the outside of the building.
Two more steps and Mat let out another screech. “Ruuuun—” Her voice cut off on a strangled gurgle.
“Mat!”
Reaching the door only made everything worse.
A coyote, shaggy blond and browns, larger and better fed than any wild animal, snapped wicked teeth in my direction. The beast was no better groomed than his wild cousins, and this one obviously had a lot less sense. No sane coyote would venture this far into town and attack two people.
“Zandy!” I cursed.
Saliva dripped as the coyote swung back around in time to dodge a piece of a broken chair aimed at his head. Jim jabbed with the chair leg again and then again. He was hunched against the living room wall with Matilda smashed partially behind him. The floor was wet, and the reek of sewage made me gag.
“You misbegotten mutt of an Aztec Curse!” I yelled.
Zandy turned his back on Jim to face me without a worry. From the lack of a real weapon in Jim’s grip, Zandy’s confidence was understandable. Zandy was dangerous enough as a coyote, and that was before his blood had been tainted with concoctions that, if he bit one of us, might make us wish we were dead.
I plucked a silver bead from my bracelet. Zandy snarled low and bunched to jump. No time for precision. I yanked the clasp of my new bracelet and pushed the silver hard. All of it.
“Choke and die!” I screamed.
The silver balls flew through the air. Several hit, singeing his fur. Sadly, the little missiles didn’t stick. The welts may have hurt, but the silver bounced off Zandy as fast as they hit him.
The distraction of my attack allowed Jim to lean in and beat at Zandy. “Bastard!” The series of threats that followed were possibly more dangerous than the chair leg.
I called the rolling, ricocheting silver balls, spinning them relentlessly at the coyote.
Jim kept up his end of the attack until he suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees. He gave a hacking gasp and gagged.
The coyote stepped on a silver ball, yelped and dodged. I pulled silver and then pushed again. The ones that hit sizzled, but continued to bounce off. “Mayan moonlight sacrifices in a bloodbath!” I knew I should have gone with something pointy and sharp.
Matilda pounded on Jim’s back. He heaved a breath and stopped gagging as suddenly as he had started.
Zandy coiled again. His growl was unnecessary showing off. I already knew he was gunning for me.
I pushed again, not even thinking about where or how. Balls zinged through the air, one of them scoring a lucky hit on Zandy’s eye. It wasn’t that my aim was improving, it was that I had no other option than to keep pounding him.
Zandy leaped anyway. The silver on my wrists flared, and the gold ring on my finger went hot. “Moonlight madness!” Now White Feather would be the one to find my dead body next to that of his brother.
I ducked and rolled. My momentum carried me further inside, while Zandy went over my head into the relatively cleaner alley.
Mat yelled, “Roll again!” No longer behind Jim, she gathered the water from the floor, her eyes an eerie transparent blue, a wave that you think you can see through, but can’t. The water swelled into a black roll and spilled against the back of the door that Zandy had just leapt through.
She almost slammed it closed, but Zandy turned and jammed his canine self against the wood. Black water burst backwards from the force of his hit, mostly missing me.
I linked to Mother Earth in a desperate search for more silver. If Mat had a silver dagger...the first silver I sensed was in the kitchen, but I was too new at this to grasp any useful information.
Despite my concentration, the silver resisted me, clanging, but not moving to me. I took two steps towards the kitchen, but finally recognized the shape enough to realize its nature. “Great. I’ll beat him to death with a spoon.”
The only other silver sensation came from the shop. “Spells with silver?” The feel of it was
Two more steps and Mat let out another screech. “Ruuuun—” Her voice cut off on a strangled gurgle.
“Mat!”
Reaching the door only made everything worse.
A coyote, shaggy blond and browns, larger and better fed than any wild animal, snapped wicked teeth in my direction. The beast was no better groomed than his wild cousins, and this one obviously had a lot less sense. No sane coyote would venture this far into town and attack two people.
“Zandy!” I cursed.
Saliva dripped as the coyote swung back around in time to dodge a piece of a broken chair aimed at his head. Jim jabbed with the chair leg again and then again. He was hunched against the living room wall with Matilda smashed partially behind him. The floor was wet, and the reek of sewage made me gag.
“You misbegotten mutt of an Aztec Curse!” I yelled.
Zandy turned his back on Jim to face me without a worry. From the lack of a real weapon in Jim’s grip, Zandy’s confidence was understandable. Zandy was dangerous enough as a coyote, and that was before his blood had been tainted with concoctions that, if he bit one of us, might make us wish we were dead.
I plucked a silver bead from my bracelet. Zandy snarled low and bunched to jump. No time for precision. I yanked the clasp of my new bracelet and pushed the silver hard. All of it.
“Choke and die!” I screamed.
The silver balls flew through the air. Several hit, singeing his fur. Sadly, the little missiles didn’t stick. The welts may have hurt, but the silver bounced off Zandy as fast as they hit him.
The distraction of my attack allowed Jim to lean in and beat at Zandy. “Bastard!” The series of threats that followed were possibly more dangerous than the chair leg.
I called the rolling, ricocheting silver balls, spinning them relentlessly at the coyote.
Jim kept up his end of the attack until he suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees. He gave a hacking gasp and gagged.
The coyote stepped on a silver ball, yelped and dodged. I pulled silver and then pushed again. The ones that hit sizzled, but continued to bounce off. “Mayan moonlight sacrifices in a bloodbath!” I knew I should have gone with something pointy and sharp.
Matilda pounded on Jim’s back. He heaved a breath and stopped gagging as suddenly as he had started.
Zandy coiled again. His growl was unnecessary showing off. I already knew he was gunning for me.
I pushed again, not even thinking about where or how. Balls zinged through the air, one of them scoring a lucky hit on Zandy’s eye. It wasn’t that my aim was improving, it was that I had no other option than to keep pounding him.
Zandy leaped anyway. The silver on my wrists flared, and the gold ring on my finger went hot. “Moonlight madness!” Now White Feather would be the one to find my dead body next to that of his brother.
I ducked and rolled. My momentum carried me further inside, while Zandy went over my head into the relatively cleaner alley.
Mat yelled, “Roll again!” No longer behind Jim, she gathered the water from the floor, her eyes an eerie transparent blue, a wave that you think you can see through, but can’t. The water swelled into a black roll and spilled against the back of the door that Zandy had just leapt through.
She almost slammed it closed, but Zandy turned and jammed his canine self against the wood. Black water burst backwards from the force of his hit, mostly missing me.
I linked to Mother Earth in a desperate search for more silver. If Mat had a silver dagger...the first silver I sensed was in the kitchen, but I was too new at this to grasp any useful information.
Despite my concentration, the silver resisted me, clanging, but not moving to me. I took two steps towards the kitchen, but finally recognized the shape enough to realize its nature. “Great. I’ll beat him to death with a spoon.”
The only other silver sensation came from the shop. “Spells with silver?” The feel of it was
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