Page 35 of Jinn

Those glowing yellow eyes filled him with terror. He lifted the branch, knowing he’d only get one shot, but right before he could swing, Finn leaped in front of the animal, growling fiercely. The two jumped at the same time, Finn viciously ripping into the hound’s throat. The other monster dog came running, and Ajax swung at it, swiping one leg clear off the ground. It lurched to the side but recovered quickly.

Finn left the dog now crumpled on the ground and before Ajax’s eyes, shifted into a tiger mid-jump. He landed on the hound, sinking even longer fangs into its shoulder. They rolled, dirt and clumps of grass flying everywhere. The other black dogwasn’t moving, but Finn was too scared of it to get closer to see if it was dead.

He felt so fucking helpless despite having gotten in two really good swings.

He glanced at Dax to see that he’d felled the third dog and was on his way back to Finn. But just then, the fallen one leaped to its feet and charged Ajax. Saliva dripped from razor-sharp fangs, its ears back as it ran. Ajax’s hands shook on the branch, and he readied to swing just as it jumped into the air.

The tiger leaped in front of it, and the dog’s fangs sank into Finn’s side. It growled, ripping into Finn over and over. Ajax realized he was screaming as he watched helplessly. Dax charged forward, grabbed the dog by the back leg and swung it around, cracking its skull on a tree trunk. He dropped it and knelt next to the now-still tiger.

Ajax ran to him and knelt. Blood and dirt stained his beautiful striped coat. He lay there, panting heavily, and then slowly faded into a thin vapor before solidifying until Finn the man lay there. He was only in jeans, and now that he had golden skin instead of red fur, the blood was even starker. It was all over him.

“Finn? Oh my god, Finn!” Ajax frantically looked at Dax, who had pulled out his phone, but he didn’t hear what he said, the blood rushing too loudly in his ears. Utter panic disoriented him as his gaze went back to Finn.

“Ajax,” Dax said, placing one huge hand on his shoulder. “Help is coming.”

“There’s too much blood. This is bad.”

Finn lay there, eyes closed, part of his chest and stomach ripped open. Utter fear roared through Ajax and again, he felt helpless.

“He jumped in front of that…thing…to save me,” he murmured, voice ragged.

“That’s his job.” Dax awkwardly patted his shoulder. “He’ll be fine. I called Alaric, and he has healing magic.”

“What if it takes him too long to get here? Finn’s bleeding badly.” Ajax whipped his shirt off and pressed it over the worst wound. The shirt soaked through instantly. “Oh god.”

He pressed, barely paying attention when the ogre did the same to another wound with his own shirt. They stayed like that, trying to stop the life from flowing from Finn. Though the crowd outside the gate couldn’t see them, they had to have heard all the noise. They’d gone silent, and Ajax guessed they had probably called the police. Surely they had. He could only hope the healer arrived first. When he heard a car finally pull up to the gate, Ajax jumped up to let them in, but Dax stopped him. “I’ve got it. Stay with Finn.”

Ajax knelt back down and placed his one hand back on the shirt and the other on Finn’s uninjured shoulder. “Help is here,” he told him. “Hang on. Fuck, I love you so much. Don’t you dare die on me.”

Finn’s eyes opened and though they were glazed over, there was still affection there. “Love?” he whispered.

“Finn, thank god you’re awake. Yes, love. I’m so sorry you got hurt. Help is here.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

His eyes closed and his body went loose. Ajax, in a total panic, looked up at the men who’d arrived, only barely noticing that one had pointed ears. An elf, like his childhood friend. The elf knelt and placed his hands on Finn.

Ajax’s skin prickled as magic brushed over it. He couldn’t breathe as he waited, not even glancing at the others. All he could do was stare at Finn and will the magic to work.

Seemed like it took forever, each moment stretching out not an eternity. “Why is it taking so long?”

Dax touched his shoulder. “The wounds are bad, Ajax. Really bad.”

“He got them protecting me. This is my fault.”

“Those were hell hounds. Someone else is at fault, because they were sent here. Someone who knows of our existence. Who do you know that it could be?”

“No one.” Ajax ran his hands through his hair, tugging on it with complete agitation, not caring that he’d spread blood into it. “It has to be about my music. Maybe someone took offense at lyrics about monsters—I don’t know.” He looked back at Finn, still unconscious, and willed him to wake. “Please open those eyes, baby. I need you. Need you so much.”

The other man he hadn’t paid attention to knelt beside him.

“Hey, don’t worry. Alaric has powerful healing magic. Finn is going to be okay.”

Ajax looked at the man, who was obviously human. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ezra. I came with Alaric. We were having a date night when Dax called. Luckily, not that far away.”

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