But Wolfy growls behind Rook, like he’s suddenly all tough guy again now that he has a barrier in front of him. I snap my beak at him and cluck angrily, my wings coming out in a move of intimidation.
Rook spreads his arms out on either side of him to regain my attention, mirroring my movements so that I can’t get to the bastard. I make a growly noise at Rook for interfering and narrow my eyes at him. My cockatrice is not impressed right now.
Rook smirks, and then slowly, so as not to alarm my beast: reaches into one of the pouches at his belt, pulls out a fist-sized rock, and holds it up to me.
Holy shit. It’s so pretty!
I stand corrected. My cockatrice is super impressed right now.
I step forward, but Rook moves his body and begins to walk backward, away from Wolfy. A total diversion tactic, and it’s working.
“Come on, this way,” he coos, dangling the greenish rock in front of me like a carrot on a stick. My cockatrice lumbers after him, talons digging into the dirt yard with every step.
When Rook is satisfied that we’re far enough from Wolfy, he smiles. “Good girl. Now shift back, and I’ll let you have this,” he says, shaking the rock enticingly.
My cockatrice doesn’t want to shift back though. Instead, she starts clucking again, but this time, it’s like a feminine, throaty, come-hither cluck. Rook’s smirk widens, and his own tail tries to come out to play with mine.
I’m distracted when I see a group of more prison guards heading our way, including the Warden. Shit. He looks super pissed as shadows hover around him and shift in a very disconcerting way. When the guards keep walking closer and closer, my beast grows nervous. A pissed off screech comes tearing from my mouth, and my cockatrice rears up, spreading its wings in warning.
Rook tries and fails to regain my attention, but the rock is all but forgotten as the guards pull out weapons and aim them at me.
Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be?
With a ferocious roar, I swing my scaled, feathery tail and swipe it at the guards. Only the Warden is able to dodge it, like his shadows make him untouchable. The rest of the guards go flying back, bowled over like pins, their shouts and grunts ringing out through the air.
They all jump back to their feet as quickly as they can, and my eyes narrow. They should’ve just stayed down, because now they’re just asking to be pecked to death.
“Wait—” Rook’s call gets cut off when the Warden nods, and the guards suddenly open fire at me.
Huge barbs shoot out of their black tasers, loaded with both electricity and magic. I manage to dodge some of them, but even through my tough hide, a few of them hit me on my chest and back, the barbs digging into my skin and sticking with brutal accuracy.
Letting out a ferocious and pained shriek, I shake side-to-side, but without proper arms or hands, I can’t get the barbs off of me. Electricity and magic course over my body and dig through my skin like splinters of lightning glass. I bend my neck down, my beak snapping and trying to rip out the small darts. While I’m distracted, the Warden comes up and snaps a collar around my leg.
I feel it the moment the cold magic activates. It hurts. It hurts so fucking bad.
Snapping into place, the collar grips my shifter power like a dentist yanking out a tooth. One minute, I’m a giant cockatrice, and the next, I’m naked on the ground in my human form, with five tasers still stuck to my skin.
“You muddder fuhhkr…” I slur, as I try and fail to curse out the Warden who’s staring down at me with a sinister grin. My mouth won’t work right, and my vision is blacking out, but I manage to shoot him the middle finger right before I pass out.
7
“I’m hungry!”
My voice echoes down the dark labyrinth of the corridor as I clutch onto the rectangular peephole in the thick iron door. My eyes strain to the right as I try to stare down the endless length of the hallway, but despite my heightened shifter senses, there’s absolutely nothing to see down there.
I woke up yesterday in this dark, dank cell room that smells like vinegar and sweat. At least, I think it was yesterday. I’m underground without any guards, other inmates, or even the sky