Page 72

Quinn

My heart lodged firmly in my throat when Typhon lunged forward. From my spot beneath the truck, I couldn't see much, but I could hear perfectly. Listening to this pathetic excuse for a man threaten the people I loved, the town that had been my haven, set my blood boiling with an anger I hadn't felt in a very long time.

The years I'd wasted with Aaron had left me shattered, a puzzle with too many pieces gone to ever become whole again. Lain and the few people in town I'd allowed myself to care about had filled in some of the gaps in the picture, but Typhon… he'd helped me take those remaining pieces and turn them into something new. A bit smaller, maybe, but he'd shown me that I could remake myself, creating a new Quinn from the pieces of the old one.

Now I was going to lose him. Typhon, injured and weak, was fighting for us while I hid under a truck and watched it happen.

Blood fell to the hard-packed earth, lingering in crimson droplets before slowly absorbing into the half-frozen ground. I couldn't tell who it had once belonged to, and I could only hope it wasn't Typhon's.

The older man staggered back, away from the two creatures ripping into each other, and the trail of blood followed him. Typhon had injured him, and a mean, vicious part of me hoped it hurt like hell. I'd never wished death on anyone, not even Aaron, but for a second, I wished Typhon had managed to rip out this man's throat.

Snarls and growls filled the air, echoing in my pitiful hiding spot beneath the truck. The loudest came from Typhon and the other creature, but there were still coyotes out there, attacking the men who'd hit me. I couldn't even begin to wonder why at this point. Obviously, my town was a lot stranger than I'd ever imagined. I'd figure it out later if we somehow survived this.

The older man's boots appeared by my head, and I held my breath, but he just clambered into the truck, slamming the door shut behind him. The one Rom had bitten was still inside, which left just the third man outside, facing the coyotes alone. I wouldn't put it past the other two to abandon the third, which meant my hiding place could disappear any second. There was no other cover for at least a mile, though.

Something slammed into the back of the truck, a terrifying snarl withering to a pained whine.

Typhon.

Blood matted his dark fur and dripped down his legs. One back leg dragged uselessly behind him, his previous injuries slowing him down and leaving him vulnerable. The other creature seemed to know that and aimed for those injuries, leaving Typhon on the defensive. He stumbled backward, and his tail hit something, sending it skittering under the truck.

It was a tiny remote control.

There was enough room under the truck for me to turn around and crawl on my belly to where it'd landed, but it was right by the rear bumper. I'd be exposed to anyone who glanced toward the truck, including the other creature.

This had to be important though, right? Maybe it could help Typhon. But even if it was nothing, I had to look. I couldn't keep hiding under here, hoping everyone else would protect me and make this problem disappear. I'd spent too many years of my life hiding, hoping my problems would go away on their own if I just ignored them long enough.

I didn't bother trying to be stealthy. There was too much going on around me. I just crawled as quickly as I could, until the remote was in front of me and I could study it. From here, I could see a circle of metal lying further away, the metallic sheen dulled by the blood coating it. A collar? Had the man planned to collar Typhon?

I could see him fully now, along with the creature he was fighting, and yes… there, in the other's golden fur, a metal collar sat high on its throat. Which collar did this device control, though?

It was hard to focus on the remote when I was shaking so badly. Almost a dozen buttons covered the tiny control, laid out in a grid. It would have been too much to hope for to find a neat little label saying 'push to deactivate murder beast', of course, but not a single one gave any clue what they were for. Every single button was the same tiny square shape, covering the device from top to bottom in orderly rows.

Surely one of them would call off the creature? I'd heard the older man give the kill order, so maybe he'd used the remote?

Typhon staggered, his back leg giving out completely and nearly knocking him prone. Fresh claw marks ripped across his fur, and his already-injured wing was mangled further, the bones twisted and the membrane shredded. He was losing. The other creature closed in, its tail raised, ready to deliver a killing strike the second it got a chance.

Choking on a sob, I twisted around, fumbling in the dirt until my bound hands closed on the remote. With no other ideas, I hit the first button on the top right.

Nothing. The creature didn't even slow down, tail arcing up.

"Typhon!"

Both of them froze for just a split second, looking to where I lay on the cold, hard ground, exposed at the end of the truck. Typhon recovered first and tried to lunge for the other creature, but he was too slow, too weakened from his injuries, and it dodged away.

Desperation surged through me, and I did the only thing I could do: I started hitting every button, one after the other, not even stopping to see what one did before hitting the next. I didn't care as long as one of them could stop this thing.

A horrifying scream tore through the air, clawing down my spine like nails on a chalkboard, and the golden creature staggered, collapsing to the ground. Its back legs spasmed, massive talons clawing huge gouges in the dirt. With its front legs, though, it was clawing at its own throat, screeching as it opened up bloody wounds on itself without even making a dent in the metal collar.

I'd done that and now I didn't know how to stop it.

Shaking, I inched out from under the truck, bile burning the back of my throat. Hitting the remaining buttons had no effect on the collar, and the creature's blood soaked into the ground as it ripped at its own flesh, mindless in its agony.

Footsteps pounded toward me where I knelt by the truck, frantically trying to stop whatever I'd done. Dazed, my stomach churning as the creature screamed, I didn't even realize anyone was beside me until they took the remote from my numb fingers. A second later, the screams stopped, and the creature slumped to the ground, sides heaving with exhaustion.

"How did you..." My words died in my throat when I looked up. I'd expected Ori, maybe, even though I hadn't seen them when I arrived. Instead, the youngest stranger of the four stood beside me, holding the remote control.

I nearly vomited, the nausea roiling up until it nearly overwhelmed me. I'd handed control of the creature right back to the enemy and I hadn't even hesitated in doing it.