Chapter 84

I can see them, a multitude of Shifters in physical or spiritual form converging on the shoreline, and these are unlike any others I have seen. Red eyes glisten in dark, throbbing bodies. Each of them looks thirsty, tinged with the madness that accompanies emotions such as hatred or envy. Some have burrowed into the surrounding foliage, with glowing tree trunks for torsos and blood-red veins running down from heads to roots. They're human-shaped in that they don't look as sturdy or as thick as a normal tree, and the arms are made of gathered branches, yet possess an intimidating elasticity.

Jake pulls out a small dagger, his face twisted by some of the same insanity the Shifters possessed. "Brace yourselves," he growls as the first Shifter in physical form tears out of the undergrowth and runs faster than any normal human being should.

Without hesitation, I raise my arm and throw the spear with all my might. The joy of life fills my chest as it hits a Shifter square in the face, embed