Page 89 of Eternal Devotion

“They’re… No shit? Can I just say that you are hands down the coolest friend I’ve ever had?”

I chuckled. “Believe me, your praise is misplaced.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

The howls grew in intensity. Not one, not two, but at least a half dozen wild beasts all on a collision course with the hunters. If the men knew what was good for them, they would scatter.

Their shouts of alarm echoed through the night a moment later, giving them away.

“Ready?” I tightened my grip on Ensley’s hand, a mixture of reverence and fear blooming in his eyes.

He nodded.

Before we left, I drew a thick mist around us. It grew out of the ground and swirled around our legs, bleeding beneath the door as it became denser. In time, it would blanket the clearing in front of the house, providing a veil of coverage that would aid our escape.

“Holy fucking shit.” Ensley backed up a step, but I gave him a tug.

“This way.”

I opened the door, and we slinked into the night as a pack of coyotes burst from the tree line, chasing the hunters, who frantically retreated to the fountain and climbed inside the crumbling basin. The creatures surrounded the men but did not attack, snarling, drooling, and baring their teeth.

Meanwhile, I guided Ensley into the woods at a light jog, aiming for the distant city. Even if the hunters in their frenzied encounter with the coyotes noticed us leaving, they wouldn’t be able to pursue.

The coyotes wouldn’t harm them, but the threat would keep them immobile for a time. My influence wouldn’t last, and already the drain on my weakened system was slowing me down.

By the time we’d gone several kilometers, Ensley struggled to keep up, panting and staggering through the invisible brush, tripping more than once on tangled undergrowth and roots.

I let the mist evaporate and sharpened my hearing.

We were alone.

I stopped to let Ensley catch his breath.

He peered back, chest heaving, hair tumbling around his face. “Are they dead? Did the coyotes kill them?”

“No. I didn’t command it and never would. I have an unfair advantage, and I don’t go out of my way to exploit my abilities. Especially with humans.”

Breath calming, Ensley turned to face me, hands propped on his hips. “But they tried to kill you first. I’d say that’s a valid reason to retaliate. They’re an aggressive mob of hunters who won’t quit.”

“You play too many video games, Ensley. Come. If you don’t mind the imposition, I’d like to go to your flat.”

We needed to find a safe location because I wouldn’t be able to do the same trick twice, not in my current state. I knew where Iulian was being held, but formulating a plan for extraction and executing it required top strength.

Ensley wouldn’t stop staring, eyes brimming with curiosity and questions. It was his flat, but he didn’t seem to know where to put himself and lingered in the open space between his living area and kitchen.

A lot had happened between us, and it wasn’t in my nature to be this reckless with a human, but I had the sinking suspicion that Ensley’s caring nature was going to be a problem, to say nothing of the feelings I’d unintentionally developed.

“I need to make a phone call. How about you make yourself a tea and relax. We can talk when I’m done.”

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No. You’re weakening before my eyes. You should see your face. Don’t take offense, but when you woke earlier, you had a… youthful radiance. A glow. You looked twenty-seven. That was a little more than an hour ago.”

“And I don’t anymore.”

He shook his head.