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“Over here!” Connor called out, and waved his arms, trying to get the beast to move away from the bar, from the people inside.
It lifted its head, bared its fangs at us, and began moving toward us.
“Are all your vacations this fun?” I asked, unsheathing my sword.
“Only the ones with hot vampires,” he said, and pulled his own blade—a wicked-looking thing with gnarled edges. Now on the other side of the monster, Theo guided humans into the bar.
“Go low,” I told Connor. “I’ll go high.”
“Roger that,” he said, and as the distance between us grew shorter, we raised our blades in preparation for the fight.
The creature lifted its muzzle, and I crouched, anticipating the howl that would precede its rush forward.
“Ready,” Connor said quietly, and I nodded.
The howl was unearthly, sending an electric chill down my spine. This wasn’t a beast on the hunt, or even the fury of a clan member who wanted revenge. It was the scream of a wounded animal—and a trapped human.
The beast began to claw at its chest, its arms, still howling, spittle falling from its lips.
“What the...?” Connor asked, and started to move forward, but I held him back with my hand, not wanting him to get too close to the magic.
“Wait,” I said.
Light flashed—not the bright glow of a shifter switching forms, but a sharp and fractured bolt that put the scent of something chemical in the air. With each flash came a concussion of magic, as the boy’s body was racked, pulled, fur displacing skin until there was a final burst of light, and he fell to the ground in front of us, pale and naked and skeletally thin.
“Help me,” he managed, and curled into a fetal position.
“Jesus,” Connor said, and we ran forward.
I caught movement in the spellseller’s window, watched her watch us and make not a single move to help. “Asshole,” I muttered, and caught Connor’s surprised glance.
“What?”
I gestured toward the window, watched his expression go dark. He muttered a curse that was much less mild than mine.
“What’s your name?” he asked, turning back to the boy as Theo made his way toward us.
“Beyo...” was all he managed before he passed out.
Connor stood up as a siren began to wail in the distance. “We need to get him out of here. I’m going to move the vehicle around. I’ll be right back.”
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere,” Theo said.
The SUV squealed to a stop in front of us barely a minute later. Connor climbed out, leaving the door open and the motor running, and came around while Theo opened the back door.
“I’ve got him,” Connor said, lifting the young man into his arms as if he were nothing, then placed him in the backseat, closed the door. “I’m going to take him back to the resort,” he said. “I’ll have Georgia keep an eye on him.”
“We’ll talk to the spellseller,” I said. “Maybe witnessing this will have jogged her memory a little.”
Connor nodded, looked at Theo. “Don’t be afraid to show your badge. I’ll come back when he’s settled.”
“Be careful,” I said, and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Same goes for you, brat.”
He drove off, and we turned back to the woman who stood in her front window, still wringing her hands.
A pretty good metaphor, I thought ruefully. “Let’s go ruin her night.”
