Marcus Pelegrimas - The Breaking

Charmed wooden needles burrowed inside Minh’s lower body. When her knee hit the dirt, wooden points sprang from beneath her flesh, while others ripped her from within. The howl that she offered to the Breaking Moon was matched only by Paige’s war cry as she swung her sickle toward the Full Blood’s chest. Moving with a speed impressive even for a Full Blood, Minh blocked the sickle using her own forearm. But though she prevented that strike from landing, the wooden lattice still burrowed inside her leg.

The chatter of Nadya’s FAMAS remained on the outer edge of Paige’s awareness. Even the screaming gargoyles were demoted to background noise as one of the most powerful creatures in existence was held prone by the stake in her hand. Locking eyes with the Skinner, Minh planted her other foot and began to pull the sickle away from her. Unwilling to let the weapon go, Paige could only grit her teeth as her elbow strained to the point of popping out of joint.

Her ears were filled with the rush of blood pulsing through her body. Desperate thoughts raced through her mind, most of which were in expectation of losing a limb that she’d become very fond of throughout the years. The werewolf grinned widely, lifting her off the ground until the thorns snaking through Minh’s leg were twisted at a sharp angle. Paige willed as much of the weapon as she could to stretch into the Full Blood’s thigh and expand in every direction until more of the thorns emerged from her flesh. Minh narrowed her eyes into slits, bared her teeth and pulled Paige’s arms in opposite directions.

The Amriany were shouting and firing wildly behind her, but Paige was fading. When her elbows and shoulders crunched before snapping out of joint, she was hard-pressed to remember anything but the single face that had driven her this far.

Paige’s fist remained locked around the handle of her weapon. Coppery blood washed over her hands and shrieking cries mixed with the deafening chatter of assault rifle fire as she stared into the face of death itself. The glow of the moon that had played across Minh’s fur was suddenly splayed over the leathery back of a gargoyle that wrapped around the Full Blood’s face. It was followed by another and another, all of which sank their talons into Minh’s body to draw themselves tightly against her in a desperate, suffocating embrace. The only part of the Full Blood protected from the gargoyles was the section of her thigh where Paige’s stake protruded.

Abruptly, Paige fell to the ground. Not only had Minh released her to try and fight off the gargoyles, but Paige had somehow maintained her grip on the sickle. The Full Blood was unable to move quickly enough to shred all of the gargoyles that descended upon her, and the more of them she ripped apart, the more creatures showed up to take their place. A pair of hands grabbed Paige by the shoulder and dragged her away. She screamed as her dislocated arm was tugged with a crack that reverberated inside her head. When she was set down again, the pain from that shoulder had lessened significantly.

Now that the remaining gargoyles had their meal, the only sound they made was the brush of one leathery body against another and the scrape of talons against flesh. Every so often one of their gaping mouths sucked like a baby trying to latch onto a nipple.

Tristan’s voice filled the air, and the pale green glow flared up to an almost blinding flash. When it was gone, so was Minh and all the gargoyles attached to her.

“What happened?” Paige asked.

“This nymph would not let us help you!” Milosh roared.

Tristan stepped onto the shore and lowered herself to sit with both legs tucked beneath her. “I needed to use what you could gave me. The pain. The fear. It was strong enough to open a bridge and send her away.”

“Away to where?”

“Deep into a Japanese bamboo forest where one of our temples was built,” Tristan replied. “The gargoyles should have plenty of space to hide themselves when they’re through, and Minh should be disoriented enough to let them finish what they started. Someone should check to make sure she was contained, though. Also, some Half Breeds were sent with her as well, and the ones who don’t fall prey to the gargoyles will make trouble if they catch the scent of civilization.”

Blinking as if none of that had sunken in, Paige gasped, “Did you say Japan?”

“Cole will explain. We just needed to separate the Full Bloods before they got too powerful.”

“You mean return them to their territories?”

“Exactly,” the Dryad said. “Didn’t Cole warn you?”

Rubbing her shoulder, Paige winced and looked around. “It’s a lot quieter now. Can’t figure out if that’s a good or bad thing.” She watched as sections of the sky sprang to life with gargoyles gliding up and down to attack the remaining Half Breeds. “You seem to know a lot about those things,” she said to Tristan.

“Yes. We have many gargoyles back home. Dangerous, but merely pests if you know how to handle them. After feeding this much in one night, they will find a place to hibernate for a few months.”

“Will they kill her?”

They all looked toward the spot where Minh had stood.

“No,” Milosh sighed. “They will not be able to kill a Full Blood.”

“But can one be contained?” Tristan asked. Now that she’d gotten to her feet, she took on a presence that made her seem somehow beyond human. The sight of her supple body encased in wet veils and moonlight was enough to calm even the most raging soul.

Milosh looked at her with the same mix of awe and arousal that showed up on everyone’s face the first time they gazed upon a Dryad. “I think so, but not for long.”

“How long?” Paige asked. When she didn’t get an answer or even a glance in response, she reached out to snap her fingers in front of his face. “Hey! How long?”

“I don’t know! Maybe a few days or weeks.”

Placing a hand gingerly upon Paige’s shoulder, Nadya asked, “Do you need a sling?”

“No,” she replied while gently flexing her arm. “You must’ve popped it back into place when you dragged me away. It’s already healing. At least something went better than expected tonight.”

“Where is the trickster?” Tristan asked.

Paige’s head drooped forward. “There goes the better than expected thing. How the hell could I have forgotten about him?”

“The same way your civilization has forgotten him throughout every human era. The First Deceiver survives through lies and being able to slip away after telling them. All he needs to do is distract someone long enough and the memory of him will fall to the wayside.”

“And there,” Paige said while cautiously approaching one of the many Half Breed statues, “is one hell of a distraction.”

“What do we do now?” Nadya asked.

Tristan placed a hand on Paige’s shoulder, but not in a comforting manner. Using the Skinner to keep her upright, the Dryad said, “Cole is alone with Liam. That animal cannot be allowed to claim his prize from this night.”

Paige felt a surge of adrenaline rush through her that was the instantaneous equivalent of two nights of sleep followed by a cold shower. “Where are they?”

“Finland.”

“ Finland?”

“The Torva’ox will be drawn to the Full Bloods more than any other creature on this earth,” Tristan replied. “Now that they are spread out, the power they seek is unfocused. I can’t take you to him without the energy to open another bridge.”

“Tell me where the closest strip club is and—”

“No,” Tristan snapped. “We don’t have time for that. We need more power than a local temple can provide. Cole and I tapped into darker energies before, and I’m willing to do that again.”