A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(62)

Layla stepped back, breathing hard. She looked up at the fifth and final blood elf. “Come on then.”

She manipulated the metal fist, melting it down to liquid before forcing it to cover her fists and arms as armor. She flexed her fingers; it felt like she was wearing comfortable gloves. Layla could feel the metal, feel the impurities and the tiny flaws in her newly acquired armor. She couldn’t do anything about them, but she knew they were there. She’d figure out how to deal with that later.

The elf was soon joined by half a dozen more. They laughed, but their laughter was cut abruptly short when a howl echoed through the woods. A second later, another howl sounded, closer this time. The elves appeared to be as nervous as Layla felt.

A third howl, and the elves took a collective step back. Something had them scared. “What scares monsters?” Layla asked, although she wasn’t expecting the answer to be so immediate.

A blast of ice tore into one of the elves, throwing it back against the hill, pinning it in place. It struggled to free itself as its comrades looked on in fear. It managed to get an arm free just as something jumped out of the tree, landing beside the elf, driving a sword into its skull.

“That’s a fox,” Harry said. “A fox just killed an elf. Not a sentence I thought I’d ever say.”

The fox stood on its back legs. It was three and a half feet tall, and was a humanoid version of a fox. It wore black leather armor and carried a two-foot broadsword, both of which must have been specially made for it.

“Hello, you bastards,” the fox said to the remaining elves. It had a vaguely posh English accent.

Harry and Layla shared a look.

“You should probably run now,” the fox continued.

The elves grinned and stepped toward the fox, but their confidence was short-lived as something much bigger sprinted out of the trees, its movements almost a blur as it barreled into the group of elves, grabbing hold of one by the front of its skull and driving it head first into the nearest tree.

The creature paused, allowing Layla to get a proper view of the werewolf who stood there. There was no way it could have been anything else—it looked exactly how Layla imagined a werewolf to look. Six feet tall and covered in dark gray fur, its maw opened, showing the razor-sharp teeth inside. It sprung forward, grabbing hold of a second elf in its mouth, and tore its arm off with a free hand. The werewolf tossed the limb aside as a black substance pulsed from the stump.

The fight was bloody and quick, with the fox and werewolf killing all five of the elves in only a few seconds. They fought as if they’d been a unit for a long time, each of them covering the other’s back while they worked their way through the group.

When it was over, the remains of the elves lay littered across the leaf-strewn ground. The fox turned to Harry and Layla, its fur matted with elven blood. “My name is Remy Roux. Come with me if you want to live.”

The werewolf glanced down at Remy and laughed, the noise almost more alarming than the howls it had made earlier.

“Remy,” it chastised, the voice not as deep as Layla had been expecting.

“Always wanted to say that,” Remy said with something approaching a smile, although he showed far too many sharp teeth for Layla to find comfortable.

“My name is Kasey, but you can call me Kase,” the werewolf said. She took a step forward and held out one massive, blood-drenched paw. She paused. “Shit, sorry.”

“Tommy’s daughter,” Layla said. “He told me about you.”

A second later Kasey was no longer a werewolf, and in her stead was an incredibly attractive woman, although her light brown skin was covered in blood.

“You’re really naked,” Harry pointed out.

“Umm . . .” Remy began. “You get used to it. Werewolves and their ilk don’t really have body issues. Naked is just a fact of life with them, it’s not like they can wear clothes while they’re in their beast or animal forms.”

Kasey glanced down at herself and shrugged.

“You’re a talking fox,” Layla pointed out.

Remy froze, glancing at his hands for the first time. “Holy shit, am I? Oh, not again. I’m a damn fox, Kase. Did you know that?”

“He knows,” Kasey said drolly. “He’s also a giant pain in the ass.” She sniffed the air, and turned as a naked Diana appeared at the top of the hill, with Chloe beside her. Kasey’s smile grew as she saw them. “I assume all of this is your fault.”

Diana shrugged.

Layla poked Harry in the side of the head. He was staring. “You’ve seen breasts before, Harry.”

“Yes, and yet this is the single most terrifying and wondrous thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

“We need to leave,” Remy said to the pair. “As long as you’re okay and don’t need a moment, or a cigarette or something.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t think I can walk, though. Stab wound.”

“Diana was a literal goddess,” Remy explained. “I get the staring. Doesn’t mean you should to do it, unless you like being punched in the face.”

Harry winced as Diana walked over to examine the wound, which caused his expression to alternate from painful to embarrassed, as Diana removed his jeans to take a look.

“The wound is not deep, Harry, and I see no serious bleeding. But walking on it could tear it. I shall carry you.”