Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
But… sometimes you didn’t have to use a sharp weapon or your physical strength to win. And I could say that, other than the two incidents with the people who had tried to take Duncan, I’d been able to get out of almost every unfortunate situation I had ever been in without resorting to other options. Like Hercules had his strength and mermaids had their beautiful but deadly songs, I had resources too.
Because, if this had been Duncan, I would hope someone would protect him from something dangerous.
And that’s what I told myself as I started walking toward the little group, calling out, “Hi, hello!” even though I was pretty sure I was close enough now that they could hear me crunching over branches and leaves despite the sounds of wildlife around us.
The green swamp thing’s attention snapped over to my direction, and it bared its teeth again. Two of the poor kids yelped; the little centaur/goat thing jumping between the two smaller pups, while the crazy white one growled for its life, snapping its teeth from behind the goat being. Kind of rude, but I guess I understood I was another stranger in a place I shouldn’t be, and they were already scared.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you, kids,” I said calmly as I approached the group slowly. It would have been nice if there was more space between the children and the swamp person. I smiled at the green being, trying to come off as friendly. “I’m Nina, and you are…?”
“None of your fucking business, idiot!”
All right then.
I pressed my lips together when what I really wanted to do was sigh. Some people could be so disappointing and predictable.
The green thing bellowed, “They’re mine!”
Just like that, I couldn’t help myself. I smiled again. “I hate to tell you that you might be in for a surprise if you take a DNA test. None of them look like you.”
Behind me, Matti snickered, and that just made me smile bigger—he was the worst influence, and there was a reason we couldn’t stand by each other around holiday dinner at Sienna’s parents—even as the swamp-looking thing’s facial expression morphed enough to actually look pretty pissed. “I will gorge on your organs and sip the marrow from your bones, human trash!”
Ouch. That was almost scary and hurtful. Almost.
I wasn’t the one threatening to eat babies and calling people idiots out loud.
It wasn’t done either. “When I’m done, I will use the children’s bones to pick your meat from my teeth!”
Matti burst out laughing. I couldn’t take him anywhere.
But I had to focus. “What I was trying to tell you is that I liked your creativity with that first line, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the second one before. Are you going to tell me what your name is before you try and pick my flesh from your teeth or…?” I shrugged.
The green creature went still, its “What?” at a lower volume, like it was confused all of a sudden.
I bet it didn’t get laughed at that often. Or maybe it did and that’s why it was so mean. That was something to think about.
“Never mind,” I called out before lifting my hand and waving toward myself. “Come on, kids. I’m taking you home, and I cross my heart, I won’t hurt you or let anything hurt you. Promise.”
From one blink to another, the slightly bigger wolf pup shimmered for a second, and in the next, in its place was a child. A boy. A boy dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and I thought, not for the first time, how incredible it was that magic worked that way. It wasn’t like in the movies where beings turned up naked going from a fur body into a skin one, or where they ripped through every item of clothing they had on when they turned into their other nature. Magic wasn’t so wasteful. Even seeing all this with my own eyes was hard to comprehend.
Whatever was on their person was there, and then it wasn’t when they changed. Once, Matti had held a hammer just to see what would happen, but that hadn’t survived the transition, and it ended up falling to the ground. Glasses, cell phones, keys, all made it… as long as they were in pockets.
Watching beings go from one form to another never got old; it was even cuter when they were young.
“We don’t know you!” the little boy shouted, and the ferocious white wolf snapped its jaws at the green thing, then at me.
Someone had lost control of the situation, and I wasn’t sure it knew it yet.
I lifted my hand toward them in greeting, palm out. “That’s fair. I’m Nina. My friend back there has a cousin that’s a member of your pack—”
“Henri!” Matti offered, sounding closer. Like Henry but fancy with an i.