I’m not about to stay out of this fight. I might not have reliable powers, but that doesn’t make me helpless. I get to my feet and pull my glavies, staying low to the ground, when I hear a twig snap, freezing me in place.
‘Lynx? That’s not you flanking me, is it?’I ask, slowly pivoting to my right.
‘No. I’m sneaking up to this archer in my Lynx form,’he replies.‘Why do you ask?’
‘Oh. Then can you let everyone know, there’s possibly more out here than the archers in the trees?’
‘What do you mean?’he asks, worry evident in his words.
‘You and I were ahead of everyone, Lynx. Someone is flanking me from my right. You do the math, yo?—’
I don’t even get a chance to finish my sarcastic sentence as a battle cry rings out and an outline of fog leaps at me. It’s not really a solid form I see, but a moving landscape that breaks away from the background. If I weren’t staring at the fog, I would easily miss the movement, but I quickly raise my glaives and block the knife coming down for my throat.
“Bailiwick! I don’t know how many,” I scream it out loud, forgoing the internal communication we had agreed on, since I need this information out as fast as possible.
I think I see something move in the fog and dodge, guessing which way to move, but I guess wrong, and I hiss as I’m cut along my ribs. “I’m fighting the Hollowman here, could use some help,” I yell and dodge once more, but this time I kick out and take pleasure in making contact.
“Got you, Rez,” Levi calls out, and a blast of light shoots across the area, making my eyes slightly water.
Blinking, I focus once again and see a petite little devil in front of me, decked out in blades, a medallion around her neck, and what looks like tar balled up in her hand.
“Peek-a-boo. Now I see you,” I say with a smile.
The look on her face pleases me as her eyes go wide and her jaw drops slightly. Her medallion flashes briefly, and she stands up taller, grabbing a knife. The tar slides over the blade as she reaches back to throw it, and before she can blink, there’s a sia, poking out of her gurgling neck.
“Didn’t Astaroth tell you not to play with your kills?” Moni says, flying up next to me with a slight smile.
“Since when did you become such a badass?” I ask, watching as she grows to her four-foot self and takes her sia, wiping it off on the grass at her feet.
She gives me a thoughtful look.
“I guess it started just now. Pretty cool, huh?” A large smile slowly spreads on her face, and I move to hug her, but I push her to the ground instead.
I dive, pushing a hand holding a knife up and into the air, and slicing in and out with my glaive, gutting the other Bailiwick student that was creeping up on us. I wouldn’t have been able to see him if it weren’t for Levi’s spell that uncloaked the asshole. I don’t even think the guy knew he was visible, to be honest.
The shock on his face definitely tells me he didn’t think it was possible.
“See, it’s a good thing I have a bestie watching my back! I’m gonna do a swim-by to check if there’s any more goons. Be right back. Toodles.” Moni shrinks down and zips off out of sight before I can stop her.
“Drive-by Moni, it’s called a drive-by,” I murmur, feeling the sting in my ribs, but thankfully, it’s just a scratch.
As everyone converges back to me, Knox shifts and points to the right.
“There’s a small trail leading up to the cave that Knots saw. I don’t know the full condition, but it looked fine, from what I could see,” he explains, scraping bark along his tongue afterward.
“Are you okay?” I can’t help but worry as he spits out saliva after he scrapes off all of his taste buds.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” He furrows his brow while he scrapes another layer from his tongue.
“Maybe because you’re getting rid of your best feature?” Ryker answers.
Knox chuckles, “Ah. No. My best feature is my dick. Ain’t it, Kitten?” Heat immediately flushes to my cheeks as he winks at me. “But to answer your question, one of the Cyanide students coated their skin with poison, and it tastes funny on my tongue,” he explains, scraping at it with the bark once again.
“Okay…then.” I slowly turn away from my Alpha and his weird dental habits, and spot Moni flying back to us.
“Guys! Look!” she screams, waving something in the air that’s bigger than her hand. “I found something.”
Right as she reaches us, the sky opens up and douses us with rain.
