Everyone looks taken aback by my chipper response. Did they expect me to wail and gnash my teeth?
Given that they seem to think I have an evil plan I’m hiding, possibly yes.
The woman opens her mouth, but I decide that it should be my turn to ask a question or two. That’s only fair, right?
“Where did you all come from? I haven’t seen you around the evacuee camp.”
And while they might not have the hunter vibe, they don’t look like the city’s refugees either—clothes too clean, hair too neat.
The woman grimaces. “We’re concerned citizens who arrived to see what we could do to help. If everyone stands back and lets monsters take over, we’re all screwed.”
I beam at her. “But that’s why I came too—to see how I can help! I was trying to help even before the rift vomited all its shadows over the city.”
One of the people hanging back jabs his hand toward me. “You admit it, then! You came and set off this whole mess.”
I knit my brow. “No, that’s not what I said. We just noticed something strange was going on and came to investigate. We never expected it to getthisstrange. That shadowy stuff hurts us too if we’re in it for too long, you know. It’s not good for any of us. So of course we all want to?—”
“That’s enough!” the woman snaps, and motions for her companions to follow her as she stalks out of hearing distance.
I peer after them, my heart lurching in my chest. Is there anything I can say that they’ll believe?
What if Rollick was right about most humans after all?
18
Raze
The metal-laced cords bite into my flesh, sending pain sizzling through my nerves. I thrash and snap my teeth, but everywhere I move my limbs, there seems to be more of the noxious stuff.
A basilisk caught in a net like a fish. And the indignity is only the smallest part of the crime.
Another roar bursts from my throat. A tugging sensation in my chest tells me that Peri is still being dragged farther away, radiating distress.
What are those demented humans going to do to her? Why did they take her at all?
If they hurt her even as much as they’ve already hurt me…
Snarling, I shove harder at the burning strands, but I only seem to tangle myself farther. Nearby, Hail is cursing up a storm, bringing out swear words I’ve never even heard before.Mirage emits a continuous growl alongside a frantic rustling. They must both be caught up too.
Where’s Jonah? The human in our group shouldn’t be affected by silver and iron. Why isn’t he helping us?
At that thought, I force myself to go still. It’d be awfully hard for Jonahtohelp us while we’re flailing around with fangs and claws gnashing. I might have been preventing my own rescue in my furor.
A slight but horrible miscalculation.
When I take in the scene around me, though, it’s clear our sorcerer isn’t going to be leaping to our rescue even when he won’t risk getting torn limb from limb. He’s sprawled by a telephone pole at the side of the road, engaged in a wrestling match of his own.
It takes me a moment to figure out what he’s struggling against. Then my jaw clenches.
One of those blazing whip-things is looped around his arms and chest, binding them to the pole. It might not sear into his skin the way it would ours, but apparently it works well enough as a makeshift rope.
All four of Peri’s mates trussed up like the rodeo came through, while she’s suffering through who knows what. When I get my claws into those wretches…
My muscles flex to resume my thrashing, but my momentary stillness has made me more alert to the exact angles of my bindings. I think I can make out one edge of the net down by my feet…
Carefully rather than frantically, I shuffle my legs back and forth. The friction of the cords sends more pain lancing through my flesh, but I manage to shift the net off one foot and then the other.
Gritting my teeth, I keep up the ridiculous squirming. Thankfully, there’s no one to see me wriggling around like a tadpole rather than a giant, lethal lizard.
