Jame’s Notes: Finally we arrive at the climactic battle, where we get to find out if Daniel is as smart as he thinks he is.
Barreling down the dismal alley came my favorite slavering beast. I felt a little bad, because in all likelihood my spell had caused him to transform. After all, I was summoning the beast, not the man. I hoped he hadn’t harmed anyone getting here. Just as I started to be concerned that he appeared to be charging right for me, Dimitri gently swept me aside and stepped in front.
The slim, dapper old man stared down the werewolf with unflinching eyes the color of ice. I swear I could hear the silence as all the werewolves hold their breath. The raging death machine, finally free of its compulsion now that it was in the presence of the circle that had summoned it, reverted to its other drives and leapt through the air at Dimitri.
What happened next can only be described as the type of poetry in motion you normally see in the ballet. Dimitri’s arms, and only his arms, transformed. They became long, muscled, and covered in silver hair. With one hand he easily palmed the face of the charging werewolf. The other anchored him to the ground, his huge talons digging into the concrete. With a graceful pivot he transferred the momentum of his opponent and sent him slamming into the nearby brick wall with the force of an Indy car collision.
In a movement that would have looked like a blur even to the assembled werewolves quicker perceptions, Dimitri pounced on his fallen foe. Only his hands were transformed now, as he braced his legs against the werewolf’s back and used his monstrous hands to strangle him. The werewolf thrashed and snarled but seemed unable to escape Demetris vice-like grip.
Every time it would try to regain its feet, Dimitri would make slight adjustments that would cause it to lose its balance and stay on the ground. Before long, the werewolf had ceased to struggle and lay imobile on the floor.
Dimitri stood carefully, brushing off his suit and producing a small pocket comb that he used to fix his slightly ruffled hair. I glanced at our quarry and saw that he was transforming back into a human.
Dimitri threw the unconscious man over his shoulder, careful not to muss his jacket.
“Is he going to be all right”, I asked.
“Do not worry, my dear Daniel. While that amount of oxygen deprivation might kill you, it will merely render him unconscious long enough for me to get him someplace safe for us to have a reasonable discussion.”
Meanwhile, the werewolves seem to have found their nerve, and were approaching.
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Gray Matters: The Works of Sharon and James Gray 