Beyond the Gateway (Cranksepticeye)

Sixteen

From outside his immediate sphere of concentration, Ethan saw that Jack had blacked out, and was grateful for that. He didn't want him to see what happened next, whatever the outcome.
As the creature lunged for Jack, Ethan leaped and locked his arms around it's massive torso. He threw his weight sideways, rolling with the wolflike animal, taking it as far away as possible from the unconscious boy. The roll ended with Ethan on his back. He threw his forearms up in front of his face as the thing snapped at his trachea.
Its fetid breath poured over him like a swamp fog, its sharp-toothed jaws straining close on his flesh. With is arms crossed in a defensive shield, Ethan reached for both of the creatures ragged ears. He grabbed, pulling hard in opposing directions. The thing yelped in a disturbingly dog-like fashion and flung itself onto its back. Ethan leaped to his feet and aimed a kick at the things ribs. It grunted in pain and lurched to its feet, where it hovered several inches above the ground and gathered itself, swing its head to and fro. Backing up on its raised hindquarters, it hunched in preparation for another attack, growling hideously deep in its throat.
Before Ethan had a chance to draw a weapon, it leaped again. Arching its heavy body in midair, twisted past Ethan and went again for Jack. Ethan flung himself in another tackle, one-armed, grabbing frantically with his free hand at the small of his back, where he carried a sharp dagger in a sheath on his belt. The move left the right side of his chest unprotected for an instant, and Ethan felt the boom of searing pain.
Losing his bearing, he collapsed. Face pressed to the ground, he heard the sound of running feet and more snarling. Dimly he heard fighting then silence.
After a moment, Ethan was able to raise his head.
Maddox stood above him, holding out a hand to help him stand. A heavy mace dangled from a thong at his other wrist.
"Bellamy and Camina mist have sensed you needed help at just about the same time I did, I guess," he said, gesturing down the deserted path. "They've gone after-"
Ethan cut him short. "You didn't kill it? Did you?"
Maddox wiped his brow. "Nah, wounded maybe, not sure. . . ."
"Where did it go?"
"Yonder. I'll go help them. You can stay with-"
"No! It has to be me."
Maddox's head snapped up at the tome of Ethan's voice. "That was a Black Shuck! It didn't tag you, did it?"
Ethan pulled aside his coat and watched as his friend's eyes went wide with alarm. He looked down and saw the dark red lines of blood through the slashes in his T-shirt. He could feel the poison of the shuck's claws seeping, a terrible numbing cold growing slowly, spreading up toward his shoulder.
"Go," Maddox urged him, near panicked. "Go! I'll take care of the boy."
"Get him home. Find out where that is."
"Don't worry about that right now-"
"He has a horse in his bathtub, Madd," Ethan said urgently.
"Ah." Maddox blinked, understanding. "Well then."
"Be careful, Maddox. That shuck? It had a purpose and it didn't come after me. It went straight for him. Ignored me like I was a stone. It was tracking him."
"Seven hells. Tracking him for whom?"
"Dunno . . . "
Ethan staggered a bit and almost fell to one knee. Maddox put out a hand to steady him. In the distance, they heard baying.
"Go now, Ethan," Maddox said. "I'll try to signal Bell and Camina - tell them to hold off on killing the dammed thing. But even still, you've only got till midnight if they don't take it out first."
Ethan nodded and took one last glance at where Jack lay on the ground. Then he pushed all thoughts of pain from his mind and took off at a run down the path, hoping desperately that he would not be too late.

The Black Shuck had given the Jade twins one hell of a merry chase up and down the park. When Ethan had finally found them, Camina and Bellamy had the thing cornered on the terrace of Belvedere Castle. By that time Ethan was a lurching apparition, heaving himself up the worn stone steps with the very last of his strength. Camina was about to send a slender spear hurtling down the thing's gaping maw.
"Camina!" Ethan managed to rasp. "I need it. I need the kill . . . "
"Oh, Ethan!" She took in his appearance with one swift glance. "Bell, hold up!" She turned and called to Ethan over her shoulder, "You'd better hurry. You won't be able to kill in another moment, from the look of you."
His sword was out in his had already and he brushed past the other two Jade, not even bothering to feint or dodge. The mental image of Jack, unconscious and at the mercy of the beast that now stood snarling in front of him, was all he needed. He took two steps, slashed upward with the silver sword, then down again. The demon dog's head slumped to one side, its body to the other.
In a few seconds before the gruesome thing began to fade from existence, Ethan went around to its long, shaggy tail and, with the edge of his bloodied blade, sheared off a length of the coarse black hair. He held out a handful of wiry strands to Camina and sank to his knees on the hard stone, his head drooping.
"Could you . . . ?" he mumbled, the fire of the shuck's poison burning through his veins.
Camina knelt in front of him, and Ethan watched through a fog as she went to work with swift, capable fingers. Soon she was tying a ribbon of braided dog hair around his wrist with an intricate knot.
" 'Hair o' the dog that bit ye,' " she said, lifting his face gently. "You'll be alright now."
Slowly, Ethan's vision began to clear. He stood dizzily and thanked the twins for their help, wishing he could go home to bed. But the night wasn't over yet, and there was still the rest of the Gate to be guarded until sunrise. As Camina and Bellamy prepared to return to their patrol, Ethan raised a weak hand, forestalling them.
"Be careful," he said. "Very careful. Auberon thinks that someone may be trying to wake the Hunt."