Other shifters were starting to run onto the beach from the forest. I noted a bear – great, Anton again – a grey haired tiger which I took to be Staines, and a couple of wolves. The Cyclops spooked and turned again, this time heading right for me. I slashed out with my knife, connecting with its skin and cutting it deeply, and jumped out of the way, landing on my feet, but it only paused momentarily and then headed back in the direction of the village. Goddamn Brethren. I’d have finished this thing off well before now if it wasn’t for them.
One of the wolves caught up and overtook me. As it passed by Lucy curled up by the water’s edge, it leapt at the Cyclops and gained purchase on its arm. The monster tried to shake it off as it loped even closer to the settlement, eventually managing to fling it down onto its back. The wolf rolled over back onto its feet, not seriously harmed, but looking slightly dazed. It shook its fur and ran after the Cyclops again.
This time it was the tiger that launched at it from a few feet away, fanged mouth chopping at the Cyclops’ skin. The monster howled and wheeled yet again, running zigzagged back towards the direction of the portal. Staines’ tiger snapped at its heels. Blood was dripping from it in all directions, spraying onto the surface of the sand. Its great head turned to me, the one great eye blinking. I noted idly that it had impossibly long lashes that any large cosmetics company would be thrilled to use in a campaign. I kicked out at it again, and heard the satisfying crunch of a rib snapping from within its great cage of a torso. It moaned yet again but continued running. I was starting to wonder just how many times I’d have to chase it up and down the beach before this ended.
Anton started lumbering towards it, shiny fur shaking with the exertion. The Cyclops leapfrogged over him, however, and carried on. Its injuries were definitely starting to slow it down considerably however, and I could see that I was gaining on it. The shifters behind me were catching up too. I reached a hand out to snag its ankle and bring it down once and for all but hadn’t realised how close we were to the portal. Just as my hand started to curve around its leg, it escaped into the purple shimmer and vanished. I was left grasping at air and only barely managed to stop myself from falling headlong into the gateway after it by skidding into the sand and digging in my heels.
Shit.
I took a few steps backwards and watched the portal carefully in case the Cyclops re-emerged. Staines, Anton and the two wolves joined me, and we all stood there, waiting. But there was nothing.
I cursed again and plonked myself down on the sand, thoroughly pissed off now. Alex reappeared from behind a dune.
“Oh my God, dude. Did you see that thing?”
“I could hardly miss it, Alex,” I answered, barely disguised irritation evident in my voice.
He put his hands up in the air. “Jeez, way to attack the innocent party. I tried to help but you didn’t listen.”
I looked up at him and waited for him to elaborate. Staines, beside me, still in tiger form, did the same, feline eyes narrowed.
“I told you. It’s an ispolin. A Bulgarian giant.”
“It’s a fucking Cyclops,” I hissed.
“No,” he answered patiently. “It’s an ispolin.
“Wandering around a beach in Cornwall? Why the hell can’t these things stay where they belong? Between earthquake monsters, Basque dragons and one eyed ispo…”
“Ispolin,” offered Alex helpfully.
“Whatever.”
“What Basque dragons?” It was Anton. He’d shifted back to a human and stood there naked as the day he was born. I looked down. Yeah, still unimpressed. Then I remembered that the Basque dragon part had come from me breaking into John’s computer. Oops.
“Uhhh…last week, when you were in Penzance there was one,” I lied, badly, and then changed the topic quickly by directing it back to Alex. “Anyway, what do you mean, you tried to help? I didn’t hear what you said.”
“Blackberry bushes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Blackberry bushes,” he repeated slowly, as if I was hard of hearing. “Ispolin are terrified of them. They get caught in them, or something, and can’t move. I’m a bit hazy on all the details to be honest, dude, but just get some blackberries and you’ll have it screaming like a girl for its mummy.”
“Wow, that’s so helpful, Alex, thanks. This beach is clearly teeming with blackberry bushes all over the place. If only I had thought of attacking it with one.”
“Alright, dude, alright, no need to get snarky. Anyway, it’s interesting that you mention dragons cos I’m sure that ispolins’ nemeses are dragons.”
Why did it keep coming back to dragons? “Well, next time then I’ll look for a fucking dragon hiding in a fucking blackberry bush.”
There was a feline growl next to me and I turned to watch Staines painfully shifting into human form. He clicked his jaws a few times to aid their transformation back into human form before speaking. “This is not helping. We have our people to aid.”
I suddenly remembered Lucy and her bird-brained colleague. I turned round and scanned the beach. The guy was still lying crumpled where the Cyclops – sorry, ispolin – had thrown him. I didn’t think he’d moved an inch since then, which wasn’t a good sign. One of the wolves was now beside him, just sitting there, ears flat. Lucy, meanwhile, was limping up the now semi-destroyed beach, which looked as if someone had dug potholes all around it. At least the tide would take care of that side of things in a few hours’ time. Checking that the other wolf, Anton and Staines were remaining beside the portal, I jogged down to meet her.
She was holding her arm awkwardly and it was clearly broken. A gash on the side of her head trickled blood and she was half bent over, clearly in a lot of pain. When I reached her, she all but collapsed into my arms, deathly pale. My fingers twitched again with heat. How the hell did we let this happen? I tried to push aside thoughts of rage at the monster’s very painful destruction and picked her up in a fireman’s lift, slinging her over my shoulder. It might not be very dignified, but at the moment it was the best I could offer.
Back at the side of the portal, I laid her gently down on the sand. Alex came over from the guy’s body and shook his head at me slightly, then bent to check over Lucy. My body shivered with ire. I might not have liked the werecougar, I might even have wanted to punch his lights out, but he didn’t deserve to die. I turned to look at the portal. Staines, however, reading my thoughts, gave me a warning glance and for now I acquiesced and crouched down to join Alex. Staines pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket and began tapping furiously at the keypad.
“I think she’s ruptured her appendix,” Alex said, gently poking at her stomach.
She moaned softly, and I winced in phantom pain for her.
“We need to get her back to the keep and call in a proper doctor. Even with her regeneration ability, she needs serious medical attention.”
We had Julia, who was good for herbal treatments, and a few other pack members such as Larch who were fairly skilled in first aid and basic medicine, but I doubted that they had enough experience to help her properly. One of the drawbacks of being in a pack where serious injuries were so few and far between.
“There’s a guy in Somerset,” I said. “We can call their alpha and get him here with a couple of hours.”
Staines snapped his phone shut. “There’s no need. The Lord Alpha is on his way as we speak, with our doctor in tow. We look after our own.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him. Whoopdedoo. Their own special doctor, because normal pack ones couldn’t be trusted, and their stupid lord were coming. We were all saved, after all, I thought sarcastically.
“I’ll take her back then,” I said instead, reaching over to pick her body back up again. The wolf beside the Brethren’s corpse had shifted and was already scooping him up for the sad walk back.
“No,” ordered Staines. “Anton, take her to the keep. Be very careful with her.”
Anton shot me a smug glance that was blocked from Staines’ view by Alex. My teeth clenched. “I am perfectly capable of helping carry her.”
“But not perfectly capable of shifting to help us even out the fight,” bit out Staines. “You take this mourning thing too far. Anton, go now and don’t delay.”
Anton nodded and took Lucy from the sand, surprisingly gentle. He immediately began a brisk walk back, although I could see that he was being careful not to bump or jolt her. Sometimes, when I wasn’t involved, he really could be a nice guy.
Alex had tensed beside me, no doubt waiting for the explosion. I couldn’t even get angry at this one though. Staines was right. I might have been able to stop the ispolin from hurting the others if I’d been on my own and I might have been fairly certain that I could have brought it down before its other foot touched the sand if the werecougar hadn’t gotten in my way, but I was also fairly certain that if I could have shifted, even into a sodding werehamster, then I could have done more too. Perhaps enough to stop their friend from dying. I just stared at Staines, mutely.
He turned to Alex. “Can you bind the portal for now so that nothing else gets out?”
I stepped forward to protest. How would we catch Iabartu if the gateway was blocked? However, Staines silenced me with one look. Given their grief and state of mind, now probably wasn’t the best time to go around flexing my muscles. If only I could rein in my temper like this all the time then the world would probably be a better place.
Alex nodded solemnly. “It’s only a temporary measure though. It won’t last for more than twenty-four hours.”
“That’s fine.” Staines looked towards the trees where other shifters, including Tom, were starting to emerge. When they had all appeared, and were quietly assembled in front of us, gazing down with drawn faces at the cougar’s body in the wolf’s now human arms, Staines spoke again. I had to strain to make out exactly what he was saying, however, because he was so very quiet. “Where were you?”