Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

149

"Now what?" Stevie asked. Link narrowed his eyes and he pulled away from Christy.

"Start packing. Bring the kids' weapons. Mike and Alex, hurry up and go out and gather as much Nightshade as you can find. If possible, solar lights would also be preferable. Eddie, Stevie, Drew, Kevin and Chase, y'all go out and get the tanks filled with gas. We can't take this stuff on a plane."

Everyone nodded as they ran around in a frenzy. Link searched his pockets frantically for his phone, searching for the sheriff's personal cell number.

He ushered for the kids to go help Christy so he could talk in private.

"Baker, hey this is Link!"

"Hey Link. How's it going?"

"Not too good. Listen, me and the crew are gonna be going to Buies Creek in pursuit of the Alpha. He's got Rhett."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was. Rhett found out that Jessie was the Kitsune after some stuff happened and he went absolutely postal."

"Run that by me again?" Baker's voice was disbelieving and Link scratched his head.

"Uh... Jessie's the Kitsune?"

"That explains a lot, actually. I was just about to call Rhett to let him know that they found fox fur on her nightdress. Have you guys found her yet?"

"Yes, she's with us right now. I think we're gonna leave her here. We're not having the entire crew come with us because we need somebody to film something to hold the Mythical Beasts over, plus I don't want to drag Jade and Barbara along," Link realized he was babbling and he clamped his mouth shut.

"Okay. Is she still in fox form?"

"Yeah," Link muttered, the question taking him off guard. He didn't expect the sheriff to know what a Kitsune was to begin with. "Is there a way to make her turn back?"

"I definitely know of a way, but you're not going to like the answer. The bite of an Alpha has to change her back. This is her first transformation, so she needs to be brought back to re familiarize herself with her human body."

Link's mouth fell open, every last breath escaping his lungs.

Rhett laid curled up on his side, webs of pain tingling through his body. Unconsciousness threatened to pull him down under, but he couldn't allow himself to give in to it when he wanted to be alive to see this happen.

If it'll happen. He closed his eyes, picturing how everything had happened for Link when he was scratched by Terra's claws. He had been sick from the toxin that night, and Rhett wasn't feeling sick yet. Perhaps this was a good sign that the toxin was taking to his system, but he couldn't be sure.

Maybe it would take a few hours for it to settle into his bloodstream, but he couldn't imagine that it would take too long. Sometimes it can take 30 seconds for snake venom to travel through the system, but it could take hours to affect the heart. Rhett was dealing in something extremely dangerous and he knew it, feeling pleased with himself that his cunning has brought him this far. He knew not to push his luck too far though, because he was more than likely going to be dead within a few minutes if something didn't happen soon.

He groaned and pushed himself onto his back, staring at the ceiling unblinking as the dull throbbing grabbed his stomach region. Something strange began to happen when he noticed his vision faltering, the light fixture on the ceiling being the focal point of the space. It was like his vision narrowed in on it like a telescope, and he pushed himself onto his elbows, feeling a pull in his abdomen like somebody was holding the gash together by their hands to stitch it up. He then felt an incessant pricking weaving in and out of his skin like a needle being woven through cloth, and he brought his chin to his chest and slowly lifted his shirt.