Page 42 of Coerced

This time, I took a breathbeforeI stuck my head in the hole. Skeletons of little animals, eggshell fragments, and bits of fur were scattered throughout the den. I could see a few places where fights had broken out, most likely over food, and there were white claw marks on the walls. As my air started to run out, I saw a leather cord with teeth and talons and grabbed it before pulling out.

“Gremlin den.” I held up the necklace for the others to see. “They wear these to show who’s the best.”

“The best at what?” Gemma wanted to know.

“Surviving. The more on your necklace, the higher your standing in the tribe.”

I knelt down, rooted around in my backpack, found an empty plastic bag to put it in, tied the top closed, and shoved it in the front pouch of my pack. The others waited in a loose circle around me, and Tara gave me a strange look.

“Why are you taking it?” she wanted to know.

“In case the wardens can tie it to an attack. Who knows? Maybe even the one at the Sanctuary on Halloween.”

“That would be too much of a fluke.” Gigi shook her head. “I don’t believe in flukes.”

I brushed a stray tangle of hair away from Gemma’s ear and asked her what a fluke was.

“A coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidence, either.” I shrugged. “But fate is a b— Um. Fate has a sick sense of humor.”

10. Field of Combat

Gemma

We left the gremlin den and pressed onward. Clem caught up and, after another mile or so, we came to the edge of a ravine. Looking down, all I could see was a writhing mass of dark bodies with blooms of flame punctuating the air here and there.

“All right, everyone.” Kerry’s eyes lit up with excitement - or anticipation. “This is what we came for.”

He manifested a baseball bat and handed it to John.

“I’ll be the tip of the triangle. Clem and John, stay on my right. Jax and Tara, on my left. Gigi, start right in the middle of us all and ’port around to distract them however you want. If things fall apart, close up ranks until we’re back to back. Gemma, you stay here.”

He aimed a hard look at me, but I only shrugged. I knew I wouldn’t be much use in a battle. The others formed up as ordered and followed him down the snowy slope while I stayed on the top of the ridge and watched.

They were halfway down the ravine before a few Hellhounds picked up on their scent and bayed, catching the attention of their brethren. They poured up from the bottom, their black bodies outlined with red fire and their gaping jaws full of orange flame.

Kerry ran straight at the Hellhound leading the pack, both moving fast as the wind, and I held back a scream.

What is he doing?! Is he going to tackle it? They’re going to collide!

The Hellhound leapt, jaws on fire, and Kerry dropped into a perfect baseball slide. As his forward momentum sent his body skidding across the frozen ground, he materialized a gleaming dagger that he thrust upward, slashing through the underbelly of the creature sailing over him. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, shuddered once, and disintegrated.

The entire action took less than two seconds. Kerry was on his feet before the Hellhound completely faded, grinning he whirled to take on another.

“He’s … ” My jaw dropped. “He’s havingfun.”

And it struck me how athletic he was. If we were normal humans at a normal high school, he’d have been the popular jock stereotype, complete with playing quarterback for the football team.

No, not football. His build is lean like a runner’s. With his height, he’d be the star of the basketball team.

Worming my brain out of the rabbit hole ofthatdaydream, I focused on the action and watched him take out four more Hellhounds. I didn’t need to worry about him at all. He was in his element, doing what he was born to do, so I checked on the others.

Clem moved slower than Kerry, but he sliced his way through the horde with calm precision. Tara created earth shield after earth shield that the leaping beasts slammed into so John could bash their heads in. Gigi flitted around like a strobe light to distract them, and Jax worked on controlling them two at a time.

What had seemed to be overwhelming odds to me proved to be only a challenge for them. Everyone was doing exactly as Kerry had directed, allowing him to do most of the work while supporting him, which, I supposed, was how an attack should work with such a strong warrior in the lead.

This will be over in a matter of minutes.

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