Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Author:Annette Curtis Klause
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780375843167
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2009-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

16

Four males were eliminated before Vivian could blink twice. Spat out of the fur maelstrom, they staggered their separate zigzag routes to the sidelines with bloody flanks. One dragged a damaged leg. Another burst from the rumble and fled into the woods, tail between his legs.

Rudy and Tomas, still only partly changed, dove in to drag a brindle stranger out from under scuffling claws. The stranger lay motionless under the bushes, but he stayed in his fur, so he was still alive.

The remainder wove an intricate Celtic knot. The object was to wound and not be touched. To be wounded was to be disqualified. Jaws snapped, paws danced, bodies lunged, then rolled aside.

Vivian noticed the brothers, Raul and Rolf, on opposite sides of the fray. They would avoid each other if they could. Bucky had no such qualms about the two buddies he usually hung with. He feinted at one, then veered and sank his teeth into the other’s throat. Gabriel took the first one by surprise when he ducked Bucky’s feint, and ripped a hole in his shoulder; then Gabriel turned his fangs back to the blond stranger, who retreated quickly.

Bucky brought his opponent down. They rolled, a growling mass of fur and spume, but Bucky kept his grip, forcing his teeth through the thick pelt. He must have tasted blood, because he released his hold, scrambled to all fours, and raised his muzzle in a brief triumphant howl. Vivian found she was howling, too. She choked it off in surprise.

Bucky spun around to protect his back. It wasn’t wise to savor victory long. His defeated friend slunk toward the edge of the clearing, his belly close to the ground.

In the center, Gabriel and the blond stranger circled each other warily, their hackles spiked and their teeth bared. Rolf edged by them, intent on a gray who stood momentarily disengaged, his sides heaving.

That was a mistake.

The blond lunged, savaged Rolf’s nose, and swung back to Gabriel in a snarling heartbeat.

Meanwhile, someone took out Raul; Vivian didn’t know who, but she saw Jean lay low the gray, who had only made it this far from dumb luck.

Gabriel and the blond still circled stiff-legged. Their lips were wrinkled into masks of hatred; their sinews trembled with the stress of restraint. Gabriel struck, missed, tumbled, and was back on four feet before the blond’s teeth clicked on air.

Bucky herded two other strangers like sheep. Jean joined him. They made short work of the unknown pair, and Vivian’s heart thumped with the beauty of their fierce symmetry.

Then they had only each other to turn on.

They faced off, their jaws parted in laughter. Bucky glanced over at Gabriel and the blond, then back at Jean. He cocked his head and Vivian knew he said, “It’s just us, buddy, unless you wanna come between them?”

Jean deliberately lifted his leg and sent a short stream of urine shooting in their direction. The message was clear: “Piss on that.”

Vivian smiled at their banter, her mouth wide and toothy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.