"Kat, wait, it's dangerous," I started.
I didn't like the other woman, but she didn't deserve whatever baddie was out there.
She spun, an animalistic snarl twisting her face. "No, you're a liar and this is a bid for attention."
Behind her, a form pushed through the door, its shape too big for the space it was trying to squeeze through. Dark shadows oozed into the gym.
"I'm not the only one seeing this, right?" I asked.
Nathan shook his head. "Nope, definitely not."
Oh good. Sometimes I had to check.
"Move, you stupid, girl," Sam shouted, already racing forward.
Kat finally turned, a short scream leaving her at the sight of the monster blocking the exit.
"What the fuck is that?" Anton asked.
No one answered him as the creature finished pushing its way in. It rose to its full height, a blob that quickly gained shape. Towering over us by several feet, thousands of mouths opened on its body, screaming as one.
Mirrors shattered. I quailed, my hands coming up to cover my ears.
When it was over, I straightened to find the monster had grown again and solidified his form. This time he was the size of a small giant, tattoos of dark ink wrapping around his body. His lower jaw jutted out, making room for long tusks. Both arms dragged on the ground.
A cavernous hole where his left ribs should have been gaped at us. Small black veins strung with tiny fairy lights ran through the space, sparkling merrily. It was like he'd swallowed a swarm of fireflies, and they'd decided to attach themselves to his insides.
Sam reached Kat moments too late.
The creature snatched my nemesis from the ground, lifting her toward his face and the very large teeth there.
Daniel appeared out of thin air, a weight bar held in his hand like a sword. He slammed it against the arm that held Kat, sinking his strength behind the motion.
A screech of pain came from those many mouths, and the creature's hand opened. Kat fell to the ground.
Sam snagged her arm, flinging her across the gym like she was a Frisbee. Kat hit the ground with a scream and rolled.
Liam and Daniel harried the creature’s legs, distracting it from the other two.
I darted toward Kat, grabbing her arm and pulling her further out of the way.
Connor joined me, standing over us like an avenging warrior, his face fully vamped out, deadly claws tipping his hands.
Kat shoved my hand away and scooted across the floor, her cocktail dress riding up. "Get off me. Don't touch me."
I ignored her ungratefulness, my attention already returning to the battle.
I was beginning to see a few flaws in Liam's master plan of swaddling me in the protection of the vampire's stronghold.
Here we were, in the midst of an attack, none of the powerful protections the Gargoyle was supposed to provide anywhere to be seen. The wards were shredded, and the promise of a deterrent in the form of a few dozen vampires making this their home didn't seem to have had the effect Liam was hoping for.
The enforcers seemed to be holding their own until the creature grew another arm. It swung around to grab Makoto by the waist, squeezing him hard.
Connor flashed forward, ripping into the arm with a single-minded intensity that would have been scary if I let myself dwell on it for too long.
I didn't have time. The shadows around the weight bench were doing something, magic mushrooming out of control while the others were preoccupied.
Liam plunged one hand into the hole in the creature's side, ripping it out in the next second, a few of the fire fly lights clutched in his hand.
