“Well,” I chuckled. “It was just a thought.” The goat bleated at us again and I cringed. “Not every witch is as powerful as Selene. I’m pretty sure a young witch can’t shoot physical spells out of her fingers. I’m certain Marcy can’t do it, but I don’t know about Tally. I’ve never laid eyes on her.”
“Witches are tricky,” Tyler answered. “I bet some of them can, but don’t want the supernatural community to know. It would make them seem like a bigger threat. Selene prances around like she doesn’t give a crap about anyone else in the world. But that’s about to change.” Tyler’s eyes shot amber. “I’ve had enough of this and I’m ready to go home.”
“Amen,” I replied. The angry goat stomped its hoof at us, like it knew what we were saying. This one wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much noise Danny made on the other side.
There was more bleating to the right. “Come on, you bloody beasts! Come and get me.” A huge crash exploded against the mountainside. “Huh? You don’t like that, do you? But I don’t care. Here’s another.” There was loud thunk and one of the goats toppled over the edge, emitting a scary yowl on the way down.
“Is he trying to stone them to death?” I asked. My head was down because I was climbing quickly, but it sounded like rock on rock with an occasional rock on putrid flesh. “Come on,” I urged, catching up to Tyler. “Hurry.”
“Ow!” Danny yelled. “The bloody horns are sharper than a blade.” Another goat flew over the edge. His diversion was certainly a ruckus, but as we climbed closer, less than half had followed the noise. Another third were focused on us, and the rest stood by the artificial one, defending what I was sure was the entrance. There was a strangled howl and my head shot to Danny. “Their horns have some kind of spell on them,” Danny gurgled in pain. “Don’t touch them. My arm is losing feeling quickly.” He clutched his arm right above the elbow.
“Dammit,” Tyler muttered. “Stay away from their horns, Jess. I have to get Danny before they gore him to death.” Before I could voice my concern, Tyler vaulted onto the goat ledge, immediately shouldering two large beasts over the side. He stayed low, using his preternatural speed.
Tyler, in his wolf form, was faster than any other. It was his extra gift. He was also incredibly fast in human form. Three others went over the side. Remarkably, all the remaining goats started to follow him, snorting and bleating their rage. They were slow, so they were easy to dodge. Tyler made his way to Danny, who was still busy trying to stone them with rocks thrown with one arm.
Was this really Selene’s last defense? We had to be missing something. The goats were scary enough, but not crazy deadly. This would have been the right place for a winged devil attack. We would’ve been picked over like carrion.
We have to stay vigilant. This can’t be all she has. My wolf growled in agreement, her eyes darting around, taking in everything around us.
I pulled myself onto the ledge carefully. Not wasting any time, I beelined for the stationary goat. It still hadn’t moved an inch, but all its guardians had followed Tyler. As I moved closer I could see it wasn’t alive in any form.
It’d never been a real goat.
Now the question—was it a mirage or something I had to defeat to get inside? What do you think it is? My wolf barked and scratched at the ground. I sampled the air again. The smell of decay was stronger on the ledge, but there was also a hint of warning in the air. It made my stomach churn, like I’d ingested something nasty. What do we do with it? I asked my wolf. She was up at attention, ears back, teeth bared. She didn’t like it either. She flashed a picture of the goat morphing into something else when I put my hands on it. I need to touch it? She batted the empty wooden box into view. I understood. We would gather power to ourselves and try and break whatever magic was inside the goat. Selene’s last ward. Once it was gone, the opening to her lair should be clear. It wasn’t an excellent plan, but it was enough. Okay. Here it goes.
We both concentrated on channeling the power inside us, the same power we’d reabsorbed after the bubble broke. I finally understood that my power was never in the box; it lived somewhere inside me, situated deeply. In the future I had to learn to call it up quicker, but for now I closed my eyes and focused on grabbing it with everything I had, like sucking on a gigantic straw.
Power began to materialize in my psyche.
I could see it. It manifested like bright gold ribbons floating in my mind. I realized as I saw it that my power signature must be gold. The power swirled until all I could see was bright golden sunlight in my mind. Fur sprouted along my arms; my muscles shifted under my skin. My Lycan form was strong, as strong as it could be. I think we’re ready.
An angry bleat sounded from right behind me.
Shit! We’ve got company. Its breath hit the back of my neck like stinky swamp ass. I’d been too preoccupied to notice one had ambled over.