Rhys was about to tell himOf course not, you absolute drongo,when his griffin alerted him to movement from above.
Glancing up, Rhys found himself looking up at yet more figures standing on the rooftops above, looking down into the alley. Clearly, they were here to try to persuade Rhys of the wisdom of accepting what was on offer – though Rhys couldn’t say he responded well to being threatened.
The opposite, even.
“I’m giving you a chance to rectify your mistake.” The man smiled – slimy as an oil slick. “I can’t say my offer this time will be as generous, however.”
“That’s fine, because my answer is still the same,” Rhys spat out. He tensed his shoulder and thigh muscles, getting ready to charge. He could tell that the man was pretty built underneathhis suit, but Rhys didn’t think he was any match for his griffin’s strength.
Not even when the man, shrugging as if Rhys’s refusal was a matter of indifference to him, reached into his suit, and pulled out a gun.
“Well. I’m very sorry to have to say that in the event of your refusal, I had some different orders,” he said, as he leveled the gun at Rhys.
Hah,Rhys thought, as he lowered his head, springing forward. Maybe these guysweren’tshifters after all – if they had been, they would have known a bullet, unless they got in averylucky shot, wasn’t going to be enough to put him down. All shifters had massively accelerated healing powers, but griffins especially. He could shrug off an injury like that easily.
He heard the muted gunshot and dodged to the side. He didn’t think he’d been hit, but his veins were so full of adrenaline at the prospect of a good fight after days of feeling useless and inactive that Rhys doubted he would have noticed it, even if he had been.
He glanced up as he shot forward again, but the guys on the roof hadn’t moved a muscle so far. But then, they wouldn’t while their boss still had a chance of a clean shot – they were probably just there to box him into the alley. Well, Rhys would deal with them soon enough.
Another silenced shot rang out, and this time Rhysdefinitelyfelt it as the bullet buried itself in his shoulder.
The pain would dissipate in a moment, he told himself. This was no big deal at all. He could still –
Wait,Rhys’s griffin suddenly said, its head perking up, wings twitching.Something’s wrong.
What?Rhys demanded – but a moment later, he sensed it too: a smell, almost chemical in its strength and pungency, and yet, Rhys knew it wasn’t that.
No. I know what that is.
It was wyvern venom.
The most toxic substance on earth – the only thing that could effectively poison a shifter. Wyverns were so venomous that one bite was enough to kill anything in a matter of moments.
It was alsoincrediblyrare, wyverns being extremely secretive creatures, with no one knowing how many of them were even left in the world. They tended not to be forthcoming about it, since too many people had tried to use them for their venom, knowing it was the only thing that could effectively poison a shifter, or any other mythical creature, quickly and easily.
Is this guy a wyvern, then?Rhys thought, as he dodged behind a dumpster as another silenced shot went off.
No – he didn’t think so. He wouldn’t have been giving Rhys such mixed signals otherwise. He’d just read as a shifter.
No, I know what it is.
The answer came to Rhys a moment later.
He’s using bullets coated in wyvern venom.
Rhys had heard about this before. He’d just never actually encountered it, what with wyvern venom hardly being in strong supply.
And this guy’s just popping off bullets like it’s nothing,Rhys thought, his hand going to his shoulder. The wound was burning now, the pain, instead of lessening, getting worse and worse by the second. It felt as if someone had stabbed him with a red-hot poker – and the red-hot poker had been covered in… well, wyvern venom.
There was absolutely nothing on earth that could compare to it, and Rhys had to admit, he’d never felt pain this severe before in his life. It radiated throughout his whole body, like it was tearing him apart from the inside out.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
As if even this could harm us, if our blood is up!his griffin screeched, spreading its wings wide.Do they dare to think they can takeusdown?
The griffin’s confidence was appreciated, but Rhys knew he couldn’t afford to take it too seriously. He was in worse trouble than he’d thought –But to be fair, who the hell just carries around wyvern venom?!
He could see the smirk on Suit Guy’s face, clearly enjoying having one-upped Rhys, but that only made him more furious. But when he tried to gather his momentum and keep going forward, he found his feet simply wouldn’t obey him.
