Page 24 of Ensnared

Stragglers? There are humans out here who haven’t been caught yet? But that also means they’ve caught others, and those humans are doing their bidding. “You must be earth blessed,” I say, “since you can shift into human form.”

“You do know some things.” The woman frowns. “Who have you talked to?”

“I’m bound to Axel,” I say. “The Prince of the Earth Blessed.”

She scowls. “We can’t ensnare humans.”

I cringe a little. Will the others finding out get him in trouble? Is that why he’s been hiding me? If so, my little venture outside might have been far, far worse than Gordon made it sound. “Maybe I’m mistaken,” I say. “Maybe he’s not earth blessed, but I have a dragon, and he told me to wait here. I’m going to just duck inside until he comes.” I point across the street at the Costco. I can’t have them searching the furniture store, after all.

The doors to Star Furniture open with a whoosh. “Liz, you’re back!” Jade’s beaming right up until she looks past me at three very shocked faces.

“Get back inside,” I shout. “Now.” I lunge for the sword and the fireplace poker as if they might actually help me.

“You lied,” the woman says. “You’re not alone, and you’re not bound to anyone.” She sprints toward me.

“We should shift back,” the short man says.

“We always wind up killing them when we do that, and then Axel gets mad. He said we need humans to run all the things that need doing.”

The woman has reached me now, not suffering from the same sort of indecision as the men. Her lip curls back in a snarl as she reaches for me.

I’ve used bamboo swords since I first started with martial arts. The familiar clacking. The strikes and parries and jabs. I do them without thinking.

She’s moving toward me, so I strike with the ornamental blade.

It severs her hand at the wrist.

This thing must be much sharper than I thought, which is lucky. I suppose with enough force behind it, even a blunt blade can slice. I stop worrying about the details and focus on that moment and my most urgent opponent. She’s snarling, and she brings her good hand up by her face. I’m completely shocked as I watch the fingers of her remaining hand shift. The fingernails morph into claws, and then her teeth lengthen, too.

If they can change their shape from dragon to human, I suppose it makes sense that they can also alter the specifics of it, but it looks even stranger than seeing a dragon to me now. When she swipes at me, I parry smoothly, thank you years of training, and I sweep upward with the fireplace poker, gouging the left side of her body pretty badly.

That’s why she stumbles.

And I take my window without pause, decapitating her.

Mostly.

I suppose a decorative blade isn’t really that great at slicing through everything, and the neck has bone, sinew, and connective tissue galore. Her head kind of lolls forward, still partially connected. It’s probably the goriest, most grotesque thing I’ve seen in my entire life.

That’s why the two men are able to approach me while I’m distracted. They’re so close they could reach out and grab me.

And then they do.

But I react quickly, at least, and I manage to dislodge the hand of the short one, freeing my left arm. Sadly it’s my fireplace poker arm, but I slam it upward and into the woman’s dangling head, and it finally detaches the rest of the way.

Her head, rolling away from us, distracts the short man enough that he drops down to one knee and calls out what I presume is her name. “Jakarta!”

The tall man sinks his claws into my arm, which hurts more than I expect. I drop my sword. His smile widens, and he yanks me backward. Unfortunately for him, close fighting is kind of my sweet spot. I stomp on his left foot and bring up my poker arm, smashing his nose with the handle.

He releases my arm, blessedly, though it still burns like fire, and reaches for my throat. I drop straight down onto my heels and pivot, kicking his uninjured leg. He, predictably, drops, and I drive the poker through his eye. It won’t kill him, if he’s anything like Gordon and Axel, but it distracts him long enough for me to retrieve my sword.

It takes me three attempts this time to decapitate him, and the side of the sword grinds on the pavement with each stroke, further dulling the already blunt blade. It’s no shock to me that the short man’s waiting for me when I finish.

And not in his human form, dang it all.

I’m sure he’s more than ready to kill me by now. I hope the kids are hiding, because I’m positive I can’t defeat this one. He’s bigger than either Gordon or Rufus, and his scales are a deep, emerald green. I only know it’s him because the eyes are the same strange shade of brown as before, glinting with hatred.

I wasn’t trying to hurt any of you, I say. For what it’s worth. I am ensnared.