Free Half a Dose of Fury by Zenina Masters Page A

back. It was a strange-enough idea, but she was getting used to it.
    She shifted to human again, her vest covered what it needed to, and the tight fit of her leggings meant that only the pale shapes of her feet were visible.
    “I need to do a complete search of the compound. There might be others that were not at the party. A transporter always stays until we leave.”
    Arrowheart nodded. “Very well; I will go where you lead.”
    “Good. If I signal, follow my lead.” She was at the edge of her transformation limit. She shifted back into her more bitey form and went hunting.
    She lifted her nose to the night and inhaled, seeking the scent of other shifters. She beckoned Arrowheart to follow her as she ran through the compound, looking for anyone left behind.
    The cages where the shifters had been kept were clean, and there were ten of them. The flat panel on the floor was the first place that Yval looked. She hauled it up with her claws and yowled and snarled into the hole.
    Yips, chirps and growls greeted her. She drew her head back at the scent of all the shifters kept below. She looked to Arrowheart and flexed her hands twice before pointing at the door.
    “Right. Tell them that we have twenty more victims. I will be right back.” He turned and left the room while she lowered herself into the hole. Her vest had the icon of the Shifter Guild on it, and she kept her half-form in place while she went to the healthy ones and set them loose so they could transform and heal.
    Soothing noises did not come naturally to her, so she made small chirps and growls that tried to be relaxing and cheerful.
    A few of the shifters changed to human when she freed them, and they soothed the others.
    Footsteps above made everyone freeze. Those who could put themselves between those still trapped and the entrance did so. Yval waved them back with short growls, and she went to the steps, waiting at the bottom.
    Arrowheart came down, and the survivors cried out. Yval let out a sharp bark and reached up, tapping the Shifter Guild icon on Arrowheart’s shoulder.
    Other hunters came down, and together, they worked to get those that could walk up the stairs, and those that had to be carried were held as gently as possible and taken to the healers who were still waiting above.
    She made her way to the darkest corners of the cells, confirming that they were clear. There were three other buildings to check, and Yval hoped that they were empty.
    Arrowheart followed her, and when she found three more shifters in the last structure, he helped her get them safe.
    The hunters were elated and depressed at the same time. With the looks that the fey were giving each other, they thought that the treaty had ended the trade in shifters. It was an adorably naïve way to think. It ignored the urge to collect that many of the older fey had fostered during their lifetimes. They had focused on the next acquisition to get them through the ages.
    When the last of the victims had been transported, Yval threw her head back and let out a warbling yowl. The tone was deeper and louder than her beast voice could have managed, and it had the desired effect. The sound echoed through the compound, into every nook and cranny. She called out again and waited.
    Yval’s shoulders slumped in relief as her call went unanswered. The magic was specific. She could call shifters, and they would respond, no matter their condition. If they were gagged, she would hear them clawing. If there was no sound at all, they had all been found.
    She let out two short, sharp barks and headed for the transport space. Arrowheart and the other members of their team formed up around her.
    The hunters were heading home.
    As the light grew and the chant droned on, Yval returned to her human form for the debriefing. A flash of brightness and they were on the group transport pad in the basement of the guildhall.
    She stretched her jaw a few times.
    Arrowheart muttered, “You still have blood on your