Exton

The Shadow Paths taken by the coach are strewn with horrors. At least, that is what the passengers within think. Howls and the sounds of battle, screams of tortured souls, the scent of rotting flesh, all assail their senses. Each huddles in their seat, doing their best not to notice.

Guunnar grins at Keon and throws back his head to laugh. It booms with the sound of merriment, but not inside the Coach. There, it sounds like a demented cackle of the insane. The Riders enjoy themselves, talking, singing, tapping the side of the Coach. One Rider brushes his fingers along a window. There is a screech from inside and the sounds of someone scrambling away.

"That was mean, Victorio." Keon chides, hiding a grin. He can imagine what the Coach has done with that sound, quite sure the Cat heard the sound of claws raking the window. Victorio laughs and drifts his mount away from the side.

The Driver drums her heels against the floor beneath her feet. It sounds, inside, like the thunderous roar of a stampede. With a crack of the reins the Coach picks up speed. Although the ride is smooth, the two shifters are bounced around. They try desperately to hold on as the Coach seems to careen out of control. There are screams and shouts as the two hang on for dear life.

A small Rider joins Keon and Guunnar. Guunnar reaches out and slaps the Rider's back, nearly unseating him.

"Ramji, is good magics you did!"

The smaller Rider gives a wry smile. "I did nothing Guunnar, just talked to the Coach. It understood what we needed."

Guunnar shakes his great shaggy head. "In all the centuries I have been a Rider, I still do not understand the Coach."

Ramji grins. "That is why it does not listen to you." He grins at Keon "The Coach is like a woman, and Guunnar doesn't understand them, either."

The men laugh. The sounds echos inside the Coach like the shrieks of Harpies bent on stealing the shifters' souls.

There is moonlight ahead and the Coach pulls to a stop in a clearing in the trees. Ramji dismounts and touches a door. It slowly opens, exposing a terrified pair.

"OUT!"

The order is barked in a hollow voice. They scramble down the step, watching the Riders with wide eyes. The Coach rolls away from their backs, blending with the shadows of the forest. Only the bone accents gleam in the moonlight.

There is a snarl from behind them and the shifters turn, half afraid to see what made the sound. A tiger steps from the trees, followed by a bobcat and wolf. Keon speaks softly. His lilting voice all the more condemning in the darkness.

"Ye have been given one chance. We have brought ye to Shifter held lands. Ye can escape. Ye have only to find the highway." His hand opens,gesturing to the three creatures. Several others step from the trees, some changed, others still human.

"These are yer hunters. Ye are the prey. Run while you can."

The two stand stock still taking in the group facing them. One of the human hunters raises a rifle, aiming for the female. Like a bolt, she runs for the trees. The male shoots off at an angle. The hunter hefts his rifle and grins.

"Silver shot?" Keon asks.

The Hunter begins to change, slipping into the half shape bitten were's take. "Nope. buckshot. I want this to hurt."

A woman pauses by the Riders' side. "My daughter was his mate. She was a month pregnant when they took her. She wasn't when they found her five weeks later in the woods. She died a week ago. I won't refuse him his payback." In moments a cream and white cougar stands by their sides. She coughs once and bounds away with a snarl.

Guunnar watches the other shapeshifters melt into the trees. "Odds on if they make it to the highway?" Ramji and Victorio are about to lay down bets until Keon laughs.

"Throwing away yer money lads." he points behind them, in the opposite direction from which the shifters have gone.

"The highway is that way. They are heading deeper into the conclave."

There is general laughter and the Riders fan out, barring the way to the highway.