still won’t, not unless he slips further and concedes more ground to the…
Dervish looks lost, like he wants to cry. For a moment I don’t think he’s going to respond. But then, with a wrenching effort, he nods stiffly. “But only if there’s no other choice,” he wheezes.
“Of course.” Juni touches his cheek lovingly. “You’ll need to go to the house. If I proceed with the spell, there are things I’ll need.”
“What?”
Juni closes her eyes. A couple of seconds pass. She opens them again. “Got it?”
“Yes.” Dervish laughs crazily. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that.” Then he stumbles for the door leading to the wine cellar.
Juni waits till he’s gone, then hurries to the desk, grabs the key to the cage and inserts it in the lock.
“What are you doing?” I mumble, backing away from her as she opens the door and enters my lair. “Get out. It’s not safe. I could—”
“The Lambs are outside,” Juni says, stooping beside me, taking my hands, helping me to my feet. “Dervish was in contact with them earlier. They have the house surrounded. Ready to finish you off when Dervish gives the word.”
I shrug wearily. “Maybe it’s for the best. I can’t be helped. They—”
“No!” Juni hisses and slaps my face. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself. I don’t believe you’re lost. We can get through this but only by thinking positively, only if you fight. Dervish doesn’t understand. He called this wrong. He loves you but he underestimates you. He doesn’t know how strong you are.”
“No. I’m weak. I can’t fight anymore. I just want to let it happen. Simpler that way. I’m sick of all the pain.”
“I don’t care how sick you are!” Juni snaps. Then her voice changes. “I’m not doing this just for you. I want you to live for
She grabs me by the front of my jumper, pulls me in close and kisses me. It starts innocently, the way my Mum used to kiss me when I was little and woke up scared in the middle of the night. But then it changes into something deeper and I kiss her back, the way I kissed Reni when we played spin the bottle.
The beast within me howls as we kiss. The magic surges and seethes. Around us the bars of the cage turn red, then crack and melt, tumbling away. The roof of the cage falls upon us. I swat it aside with a single powerful hand.
Juni releases me. She’s breathing hard. “Run, Grubbs,” she says, eyes bright, cheeks flushed. “Get away from the Lambs. Go the cave. Wait for me there.”
“The cave? But… if I turn…”
“You won’t,” she vows and kisses me again, quickly this time.
Without thinking, I bolt. Leaping over the bubbling bars of the cage, I race to the other exit, the one that leads away from the house. I tear the door open and flee up the stairs. Juni cheers encouragingly behind me, then laughs, her laughter trailing me, staying with me, comforting me, urging me on.
The top of the stairs. The way ahead blocked by a pair of doors, locked from the other side by chains, covered by a sheet of corrugated iron. I pause for the briefest of seconds, then set my right shoulder to the doors and thrust sharply. The chains snap. The doors explode open. The sheet of iron flies clear.
I emerge into moonlight.
Standing in the open, chest rising and falling rapidly, staring around, seeing the world with eyes one third human, one third animal, one third magic. Picking out shapes, even if they’re hidden from direct sight by trees or the house. Nine… ten… eleven… twelve. The dirty dozen. But not dirty enough to hold Grubbs Grady—uber- escapee!
The beast in me wants to attack, rip them open, teach them not to mess with the Grubbster. But tempting as that thought is, I push it away and break for the forest instead.
There are three members of the Lambs back here. The unexpected shattering of the doors stunned them. But they recover quickly. Their training kicks in and they move to intercept me. Large men with clubs, stun guns, nets, rifles.
“Halt!” one of them shouts, aiming a rifle. I snarl at his gun and it turns bright red. He screams and tries to throw it away. Fails, because it’s burnt into his flesh and welded itself to the bones in his hand.
The second Lamb rushes me, tries to bring me down with a rugby tackle. I grab him as he leaps, spin him round in the air, then slam him down hard, knocking him out—a perfect wrestling move. Loch would be proud. If I had time, I’d pin him for a three count. But as powerful and playful as I feel, I can’t linger. If the rest of the Lambs converge, things might not go so smoothly. I think I could take them all on and beat them but it would be stupid to put myself to the test.
The third of the rearguard has fumbled out a walkie-talkie and is barking into it. I growl in his direction. Metallic claws sprout from the hard plastic and dig into the flesh and bones of the Lamb’s face. Roaring with shock and pain, he tries jerking the walkie-talkie loose but the claws have dug in too deep, wiring the device to his jaw.
I leave the Lamb stumbling around, screaming, tugging at the walkie-talkie, blood pouring from his ear and cheek. I race for the cover of the trees, moving swiftly, surely, feeling more alive than ever before.
As I reach the forest I spot the tramp standing nearby, watching me. I laugh at him—he saw what happened to the others and is too scared to tackle me. I think about turning his legs to jelly or setting his clothes on fire, but since he’s not interfering with my escape, why bother? The spineless creep isn’t worth the effort.
I want to shout, “So long, sucker!” but my vocal cords are twisted and words won’t form. I settle for a mock salute instead. He stares back silently, face impassive.
Then I’m gone, sheltered from the moon and hidden from the remaining Lambs by the trees. Running with the ease of a wolf. Fast and slick, leaving no trail for anyone to follow. Heading for the cave and my reunion with Juni.
SAVAGE
For a couple of minutes I feel like a superhuman. Legs of steel, iron lungs, running faster than any normal person ever ran, obliterating records. Where are the Olympic judges when you need them?
But then I slow. Pain sweeps through me. I stumble. The beast snarls. Writhing on the cold, hard forest floor. Sobbing. Trying to fight. I raise my head and try…
Next thing I know, I’m in the hole that leads to the cave, tugging at the crate which Dervish left there, ripping it to splinters, clambering down into the dark abyss. Part of me hesitates. Grateful to still be human, eager to reach the safety of the cave, happy to wait for Juni, but remembering Dervish’s warning—this cave is dangerous, a place of evil magic. Perhaps I should…
In the cave. I’m howling, the howls echoing eerily. With an effort I make myself stop and the echoes die away. Then all I can hear is the waterfall and the super-fast beating of my over-worked heart.
How long have I been unconscious, howling, the beast thinking it had won, only for me to somehow scrap my way back and regain control? Impossible to tell but it doesn’t feel like a lot of time has passed.
The dark is absolute. It scares me. The feeling of invulnerability and supremacy which drove me through the cordon of Lambs has passed. The magic’s still there and so is the beast. But mostly it’s just me now, human and cold, alone in the dark, thinking with horror how close I came to killing the three Lambs, hoping I didn’t hurt them too much, wondering if I did the right thing by running.
I slide to the floor and huddle my knees to my chest, clasping them tight, trying to see something— anything—through the darkness. Remembering Juni’s kiss with confusion and shame, wondering what prompted it, or if I just imagined the adult passion. What I definitely didn’t imagine—she said she’d stand by me even if Dervish gave up. She set me free and promised to meet me here.
It’s wrong. Her intentions were good, but we shouldn’t be doing this. I should have stayed and took what I had coming. Let Dervish handle the situation the way he thought best. He knows more about these matters than
