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“Get off me!”
Brian’s bloodcurdling scream pierced the night, catching him off guard as he stumbled at the next attack. A thin slice went through his arm before he was climbing the third creature’s back and using it as leverage to get away and race toward Brian. The warlock was still hanging on a branch, but one of the creature’s limbs had somehow tangled with his trousers and was dragging him down. Maddox knocked the creature off, but it brought Brian with it and threw him to the ground.
Maddox grabbed it before it could pounce on Brian. Horror seeped in when blood pooled from Brian’s head, and the unmoving man crumpled to the ground. He kicked the creature off as another slash went through his skin, but the creature latched on tight and continued dragging him away.
“Brian! Goddamn it, wake up!”
“Brian!”
The faint voice had him glancing up as Ruby lowered herself to a branch on top of Brian, who stirred and eventually sat up. He put another barrier up, but this one had multiple cracks and was dwindling. Ruby yelled at him to climb, but the man couldn’t stand up, and the creatures smelled the blood. Maddox tried to get there, but the creature pinning him down wouldn’t relent.
“Go,” Brian ordered, obviously not wanting her to see what came next.
The conflict shone on her face before she reached inside her pocket and threw a stone at him. Brian took one look at it and shook his head.
“To hell with that—”
“Take the portal,” she snapped. “Seal it. Live and wait for us.”
“But—”
“Get to it!” Maddox growled, then couldn’t see what happened next as the creatures rushed toward Brian, and the one pinning Maddox took another swipe. He refocused on his fight, waiting after the next swipe to punch the creature’s face. It jerked back, giving him the space to shimmy out of the trap and run. He stopped halfway through when he found Brian’s spot empty and the portal sizzling to a close.
“Up,” Ruby said.
He jumped to a small tree, then made his way toward her branch and held her. She trembled in his arms, her nerves reaching a point that even had her teeth chattering.
“Is he…”
“He made it,” she blurted out. “They didn’t get through with him.”
Gently, he nudged her to a standing position. “Then that’s good news. And now we have to think about how we survive this.”
“It’s either this or the humans.”
They wordlessly agreed on who was the better choice and made their way back toward the barrier, glancing at the creatures who followed in their wake. A screech ahead had them sprinting, but it was too late as blood littered the ground and more was being shed. Catching a glimpse of yellow eyes, Maddox whistled until a head snapped in their direction.
“Up,” he said, repeating Ruby’s words.
There was a glimmer of defiance, but it didn’t last long as Moon’s human side took over. The boy climbed up mid-shift, naked as the day he was born and breathing hard. Sensing the stares, he turned to them.
“They were ganging up on me.”
“Right.”
“You asked me not to shift there. I don’t see any kids here.”
Maddox noted the guilt, an emotion that betrayed Moon’s attempt at being casual about it. It comforted him that the boy wouldn’t do it again unless necessary.
“Right.”
Ruby remained quiet during their exchange, focusing on the blood on the ground. “Moon?”
“Yes?”
“Can you get that head for me?”
Just like that, Maddox knew how she was going to spin this.
