Page 4 of Beast

A faint noise caught my attention about a hundred yards away.It was something that didn’t belong to the usual hum of nightlife.The dense brush obscured the source, but the sound of ringing metal was clue enough.The dynamic duo had to be close.From the corner of my eye, I noticed King adjusting his leather straps.Before I could object, he shifted.

“You did that on purpose when I wasn’t looking,” I whispered.

King didn’t have full control of his Beast form directly after shifting.It was usually me who changed to warrior form if we needed quick action paired with coherent thought.He glanced at me but said nothing, his towering Beast form now ready for whatever lay ahead.I caught the angry rumble deep in his throat, the one he was trying and failing to suppress.Shadow Warriors had to burn off the Kedorine 5 in their bloodstream before they could do more than hunt down an enemy and kill it.We called it K-5 for short.It was the hormone that allowed us to morph into King’s current form, a nine-foot monster from another planet capable of giving even the most stable adults nightmares.

The K-5 caused irrational and dangerous behavior until the hormone spike subsided.Since the first few months after I became a Warrior, I seemed to be immune to the side effects.We’d worked out a system where I usually went in as Warrior while King stayed in human form.At least when we didn’t have time to burn off the surge of K-5.I mentally shrugged.I wouldn’t get a reasonable explanation for why he shifted until he was back in control.Right now, I had a five-hundred-pound killing machine on my hands, barely able to tell friend from foe.Maybe King was tired of me showing off how quickly I could dissipate the effects of K-5.It wouldn’t surprise me.I’d pushed his limits enough lately, and the poor man had to be nearing his breaking point.

A small scream cut through the air, snapping both of us into action.We charged into the dense brush and found the children battling a large hellhound.It was something King and I could handle without breaking a sweat, but for the kids, it was a fight far beyond their budding human strength.We now had an antidote for Shadow Warriors if we were bitten or scratched.So far, we’d struck out for humans.What were Ruth and Che thinking?

“Go for his neck!”Ruth grunted at Che as she grappled to turn it away from him.Her long red braid whipped left and right as her thin frame twisted and dodged.Her face was set with fiery determination, her eyes blazing with an insanity that didn’t belong to a twelve-year-old.She was about five inches taller than Che, which wasn’t saying much.It was the fire in her gaze that made her seem larger than life.

Che spun, his thin legs looking awkward and uncoordinated.I was stunned when his strike slashed the hellhound’s side, and even more so when the oversized knife in his small hands drove into the hound’s neck, sinking into its throat.If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.He also had some kind of protectors on his arms that I refused to give either of them credit for.The hound was not even close to dead, but Ruth helped it along with her own show of dexterity as she lifted her sword two-handed and cut into the neck about a third of the way.

She turned, searching the area but didn’t see us.King leapt over her and made short work of the monster.An angry Ruth turned her fiery attention to King, glaring at my not-quite-stable mate.“I had it!You didn’t need to take all the fun out of the fight,” she snapped.She stalked toward him, dragging her enormous sword behind her.The blade scraped against the ground because it was far too heavy for her to handle for more than one or two lifts and strikes.

King’s low growl vibrated through the air, and my stomach tightened.That sound wasn’t a good sign.I moved quickly, intercepting the foolish girl before King decided to tear her in half and make her his next meal.

I snatched the sword from her grasp and shoved her behind me.With my hands raised, I caught King’s burning gaze and held it, drawing his attention to my eyes.His blazing stare locked onto mine, and he shook his massive head as if trying to clear it.

“There, there, big guy,” I said softly.“Children are not on your menu for supper, no matter how good they might taste.”His eyes rolled within his Goliath head, a sight that would have been comical under different circumstances.The movement told me he was regaining control of his beast, faster than usual.Something I would need to question him about when he was calm.

I turned back to the kids, both of whom wore stubborn expressions that made my blood boil.“I’ve had it with your inability to follow orders,” I snapped, my voice rising.“War is not your personal playtime, and you’re making it impossible for us to protect the people on this island!”By the time I finished, I was shouting.

Ruth, with not an ounce of intelligence to spare in her stubborn head, wasn’t backing down.“Give me my sword, and we’ll see who talks big then!”she barked, her juvenile voice grating on my last nerve.

The sword in my hand sailed through the air, and Ruth grabbed it just before it hit her.Predictably, she couldn’t hold its weight for long, because her arms were tired from her round with the hellhound.The tip plunged into the ground, and she struggled to pull it free, her efforts laughable.

“You want a go at me?Now’s your chance,” I shouted at the stubborn little idiot.

“Babe,” King grumbled from behind me.

I didn’t take my eyes off the threat in front of me.“Don’t ‘babe’ me.It’s time to teach this pint-sized turd a lesson.”

“Girl,” he corrected, his voice lower this time.

“I know she’s a girl.I also know I could take her with one hand tied to my big toe.The problem is,” I growled, glaring at Ruth, “she doesn’t know it.”Without warning, I launched myself in her direction.She barely managed to lift the sword before I swatted it away.“It’s too big for you, but you’re too stubborn to admit it,” I snapped.

My palm connected with her face.Not hard, just enough to piss her off.Ruth’s shriek of rage filled the air as she lunged at me.I sent her flying, and her body hit the ground with a thump.I shouldn’t have felt satisfaction, but I did.If anyone deserved it, it was Ruth.

“You’re bigger and stronger; you don’t need to prove it,” King muttered.

Still watching Ruth as she slowly picked herself up, I stayed ready.When she launched herself at me again, I bent low and grabbed her scrawny ankles, flipping her upside down and holding her aloft.Even in human form, my six-feet height gave me the advantage.She struggled wildly, her arms flailing, as she leaned up and tried to land a blow to my upper body.Even with her wiggling, my hold was too tight and she wasn’t going anywhere or doing the least bit of damage.

I looked down at her.Long red hair, like a fire waiting to be extinguished, hung in the dirt.Her dirty face flushed a deeper red, making her freckles stand out even more.“Maybe your punishment should be hanging by your ankles in the courtyard so everyone can see just how stupid and irresponsible you are,” I said.The idea had merit.

“I’ll spit on every one of them!”Ruth shouted, twisting again.It didn’t help her in the least.

“And I’ll wash your mouth out with vinegar if you do,” I snapped back, giving her legs a sharp shake that made her hair sway like a pendulum.

“My mother won’t let you!”she sneered, her red face now edging toward purple.

“Your mother would pay me to take you in hand,” I retorted, lifting my arms and slamming them downward just enough for her head to stop an inch from the ground.I glanced up to find Che staring at us, his eyes as wide as saucers.“Don’t think you’re off the hook either,” I said, locking eyes with him.“You’re under my care while your mother’s away, and you just took at least a year off my life.”

“Don’t listen to her; she’s the enemy!”Ruth screamed, still unwilling to concede defeat.

The idea of slamming her against a tree crossed my mind briefly.Too easy, I thought.Not that I’d actually do it, but this child had a way of inspiring vivid, gory fantasies in my head.Most of them ended with her losing her ability to speak, which would be a massive step in the right direction.

“Che,” I said firmly.“Return to the citadel with King.Ruth and I need some quality time together.”

---