"Damn, Base," the blond with short hair said from beside him. "Don't ever take her hunting. She's one of those 'I heard a noise, let's shoot at it without finding out what it is first' people. It's what I hate most about trying to roam free in the modern world. Last thing I want is to have buckshot enter my hindquarters while I'm trying to take a leak because no one can spare a second to ascertain who's around them in the woods before they shoot it. America doesn't need gun control. What they need is idiot control."
Cabeza and the man with a blond ponytail laughed.
"I don't have a gun," Kateri reminded him as she realized that she and the blond with short hair were the only two non-fanged beings in this group.
He snorted. "Bullet or arrow ... really, would it make a difference to you if you had to have someone dig it out of your ass?"
The man had a point, but she wasn't about to concede it.
"You better lay off her, Sasha," the other blond said. "Or she's liable to shoot you on purpose."
As if in response to his words, an echoing gun blast sounded behind her.
Gasping, she jerked around, praying it wasn't Ren who'd been hit.
More gunshots sounded in rapid succession.
Kateri started for them, but Cabeza pulled her to a stop. "Don't. It's just pest control driving out the rodents."
"How do you mean?"
Another blast. This one a lot closer.
In spite of what Cabeza said, she nocked another arrow and prepared to send it between the eyes of whoever was shooting that gun.
The brush in front of her rustled.
She aimed for it.
Out of nowhere, Ren, still in crow form, flew at her bow, knocking her sight off.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Friendly fire. Don't kill him." Those words had barely registered when the source of the noise entered their clearing. For a full minute, she couldn't move as she stared into the face of the last man she'd ever expected to meet.
Buffalo.
Tall, dark, and swathed in black from head to toe, he was identical to her visions except for his short hair, Stetson hat, snakeskin shit-kickers, and long black duster.
Flipping his Henry rifle over his shoulder, he inclined his head to the men with her. "Thank you, boys, for the assist. Mighty kind of y'all to scratch yourselves while we were fighting for your lives." And that thick Mississippi drawl had to be the most shocking thing of all.
Sasha held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I was protecting the woman. She's the priority. Right?"
"I thought Cabeza was going with you to fight. I didn't know he'd pull back to the woman's position."
Cabeza glared at the guy in the ponytail. "Are you calling me a coward, Urian?"
Urian made a rude noise. "Do I look like Acheron? No, I don't. And for the record, I don't do vague. If I want to call you a coward, I will bock at you in no uncertain terms. Chicken shit."
Ren landed on the ground between her and Buffalo before he turned back into a fully clothed man.
While Ren shook his change off, Buffalo tipped his hat to her. "Nice meeting you, ma'am. Or rather, Doctor. I know a lot of you college intellectuals get a bit riled when you don't get called that."
She lowered her bow. "Call me Kateri."
Ren cast a strange glance at her that she didn't quite understand before he gestured to Buffalo. "Kateri, meet Sundown."
"Sundown?" she asked in her head.