A Little Night Muse(36)

                But it wasn’t a bear, too small. And too big to be a wolf. It                     moved like a predator though, intent and aggressive.

                He didn’t think it had seen him. It was circling toward the                     house and he had come up on its rear flank. He kept the bulk of a big pine                     between them as he advanced.

                He was so focused, he didn’t hear the cabin door open or see                     the spill of light over the porch.

                He heard his name though, clear and beautiful as a second bell                     ringing.

                “Josh?”

                Shit. He hadn’t expected her to come out. Neither had the thing                     he was stalking, obviously. It froze on the other side of the tree.

                Just for a heartbeat though. Then it sprang toward the                     house.

                “Adelyn!” he yelled. “Get inside! Now!”

                The thing moved fast, freakishly fast, and its dark hide                     reflected no light. It would have been invisible against bare earth, but it                     stood out against the snow, thin legs skittering over the ground.

                On the porch, wrapped in his comforter, Adelyn turned toward                     his voice.

                He was already running. “Get inside!” he roared. “Go!”

                She turned, but the thing—a blur of motion—was almost at the                     bottom step. She screamed as she stumbled toward the door.

                Wolly burst from the shadows. He launched across the steps to                     slam the thing hard.

                The two shapes rolled across the yard, giving Josh precious                     seconds to reach the fight. Wolly yelped in surprise as he was thrown off. Josh                     hauled back and gave the creature a bar-room kick, the boot-powered kind that                     could lift a grown man several feet in the air.

                The thing shrilled some unearthly cry that iced his spine. It                     scrabbled at him with—what the hell?—three legs?!

                He dodged away as one of the three spindly legs stabbed at him                     again, piercing the edge of his coat. The sharp tip of the leg gleamed as it                     went right through the heavy sheepskin.

                It spun toward him, oddly graceful. And one bulging eye glared                     at him from the middle of its head.