Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

137

Was Rhett seriously going to try explaining to animal control that the fox was his wife? He fumbled for the right words to say, a bubbling string of incoherent sounds muttering from his lips. The bald headed man just shook his head and turned on his heel to start walking inside.

Rhett blew his chance. On a rash decision, which he was notorious for in that evening, he ran out toward them. The two men stopped and eyed him with wide eyes, and suddenly, he was jerked backward by the back of his shirt. He teetered on his heels before landing flat on them again, rubbing the back of his head before facing the cause of the catch. His eyes widened as a man sneered and gripped his shoulder, before seamlessly passing a knife through his abdomen.

Rhett's eyes watered as everything happened in slow motion. He heard the tear of his shirt and the squelching of the flesh and blood before he felt the pain that roared through his stomach. He let out a weak gasp as blood filled his mouth, trickling out of the corner as he looked square into Teegan's half burned face.

His nostrils flared as his eyes were darker than usual, and he deliberately rewrapped each finger around the hilt gripping it tighter before thrusting it further into Rhett's stomach. Rhett cried out, a tear escaping his eye as he was doubled over, Teegan's grip on his shoulder like steel.

"Now, unless you want me to rip this out and let you drop to the ground to bleed out to your death, I highly advise you obey my every command. Got it?"

Rhett could only nod his head, turning his head to spit the metallic tasting liquid out of his mouth. Conveniently, the men had run inside with their tails tucked between their legs at the sight of the assault.

Even though Rhett was in crippling pain, he couldn't help but feel satisfied that everything was going according to plan.

Jackson shook his head as he walked, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. They had been wandering downtown Burbank for the past 20 minutes and he couldn't pick up on Rhett's scent for the life of him. Maybe the rain was really starting to water down all the scents that he could pick up on, and he lowered his eyes to his boots as he realized this was probably the case. There was at least three quarters to an inch of rain on the ground already, engulfing the soles of his shoes.

He couldn't help but notice that Link was being particularly quiet, and he turned his head to see Link with his head lowered. He narrowed his eyes at Link.

"What's the matter with you," he said, and Link looked up suddenly with a dazed look in his eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just frustrated. For some reason there's a ton of voices in my,-" Link stopped talking abruptly, his throat feeling like it was suddenly closing up. He brought his hands up to his throat and looked up at Jackson with worry.

Jackson took a step toward him. "What? Why are you doing that? Link?"

Link made a choking sound as he doubled over in half. It seemed like the world was spinning too fast and he gripped the sides of his head, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He felt a burning sensation in his lower stomach and his eyes watered, but they were Rhett's tears.

Link straightened himself up abruptly and threw his head back, a pitiful yet foreboding wail erupting from his vocal chords.

"RHHHHETTTTT!"

Jackson winced as Link's powerful scream erupted the dam of silence. Not only did it reverberate off of the buildings in a deafening echo, it also rolled through the sky like a rumble of thunder. It was a wail of mourning, as if Link knew something that nobody else knew. Jackson understood completely what it meant, and he exhaled slowly as his shoulders began to drop. Either Rhett was dead or he was going to die, and it was going to happen fast if they didn't make it to him in time.