Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(70)

Rory pulled her back further as Fenrir joined the fight, fangs bared and eyes seething with hellfire. “I have to help them. Can you hang on?”

She clutched at him, both of them ducking as the serpent’s tail lashed over their heads. “Hang onto what?”

To her astonishment, he grinned at her. He seized her in a brief, crushing kiss.

“Me,” he said, and shifted.

Now she understood. She scrambled onto his back. She barely had time to grab onto his feathers before he was airborne. The world spun dizzyingly around her head as he dove at the serpent.

His outstretched claws raked through the monster’s scales. Its hisses turned into a shriek of pain. Edith clung tight with her knees as Rory barrel-rolled away, avoiding its counterattack.

Massive fangs clashed shut inches from her head, but she wasn’t afraid. She was with her mate.

As long as they were together, nothing could stop them.

The serpent jerked and flinched. Whenever it turned to face one of the shifters, another would dart in, taking advantage of its distraction. But they were all so small, compared to the horned monstrosity. Even Rory’s fierce talons were just inflicting flesh wounds. How could they hope to kill it?

Then Joe arrived.

Shining blue-black scales crashed against the monster’s duller coils. The horned serpent screeched as the sea dragon wrapped around it.

Joe’s webbed, taloned feet grappled with his foe, pinning it down under his greater weight. His massive jaws closed over the back of the serpent’s neck with a very final-sounding crunch.

With a last thrashing spasm, the monster went still.

The sea dragon released the creature, backing away. Joe shimmered, shrinking back into human form. He suddenly seemed very small.

“Bleugh.” Joe spat out black ichor, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth. “Definitely could have used some chili.”





Chapter 36





Edith slid off his back, though she kept one hand on his furred shoulder. “Is it dead?”

*I think so,* he sent back telepathically, since he couldn’t speak out loud in griffin form. But it could be a trick. Stay back for a moment.

He cautiously approached the fallen serpent, careful to keep his own body between it and his mate. He stared into the glassy crimson eyes, watching for any sign of life.

While he was still crouching in readiness, Fenrir trotted past him. Before Rory could call him back, the hellhound sniffed the forked tongue lolling out of the serpent’s slack mouth.

Then he cocked a leg, and peed on it.

Edith choked. “Fenrir!”

The hellhound sat back on his haunches. Is dead.

“Good,” Callum said. He was staring straight up. “Now what do we do about that?”

Rory followed his gaze. In the excitement of the fight with the…whatever it had been, he’d almost forgotten about the other creature.

Dark storm clouds churned above their heads, completely hiding the sun. The only light was the dull, hellish glow from the approaching wildfire. Burning embers swirled through the smoky darkness, carried by the rising wind.

“It’s all right,” Rory said, feeling the tension from the rest of the squad. “When the horned serpent was possessing me, I could sense something of its thoughts too. It went after me because it wanted to use our combined strength to kill that thing.”

“But weren’t they were working together?” Blaise asked.

“No.” He smiled at his mate. “You were right, Edith. When you came across the hare, the serpent was using its body to try to escape from the blaze. That,” he pointed up at the gathering storm, “was hunting it. The serpent called it the guardian. The last guardian, in fact. That’s why it turned up in Antler. It was going after the serpent again.”

“The bear,” Edith said, her eyes widening. “The serpent was in the bear.”

“Right. That’s what it does. It jumps from body to body. I think it ate minds, somehow. Every time it jumped into a stronger body, it got stronger too.”

“Well, after Fenrir’s demonstration, I think we can be pretty sure it’s not jumping anywhere else.” Joe was still in a tense crouch, clearly ready to shift at the slightest threat. “So what’s our sparky friend doing here now?”

“Come to see that its enemy is really dead, I guess.” Rory tipped his head back, deliberately keeping his body language loose and unthreatening as he searched the dense clouds. “Everyone just stay calm. It’s not here to hurt us. It’s on our side.”

Lightning stabbed down.

“Has anyone told it that?” Blaise yelled as thunder shook the ground.

He’d shifted on reflex, covering both Edith and himself with his wings. The lightning hadn’t struck that close, but white-hot afterimages of the jagged bolt still danced across his eyes. A towering pine some fifty feet away had become a smoking stump. Burning debris pattered down, setting light to the undergrowth.

Pinpoints of pain lanced through his feathers. He shook the smoldering splinters free, wincing. To his relief, Joe had shifted too. His armored coils protected the rest of the squad.

Stop! he roared at the unseen creature, with the full force of the alpha voice.

Electricity arced ominously through the black, boiling clouds. He hadn’t really expected it to work—his power relied on natural dominance, and his opponent was even more powerful than himself.