Corrigan Fire Bloodfire - Helen Harper Page 0,34
not to over-think it, I imagined a net covering the entire area, then I flung out the Voice to touch each individual mind. Be calm.
They were hardly awe-inspiring words but the innate compulsion in them did the trick. The snapping and growling ceased even as the tremors continued. Satisfied I’d done what I could for now, I immediately used every other sense to reach out and find just what had caused this. Whatever it had been, whether spell or actual Otherworld creature itself, it was incredibly dangerous. I damned myself for taking such a large group out into potential danger. It should just have been myself and the mage. In my eagerness to get to the bottom of this murder and get back to helping with the other ones in London, all I’d actually done was put everyone else at risk.
Just as the shaking began to subside, the wind lifted and I finally caught a trace of something up ahead. I inhaled deeper. The scent was pungent and musky, proving it wasn’t a spell. I had to protect the pack.
Stay where you are, I compelled. There may be aftershocks to come. Then I initiated a private link with Staines. Something’s up ahead. Look after the group here and retreat if need be.
Crouching low, I carefully moved forward. Whatever it was, it was some distance away and I had no desire to encourage it to head back this way. I had to hope that it believed the earthquake had felled all of its foes. It was the only way I’d be able to get close enough to bring it down. I would have to be silent and very, very stealthy.
Without any warning, a shape flew past me at high speed, crashing loudly through the undergrowth. I lunged forward to grab it but I was too slow, realising in shock when I spotted the long, brown hair flying behind that it was Mack.
Mackenzie! Halt!
She kept going. I was stunned; I’d thrown every iota of compulsion I had in me at her and she hadn’t even slowed. It seemed impossible that she’d broken through the hierarchy in the same manner that I’d done with Brady, but I couldn’t think of any other reason as to how she’d ignored my Voice. Right now, however, my more pressing concern was the mortal peril she was flinging herself towards – and the danger she was putting everyone else in too.
In a matter of seconds, I shifted, ignoring the clothing that ripped from me. Then I bounded after her with every ounce of energy I could muster, forcing my muscles to obey and ignoring the branches that whipped at my skin as I thundered forwards. I shot out a command behind me, freeing the others from their holding positions. Mack had simply given me no choice. I snarled aloud, using my claws to dig into the earth below to propel myself even faster. The ground shook several times, growing in intensity the further I got, but it wasn’t until I cleared the line of trees that I finally saw what manner of monster we were dealing with: a twenty-foot, horned beast with shimmering dark eyes and fur that rippled in the moonlight. From the corner of my eye I caught Mack still in human form and about to let loose with a dagger. I didn’t lose any momentum, however, and kept going until I slammed into the monster’s body and felt it shudder at the collision. Determined to bring it down before anyone got hurt, I widened my jaws and sank my teeth deep into its flesh, ignoring the foul blood that filled my mouth.
As my fangs clung on, three other shifters crashed into it. The beast flicked them off as if they were little more than fleas and stamped its feet. The moment it did so, the earth trembled again. At least I knew what had caused the bloody earthquakes.
Teamwork! You need to attack it together to bring it down! I mentally yelled.
The shifters heard me, thank goodness, three appearing from the right and three from the left. Losing purchase, I released my grip on the monster’s side then sprang upwards, clawing my way to its shoulder. It roared, spinning around in an attempt to throw me off, its hands grappling towards me. Silver glinted through the sky as a dagger slammed into its hand. It shrieked, allowing me a flicker of breathing space. Timing my actions to match those of the shifters below me and