Page 24 of On the Road

A niggly worry tried to nibble at my resolve, but Victor and I had this under control. It was just one werewolf. How tough could it be?

After dropping the last bits of shattered tree to the mulchy ground, I headed for the sounds of fighting. The mist had descended, pouring between the trees and obscuring my sight. I couldn’t see exactly who had who, but the sounds of battle were loud enough to zero in on.

Until everything fell silent.

No more snapping trees or vicious growls.

No scuffling or grunts.

Just a weird, suffocating silence.

My steps suddenly seemed too loud. I stopped.

“Victor?” I whispered.

A blur flew out of the mist. My heart lurched, a scream lodged in my throat. Victor’s hand slammed over my mouth, silencing my yelp.

His cheek brushed mine. His body burned hot against my back. “Do. Not. Move.”

Oh dear.

Victor was no pushover, and the strain in his voice was very real.

He slowly took his grazed hand away but stayed pressed close.

Mist swirled around us. Occasionally it would part like smoky drapes, revealing tree limbs or just more of the forest, but then it rolled in again, blinding us to a way out.

The deep, throaty growls of something big circled us. Big enough to make Victor’s heart race.

I smelled blood . . . maybe Victor’s. His knuckles were bloody, but I hadn’t yet seen his face. He was hurt, I knew that much.

“Where’s Zodiac?” he whispered against my ear.

“Safe.”

His hand settled on my hip. “On three, run. I’ll meet you back at the motel. Do not stop.”

Our plan was running? I mean, I’d spent a long time running from things, so I shouldn’t have been so surprised. I guess the surprise came from the fact Victor had said it.

I could shift, but it would take several seconds, and I’d flatten the immediate trees and probably Zander’s home too. The mist meant that even as dragon, I wouldn’t be able to see much, and I’d be too big to see our attacker in the trees.

“One.”

The big beast continued to plod around us, gradually closing in. I could growl like that too, but instincts told me to hold back. Generally, two apex predators growling at each other did not end well, and the last thing we needed was another dead werewolf.

“Two.”

The beast stopped to our right.

Mist curled in the air.

“Run!”

I bolted, vaulted a fallen tree and kept on running, arms pumping, legs burning. Victor was faster than any werewolf, he’d be alright.

I’d done a lot of running over the years, but would my short legs outrun whatever this beast was? And I had no idea if I was running toward the track we’d arrived on, or in the completely wrong direction.

Zee had the map on his phone.