tried to get in front of him as well, not so much to protect Reid as to form a fighting stance with Peigi.
The horse clearly was not comfortable with the lion running by its side, shying to put distance between them. The lion, a Shifter, just as clearly knew that Reid, Peigi, and Michael had invaded his territory.
Behind the horse and rider were men on foot in various kinds of armor, from leather studded with silver rings to full chain mail, which would be silver or some kind of alloy. They carried bows and spears, knives on belts.
The rider wore a gleaming silver helmet and white cloak that sparkled in the mist, the fabric picking up and reflecting whatever light trickled through the trees. Reid’s lip curled in disgust.
The Fae was a prince or lordling—the kind who never soldiered but rode out hunting without bothering with camouflage. A true warrior wouldn’t have announced his presence until he was right on top of Reid and the bears.
The Fae circled his horse, pulling up in a sweep for effect. “Is this what you smelled?” he called down to the Shifter. “Two scruffy bears and a dokk alfar?” The Fae sneered at Reid, though Reid saw the worry in his eyes behind his silver helm. One never knew what a crazy dokk alfar would do.
He also obviously thought Reid an ordinary dokk alfar. Well, it sucked to be a Fae prince today.
Peigi and Michael hadn’t moved. The Fae spoke in the common Fae language, which neither would know. Reid found it interesting that the lion Shifter understood it. Meant he’d been in Faerie a while.
Reid called up to the prince. “Who’s your pet Battle Beast?”
The Fae skimmed a haughty gaze over Reid then Peigi and lingered on Michael. “Seems I’ve acquired two more Battle Beasts. And one dokk alfar that will be skinned and hanged.”
“The bears might have something to say about that,” Reid said calmly.
The Fae rose in his stirrups. “No. You say nothing.” He made an imperious gesture at his entourage. “Take them.”
The men around him, hunters not soldiers, weren’t thrilled that their master expected them to bring down two Shifters with their hunting knives. They weren’t as concerned about Reid, but that was their problem.
The hunters approached, obeying orders, some shucking their cumbersome bows to draw bronze or obsidian knives. Peigi and Michael drew together, not because Peigi liked or trusted Michael, but because the two of them would make a dense wall of bear. They must have done this sort of thing before, the thought flicked in the back of Reid’s mind, working as a team.
Reid’s only weapons were a belt buckle and his own fists. All he needed.
He vaulted across Peigi’s back and slammed the buckle into the jaw of the Fae unlucky enough to reach him first. The man screamed and recoiled, trying to grab at his face as though it burned him.
“Iron,” the next in line yelled in horror. “He’s got iron.”
Reid slammed his elbow into him. Reid’s energy, nearly spent from fighting the Shifters in New Orleans and accidentally teleporting himself, Peigi, and Michael into Faerie, came roaring back, as though the freezing air refreshed him. He spun and hit, driving the buckle into another’s face.
More screaming. The prince shouted in annoyance. “Kill him, damn you. You.” He pointed at his Shifter. “Take the bears.”
The lion went into a crouch, but hesitated, as any Shifter would when faced with two giant bears, one with his face half ravaged and growling ferociously. Felines possessed great agility, which made them a match for bears, but the odds were long against two of them. Reid left the lion to his fate and went straight for the prince.
Fae princes were the high Fae most hated by the dokk alfar. A general like Fionn Cillian had reasonable goals, skills, and an ability of command that elicited some respect. The princes, on the other hand, were spoiled, pampered beings, relatives of the hoch alfar emperor. They did nothing with their lives but hunt, have parties, debauch women, and kill whatever took their fancy. Even other hoch alfar didn’t like them.
The prince saw Reid coming. He drew a short sword, expertly turning his horse to meet the attack. Princes were spoiled, but also went through a lot of battle training in their loads of free time.
Reid didn’t bother fending off the sword. He tossed the buckle into the air and said a single word.
The buckle morphed and twisted, re-melding to become a