But the flames could only last for so long on one simple braid of cotton sheet. Soon, it crumbled to ash and the Wendigos moved forward again.
However, they were not nearly so fast in their attack this time. Instead, the smallest reached through with one of its arms cautiously, as if it was much warier of a surprise than it had been just minutes ago.
Which it absolutely should have been.
“Now!” Bradley cried.
Jaelle reacted instantly, taking one of the Molotov’s waiting behind her, lighting the edge and throwing it toward the open window with all her might.
It had exactly the effect she hoped it would. It hit right in the Wendigo’s shoulder, shattering into pieces and spraying both alcohol and fire everywhere. The beast fell out of sight, screaming its worries, and the other Wendigos spread out, as well.
There, they seemed to have finally gotten wise to why their prey had chosen to leave such an obvious route open. Slowly, a few of them began to drift outside of view until only five remained.
For a brief moment, Jaelle wondered if the one she had burned was going to get up and be twice as lethal now that it was pissed, but all she could hear was its panicked shrieking. There was no way it was still on fire considering how quickly alcohol burned off and the low temperature liquor fires actually reached, and yet it definitely was not shutting up.
That was, however, until one of the standing Wendigos reached down and made a jerking motion. The sound suddenly cut off and when their hand came into view again, it held the slightly singed head of the screamer.
“Well… that’s a bit morbid.”
As if it heard her, the Wendigo lifted the head of its ally to its mouth and the resulting bite sent a squishing, gnashing sound into the room that absolutely made Jaelle want to gag.
“Great,” Bradley muttered. “Not only do they eat the dead, but they eat their own dead. How charming.”
“Just imagine what their breath must be like.”
“I’d rather not.”
That was the last word anyone got in before something slammed into the barricaded door back in the first room. This was where the battle was going to get a whole lot trickier and a whole lot less assured.
Bradley nodded and Micah, Javi and another Hunter who she wasn’t sure the name of moved to the other room, another lighter in hand. Thankfully, all of the ex-Hunters had the little flame generators on them. Apparently, it was part of their uniform.
Oh, also, Jaelle learned that the Hunters had a uniform. Who knew?
“Ready?” he hissed.
Jaelle didn’t bother to nod, knowing the question was more of a warning than anything else. She readied herself to lob another Molotov with one hand, listening for the next cue.
Bradley waited, and the five remaining Wendigos grew close once again. This time one reared back and Jaelle knew enough of body language to tell that it was about to launch itself through the open window.
“Now!”
She didn’t hesitate, not even for a breath. She lit the scrap of fabric hanging out of the bottle and hurled it with all her might and accuracy.
Just like before, it hit true, striking the Wendigo in the head just as it lowered its body to propel itself forward. It screamed and dropped, but this time, instead of its friends standing back, they continued to surge forward.
“Jaelle, again!”
She fumbled with the next bottle, not at all prepared for the monsters to have recovered so quickly. But still, she managed to light it and throw it before a beast could get it. However, it didn’t hit flesh like it had last time, rather it caught the top of the window, spewing flames all around the sill.
“How many are left?” Bradley demanded through thick fangs.
“Five!”
“Good. Ready another and hold!”
She did as he asked, her eyes focused on the window. The crashing in the other room was growing even louder, cracking and splintering echoing after each thump. It would only be a matter of time until the Wendigos were coming in from that side, too.
But she couldn’t let her concentration drop. Even for a second. The other room didn’t matter. The only thing in existence was the window and the beasts behind it.
The one she had struck in the top of the head finally stood -apparently having learned from its screaming friend not to make that much of a fuss. What little hair it had was completely burned off as were the tattered, bloody rags that had clothed it. It seemed the cannibals were much more flammable than any other living creature she had ever dealt with, which was convenient, but still not enough to completely end them.
Being burned once must have given the Wendigo balls that the others didn’t have, because it launched itself forward once more, this time making it all the way through the window and landing in a crouch inside.
“Steady, Jaelle!” Bradley yelled before charging forward, swiping his claws at the beast as it stood.
It took all of her willpower not to sweep in and help him. One on one with a Wendigo weren’t odds she would wish on anybody, let alone someone she actually liked and was somewhat depending on to save her people. But she managed to stay back, simply watching as Bradley scored his claws down its side.
The beast bellowed and tried to dart forward, but Dannon intercepted it. The blind man’s half shifted form was something else. A thick, lion-like mane of auburn hair grew around and between his red locs, and his jaw was filled with twice the sharpened teeth that most of the Hunters had. His eyes, they almost seemed to glow with their whiteness, standing out against his rich skin.
The Wendigo whipped around to fight him, its jaws snapping within inches of his face. Jaelle could see its eyes bore into the man and it grew still.
It took her a moment to realize what it was doing. It was trying to hypnotize the blind man! That was going to work out for it.
The attacking creature seemed to understand that it wasn’t working just a hair after the rest of them did and tried to recover, but Bradley was already leaping onto its back.
“Jaelle! The window!” he cried.
Oh, shit. Of course.
She jerked her head back toward the entrance to see that the fire from the last Molotov was about to wink out and the two remaining Wendigos were coiling to leap in. Where the third one had gone, she didn’t know, but she didn’t have time to worry about it.
As quickly as she could, she grabbed and lit another missile then fired it off. It hit the hip of one, spraying fire onto both of them and they stumbled back.
Just in time for the third one to pop up from below and launch itself through the empty pane.
Shit! Of course, they would have set up a trap. It had been too easy up to this point. The creature landed inside and it stood to join its brother. Or sister. Jaelle wasn’t really sure how gender worked with Wendigos, or if they had any at all.
Her gaze flicked to the other creature just in time to see Bradley unload his entire clip into its skull. The Wendigo topped forward and Dannon gripped its head, yanking viciously until it tore off with a pop.
But there was no time to celebrate, or even recover. Jaelle could see the new Wendigo whirling to pounce on the leader while the other two outside were recovering enough to try to come in again.
Finally, it was time to act.
Jaelle threw herself forward, shifting as she went. Her body rapidly exploded outward, filling with familiar layers of fat and impossibly thick hide.
The floor shook as she landed and charged forward. Hell, the whole entire house shook. The Wendigo that had just been about to end Bradley turned its head to face her just in time to witness being slammed by a very angry hippo. It was hard to tell, but Jaelle was fairly certain it looked surprised.
And it should be. She pinned it to the wall, paying no mind to its slashing claws as it tried to get her to back off. Her massive, perfect tusks ripped into its middle, its foul, choking, black blood filling her mouth. It let out another otherworldly shriek, but she didn’t care. She kept tea
ring at it until she felt four strong hands grip her and fling her backwards.
It wasn’t every day that one got to see a hippo fly, and even less often that one got to be the hippo that was doing said flying. Jaelle felt herself float through the air with surprising speed before she crashed through the same wall she had been lobbing Molotovs at and landed with a thump on the street.
The breath was completely knocked out of her and she lost her grip on her form. She slid into her human body so fast that she bile was raising in her throat before she could help it, and then she was upchucking without control.
Not exactly the best time to be losing her lunch. She didn’t even have a chance to finish or breathe before a hand gripped the top of her head, long claws biting into her scalp, and she was hauled off her feet.
It didn’t take a wizard to know what had her and she found herself looking into the eyes of the largest Wendigo as it lifted her off the ground.
Why did you leave me?
Dammit. It was using David’s voice again. Even if she knew it wasn’t him, it still made her heart ache with desire and guilt.
But that guilt subsided quickly as its other hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing, choking. She gasped, kicking at it, but it didn’t let her go.
Her vision went dark at the corners, but she could still see it’s jaw widen and teeth extend as it brought her closer. All it would take was one good bite.
“Jaelle!”
Bradley’s voice cut through the terror and she felt her mind recover. She needed to shift, and now. But what on Earth could possibly be good in a fight against Wendigos in a tight space? Nothing. There wasn’t a creature on Earth that could match the creature’s strength, speed and agility while also being able to run back into the barracks.
Wait a moment… Nothing could match a Wendigo.
Except for another Wendigo.
Despite everything, a smile spread across her face. Feeling absolutely calm, Jaelle channeled all of her concentration into the creature lowering her to her doom. She felt the papery, cold grip of its skin on her neck, smelled the rotten stench of decay over its breath. Took in its jagged, chipped teeth and its gaunt visage. She felt its strength, and the blood pulsing through its limbs.
And then, in one solid wave of energy, she shifted into it.
The Wendigo dropped her, clearly shocked. It let out a keening cry and suddenly all the hubbub behind it stilled. One by one, the Wendigos ran out of the barracks, each of them freezing in their tracks when they saw her.
Jaelle was pleased to see that there were only six of them left, three of them being fairly battered. It seemed her friends had done pretty well on their own. But now it was time for her to show them exactly what she could do.
She swung her arm, vitality flowing through her as she moved her new body for the first time. She could feel her mind being swamped with a thousand different voices all clamoring for attention, but she ignored them all. The only thing that mattered was the fight.
…if only she wasn’t so hungry.
She shoved that thought down and focused on her attack. Her swing struck true, her claws slashing across the chest of the leader, and it finally recovered from its shock just in time to lunge forward. They clashed, starvation-hard sternum on sternum and tumbled backwards.
They hit the earth and proceeded to tear at each other. Jaelle had the advantage of being fully in control of her faculties and riding on her Aberrant high while the creature had the advantage of knowing the body that housed it much better than she. They struggled, rolling over each other, ripping, tearing, gnashing.
Jaelle was faintly aware of the pain it was causing her, but it was a dull ache. To be honest, she’d been in more agony when she had once dropped a wrench on her toe in the shop. It made sense that Wendigos were so unstoppable. None of the wounds she was receiving were phasing her at all.
No, it seemed only fire was the true way to terrify a Wendigo. Well, that and decapitating them. Good thing she was the only Wendigo in existence who knew how to make and use a Molotov.
I need fire! she projected to the Hunters just beyond her sight, hoping they could still hear her in this form.
Suddenly, five claws stabbed into her belly, dragging upwards. It still didn’t hurt, but she felt vital essence pump out of her. So that’s what it felt like for one of the cannibals to be grievously wounded. She couldn’t take another hit like that.
But how to get the leader off of her? They were practically equals, her being a copy of him, and he was unwounded.
“Jaelle!”
Gunshots sounded behind them, peppering the leader. The rest of the Wendigos recoiled, as if they had forgotten others were involved in the fight, but it was too late. Jaelle had the opening she needed.
Mustering her strength, she kicked the leader off her then dived for the same wall she had shattered as a hippo.
“Catch!”
Her eyes turned to Dannon, who was holding a lit torch in his hand. It looked like it had been frantically assembled in just a couple of seconds, but it would more than make do.
She grasped it and rolled, coming up just to pivot on her feet and face the leader again. She didn’t give them a chance to recover, or even realize what she was armed with. Instead, she lunged forward with the full speed of the Wendigo and speared the creature right through its cannibalistic heart.
The shriek it let out was unparalleled to anything she had heard previously. The leader burst into flamed, seeming to melt from the inside out. It was terrifying. It was revolting. But Jaelle forced herself to watch her own handiwork.
It seemed to take forever to it to collapse and then finally go out, leaving only an oddly tall skeleton on the ground. It was done.
Jaelle turned to face the remaining Wendigos who were all staring at her with a mix of confusion and alarm. She could feel it in her borrowed bones that they were not pack animals. They bore no loyalty to each other and would be perfectly fine with consuming one who was wounded. But they had a very strict power hierarchy and Jaelle could feel that she was the top of the top.
Well, if she was King of the Hill, she might as well use it.
She took a singular step forward, gathering all the air she could into her decrepit lungs, then roared.
The sound that erupted from her own throat surprised even her. She managed to recover, however, and waved her torch for extra emphasis. The Wendigos all looked to each other before scattering, each taking off in a different direction.
It looked like whatever deal they had made wasn’t worth their lives. Interesting.
“Holy shit!” Dannon cried. “We did it!”
But there was a cry of anguish from within the Barracks. “Bradley, I need some medical help!”
Oh, no, someone had been hurt. Jaelle took a step forward, but then the delicious, tantalizing scent of Shifter blood hit her. God, she was hungry. So, so hungry. Surely, they would understand if she had just a nibble…
“Jaelle!”
Bradley’s voice shook her from her musing and she realized she was crouched in front of what had once been the door to the barracks and now was just a mess of wood and debris. When had she gotten here?
She didn’t know, but she knew she couldn’t resist the rumbling in her stomach any longer. It was the most intense, voracious hunger she had ever known, and blood had never smelled so sweet.
With a shuddering gasp, she reached for her human form once more.
She felt warmth begin to return to her, sliding down her body in waves, turning her skin back to olive-pink. It was nice to feel thirst again, and exhaustion, but then the wind changed directions and she was drenched in the scent of the wounded once more.
The warm feeling froze in place, stuck somewhere around her middle. Startled, she looked at her hands to see the human color fading rapidly, replaced by the Wendigo’s deathly white. Whatever it was that created those things didn’t want to let go.
Panic started to rise in her and she bore down again. Huma
n. She wanted to be human!
But her body was rapidly retreating, and she was uncoiling outwards again. Would it be so bad to be so powerful all the time? She would never tire. Never know cold or thirst or nightmares. She could just live.
And hunt.
“Jaelle!” Someone was standing before her. It took a couple of moments of adjusting her gaze with her rapidly changing eyes to realize it was Bradley.
Funny, he looked so much smaller in this form. Since when had he smelled so compelling? There was so much vitality and delicious meat tucked into one body.
“Jaelle, come back to us. I know you’re hurting, but it’s much better to be alive than be whatever this is.”
How could he know that? He didn’t feel the power.
“Think about all the things you love. A burger dripping in grease. Terrible puns. The smell of fresh gasoline as you fill up a tank.”
Oh… yeah. She did like all of those things. It would be a shame to lose all of them forever.
The leader of the Hunters reached up, caressing the side of her face with a tenderness that meant nothing to a Wendigo. And yet, it meant something to her. It was a kindness, one that made a person wonder if there was a possibility of happiness in the word.
“The sun as it just rises at the sky, turning everything all pastel. The first scent of autumn as it cuts through the warmth of summer. Even love. I know you’ve lost the man who means the most to you, but I promise you that you will find it again, and it will be just as wonderful.”
Really? Did he really think that? How could he know? She didn’t deserve love, not after she abandoned the only man who had ever truly loved her.
But… maybe he was right. Was she willing to give up everything and bet that he was not?
No, she guessed not.
Slowly, that familiar warmth began to flow through her again, spreading out in ripples until she was finally back in her own skin.
…she had never realized how short she was.
“There you are,” Bradley breathed, looking utterly relieved.
She opened her mouth with a no doubt snarky reply, but nothing came out. Instead, what little energy she had fled her body and she went toppling down into blackness.
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 28
