“She’s not here, is she?” Nicolas retorted.
William stood up, helping Katherine to her feet as well. “Can you do anything about this?” he asked his alpha as he helped Katherine show her the wounds.
Aceso moved to Katherine’s side. She studied the wounds and the blood seeping from them. “What did you do?”
“It was the only way to free her from that buzzing sound,” he said, now very embarrassed at the pain he caused Katherine.
Aceso shook her head and inhaled. Without warning she shot her snout forward and clamped down on Katherine’s side with her jaws. Katherine winced at the added pain. Aceso held on for a moment or two and then released her.
Katherine was shaky but she remained standing. William didn’t see any immediate results from Aceso’s bite but he was confident in her abilities.
“You were saying about a strange buzzing sound?” Aceso asked.
Katherine nodded. “I don’t know what it was. It was subtle and quiet at first but then it got louder and louder. It didn’t make any sense but it was painful in a way that I never thought possible. All I wanted was for it to stop.” She leaned over and showed her own claw marks on her head behind her ears. “I would have killed myself trying to make it stop if it wasn’t for…” She stopped as her eyes locked in front of her. William would have asked what was wrong but then he knew what was wrong even without turning around.
He revolved in place as the Whyte Plain was suddenly stained by black formless shadows that were all too familiar to him. The shadows moved toward them in double lines. He couldn’t be sure of how many there were. They stopped a few feet away and glided around them completely and efficiently surrounding them. They formed a strange kind of bubble that moved toward the group of shape shifters. The bubble of shadows rippled and flowed in a spherical pattern. Once the black sphere had reached the perimeter of the circle of shadows it seemed to pop open and disgorged a white, black, and tan form that stood on her own two legs and stared at them.
Even in this place he felt a surge of relief wash over him. He would have hugged her, or greeted her in some way. But then he saw what it was he was really looking at. Achelois’s eyes were blood shot red. She was snarling at the pack. Her eyes rested on Charles for long moments. William wasn’t sure but there was something that happened between them. He found himself very afraid for both of them. The shadows didn’t move. He focused on Achelois. He looked at her stance, studied her muscles. Where have you gone, Achelois? What he didn’t expect was the clear voice that answered him. ‘You know where she has gone.’ His other said a bit too sarcastically. ‘The real question is, is there anything left of the shape shifter we used to know?’
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She lunged toward Charles. The attack was both vicious and unexpected. Charles was caught off balance and was thrown back into the shadows. The shadows enveloped him just as they had done to Achelois. William jumped to help Charles just as Aceso had moved to intercept Achelois.
The circle of shadows was rippling in waves. It was like he was inside the belly of a snake and the black of the shadows were the muscles moving the snake along the ground. He couldn’t see any of the shadows faces, not that he expected to. Their mouths were all smiling at them though. This was the trap that they had set for them. He heard the sounds of Aceso and Achelois fighting behind him. He was focused on the heaving mass of shadows that had covered Charles. He gripped one shadow and it instantly evaporated into nothing. He reached for another, and it disappeared just as his claws were about to wrap around its midsection. Charles wasn’t making any sound, but William knew that he was underneath this pile somewhere. The faster he grabbed at the shadows the faster they disappeared. But the pile wasn’t getting any smaller. He was frantic and began shredding black air with his claws in an attempt to free his friend.
He heard off in the distance that same malevolent laugh. It was harsh and cold and mocked his efforts. The sounds of the fight behind him had increased. He heard Nicolas grunt and a heavy thud as someone fell to the ground. Katherine cried out in pain. William had to help them but Charles was in a greater need.
He ripped at the mass of shadows. Passing his claws through the formless blackness was like swiping at air. He reached deeper in through the pile. The pile didn’t get any smaller and he had no more trouble than he had when he first started. In desperation he plunged his arm up to his shoulder into the writhing mass of color. William couldn’t feel anything but cold. He couldn’t feel any sense of form from the shadows, and he couldn’t feel even the slightest hint of Charles. His arm felt no sensation at all except cold. He was afraid to do any more. He had no idea what these things were or what they were doing to Charles he couldn’t risk being taken in the same way.
He ripped and clawed at the air, forcing his muscles to move even faster. The fight behind him was getting more intense. The sounds of thuds and rips were getting louder and the sound of werewolves crashing to the floor was becoming more numerous. He had to help his pack, but he would not abandon Charles, even though he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to rescue him. The thought only drove his claws faster. Whatever these things had done to Achelois they would not succeed in doing to Charles, he would die first before letting that happen.
Not knowing what else to do he plunged both of his arms into the thick of the pile and forced himself in past his shoulders. Charles was down there and he was not going to let go until his friend was out from under these things. Just as he was about to dive into the pile himself, the shadows exploded outward in a soundless dispersion of blackness. The color faded and was swallowed by the Whyte Plain. It took William a moment to realize what had just happened. The sudden explosion had unbalanced him. The shadows had no form but suddenly losing all sight of them was disorienting.