Page 41 of A Curse So Vile

The Dusklands was a land where windows were boarded and no one left their homes after nightfall. Fear ran deep, and rightfully so. It wasn’t unheard of for people to rebel against what they didn’t understand, and if Fiona had accidentally shifted, they most certainly wouldn’t understand.

She grabbed Cole by the arm. “Grab Fiona. We’re leaving!”

Cole gazed at her, a hard look in his eye, but obeyed. They made their way through the room to the exit, Brenna’s hand on a dagger in her belt.

The horse and wagon awaited them on the street. Dorthea was already seated in the back. The crowd now extended outside the inn, pushing towards them.

Brenna kicked a guy in her path and elbowed another. If she let them get too close, they’d eventually overwhelm them, disallowing their progress.

“They ain’t human!” a voice cried

“Kill ‘em! Lest they come back for us!”

Dammit! This is the last thing we need.

“I’m scared,” Fiona sobbed. As Brenna turned to soothe the child, a stone connected with the base of her skull.

Brenna’s fingers extended, her teeth growing to thrice their natural size. She looked around at the gathered crowd with what she knew were blood-filled eyes.

They gasped, startled by her unnatural appearance.

“Kill them!” a voice cried.

Luckily, their fear caused the townsfolk to scramble away, allowing them to continue toward the wagon.

A foolish man struggled to draw his sword. Brenna sliced his forearm with a claw, thwarting his efforts.

Up ahead, Dorthea’s face was stricken, her mouth gaping. She couldn’t worry about the Gryndari, though. She had to get Fiona to the wagon so they could escape the crowd before they started rioting.

Stones were being cast by the crowd, each one of them slamming into their bodies. Cole’s face was bloody, his eyes angry. Fiona was terrified, clinging to her brother as he carried her forward. When a stone hit Fiona square on the head, Brenna was done with her retreat.

Her joints burned as she began to shift.

She stormed the crowd, mauling the arms of several rock throwers. A dagger plunged at her hip, barely nicking her flesh. She grabbed the assailant’s hand, crushing it in her grip.

The scent of fear and anger caused her blood rush to surge. The beast inside of her lived for these moments, but it was never a good thing to transform in the middle of a crowd.

Cole was in the driver’s seat of the wagon, bidding the horses forward, but the townsfolk were trapping it. She tore a path to the wagon, throwing people out of her way until she reached the horses.

Men and women fled from her beastly form, giving the wagon room to pull forward, but she had created a new problem, as the horses reared with terror when they caught her beastly scent.

She moved to the back of the wagon, hoping to drive the horses forward.

A giant rock smacked against the side of the wagon, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the wheel busted.

The town folk were utter idiots, completely oblivious to what they were dealing with. Brenna picked up a rock that had been thrown at her, spied a stout man who was preparing to hurl another and launched it at him, connecting with his gut. She grabbed another and threw it at a square-faced man preparing to strike. She continued to lob the rocks until the men grew fearful, scattering into the shops lining the street.

Brenna took off towards the wagon, which had made it a short distance away, and climbed into the back.

Slowly, her claws receded, giving way to human fingers. Her teeth followed, and soon, her clothes were loose around her.

She tightened the ties, so the trousers didn’t slip off her human form.

On the other side of the wagon, Dorthea held Fiona as the child sobbed. Brenna wanted to comfort the girl but was met with an icy-cold glare from the Gryndari.

There would be time enough for that later, but for now, it would be best if she recovered, because if Fiona was already causing chaos this early after being turned, their trip was about to get a lot more difficult.

13