Demons End (Tremble Island) by Lynn Ray Lewis Page A

Tremble, but was nowhere near as magnificent a place as the founding settlement of the island. Trundle came back to the Lord’s party and did something that made most within their sight gasp and hold their breath. He stood in front of Lion, plucked the Lady Rane from his back, picked the huge cat up in his trunk, and ran back the way he had come from.
    Nord was overhead gliding along, when he spied what was happening and followed the huge beast. No one noticed the demon moving with lightening speed in their wake. The demon had no idea that the well-fed banshee was directly behind him.
    Wensel plopped Aria next to Rane, nodded to her and walked five steps before disappearing. Following the path left by the demon was easy, a small dusting of gold showed her his path. She could not materialize and stay invisible like a demon, but she could move faster than could be detected by the normal eyesight of most creatures.
    Trundle set Lion down close to the edge of the trees before the beach started. He waved his trunk forward, but Lion knew the big creature wanted him to go forward quietly. He could hear them before he saw them. Men were gathered on the beach, yelling, and animals were making enough noise to wake whatever dead there was in the vicinity. He saw the reason for Trundle’s distress. Several cages sat on the beach filled with animals. One cage held two males in human form, but if they were shifters, he was not close enough to tell what their alternate nature was. Nearer where he watched from, the stench made his belly cramp, wanting to puke. A table was set up and four humans were busy skinning a wolf shifter’s body. It had been a beautiful male, large and in its prime, before death at the hands of the vile men.
    Lion crept backwards and shook his furry hide; as he shook, his sleek stripped body grew into a huge golden battle cat, the thick pads of woven hair that covered his shoulders and chest appeared to be a shield. The spikes of bone standing from his spine curved in an arc, to impale any enemy ignorant enough to attack from above.
    The giant white bear coming from the trees to stand next to the cat, was fearsome with its huge paws tipped with knife length razor sharp claws. The wide mouth of the thing was filled with sharp white teeth as long as a man’s arm was deep. The two made a frightening sight. The demon came to stand with them and smiled. “Did you really think I could sit back and allow you to have all of the fun? These souls are mine once we finish with them. They will bring hours of enjoyment in the pit.”
    Trundle stomped his feet and raised his trunk to trumpet his version of a battle cry. When he rushed onto the beach, the humans scattered, grabbing swords and large clubs to attack the mountainous creature that knocked them down each time he passed through their midst.
    The giant cat had the attention of the leader of the band of scum, he wanted that pelt. His greed proved to be his end as the cat took his throat and crushed it into a bloody chew toy. The white bear had a man impaled on his claws, and kept swing the man in front of his body each time the man’s comrade attempted to attack the bear. It was a game to the animal and when he grew tired of it, he simply flicked the bloody body away from his paw, and roared when it landed at the feet of the demon.
    Nord left the fight to Lion and Trundle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. He went to the cages and released the captives. Of the twelve animals caged, two were natural born single natured beings. The rest were denizens of Morlien Hall and village.
    Once the people and shifters had been sorted out, they sat in the sand and answered Lion’s and Nord’s questions. Koler stayed near to listen. He found no lies coming from the captives, only relief from being rescued before they had been murdered as the last three shifters had been.
    The shifter, Reil, told Lion how they ended up as sacrifices for the furriers. “Lord Borland