Shrunken

Chapter 41

  Large hairy paws slammed into his chest as the rain came crashing down, knocking Seto clear off his feet and onto the wet ground. Hateful blue eyes glared down at him. Glinting white teeth parted in a throaty snarl, foam flying from curled black lips. Rancid breath fumed in his face. Another flash of lightning revealed the face of his attacker: an enormous, savage, wiry-haired gray wolf. One that had just claimed him as prey.

  Immediately the beast lunged for his neck. Seto threw up his arm in defense, the pearly fangs sinking straight into soft flesh. He cried out in pain, warm liquid gushing from the wound and oozing onto his clothes. Sheer panic engulfed his heart and he fought back frantically, thrashing and kicking and punching. Trying to shake the canine off was like trying to push down a brick wall. Its powerful shoulders and heavy paws wouldn't budge.

  Summoning fire proved to be useless. The breath caught in his throat when all he could produce was hot steam; his flame went out too quickly. Mud and rainwater plastered the sorcerer's hair to his face, which the furious dog was now trying to rip off.

  Seto continued to twist in its grip, rain and tears stinging his eyes, shielding his head with his arms. The beast tore mercilessly at his limbs. Soon they'd be nothing but bone and shreds. Razorlike claws dug into his chest. Loathing growls, terrible screams, howling winds and booming thunder blended together into a horrendous symphony.

  The wolf finally pinned his arms, two sticky messes of disoriented tissue, to the blood-and-rain-soaked earth. The two were face-to-face, triumph gleaming in the haunting blue orbs of fate. Violet eyes wide in pure fear, Seto stared back, trembling beneath cruel, mighty paws.

  I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

  I didn't even say goodbye to Tyra and I'm going to die.

  But the wolf didn't lunge again. It tilted its head to one side, lips peeling back in a demonic and very human-like grin. Blood dripped from its crooked pink teeth. Cold laughter erupted from the dog's lungs.

  "My, my, how the tables have turned..." the wolf sneered in a familiar voice.

  Seto's brows furrowed over his wide eyes, his petrified gaze remaining intact. Blood bubbled from his chest as it continued to heave, rapid and shaky. Only one name flashed through his mind:

   Angel

---

 The canine chuckled darkly at his expression, shaking rainwater from his mangy pelt. "Honestly, what did you expect? Give me a little burn and I'd go hide in some hole forever?" His long red tongue slid across blood-stained fangs. "No, dear Seto. When you ask for vengeance, I always come back."

  With a creepy smirk, Angel lifted his paws and sank them into Seto's chest, making him cough. Blood ran down his chin, spots blotting his vision. He couldn't move his arms, nor did he want to look at them. The reek of blood was nauseating enough.

  "Pathetic!" he growled. "That's what you are! A little water and you're history? What bulls**t. I expected much more from you."

  "And to think! All you had to do was stay out of my way! Let me reclaim my hostage and I wouldn't have touched the little girl you have." Tears crept down Seto's cheeks at the mention of Tyra. He had finally found his soulmate and now he was going to die. He wished his last memory of her wasn't the terrified, heartbroken look she had given him before he left. 

  Angel's maniacal grin widened. "Oh, so that's how you feel?" he snickered, irises gleaming with mischief. "I'll have to pay her another visit then."

  Alarm shot through Seto like an electric current. "L-leave her... a-alone!"

  "Shoulda gotten her again and killed her first. Ah, shoulda, coulda, woulda." The wolf's ears perked up at Seto's agonized expression. He sighed warmly. "You just can't plan enough, can ya? There's always a better way to kill people."

  Seto tried to control his croaking, breaking voice. "Why... a-all this.. all this to get... to Kay?"

  The pounding rain had softened slightly, dripping down Angel's black nose and pattering on his back. He turned his head toward Starr who stood with her hackles raised against the tree trunk, still guarding the miniature hybrid.

  "That girl is my ticket back into my Tribe. To reclaiming my rank and winning their trust once more." He looked back at Seto, an icy glare in his eyes. "Daughter of the Fire leader can get us a big ransom, or a nice bloody war. I'd make a far better leader than that spineless cockroach Kunai. With me in charge, the Tribe of Fire would be nothing by now..." 

  None of this made sense to Seto, who was currently wondering why he wasn't dead yet. This guy obviously loved a good monologue... and slow, agonizing torture.

  "But enough of that." he said, snapping Seto from his wayward thoughts and back to dread. "You made the mistake of standing in the way and, more importantly..." He placed a paw on the sorcerer's throat, claws hovering just above his jugular. Another wave of thunder shook the land, trees reverbating in the harsh wind.

  "You made an enemy and let me live..." 

  "You crafted your own demise..."

  Jaws snapped around his neck. Agonizing pain exploded in his throat and released a gurgling scream. 

  Seto shut his eyes tight and lay still, waiting for death. He thought of Tyra, of Brice, of Kay, who though he couldn't hear or see her, was sobbing and screaming with her hands over her face. He thought of his mother, whom he might see shortly. He felt his consciousness fading, vision tunneling, as the hybrid drained his life away.