Page 11 of Shifter King

Sighing, Naatos set his arms akimbo. "WroOth, why are you fist fighting that mantis?" Crespa, this was an unpleasant bit of chaos.

"He started it," WroOth said, swatting at it. He dodged another strike and then clipped it in the side of the head.

"If you took his tree, you started it."

"I did not take his tree. I checked first. Why do you assume I didn't check the tree? I always check the trees! Hey, you! That's enough. Hit me again, and I'll rip your head off. Three of them found me. Watch this."

Naatos scowled. WroOth was right. That mantis wasn't attacking like a typical mantis. It wasn't going for kill blows or even paralyzing blows. It was herding WroOth as best it could. Herding him to the northwest. Toward Darmoste. And it was indeed wearing a brown belt. It had a similar band on its neck. Its bright yellow eyes worked as its mandibles whirred.

"And something is on the forelegs. It's harder to shift and heal." He dodged another blow. When he sidestepped it though, it went out of its way to scramble back in front and start pushing him back toward the forest.

"Can you shift at all?" Naatos asked.

"It's how I dealt with the first two, but QueQoa and I obliterated them unfortunately. It'd be better to kill this one in a more careful fashion if we're going to figure out what it's doing. But you see what it's doing?"

Naatos nodded. "It's herding you. Doesn't even seem to notice the bavril though."

The bavril huffed, its long snout resting on the ground and its head on its paws. It didn't seem concerned about the mantis either.

WroOth lunged in and clocked the mantis in the side of its triangular head. "And it has no smell. Not until it's dead and its insides are spilled out. Assuming it's like the others."

It swatted at him again with its forelegs.

AaQar climbed up out of the bunker. "Well…this is disconcerting." He crossed over to Naatos. "WroOth, do you need help? Or is there another reason you're boxing that thing?"

"Someone just needs to kill it as cleanly as possible so we can examine it," WroOth responded. "And it just wants to keep fighting."

Naatos dropped to the ground, becoming the red-eyed veldrok wolf. A bitter acidic taste filled the back of his mouth. His long black claws scraped the earth. Slipping to the edge of the forest, he charged forward.

His skin prickled and stung as if dozens of bees had attacked. The closer he got, the more it hummed and burned. What could possibly cause that? He leaped into the air, claws outstretched and silent.

The mantis spun around, lifting its forelegs. As it did, WroOth pounced. He snapped its head off its thin neck and flung it. For a few seconds more, its jaws worked and its eyes spun about. Then it stilled.

Naatos returned to his state of rest, the added stinging sensation continuing to prickle through his body. It wasn't enough to keep him from shifting, but it made it more challenging to maintain focus. For a younger or less powerful shifter, it could be devastating.

AaQar crouched beside the mantis. He used a stick to turn the band around its neck about, then halted. "This looks like we may have a larger problem on our hands than we originally thought."

Naatos raised an eyebrow as he read the tag. "Camp 811. Tracker 372."

THE STRANGE MANTISES

QueQoa went to tell AaQar what had happened and returned with him a few seconds later. AaQar left for the surface to see what was going on. Amelia followed to the base of the ladder and peered up. "What's going on out there?"

"Strange mantises. Nothing serious. WroOth is fine. They sought us out. It was as if they were trying to herd us."

"And they had belts?"

QueQoa nodded as he moved back toward the doorway. "Large bands on their thoraxes and collars at the neck."

"That is odd." From here at the base of the ladder, all she could see was a bit of the sky through the branches.

"Everything is these days. You aren't going to insist on going up there right now, are you?"

She managed a small laugh as she walked back to the main gathering space. "Not yet. I'm sure that Naatos and AaQar can handle it. I need to make a broom if I'm going to sweep all this out. So maybe I'll need to pop up for that."

"I can help with that." Reaching down, he selected one of the twisted pine branches that had fallen onto the floor. He turned it in his hand and then channeled energy into it. The branch straightened as pale fibers formed along its base, stretching out to become a decent broom.

Amazing. She shook her head in awe as he passed it to her. The handle was a little warped, and the fibers leaned more to the right. But it was more than sturdy enough. Better than anything she could make with the tools available. "That's incredible. I still can't get over how you can do that. Thank you."