The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (30 page)

I lost my footing after the hit but quickly
regained control.  I clamped down tighter still, choking back the metallic
taste of the creatures blood.  He raised his foot and was able to lift me
off the ground.  He tried kicking me off but that only caused him to lose
his balance and fall back. 

The earth shook as he hit the pavement, followed by
a deafening roar.  He had hit his head with the fall and was now bleeding
from the back of his skull.  He reached for his club that had slid just
out of reach.  The pounding rain forced his enormous eye closed which
enabled me to lunge forward one more time, unchallenged. I sank my teeth into
his jugular vein and held firm.  One more desperate moan, followed by a
long exhalation let me know I had done him in.

I pulled back and jumped off the enormous chest,
shaking my head, trying to get rid of the awful taste in my mouth.  
I raised my head high and an uncontrollable howl shot forth from my
diaphragm.  I had killed.  A feeling of exhilaration took over
me.  I’d always been the kind of person who had a problem with even
killing an insect.  Growing up with Mom and being raised to respect all
living things, I found myself having a tough time dealing with my
feelings.  The human part of me felt like I had done something wrong by
killing the monster, but the wolf part of me was energized by the battle. 
That part of me recognized the monster as nothing more than a threat to my own
survival.  It was a case of kill or be killed, and I came to terms with
that reality quickly, knowing there was going to be more death along the way.

 I stood next to the giant, shuddering at
what had just happened, when suddenly his body grew transparent and he slowly
lifted into the air until he was just above me.  A whirling mist encircled
him and pulled and twisted at his body, transforming it into something
unrecognizable; in an instant, he was gone.  It was just like the claw
that had disappeared in the hotel room.  All that remained was his massive
club.  I went to retrieve the club when I heard Dad from behind me. 
I spun around quickly to see him running my way.

“Willow! That was unbelievable,” he yelled in an
effort to be heard over the thunder.

I went over to him and nudged his arm.  He
grabbed me around my neck and hugged me.  “I love you. Go do what you need
to do.  Be careful!  I’ll be right here.”

I tried to mindspeak with him but wasn’t able to
get my thoughts through.  I decided it must be because of the energy I had
just used in the battle.  I simply nuzzled him and whimpered, sure that he
knew what I meant.  I then turned, grabbed hold of the club, and ran along
the darkened streets, making my way to Bram and Quinn.

“You’re huuuuuge!” Quinn shouted, as he grabbed
hold of my front leg, raising my paw, like he was trying to make me shake
hands.  “How did you get so big?”

I focused my energy on resizing and within a few minutes
stood before him, my normal size and self.  I smoothed back my hair and
wiped my mouth with my jacket sleeve, hoping there were no traces of blood.

“I know, it’s crazy!  And look at this…” I
kicked at the giants club that now lay at my feet.

“What the bloody…!” he began, as he bent over and
tried to pick up the huge weapon.  He could only lift the handle end and
even that took some effort.

“I killed a Cyclops and that’s its club,” I
stated, feeling more than a little proud of myself.

While we stood outside in the sanctuary of his
patio I outlined to Quinn all the gory details of my encounter with the
Cyclops.  I’d finally been able to mindspeak with Bram and we decided that
I should go and pick up Quinn.  We needed to be together and I had so much
to tell them about the attack from the Fomorian. 

I shifted once again and urged Quinn to get on my
back.  He happily obliged.  As I ran through the darkness, with the
rain and snow and sleet pounding on us, all I heard was his excited laugh and
an occasional curse word when I went through puddles.

In no time we were at Bram’s front door.  I’d
shifted back and marveled at how easy it was becoming to do so.  Aaron
appeared at the door before Bram and pulled us both in.  Bram was in his
father’s office lighting candles and motioned for us to join him.  I
walked up close to him and grabbed his arm.  I told him all about the
Cyclops in mindspeak and while I did, he passed the story on to Aaron. 

Aaron came over to where we stood, “Are you ok,
Willow, did you get hurt?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, he did knock me around a little bit but
I feel fine.  I noticed that after the fight was over I was unable to
mindspeak or shift or anything for a while.  It lasted about five minutes,
kind of like how it was when we were here practicing.”

“I’m sure that’s how it will be with each of you
after an attack.  Your powers will need to regenerate, so get yourself to
safety if possible until you feel recharged.”  Aaron looked very
nervous.  A clap of thunder caused him to jump.  Bram patted his Dad
on the back and raised his eyebrows at Aaron.

“I’m ok,” Aaron assured Bram.

 “Quinn, how did you get away from your
parents, or did you tell them?” I wondered.

“Naw, I didn’t tell them, but I will, after all
this blows over.  They were fast asleep when I came home last night so I
haven’t even seen them.    But for now, Kelleigh will help by
telling them I stayed over here at Bram’s.  Your Dad was ok when you told
him what we were going to have to be doing?”  Quinn asked.

“He saw the Cyclops.  He’s got a pretty good
idea of what we’re up against.” 

A strong burst of hail pelted the window of
Aaron’s office, making us all jump.

“What do we do now?” Quinn asked, verbalizing the
question for all of us.

“We need to get to the Causeway, to prevent the
connection of the four corners.  The Fomorians are gaining strength by
draining all the electricity from the cities.  Once they become strong
enough they will channel that energy into the lightning we saw on the ancient
cloth and try and join the four corners.  If that happens…” Aaron
stammered as he looked up at the ceiling.

“If that happens, we’re dead.” Quinn finished.

“Well, no, hopefully not,” Aaron continued slowly,
still staring at the ceiling. “If that happens then we’ll need to try and call
to Lugh using the power of the Triquetra, something I’m not sure how to do.”

Aaron looked to the ceiling once more, “Do you all
hear that?” he asked, his chin raised up.

I looked up and channeled my hearing but could
only get static.  “Is that an attic up there?” I questioned.

“Yes,” Aaron and Bram said simultaneously.

Bram stood beneath the area Aaron was staring at
and focused his sight on the ceiling.  After a few seconds I could tell he
was in the attic visually and whatever he was seeing shocked him.  He
quickly jolted himself back to where we were and grabbed his father’s arm,
pulling him aside.  He motioned for Quinn and me to follow him as he left
the office and made his way into the living room.

“They’re here,” he mouthed silently.

We all stared up at the ceiling of the house,
wondering just what it was that Bram had seen.  I knew it couldn’t be the
Cyclops.  If they were up in the attic, well, there would no longer be an
attic. 

Aaron began signing questions to Bram about what
he saw.  He told us that there were four man-sized creatures with greenish
bodies, lizard like heads, and clawed feet.  He was able to see a large
hole in the roof which was obviously how they got in. 

Aaron rubbed his chin while his eyes darted from
the ceiling to Bram.  He swallowed hard and pulled us all in close around
him in a huddle.

“We must get to the Causeway,” Aaron
repeated.  “They’re going to try to prevent us from getting there. 
For now, the most important thing is to get Quinn to the water.  If
Cyclops and Lizardmen are making appearances, then we can be sure that the
Mer-creatures will too.

“Quinn, you’ve barely had a chance to work with
your powers.  You need to stay focused and concentrate all you energy on
your echolocation.  Once we get you to the water, if you have an
opportunity, practice it on random objects,” Aaron said in a low voice.

Quinn was struggling to keep interpreting for Bram
and also hold his emotion in check.  His face was flushed and his eyes
were watery, almost as if he were ready to cry.

“Yeah, mate, your echolocation is your
weapon.  Use it like a gun, aim it, and then shoot.  It must be that
you scan an area after you’ve discovered its exact location–”

“Then concentrate all my energy on sending my
sonar out to it, then BAM! Destroyed! That has to be how it works,
right?”  Quinn asked excitedly, channeling his inner video game geek.

Bram smiled and nodded, grabbing Quinn’s
shoulder.  “You’ll be great!”

“And I’ll stay in touch with you, Quinn,” I said,
tapping my forehead, hoping to add to his confidence.

As we stood there trying to pump each other up, a
series of lightning strikes hit, one after another adding an eerie glow to the
living room.  Our washed-out, bluish faces took on a frightening
appearance with each strike as it illuminated our features.

A clap of thunder followed by a huge crash drew us
all to the living room window.  Standing about twenty feet away from the
house we could make out the unmistakable silhouette of another Cyclops. 
It was towering over the neighbor’s once-beautiful ash tree that had
miraculously survived the storm from earlier but was no longer so
fortunate.  The giant threw his club aside after having, in one fell
swoop, brought the tree to the ground.  He grabbed hold of its twenty-foot-tall
trunk, took aim at the house, and, with a sickeningly loud bellow, threw it
directly at where we stood.

“Move!!” Aaron shouted as he took hold of Quinn’s
arm.  Bram grabbed me and dove behind the sofa with the four of us making
it there before the window, which we’d been peering out of just seconds
earlier, shattered into a million pieces.

While we pulled ourselves up, I could hear the
pounding sound of the giant’s footsteps as it made its way to the house. 
Before we even had a chance to say or do anything, another crash sounded in
Aaron’s office in the next room.  We all turned our heads that way and
were shocked to see, standing in the doorway, the gruesome face of the
Lizardman that Bram told us about, its slithering tongue lashing in and out of
its mouth, tasting the air.

A low, “Oh my God,” came from Aaron as he tried to
pull us all close to himself.

I looked out the broken window and saw the giant
closing in on us.  Without hesitation I pulled away from Aaron, ran over
to the window and jumped out.  I lowered my head and could hear the
fiendish laugh of the giant as he saw me.  I concentrated on my shift and
immediately felt myself change.  One more burst of concentration and I had
grown.  I looked back into the house but was unable to see the guys or the
Lizardmen. When I turned, right in front of me was the ugly, smiling face of
the Cyclops.

With a forward swing he brought down his club and
landed it on my left side, which sent me sailing across the front yard.  I
crashed into another tree and felt stunned for a moment.  I felt the
ground rumble and knew he was heading towards me.  I stood up and
stretched my hind legs, one after another, and prepared for a lunge.  As I
was mid-air he leaned and avoided my attack, lowering himself to his knees. 
I landed a few feet from him and leaped again, jumped on his back, and pinned
him to the ground.

A burp came from his mouth and filled the air with
a putrid smell.  He tried to raise his head but I held it down with my
jaw.  It was almost like he was trying to speak but I really wasn’t
interested in anything he might have to say.

He suddenly lay there very quiet which made me
wonder if he was dead.  I released his head and jumped off his back and
sniffed his face.  The disgusting creature opened his mouth and belched
again, then laughed in my face.  He had hold of the nape of my neck before
I knew it, and was lifting himself and me at the same time.  I was unable
to move, he had such a tight grip.

He held me up in the air like I was some kind of a
rag doll and shook me, laughing all the while.  His breath alone was
enough to make me pass out.  He was definitely stronger than the first
Cyclops.  With a swing backwards he pitched me across the driveway into
the cluster of pine trees growing there.  Luckily I landed on top of the
trees which broke my fall; then I began dropping to the ground as their
branches gave way under my weight.

The rain was picking up again and blowing
sideways, making visibility next to impossible.  I shook my head and
narrowed my eyes just in time to make out the shadowy figure of the Cyclops
inching his way to the front door of the house.  On top of the roof I
could see, reflecting in the flashes of lightning, the shape of another
Lizardman jumping down into the hole in the roof.  My mindspeak went to
Bram.

“Are you ok, Bram?  Another lizard is coming
through the roof,” I warned, hoping for a quick reply.

Static was all I heard at first but then Bram’s
garbled voice came through. “Yes…I’m ok, we killed two of th–”

A low growl rose in my chest and turned itself
into a howl.  I threw my head back and swallowed the rainwater.  I
felt revitalized, which was just what I needed to take down the Cyclops.
 I began my charge towards him while he stood at the front door turning it
into a pile of toothpicks with one quick blow from his club.  He reached
up, grabbed the top of the doorjamb, and ripped it off, clearing the way for
him to enter without having to duck.  He was just getting ready to swing
his club again when I soared into the air, landing on his back and forcing him
face-down to the ground.  He tried to rise but I sank my teeth into the
side of his neck and twisted.  His left arm reached back and he yanked at
my fur but was unable to get hold.  I lifted my head and felt my teeth
sink deeper into his neck, then I heard a pained gasp.