the daemon. “Tell me it can’t—”
A grunt of effort sent four quills flying, aimed straight at us, and the daemon moved to intercept.
“No hurt Rue,” he bellowed and charged the creature. “Now you die.”
Since he hadn’t warned me how it administered its venom, quills or teeth, I sprinted after him.
“Don’t touch it.” I skidded to a halt when he leapt on its back. “The poison…”
Heavy footsteps thudded behind me as Clay caught up to us, and he whistled at the brawl.
