Tooth and Claw (The Harry Russo Diaries Book 2) (20 page)

Nash took one look at the pixie cloud and grabbed my arm,
all but dragging me away. He cut a path through the low overhanging trees,
hoping to keep the pixies from getting too close, but we were peppered with
bites and scratches as the tiny creatures flew down to harass us.

“Damn that Navarre. He calls this a fair fight?” I
growled, sweeping my hand and pushing several of the dive bombing buggers away
from above our heads with a mental swat.

Nash was growling and batting them away. They seemed to be
most concerned with him. Another of the little bastards flew up to Nash’s
head, his hand at the ready with pixie dust. I batted him away with barely a
thought. I was getting much better at mind over matter.

“We have to get somewhere so I can cast a banishing spell.
We need water. Water would be perfect.” Nash grunted and then veered off to
the left. His back was a mess of tiny wounds, each one oozing blood. From the
feel of it, mine wasn’t much better.

We came to a halt in a small clearing. It was another
retention pond. Although I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea of
wading into the cold water, I pushed past Nash and splashed in.

“Come on. They won’t follow us over the water.” I had
already noticed a lack of pixie attacks the moment my feet touched the water.
Nash waded in after me. Not that he had much choice. The chain securing my
cuff to his collar would only allow us to get a couple feet apart.

The water was frigid and my teeth immediately began to
chatter. When I was about waist deep, I turned back to look at the shore. A
large cloud of pixies hovered at the edge, but they wouldn’t fly over the water.

“Maybe we could swim to the other side and avoid them?” Nash
looked back at the swarm.

“I doubt it. They’ll just follow us.” I shivered. “We
should probably duck under the water and make sure we wash off any dust. If it
gets in our eyes we’re screwed.”

Nash dunked under quickly without even a gasp at the cold temperature.
I took a deep breath to try and get up the courage then did the same. It was
incredibly cold. I burst up out of the water feeling like a popsicle. “Omigod,
that’s cold.” My teeth chattered and I rubbed my pixie pocked arms trying to
get the circulation going. Blood oozed from over a dozen spots on my arms.

Nash gathered me close, wrapping his arms around me. It was
like being wrapped in a warm, although wet, blanket. “Whatever you’re going to
do, do it fast. I don’t want to be trapped here when Navarre shows up.”

“Right. Okay.” No pressure. Thanks Nash. I frowned and
then bit my lip trying to remember my hedge magic class.

“Harry?” Nash shifted impatiently, his eyes never leaving
the shore.

“Alright, alright. Give me a second.” I took a deep
breath, calming my thoughts. Regretting the necessity, I took a couple steps
away from Nash’s warm embrace. I turned to face the pixie hoard and took a
deep centering breath before beginning to chant:

“Pesky pixies heed my call,

Mischief makers, one and all,

To Underhill you must go,

Heed me now or live in woe.”

I repeated the chant several times, which wasn’t easy. You try saying ‘pesky
pixies’ without tripping over your tongue. On my third repetition, I pushed
out with my magic. It washed across the swarm like a wave, the pixies disappearing
with a pop like soap bubbles popping in the sink.

“Well done, minx.” Nash’s voice was filled with pride and
made me feel all warm inside. Unfortunately, it didn’t help against the cold.
My teeth were still chattering as Nash led me out of the pond.

Nash’s pixie wounds had already begun to heal over. Mine on
the other hand still were oozing sores. Nash looked at them and frowned. “Are
you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine. They’ll stop bleeding in a minute.”

“Good.” Nash nodded. He looked around getting his
bearings. “Let’s go.” He trotted off again, setting a quick pace. My teeth
continued to chatter, but the effort of keeping up with Nash helped to warm me
up. We had been moving southeasterly for several minutes when Nash suddenly
halted, throwing a hand up to stop me. He turned and put a finger to his
lips. I bit mine to keep from wondering out loud what was going on.

Nash stood at the edge of the clearing and sniffed the air.
Suddenly he grabbed me as he lunged to the side, taking us both to the ground.
A crossbow bolt shot past above our heads. Navarre had found us.

“Quick,” Nash hissed at me. “Stay low and stay behind me,
but move as fast as you can.” He grabbed my hand and we both got to our feet,
remaining in a crouch. He turned and started edging around the clearing,
reluctant to break cover and cross into the open.

Crossbow bolts began to sail over our heads, seemingly from
every direction behind us. It was like Navarre was everywhere except in the
clearing. He was trying to herd us there for some reason.

Nash gasped, sucking in a breath. I looked over and called
out in dismay. “Nash!” A bolt stuck out of his left shoulder. I closed the
distance between us to see him grimacing in pain.

“Take it out,” Nash ordered through clenched teeth. His
eyes had already begun to glaze as the silver began to poison his system.

Without giving it another thought, I grabbed the bolt with
both hands and yanked it out with a sickening pop. Blood gushed from the wound
and I tried to staunch it with my hands.

“No, let it bleed for a minute. It will help get rid of the
silver.” Nash panted, hissing a breath in through his teeth.

I jumped as another bolt whizzed by, embedding in the ground
at our feet. A second one quickly followed, making us jump back as it landed
even closer.

“Into the clearing,” Nash said, clearly wishing we had
another choice.

I grabbed his good arm and put it over my shoulders and we
stepped into the clearing. The bolts stopped. Clearly Navarre had got what he
wanted. A few steps into the clearing, Nash straightened and stood on his own.
Thankfully, the blood from his wound had already slowed to a sluggish ooze.
Nash turned in a circle sniffing the air. When he stopped, he swept me behind
him with his arm, protecting me, as Navarre stepped into the clearing.

“You bastard!” I glared at him, peeking my head around
Nash. “Pixies aren’t playing fair.”

Navarre shrugged and gave a little wave with his hand. “The
pixies weren’t for the wolf, my lovely. They were for you. A challenge if you
will. One that you met most admirably, almost too easily even.” He looked at
me with narrowed eyes. “Who are you, I wonder?” He shook his head, as if the
thought was suddenly of no consequence.

“Get on with it Navarre, you have no cause to involve
Harry. Let her go and we’ll finish this.” Nash growled at Navarre.

“No!” I pushed past Nash to stand beside him. I gave him a
dirty look. What happened to fighting Navarre together?

“Well, I believe that is your answer right there.” Navarre
chuckled. “She most certainly does give me cause.” His eyes became cold, his
face impassive. “I will kill your mate in front of you before I gut you like
the animal you are.”

Nash growled, his fangs descending. He swept out his arm,
pushing me behind his body again.

“See?” Navarre gestured at Nash. “The animal rushes to the
surface. Perhaps it is time to meet him face to face.” He raised his hand as
if about to cast a spell.

“Wait!” I pushed past Nash again, earning a quiet growl of
warning from him. “What is your problem? Why do you have such a hate-on for
werewolves? What did they ever do to you? What did Nash ever do to you?”

Navarre’s face lit with surprise. “What did he do to me?
Everything! He took everything from me.”

Confused, I glanced at Nash. He shook his head in denial, a
look of resignation in his eyes. I turned back to Navarre who was practically quivering
with rage. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“My family, my entire family - my wife, my child, ripped
from me, ripped to pieces by a dirty animal.” A look of profound grief flashed
over his face only to be replaced once again with rage.

“Nash wouldn’t….he didn’t…” I shook my head, confused.

“No, not your precious Nash, but one of his kind, one of his
kin
.”

“Yes, an ancestor so far in my past that my family has no
history of it.” Nash’s eyes met mine. “He’s talking about something that
happened over six hundred years ago. One rogue werewolf.” He shook his head.

Talk about holding a grudge. “All this? You killed who
knows how many innocent people over the years and Nash’s dad for something that
happened six hundred years ago?” I looked at Navarre incredulously.

“A mere blink of an eye,” he said. “I feel their loss like
it was yesterday and only once I have spilled the blood of every mangy cur on
this plane will my vengeance be assuaged.” He made a fist and shook it in
front of his chest. Wow, the guy was completely off his rocker.

Navarre pointed at Nash. “We will meet on the battlefield
you and I, and you will be nothing more than the filthy animal you truly are.”
He held up his hand, his thumb and first two fingers pointing up, his ring
finger and pinky folded over. He flicked his wrist and Nash doubled over with
a grunt of pain. “But I don’t want to be too hasty. There is still plenty of
time to have some fun.” He turned to look at me, his hand still held aloft.
Nash groaned again, clutching his stomach. “And your little mate has yet to
reveal all her secrets. It must be time for another challenge.” He flicked his
wrist again and Nash stumbled forward. I grabbed his shoulders, holding him
up. “Let us see what your mate thinks of your true nature.” He closed his hand
in a fist pulling it down to his chest. Nash let out a roar of pain and fell
to the ground. Navarre stepped back into the treeline, leaving Nash and me
alone in the clearing. “You had better start running, my lovely. I hear the
red brigade is loose in the woods.” He winked out of existence, leaving me
standing there in shock.

Another groan from Nash caused me to turn back and kneel at
his side. “What’s happening?” I grabbed him by the arms. “Cian, what’s wrong
with you?”

“He’s forcing the change.” Nash gritted his teeth. “I
can’t…can’t stop it.”

“Then don’t. Don’t fight it. Your wolf would never hurt
me.” I reached out and pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Whatever you’re
going to do, do it fast. I need you on your feet, even if that means there are
four of them.”

“What did he mean about the red brigade?” Nash pushed
himself to his knees with a groan.

“Redcaps. There are redcaps coming for us.”

With a growl, Nash tore off his shirt, splitting it right
down the middle. He staggered to his feet and kicked off his boots. He was
panting and obviously trying to hold back the change with a lot of effort.
Next off were his pants. Despite the severity of the situation, I couldn’t
help the flush of pure lust that washed over me. Nash huffed out a breath and
growled. “Hold that thought for later, Harry.” I blushed from my head to my
toes and he managed a little snort of a laugh. “You might want to turn
around. This isn’t going to be pretty. Navarre is making sure of that.”

“I’m fine.”

“Turn around, Harry.” Without a thought, my body instantly
obeyed the command in his voice. Damn. Is that what it was like for Tess when
an alpha gave her an order? I stood with my back to Nash for a few moments, my
arms wrapped around my chest. Now that we had stopped moving, my damp clothes
were chilling me to the bone.

Nash groaned and growled, but I resisted the urge to turn
around. When I began to hear his joints pop, the sound reminded me so much of
what happened to Bellemare, I was glad I wasn’t watching. It went on for an
agonizing amount of time. So different from the last time I saw Nash change,
when it happened in an instant, in a shimmer of magic. That bastard Navarre,
if Nash didn’t kill him, I would. I finally had to crouch down and cover my
ears to drown out the sickening crunch of bones and sinew.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably more
like five minutes, a cold wet nose wedged itself between my side and my bare
arm. The head of a large, black wolf butted into me, knocking me to the ground.
The wolf was panting, clearly still getting over the transition. He plopped
down on his ass and looked at me. The gold collar was still around his neck.
Nash was right, it had morphed to fit the wolf, just like it had the man. I
reached a tentative hand out to the wolf. He leaned into it, butting it with
his head.

“Hey,” I said. The wolf hopped to his feet and danced
around me, licking my face. I laughed and ran my fingers through his coarse
fur. “Are you in there Nash? Do you understand me?”

Nash stepped back and sneezed at me, wrinkling up his nose.
He let out a yip and then turned to the south, clearly ready to leave.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take that as a yes.”

With another yip, the wolf broke into a trot and disappeared
into the trees, tugging me along after him. If there had been anyone around to see us,
I imagine we would have looked like a rather large dog taking a bedraggled girl for a run.
Although I don’t know anyone that uses a gold chain for a leash.

The redcaps came at us from all sides. They had been
herding us for the last several minutes towards another small lake. There was no
way we would ever out run them, they were too fast. We had managed to make it
to the shoreline, putting the lake at our backs. I could only hope that there
was nothing in the lake that we had to worry about.

Redcaps were vicious killers. Although only three or four
feet in height, their red eyes, pointed teeth and sharp talons were enough to
frighten anyone. Add the fact that they wore a wool cap that had been soaked
in the blood of their last kill so that it continually dripped blood down their
faces in gory red streaks and you had a rather horrifying sight. They wore
iron clad boots and several carried a heavy iron pike, but neither of these
slowed them down. They were known to be extremely fast and their talons could
be lethal.

The redcaps approached our position on the shore, a
murderous gleam in their red, glowing eyes. The wolf charged in front of me,
his hackles raised, snarling and snapping, as if daring them to step any
closer. I turned to face our attackers and drew my katana. The moment it
cleared the sheath, the redcaps charged.

The first wave hit the wolf and he quickly tore through
them, sending them flying backwards. The next redcap to draw close ended up
being shaken like a rag doll between the wolf’s jaws. I cut through several of
them as they tried to flank the wolf, my katana slicing through their small
bodies with ease. Blood sprayed everywhere and soon the water lapping at my
feet was red with it.

The restricted movement I had because of the chain tethering
me to the wolf added an extra element of difficulty and I found myself having
to rely on other means of protection. Instinctively, I had taken to batting
away their attempts to spear the wolf with their pikes with a wave of my hand,
the telekinesis coming to me with ease. At one point, several redcaps rushed
us and I held up my hand and with a flick of my wrist sent them flying
backwards across the clearing.

After that, they began to approach a bit more cautiously,
but still they continued to harass us, in waves of two or three at a time.
Never enough to totally overwhelm us, instead, they seemed intent on wearing us
down. Both the wolf and I had taken several mild hits, flesh wounds only, but enough
to draw blood and further weaken us.

As the night wore on, there seemed to be no end in sight. I
didn’t know how much longer we could keep them at bay. I could barely feel my
arm, my katana swinging almost of its own accord as instinct and training
kicked in. The wolf suddenly lunged, pulling the chain between us taut and
throwing me off balance. I stumbled, quickly regaining my feet but not before
a nasty, little redcap managed to lash out with his claws, gouging four deep
furrows across my abdomen. I hissed in pain, turning to slice him through with
a sweep of my blade. The wolf snarled, snapping his jaws and spun to face my
attackers.

“Nash! Look out!” I turned to see the redcaps advance on
the wolf’s unprotected flank. A pike sailed out crashing into his side before
I could even think to try and swat it away. The wolf yelped, his back end
collapsing. “Noooooo!” I spun back and holding my katana two-handed, sliced
the heads off my attackers, turning to face the redcaps advancing on Nash. I
threw out my hand, putting everything I had behind it and pushed. The redcaps
flew backwards through the air. One of them landed impaled on a jagged tree
stump. The others crumpled like broken dolls on the ground. I looked around,
but there were no more enemy attackers in sight. I rushed to the wolf’s side.
He was snarling and struggling to get up, but the weight of the heavy iron pike
was holding him down. “No, Nash.” Tears streamed down my face. I looked at
the pike sticking out of his left flank. It was embedded deeply in the flesh.
My hands hovered over it, unsure what I should do. I reached out to run my
hand through his fur, pushing him back down. He lay panting, his sides
heaving. “Stay still. I’ll have to pull this out.” He lifted his head and
looked at me as if to say he agreed and then flopped back down. Unlike the
crossbow bolt, the pike wasn’t barbed so it slid out easier than I expected.
Blood immediately began to flow and I quickly clamped my hands over the wound.
The wolf whined and I whispered a quiet “sorry”. I had nothing to staunch the
flow other than the clothes I was wearing. I pulled off my t-shirt, the cold
air biting my bare skin leaving me thankful for the coverage my sports bra offered
and wadded it up in the wolf’s wound. It wasn’t as bad as I initially feared.
Luckily it was in the meaty part of his flank rather than closer to his abdomen
where many of his vital organs could have been hit. The wolf turned and stared
at the wounds on my side with a growl. He lifted his head and licked across
them and I batted his head away. “Stop it. That hurts, you silly wolf.”

A sudden movement caught the corner of my eye and I turned,
grabbing my katana and holding it on guard. The wolf growled, but more because
of my actions rather than because he had sensed anything. I peered out across
the clearing. Flickering movements drew my eye. Unsure what I was seeing, I
watched closely, worried about what we would have to face next.

As I watched, several more flickers joined the first two.
They drew closer, becoming more distinct and I sighed in relief. It was a pack
of wolves. They ghosted out of the trees and moved across the clearing. At
first I thought that it was Nash’s pack, come to our aid, but as they drew
nearer, I recognized the front two wolves. It was Daniel and the big grey. My
impression of the wolf pack materializing out of the trees like ghosts was too
accurate. These
were
ghosts. I looked around the clearing in shock.
There were over twenty of them. Where had they all come from? Were they all
victims of Navarre? And speaking of Navarre, where was he?

I looked down at Nash. His breathing had become more
regular. He butted my hands away from his flank with his nose and I
reluctantly pulled my shirt away. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, the
wound already healing. Luckily wolves didn’t have a problem with iron like
they did silver. Despite the rather bloody wet splotch in the middle of my
shirt, I pulled it back on over my head. Even wet and bloody, it was better
than being bare-skinned in the cold night air.

I looked back at the wolf. “We should get moving. I don’t
know where Navarre is, but I imagine he’s on his way. Can you stand?” The
wolf huffed out a breath and then scrambled to his feet. Show off. He was
practically healed; meanwhile the gouges on my side stung like a bitch.

I turned to look at Daniel. “Well, you got me into this
mess, do you have any idea what way I should go to get out of it?”

Daniel yipped and trotted off to the west, skirting around
the lakeshore. I turned to look at Nash. “Come on old wolf, let’s go.”
Although he had a pronounced limp, Nash managed to trot along at a decent pace.
The rest of the ghost wolf entourage followed behind us.

We followed Daniel for several minutes, continuing to skirt
around the west side of the lake, catching glimpses of it through the trees.
Finally, we came to a break in the cover, at what appeared to be a service road. Daniel
and the other wolves turned toward the lake and sprinted to the water. Almost
as one, they began to howl mournfully. I followed close behind, Nash taking up
the rear. As I got closer to the lake, a feeling of unease began to overtake
me. The grey wolf waded into the lake, standing chest deep. With a glance
over his shoulder at me, he threw his head up in the air and let out several
yips followed by a long howl.

I approached the shoreline with trepidation, already knowing
what I would find. The moment I had entered the clearing I had felt their
bodies, an overwhelming dread descending on me. We had stumbled upon, or
rather had been led to, Navarre’s dumping grounds. The shallow water of the
lake was littered with the discarded bodies of the murdered werewolves.

Nash padded up beside me, his side fully healed. He growled
at the water then turned and cocked his head. Suddenly, a crossbow bolt raced
through the air. I threw up my hand, giving the bolt a telekinetic push,
managing to alter its course enough that instead of embedding itself deep into
Nash’s side, it scraped along his abdomen leaving a bloody furrow in its wake.
The wolf yipped in pain and then lunged towards the approaching Navarre who was
striding across the open clearing, a look of satisfaction on his face.

“Well, my lovely, you are indeed a surprise.” He stopped
about fifty yards away from us and cocked his head at me. “Can you do that
again?”

Faster than I could blink, he raised his crossbow and had a
bolt sailing towards me. I waved my hand, flicking it away like you would wave
off a fly. The bolt veered off course, embedding itself harmlessly into the
ground. Another soon followed and then another, in rapid succession. I
flicked them all aside with seemingly little effort, but it was beginning to
take its toll. I wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

“Marvelous! You truly are a gem. I have totally changed my
mind about you.” Navarre lowered his crossbow and smiled at me.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?” I didn’t really want to know, but I
was stalling for time. As I spoke, I began to walk a tight circle around Nash,
dragging my toe through the coarse sand.

“Well, instead of killing you in front of your mate, I think
I would much rather fuck you.” Gee, so glad I asked. “I think I’ll take you
Underhill when I go and let you ride my cock for the next decade or so.” He
looked at me like he thought he was offering me a rare privilege.

“You’re one sick bastard, you know that, right?” My circle
was complete. I pulled out the lighter I had acquired from the guard’s pocket
earlier in the evening and prayed it would still work. My plan had begun to
form the moment I felt the death lingering in the clearing. When I noticed the
sage grass growing near the lakeshore, I had made up my mind. We only needed
to outlast Navarre until dawn. With a little magical protection, I figured we
could make it. I muttered some quick instructions to Nash telling him not to
cross the circle then flicked the lighter, setting fire to the sage I had
already gathered.

“Hold your tongue girl,” Navarre’s smile was gone. “Or I’ll
put that mouth of yours to better use.” He began to stride towards us again.

I blew out the sage, letting the smoke drift across my
circle.

“What are you doing?” Navarre’s voice took on a worried
tone. His pace increased and he raised the crossbow menacingly. “Stop that.
Stop what you are doing or the next bolt goes straight through the dirty
animal’s heart.”

Ignoring Navarre, I intoned a cleansing spell, setting a
protective circle around Nash and myself.

“
Sacred guardians bless this circle.

In this space your protection grant,

that no harm shall enter, no evil shall pass.
”

As the last word passed my lips, I felt my magic flow out. It sang with a
resonance that vibrated through my entire body. I felt a moment of
overwhelming peace and I breathed a sigh of relief. The wolf lay down beside
me, no longer concerned with Navarre’s approach.

A bolt flew across the sky and bounced harmlessly off the
circle of protection I had created. Ironically, it mimicked the shape of the
dome Navarre had constructed to trap us, only in smaller scale.

“You bitch! What have you done?” Navarre ran towards us,
his eyes glowing with fury.

“I think this might be what you call a stalemate because
last time I checked, dawn is quickly approaching and you can’t do squat to us,
you crazy-assed
elf
.”

“Noooo! You bitch, you filthy, animal loving bitch.”
Navarre paced around the circle, avoiding coming in contact with it. “You
can’t do this to me. I shall have my vengeance.”

“Not today you won’t, asshat. Go back Underhill. Hopefully
there will be no one left to call you forth and you’ll be stuck there for the
rest of eternity.”

Navarre roared incoherently, stalking back and forth in
front of my circle. “No! This cannot be. I will have my revenge.” I was
enjoying his rage, feeling the particular need to gloat when suddenly he
stopped, his face becoming calm. “But this cur is not the only remaining
Nash,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “I still have time. I’ll
find them all and wipe them off this Earth.”

“No!” I don’t know who was I was yelling at, Navarre for his
suggested annihilation of Nash’s family or the wolf who jumped to his feet,
lunging for Navarre. I grabbed the golden chain joining us together and yanked
him back before he could cross the circle. “Stop Nash! Don’t break the
circle.” The wolf snarled and then began to pace, staying meticulously away
from the line I had drawn.