Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter 36

Harley sat up, interest piqued at what he'd heard. Mama slowed too, growling softly at the treeline.

"What is it?" He whispered, leaning forward to brace himself in case she started running.

She turned towards the noise, feet thumping against the ground. Harley held his breath, muscles tensing. The bushes rustled again, and then he caught a glimpse of blue in the darkness. The blue glowed an unnatural light. Magic.

For a moment, he thought it was Jim, but that hope was cut short when the blue turned to two twinkling lights that blinked. Then their owner began to snarl. Whatever was hiding in the bushes was big. Not as big as Mama, but definitely big enough to be a problem.

Without warning, the thing lunged. Mama jerked back, trying to protect him as the beast clawed up the side of her leg. She roared loudly, reaching around to get a hold on the beast with her teeth, but it remained just out of reach. She stumbled, blood coating the ground. Harley was flung from her back.

He hit the ground hard, the air knocking from his lungs, head smacking on the ground. He gasped for breath, rolling onto his knees. His vision was blurred from the fall. He might have hit his head too hard, because he was definitely seeing things.

"Fenris?" He muttered, staggering when he tried to stand. Fuck, his head hurt. But he saw the silhouette of Carter's wolf latched onto Mama's hide.

"Harley?!" A voice that sounded very much like Archie's echoed in his ringing ears. Fire cascaded from the air, accompanied by a pained roar from Mama. "Fenris, Harley is here!"

Harley shook his head, trying to clear his vision. He blinked multiple times, feeling sick suddenly. "Archie?"

Something heavy landed on his shoulders and Mama roared again, very distinctly in their direction. "What are you doing here!?"

"I was... looking for help." He murmured, once more shaking his head to dispel the brain fog. "T—tell Fenris to stop."

Archie was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Harley, that is a dinosaur."

"I know," he breathed, nausea brimming. "And she's my friend."

"Very well," Archie sighed, then turned his attention to the fight and yelled, "Fenris, leave off! Harley says she's a friend!"

Fenris bounded off the tyrannosaur's back, covered in blood—a mix of his own and Mama's. "What the hell is going on?"

Harley opened his mouth to answer, and then his vision fuzzed, black spots dancing in his eyes. His knees buckled and the world went dark.

***

Fenris bounded forward, catching Harley right before the boy could smack his head on a rock. The t-Rex snarled, taking a menacing step forward. Archie snapped his teeth at the creature, fire flashing in the air.

"Enough! We are friends." He hissed, hoping to gods the dinosaur understood basic English. He didn't have time to worry about how or why there was a dinosaur here.

But she stood down, gazing at the young demigod with genuine, recognizable concern in her eyes.

Fenris was gently lowering Harley to the ground, nosing at the side of his head. "He must have hit his head when he fell."

"Concussion?" Archie asked, a pang of guilt ebbing through his chest.

"Probably," Fenris sighed. He looked up at the giant lizard suspiciously. "Was he alone?"