Hector: Outback Shifters Book One

by Chant, Zoe

  “I need you to reach up and grab my arm,” Hector grunted. “Come on, you can do it.”

  As if to emphasize the urgency, Myrtle felt her wrist slip against the blood on his hand.

  Oh God, that’s his blood, Myrtle realized. It was dripping down her arm now, and if she didn’t hurry, Hector would lose his grip.

  Setting her jaw, Myrtle forced herself to heave her other arm up, catching his wrist in her hand. Grunting with effort, Hector hauled her up, his biceps straining to lift her and to keep a grip on the edge of the balcony.

  Myrtle tried to do what she could to help him, digging her toes into the side of the building to lift herself up, and grabbing onto the balcony’s edge as soon as she could, pulling herself up. Her heart hammered against her sternum, her legs shaking in terror even as Hector pulled her the last of the way through the gap in the railing.

  Myrtle felt as if she couldn’t breathe, her entire body trembling.

  “Myrtle – fuck, Myrtle are you okay?” Hector’s voice was frantic, his hands on her face.

  Myrtle stared into his eyes, trying to organize her thoughts enough to tell him that she was fine, that she was more worried about him, that he really needed to –

  But in the next moment, Hector wasn’t there anymore. Myrtle gasped at the rush of wind by her face, unable to understand what had happened for a moment; until she realized that she was staring at the long, black column of Cecelia’s body, mere inches in front of her face.

  “Hector!”

  His name left her lips as she realized what had happened. While Hector had been saving her, Cecelia had collected herself, shaken off having been strangled with wire rope, reared back, and made her strike.

  Myrtle forced herself to her feet, her knees feeling weak, smashing her fist into Cecelia’s side. Of course, Cecelia didn’t even react – there was nothing that Myrtle, as a human, could do to her that she’d probably even feel.

  Forcing down the scream that was threatening to break free from her throat, Myrtle charged forward, running alongside Cecelia’s long body.

  “Hector?! Hector, please –”

  Her words cut off as she saw him, a gasp of horror escaping her lips.

  Hector lay on his side by the garden, unmoving. Myrtle couldn’t see his face, but she could see that his ribs weren’t moving. Blood pooled beneath him where Cecelia’s teeth had torn through his chest.

  Oh God, he’s not breathing.

  Or if he was, it was too shallowly for her to see it.

  All thought of Cecelia leaving her mind, Myrtle ran toward him, terror ripping through her chest.

  “Hector!”

  Somehow, she could feel Hector’s life ebbing away inside her own heart, pain slicing through her with every slowing beat.

  She dropped to her knees by his side.

  No, no, no.

  Helplessness filled her heart. She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, almost didn’t dare in case it felt cold. It was then that she noticed that the strange, painful feeling of life sluicing away had all but left her chest. Myrtle felt panic clawing at her gut.

  “Hector?! Hector, are you –”

  “I have had just about enough of you,” Cecelia hissed, her tongue flickering. Her voice sounded strained, and when Myrtle turned to look up at her once again, she could see the soft scales on her throat were damaged, blood trickling down her body.

  “If you’d just come quietly, there wouldn’t have been any need for any of this,” Cecelia continued. “So unnecessary. And now, I’ve had to kill someone who might have been a fine asset to our company.”

  Myrtle stared at Cecelia, fury filling her. Myrtle had never felt such a pure rage in all her life – the idea that she had only just found Hector, found Ruby, only for Cecelia to take them both away from her was an idea she couldn’t stand.

  I won’t. I won’t let her.

  Myrtle looked around, trying to find something she could use as a weapon. The remains of the shed were too far away, and there was nothing else in reach.

  No. There has to be something. I won’t let her get away with this…

  As Myrtle let her rage fill her, she suddenly remembered the bottle she’d taken from the room where Cecelia had been torturing Hector.

  Without stopping to think, she shoved her hand into her pocket, her fingers closing around the bottle.

  The bottle. Filled with poison.

  Myrtle stared down at it in her hand.

  Doesn’t it have to be injected, though? I can’t use it.

  Or could she?

  She looked up, just in time to see Cecelia opening her mouth wide, her long fangs shining in the sunlight, readying herself to strike.

  Without another thought, Myrtle raised her arm to throw the bottle with all her might. She might not have had the same kind of athletic prowess as her siblings, but for this, it was enough. The bottle flew upward, sailing through the air – before landing directly in Cecelia’s wide open mouth.

  For a moment, nothing happened. Cecelia, clearly uncertain as to what Myrtle had done, closed her mouth, blinking.

  To be honest, Myrtle wasn’t sure what she was expecting herself. But it certainly wasn’t what happened next.

  Cecelia let out a sudden scream, green ooze dripping from her mouth and tongue.

  Myrtle realized after a second what must have happened: the bottle had been crushed when she’d closed her mouth, releasing the poison into Cecelia’s system.

  The same poison she used on Hector, Myrtle thought, ducking her head as Cecelia thrashed her body wildly, shrieking. The poison that made him unable to heal – or shift –

  Myrtle knew she ought to run to get out of the way, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Hector’s side. Instead, she leaned forward, covering his body with hers, lowering her head to his side, curling herself around him.

  Please, Hector. Please. We’re so close. We’re a family. It can’t end this way…

  Cecelia’s screams of pain grew lower, her coils collapsing against themselves as the poison worked its way through her body. Finally, she lay still, her head lolling back, tongue dangling on the tiles of the patio.

  But despite the fact Cecelia been defeated, Myrtle couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Not when Hector was still lying on the ground in front of her, his face an ashen gray, eyes closed, blood still pooling on the tiles beneath him.

  No, no, no, no!

  Myrtle looked around frantically, searching for something she might be able to use to treat his wound. She knew that with an injury as serious as this Hector really needed to get to a hospital, but how could she call an ambulance here? She didn’t have a phone – and it wasn’t like she could tell them to come to the balcony garden of a building she didn’t even know the name of.

  But I can’t give up – I can’t. I’ve got to do something…

  Myrtle screamed in frustration, her throat feeling raw.

  There’s nothing. There’s nothing I can do.

  Getting shakily to her feet, Myrtle was about to run to the edge of the balcony on the wild chance she might be able to wave her arms around and attract someone’s attention, when Ruby fluttered down to the ground beside her.

  “Meee-ehhh?”

  Ruby looked up at her, eyes wide, almost as if she didn’t understand what was happening.

  “I’m sorry, Ruby, I’m so sorry,” Myrtle sobbed. She wanted to gather Ruby up in her arms and cry, but she wasn’t ready to completely give up just yet.

  Hector had always been so strong – it seemed impossible that he could be lying here now, totally unmoving.

  I don’t believe it. I refuse to believe it.

  As Myrtle watched, Ruby lowered her head, nuzzling gently at Hector’s face, as if she was trying to wake him.

  The sight broke her heart.

  And she knew she couldn’t let things end this way.

  “Ruby, come on,” Myrtle said, gritting her teeth. “I’ll – I’ll somehow –”

 
“Mee-eh? Mee-eeeh?”

  This time, Ruby sounded like she was asking a frantic question, her eyes widening. She lifted one front hoof, her head turning to first look up at Myrtle, and then down at Hector.

  Myrtle shook her head, panic wild within her.

  How can I explain it to her? she thought. How can I –

  Before she could finish the thought, Ruby lowered her head once more, this time pushing against Hector’s face with more urgency. She let out another frightened, high-pitched whinny, and then –

  Myrtle gasped. For a moment, she was certain her eyes were playing tricks on her. It looked as though the light around Ruby was shimmering, a silvery halo emanating from her and radiating in all directions.

  I have to, I have to try…

  The voice was in her head, but Myrtle knew it wasn’t her own. She caught her breath as a sudden bright flash of light made her raise her hand to cover her eyes.

  Had that light come from Ruby? Myrtle lowered her hand, confusion clouding her head, while, at the same time, a strange, soothing warmth bloomed in her chest, gently filling her from the inside out.

  What the hell is going on?!

  Myrtle shook her head, trying to clear it. Her thoughts felt jumbled, as if the flash of light had disordered them, and she almost couldn’t remember why she was here or what she was supposed to be doing.

  When she looked down, Ruby was staring up at her, eyes wide – before she staggered, her tiny legs collapsing beneath her.

  “Ruby!”

  Fresh panic swept through Myrtle’s heart.

  No, I can’t lose both of them – oh my God –

  She caught Ruby in her arms before she could fall. Ruby snuggled against her, curling her legs up, nuzzling her chest.

  “Mee-ehhh.”

  The sound was soft and small, but at once, Myrtle felt comforted by it – as if Ruby was letting her know that she was all right.

  But what was that – what did she do?!

  She stared down at Ruby. As Ruby looked back at her, the wind lifted the strands of her mane, and Myrtle caught her breath as she saw something shining on her forehead – something that definitely hadn’t been there before…

  But then, all other thoughts left her mind, as Hector let out a low, deep groan, opened his eyes, and sat up.

  “Hector!” Myrtle didn’t even think as she cried out his name, before she threw herself forward, unwinding one arm from around Ruby to reach out and touch his face.

  It was cold and clammy, but it was real. It was solid.

  He was alive.

  Somehow.

  Blood still soaked his shirt, but when Myrtle let her hand drift down over his chest she found the terrible wound that Cecelia had inflicted was gone. Hector himself seemed to be looking down at his own chest in surprise, before turning his hands over to look at his palms.

  They’d been bloodied too, Myrtle remembered, from the cable he’d used to choke Cecelia. But now, dried blood aside, there wasn’t a mark on them. They were completely healed.

  Myrtle felt light-headed.

  She almost didn’t dare speak, in case it shattered the dream she worried she had wandered into.

  “Myrtle –” Hector began to say – but that was as far as he got, before she leaned forward and kissed him.

  Chapter 14

  “Hector,” Myrtle breathed, when she could finally bring herself to pull back. “Are you all right?”

  The words caught in her throat, as if she could barely bring herself to say them.

  Hector grimaced a little, before raising a hand to rub his eyes. “I think so,” he said, and then shook his head. “A few lumps and bumps maybe, but as far as a weekend up the Goldie goes, I suppose it beats being glassed on the Glitter Strip by some roided up wanker with a Bintang singlet and a schnozz full of goey.”

  Myrtle shook her head, blinking the fresh tears that had sprung up out of her eyes. “I have no idea what you just said, but I’m going to assume it means you’re okay.” She bit her lip, her words fighting past the sob that rose in her throat. “But I thought you were dying. I thought –”

  “I thought I was, too,” Hector said, his voice quiet. “I don’t – I don’t think I can explain it. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t make my body obey me. I could feel my heartbeat getting slower and slower, and then –”

  “Meee-eeeh!”

  Myrtle heard Ruby’s whinny a moment before she felt her hooves against her shoulder as she perched there. She really was getting a little too big for it already though, and she couldn’t keep her balance for long before, with a flutter of her pure white wings, she took off again to land on Hector’s much broader shoulder.

  Myrtle blinked.

  Ruby? Did she –

  Her mind flashed back suddenly to the memory of the warmth in her chest, the strange glow she had seen. It had looked as though the air around Ruby’s bowed head had been shimmering with light and energy.

  No. No. Really?

  Myrtle stared at Ruby in wonder. “Did you… do that? Did you really heal Hector?”

  Hector looked at her, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

  “It was Ruby,” Myrtle said. “I – I don’t know how, but she – she healed you. One moment I thought you were dead, and the next –”

  She cut herself off, not quite able to bring herself to say it. Hector swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

  “No, I know,” he said. “And I think you’re right. Without Ruby, I would have –”

  Myrtle shook her head, not wanting him to say the words. She felt tears springing into her eyes as she stroked her fingers through Hector’s hair. “Do you really feel all right?”

  Hector paused, as if assessing himself. “Yeah. In fact, better than I’ve felt in years.” He rolled his neck. “The twinge in my shoulder – that’s gone. I think she fixed up a few other things she found while she was there.”

  Myrtle laughed. She couldn’t help it. All of this seemed like a dream. To have thought she was about to watch Hector die, only to have him in front of her now, making jokes, checking his joints and making small, appreciative noises as if he was surprised when they worked – it seemed impossible.

  Before she could stop herself, she leaped forward, capturing his lips in a kiss. She had to reassure herself that this was real.

  And if it’s not, I’m not sure it’s a dream I want to wake up from.

  But Hector’s lips were sure when they opened against hers, his hands on the back of her head solid, holding her close. Myrtle closed her eyes, sinking into the kiss, allowing herself to lose herself in the moment. Hector’s fingers curled through her hair, and he inhaled as if he couldn’t get enough of her, and needed to breathe her essence into his lungs.

  Myrtle felt breathless when they finally broke apart, but her eyes were at last dry. She knew she wasn’t dreaming. Hector really was here, warm and solid and alive.

  “Meee-eeh?”

  Myrtle looked down at the sound of the soft whinny by her side. Ruby stood there, one tiny hoof raised, eyes wide.

  “Did you do that?” Hector asked her, reaching out to run a hand gently over her neck, fingers ruffling her mane. “I didn’t know pegasi could heal wounds.”

  “But Hector, I don’t know if she is a pegasus after all,” Myrtle said slowly. “Look.”

  She brushed back the silvery strands of Ruby’s mane where they fell over her face, revealing the tiny golden horn that now sat in the center of her forehead.

  Hector sucked in a quick breath, his eyes going wide.

  “Was that there before?”

  “No!” Myrtle said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t you think we would have noticed that?”

  “All right, I suppose so,” Hector said good-naturedly. “So… it’s new, then. As in, new in the last few minutes.”

  Myrtle nodded. “Maybe it grew there when she healed you. Perhaps… perhaps calling on her power to heal made it come up. I don’t know. It’s the only thing I can think of, though.”<
br />
  “It’d be a pretty big coincidence otherwise, I suppose,” Hector agreed.

  “I’ve never heard of a pegasus with a horn,” Myrtle said. “Though I guess I’m not really an expert. It’s not impossible, though, is it?”

  “Obviously not.” Hector gave Ruby’s head an affectionate pat, and she pranced a little, her limpid eyes pools of joy as she looked at him. “How do you keep getting more and more powers?” he asked her, frowning a little. “What’s next? Finding a carparking space at Sydney Olympic Park?”

  “Be serious,” Myrtle said. “If Ruby’s not really a pegasus, then what is she?” A second thought occurred to her, and she looked over at where Cecelia lay, unconscious. “And what is she?”

  “A titanoboa,” Hector said, voice grim. “They’re extinct now, except in their shifter forms.”

  “I suppose that’s something to be grateful for.” Myrtle shuddered as she looked at Cecelia’s long, thick body, glistening in the sun. She usually liked snakes – or at least, they didn’t bother her – but the memory of Cecelia’s fetid breath on her face gave her the creeps. Not to mention how close she’d come to killing Hector.

  “Will she recover? I threw that poison she gave you into her mouth – I wasn’t sure it’d do anything, but –”

  Hector glanced at her, an impressed, appreciative look on his face. “I figured from the green goo all over the place, but gee whiz, Myrtle. That’s some throwing arm you have.”

  Myrtle felt herself flush with pleasure. No one ever complimented her on her athletic prowess.

  “But yeah, I guess she’ll recover. Eventually. That poison seems to slow down shifter healing and takes away the ability to shift. Once it wears off she’ll be able to heal and shift back into her human form, but it won’t be for a while yet.”

  “And your griffin,” Myrtle said. “Is it –”

  “I can feel it in there,” Hector said, raising his hand to his chest. “It’s not ready to come out yet. But it’s there.” Hector took a shaky breath, and got slowly to his feet. “But I can’t worry about that now. I need to get this cleared up. I need to –”