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“One of them was a little late to the fight,” Keelan explained. “I caught a glimpse of him shifting, which means at least some of them were in a human shape right before they attacked us.”
“So?” Mayor Gene said.
Keelan looked at me. I made a go ahead gesture.
“Loups are stuck in a sort of half form,” he said. “Never fully human but unable to transform completely into their beast shape. They are trapped in a constant shift, and because of that, they burn through magic. Magic takes energy, which requires calories. They’re always hungry and always in pain. No matter how much they kill, how much they eat, it’s never enough. Within hours of succumbing to madness, a loup’s body begins to cannibalize itself, and when that happens, they give off a stench. We all know it, we all recognize it, and it smells like nothing else.”
It was Ned who spoke up. “And that particular scent was not present in the bodies you brought in?”
“No,” I told him. “Before today, were any of you aware of a family or clan of people living in woods? Maybe reclusive or isolated from civilization? Do any of them look familiar?”
I pointed to the seven heads arranged on the examination table we’d rolled into the conference room. They all turned, studying them again.
“No,” Ned shook his head. “Definitely not locals.”
“I’ve lived here more than fifty years,” Mayor Gene said. “Not only I’ve never seen them, I never saw anyone like them. The horns are hard to hide.”
He had a point.
The town bell tolled. A long, continuous, frantic note.
“Well, that’s not good,” Keelan murmured.
No, it probably wasn’t.
“Ned, would you and the mayor please get everyone to safety?”
“Of course. We’ll stay here.”
Mayor Gene laughed. “Yep, this old prison is the safest place in town.”
Super. Keelan was already headed toward the exit. I followed.
Outside, Troy was sprinting toward us. He looked like he’d run all the way from the house.
“We’ve got company.”
“How many?” Keelan asked.
“Ten that we could see.”
“Shapeshifters?”
Troy shook his head. “Eight with spears. Plus, a couple of priest or mage types. Real creepy bastards.”
That was all I needed to know. As I headed for the North Gate, I heard Keelan order Troy to round up the rest of our group.
If I knew my wife, by the time I got there she’d be over the wall and giving our visitors a warm welcome.
Buildings flew by. The North Gate loomed in front of me.
Magic slapped me. Like someone had struck a gigantic drum, except it wasn’t a sound, it was a feeling that raised the hair on the backs of my arms. Kate had used a power word.
I charged up the stairs and landed on the wall, next to a terrified kid running back and forth by the guard tower.
The grassy killing ground spread in front of me with us on one side and a group of ten invaders on the other. Between us and them, Kate was riding a bison, charging at full speed toward a monstrous rhino-like creature armored with spiked bone plates and shedding coils of black vapor. A flock of big-ass birds shot away from them, fleeing in panic.
Okay. That’s what we’re doing today.
The bison had to be Owen, and he was barreling toward the rhino at full speed.
Kate screamed something. I focused.
“Turn! Owen, turn!”
Owen would not be turning. He was a bull werebison who had spotted a larger challenger in his territory. I knew exactly what was going through his bovine brain right now.
Hit that guy. Hit him real hard. Show him who’s the strongest.
Through his brain fog and tunnel vision he had probably forgotten that Kate was still on his back. He’d ram into the rhino, right into those spikes.
Jump. Baby, jump off.
The rhino bellowed, exhaling fury.
Now! For fuck’s sake, Kate!
She jumped. I held my breath.
She flew through the air, landed hard in a clump, rolled, and bounced to her feet. She seemed alright. Nothing looked broken.
I exhaled.
Owen slammed into the much larger beast. He avoided the horn and shoulder-checked the rhino’s front leg.
The collision was colossal. The armored beast collapsed on his side. The impact shook the wall.
Owen galloped off, roaring like the fool he was, made a tight circle, and went in for seconds.
Kate was running toward the magic users with the staffs.
The rhino was down, kicking, and Owen was doing his best to disembowel it with its horns, except its armor and spikes were in his way.
And he got his horns stuck. Damn it.
Owen tugged his horns free, backed up, and charged again. Still on its side, the beast kicked out. His huge three-toed foot connected with Owen’s chest. The bison flew back twenty feet and crashed into the grass.
Damn, that had to hurt.
The rhino struggled. The dark smoke around it thickened.
“Think it’ll get up?” Keelan said.
“It shouldn’t.” That was a hard fall, and the armor added a lot of weight.
