19
Excellent,” smiled Faru, clasping his hands together.
The team spread themselves around the edges of the dojo. Faru made his way to the head of the room. As Gabriella passed me she leaned in, so close that her breath played on my neck. “We’ll have guns on Bargheist the whole time. If it looks for a second like he’s going to do some permanent damage, I’m putting the mongrel down, okay?” She squeezed my arm, sending a few sparks flying through it.
True to her word, everyone pulled a gun from their belts — all except Faru. He remained hunched over on his cane, white eyes staring at Bargheist. I stood at the centre of a star of protection, justice ready to fire in from every point.
“Is the sword your weapon of choice Alexander?” asked Faru. I looked down at the ornate blade wrapped in my white knuckled hands.
“Yes.”
“Alright. Agent Green, if you would.”
The remaining agent removed a set of keys from his blazer pocket with a shaking hand. He unlocked the front of the cage then darted behind it. Bargheist stepped down from the raised floor, taking a deep breath of relative freedom, like a prisoner in the exercise yard. The agent disappeared into the elevator, trailing the empty cage behind him at tremendous speed. The doors slid together. Midnight tapped on a Biomote and there was a loud beep as the doors locked.
Silence reigned.
“Show your true form Bargheist!” shouted Gabriella, smashing the stillness.
The man looked down at himself and sighed. “And I was just getting used to this new body. Oh well, C’est la vie.” Glaring at me, he crouched down onto his haunches. “You better know how to use that needle boy,” he growled. Then I witnessed an event that no amounts of forewarning could ever prepare a person for.
The transition from man into a giant hellhound.
Bargheist’s jaw unhinged like a snake’s. The skin surrounding his mouth became loose elastic which slackened and dangled in rolls around his neck. His whole body shuddered. Then slowly his skin began to slide downwards like a sock being peeled from a foot. A pair of blood red eyes appeared in the cavernous hole that had once been Bargheist’s mouth. A stomach lurching series of cracks and crunches emanated from inside. The skin continued to slither down the frame of the former man, gathering in a fleshy pile on the floor. A black muzzle pushed out of the yawning hole. The area around the skull had stretched taught to the point it looked ready to rip. The empty eye sockets were oval pits you could fit a fist through, the nose a bump of cartilage, between the shoulders. Then like a demonic birth, the head of a giant dog creature popped free from the slackened maw of the deflated man. Two black furred legs followed, topped by huge paws with scythe claws the size of a man’s thumb. A third, back leg escaped the skin hole. The creature used his sharp grip on the mat flooring to drag himself from the husk. Finally, with a growl he burst free, leaving the shed carcass in a heap behind him like a discarded outfit.
Staring back at me was a hulking beast known as Bargheist. He was the size of a Great Dane.
How in the hell am I supposed to defeat this?!
Then I realised with a surge of dread that he was still growing. He jerked in weird directions, like he was being tugged by dozens of invisible strings. With each movement his form expanded. Bargheist yelped with every alteration. There was a final sweeping crunch as each vertebra in his spinal column popped into place.
I stepped back instinctively as I took in the Skinshifter’s final form. Tangled fur hung from his muscular body in matted clumps. His head was long and narrow like a wolf’s… but far larger. Bargheist rose up onto its back legs — casting a shadow over the entire dojo, and howled. The inhuman sound rushed through me, freezing my bones. The hellhound came crashing back down and the floor shuddered under the weight. I lost my footing and had to dig the sword into the matting to keep me upright. He pushed back onto its hind legs and stretched its front out; a coil ready to spring.
“Begin,” shouted Faru.
Bargheist pounced.
I jumped to the right, dodging the attack. The Skinshifter flew past, his jaws making a deafening chomp as it bit nothing but air.
The second time I wasn’t so lucky. He jumped at me and a set of razor teeth sank into the soft flesh above my wrist. I screamed as white-hot pain seared up my arm. I tried to pull away, but Bargheist edged backwards, dragging me along the floor. Blood bloomed from the multiple punctures, pooling around its half buried teeth. From my awkward angle, I couldn’t get enough of a swing, so I rotated the sword and brought the base down between Bargheist’s eyes — hard.
The Skinshifter yelped, releasing my wounded arm. Bright spots of nausea bloomed behind my eyes as I took in the multiple puncture wounds on either side. The beast was dazed. It staggered about, shaking its head from side to side. I ignored the pulsing throb in my arm and used my temporary advantage to attack. I ran forward and slashed wildly with the sword. Bargheist recovered just in time, darting away from the blow. I stumbled from the momentum, and the tip of the sword tore a large hole in the Tatami mat — exposing hardwood flooring underneath.
The attack left my back defenceless.
“Look out!” Gabriella shouted, but there wasn’t enough time to do anything. Bargheist head-butted me in the lower back, causing the sword to helicopter out of my grip and sending me flying face first into the padded wall next to Delagio.
I connected hard, pinballing off the cushion and spiralling to the floor. Jumping up, I spun around at the same time Bargheist leapt at me. I put out my arms and caught the beast’s front legs with my hands. I tightened my grip, forcing him to remain on its back two legs. Not able to slash at me, he gnashed his frothing teeth together, trying to bite my face. I had to dodge my head from side to side. From around me I could hear gasps and cries as each clamp of its teeth missed by inches. Bargheist’s colossal weight bearing down on me began to take its toll. My arms shook from the strain. I can’t hold him for much longer!
I knew I’d be in big trouble if I let go at the wrong moment. So I pivoted left, trying to duck out of the way and throw the hound off me. Bargheist mirrored the movement, hooking his claws into my shoulders. Each one felt like a razor blade slicing into my skin. Grimacing through the pain, I tried to dodge the other way. Still the beast kept himself pinned to me — knowing I was tiring. From the outside, it must have looked like we were dancing — the most bizarre tango in history.
Finally I knew I couldn’t stand any more. I dropped my right arm down and as the beast started to crush me under its weight, I sprung upwards, driving an uppercut into his throat. Bargheist roared and stumbled to the side, claws unsticking from my shoulders. Too disorientated to keep upright, its legs crumpled and it crashed to the floor. This was no victory won though — I knew I only had seconds. I sprinted over and grabbed the sword from the floor. After wiping the sweat from my eyes with the back of my good hand, I raised the blade and spread my feet into a defensive stance Rachel had taught me. Bargheist barked in anger and heaved his colossal frame back onto its feet. He shocked me by lowering his jaw and speaking.
“No more playing around!” he growled. Each word sounded like a boulder falling from a cliff. I could feel sweat spreading between my fingers. My muscles popped with tension. Bargheist sprinted forwards, but at the last second darted right and spun in a rapid circle around me. I struck out with the sword, but the Skinshifter was too fast. I felt his teeth sink into the back of my ankle. I dropped to a knee, gasping in pain.
Bargheist repeated the tactic, looping in dizzying circles just out of my reach, waiting for me to attack and then darting in to bite my ankles. Every strike I made just sent strips of tatami mat flying around the dojo.
It felt as if a Man o’ War had attached itself around my legs. Bargheist was taking me down like a Hyena takes down a Gazelle. Trails of blood trickled from my heels and pooled around me. I glanced at Gabriella. Her face had gone pale with concern.
She knows I’m going to lose.
I knew it too. I felt helpless. Again and again Bargheist darted in and out, razor teeth ripping into my flesh. I flailed out with the blade, always missing and taking curved slices from the mat. The area around me was peppered with half circle grins, laughing at my failure.
