“Yes, but he got to keep you, girly!” the yellow-eyed head hissed. “And we wants you! What’s more, we aims to have you!”
He rushed forward and Kalis pushed Jillian behind his back.
“Go, little Mistress,” he murmured. “Run to any booth or stall and claim Market Sanctuary—you’ll be safe and I’ll find you when I finish this.”
“But you’ve only got one hand!” Jillian exclaimed. “And he’s like four feet taller than you! This isn’t a fair fight at all. And you shouldn’t have to fight, either—I’m not a prize to be won—I’m a person, goddamnit!”
“Just go!” Kalis begged her. He could feel the Rage wanting to take over his body again and this time he wasn’t sure he could stop it. If the Rage came, so would his other form, and he didn’t need his new little Mistress to see him that way—not yet.
Jillian started to move away but before she could get to the nearest booth—which appeared to sell dried herbs—the three-headed Trollox called Thrasher grabbed her.
“She ent going anywhere until this fight is over,” he announced, grinning cruelly as Jillian struggled in his grip. “This little girly is going back to Ripper’s shop with him—just as soon as he finishes with you, Kindred.”
Kalis glared at him, feeling the hot curtain of Rage drop over his vision—it stained everything he saw blood-red and he could feel his other form—his Ursus—pushing to break free and take over. Still, he fought it, though seeing the bastard’s hands on her again woke every protective instinct and his other form roared within him.
“Let my Mistress go,” he growled at the three-headed Trollox. “Or you’ll get what your friend Ripper is about to get.”
“What’s that, Kindred?” Ripper’s yellow-eyed head taunted. “You think you’re going to take us both on one-handed? We’ll have your other hand for our shop window before you can take the first swing.” He tossed the huge cleaver from hand to hand, both his heads grinning tauntingly. “Then maybe we’ll take your legs as well and prop you up so you can watch while we fuck your Mistress.”
This last taunt was too much for Kalis to take. He could feel the Rage building within him, pushing against the dam inside his mind that separated his two forms. His Ursus was about to break free and there was nothing he could do about it, even though Jillian was watching him with wide, uncertain eyes.
“You fucking bastard,” he growled, his voice already being taken over by his beast. “I’ll kill you for daring to speak so of my female. Come for me then and see what you get!”
And then he began to change.
21
This day was just one long, never ending nightmare, Jillian had decided. She’d been drugged, left in the Dark Market, kidnapped by the disgusting Trollox who’d threatened to rape her and chop off her limbs. Then she’d gone to court where a huge, haunted tree was the judge and had to watch the man she was really beginning to care for get his hand chopped off for her. And now, despite having gone through all that, she was right back where she’d started with a Trollox holding her against her will, while Ripper looked poised to kill Kalis.
This is so unfair—how can he fight with only one hand? she thought wildly, struggling against the three-headed Trollox’s grip. Why don’t the stupid guards come help?
But the ostrich-necked guards just stood there, at the doors of the Master’s compound, watching with their stupid, googly eyes. Maybe their only job was to guard the gate and they didn’t get involved in conflicts. Or maybe they just didn’t give a damn. Jillian didn’t know, but she could tell there was going to be no help from that direction.
None of the stall and booth owners or market customers seemed inclined to help either. The closest stalls were closing down hurriedly, pulling long, flexible metal netting down over their outer perimeters to protect their wares and property.
“Help!” Jillian struggled as Ripper and Kalis squared off, exchanging insults. “Somebody help me—this Trollox won’t let me go!”
But she got no better results than she had when she screamed in the Dark Market. It seemed that nobody was brave enough to go up against a Trollox.
Well, except Kalis, but he only has one hand, she thought desperately. What is he going to do when—
And then the big Kindred began to change.
Jillian watched in disbelief as he began to sprout greenish-gray fur all over his muscular body. At the same time, he seemed to be growing—getting bigger and bigger.
Oh my God, she thought blankly. He’s going to be almost as big as Ripper if he doesn’t stop!
He didn’t stop. The big Kindred grew larger and larger until he towered over the two-headed Trollox by at least two or three feet.
But the change wasn’t just his size or the long, shaggy fur that had sprouted all over his body. His face elongated too, his mouth forming a predator’s jaws that parted showing teeth as long and sharp as steak knives.