Chapter Ten

Kayos

Kyllian’s beast wasright.Quinn was smart.She could hold her own until he could find her.Nikita didn’t stand a chance against a larger wolf, even if there had been only one.Changing trajectory, he flew fast to where the girl was surrounded by four dire wolves.

“Get away from me!”The girl’s claws were out, and she was moving in a circle, doing her best to keep an eye on each wolf.His Eagle was no match for the beasts below, but his Gryphon could handle them with ease.Shifting mid-flight, Kyllian called on his own beast.His Lion’s roar would be more impressive, but his Eagle when in Gryphon form was loud enough to get the wolves’ attention.He squawked, causing the animals to avert their attention from Nikita momentarily.Kyllian shifted to his human form long enough to yell, “Nikita, run!”then he shifted back to his Gryphon just in time to take out the two closest with his powerful wings.The wolves flew through the air, landing twenty feet away.Kyllian landed and turned back to find one of the wolves had shifted and was aiming a gun his way.

Well, fuck.He shifted so he could pull up his Gryphon’s voice, but the male pulled the trigger.Kyllian dove, but he wasn’t quick enough.The bullet tore through his shoulder.Kyllian transformed into his Eagle, but the bullet was still lodged inside his body, making it impossible to fly.Nikita was being dragged back to the fray, kicking and screaming.Releasing her sharp canines, she clamped down on her captor’s arm, and he shoved her to the ground.She took advantage of being free and ran toward the male holding the pistol.Kyllian returned to his human form to tell her to stay back, but the girl charged forward, shifting in mid-air, tackling the male.The gun disappeared into the high grass, and Kyllian found his voice, yelling, “Freeze.”All the wolves, including Nikita, stopped in their tracks.The two Kyllian had dispatched with his wings had found their feet, but didn’t come any closer.

“Nikita, find the gun,” he instructed the girl.“The rest of you do not move.”When he was sure they would obey, Kyllian shifted into his Lion, doing his best to expel the bullet.Getting shot hurt like a motherfucker, but he had bigger issues than a non-life-threatening wound.Snarls and shouting sounded from close by, and Kyllian was out of time.Returning to his skin, he said, “Nikita, I hope you aren’t scared of heights.”

The girl stood empty-handed, her eyes wide.“Who are you?Better yet,whatare you?”

Nudging with his shifter voice, he said, “I’ll explain later because right now, we have company.Just know I’m a friend.I’m going to shift into my Gryphon, and I want you to climb on.”

Nikita nodded, still wide-eyed.Kyllian shifted, then lowered his body so she could get on his back.When he felt her grab hold of his feathers, he lifted off as gently as possible.He had only ever carried the twins like this, and the two of them together didn’t weight what the girl did.As he took to his wings, males shouted from below, and a bullet whizzed close enough to his chest it ruffled his feathers.He couldn’t talk to Nikita in this form, so he prayed to Zeus to keep her safe as he banked hard right, pushing his wings harder, which was easier said than done with his wounded shoulder.More gunfire erupted, but his god must have been listening, for they made it away unharmed.

Nikita kept a tight grip on his feathers and clenched his sides with her knees.Kyllian headed to where he had parked, needing to get the girl on the ground as quickly as possible.Before they were halfway there, she let out an exuberant “yeehaw.”Kyllian’s Gryphon huffed, as close to laughing as possible.His girl was made of stern stuff.

It wasn’t until the car was in his sights that Kyllian realized he had dropped the pouch containing his keys and phone.His clothes were locked in the car, and he seriously didn’t want to stand around naked with a teenager he didn’t know.He’d have to figure something out though, because he needed to make sure Nikita was okay.He landed as gently as possible, and she slid from his back, her knees wobbling.Needing his voice, Kyllian walked around the car and shifted to his human form.

“Man, that was insane.”Nikita pushed her wind-blown hair off her face.

“I’m glad it didn’t freak you out too much.My name is Kyllian Lazlo, and I’m a friend of your mother’s.Your real mother,” he added, hoping she didn’t take offense.“We have a small problem, though.I dropped my keys, and my clothes are in the car.I’m going to bust out the window so I don’t have to stand here in all my glory.”

Nikita wiggled her eyebrows.“Don’t mind me.”

Kyllian huffed out a laugh and shook his head.“You’re gonna be trouble, aren’t you?”

“Who me?”She clutched the collar of her shirt and batted her lashes.

“Yes, you.Now please turn around so I can get in the car.Unlike dire wolves, I don’t have the same magic that allows my clothes not to shred when I shift.It’s really unfair.”

“I don’t know.I think I might be willing to give up that boon if I could change between three different creatures.That’s so cool.”She cocked her head to the side and pointed to his shoulder.“You’re hurt.”

“Yeah, bullets’ll do that.”When she stood there eyeing his bare chest, Kyllian made the twirling motion with his finger.

“If you insist.”Nikita did as he asked and turned her back.Kyllian waited to make sure she wasn’t going to peek, then walked to the back window and broke it with his elbow.He reached in and pulled on the lever to lower the hatch and grabbed his duffel.Shoving his legs in his pants first, he told her she could turn around.While pulling on a shirt, he got a good look at Quinn’s daughter.There was no doubt they were related.

“What about you?You have some scratches.”Kyllian pointed to his own cheek.

Nikita waved her hand in the air.“Eh, just a flesh wound.They’ll heal pretty quickly.You said you’re a Gryphon, right?”she asked as Kyllian slipped on a pair of socks.

“Yes.Why aren’t you more freaked out about that?”

“Well, I did hit my head when I dove from a car, so maybe I’m dreaming.But if not, is it really so unlikely there are other supernatural beings in the world?”

Kyllian thought about the Gargoyles.Nikita was right.It wasn’t unlikely at all.“Wait, back up.You dove from a car?”

“Yes.That old man seemed harmless when he offered me a ride.Turns out the geriatric can still be creepers.”Nikita rolled her eyes, and Kyllian grinned at her sass.He wondered where she got it from.“Thanks for that back there.I thought I was a goner for sure.”And just like that, she was serious again.

“You’re welcome.The RC pack isn’t very nice.”

“RC?Oh, River Canyon.Then why does Quinn live with them?”Nikita pulled the band holding her ruined braid out of her hair and shook out her long locks before combing through them with her fingers.She re-tied her hair off her face, looking so much like Quinn.Kyllian’s heart thumped wildly, both from the remaining adrenaline of the fight and the fact that Quinn was still in trouble.

“She doesn’t.Your mom lives in Upstate New York and has for many years.It’s a long story that I promise I’ll tell you, but first, we need to get out of here.I have no doubt there are more wolves coming our way.You don’t happen to have your phone on you, do you?”

Nikita reached in the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a burner.“Sure do.”She handed it over.“You and my mom are friends?”

Tags: Faith Gibson Crime
Source: readsnovelonline.net