The boat scraped against sand.
Wolfen jumped off first, landing in the shallow surf, his golden eyes scanning the beach ahead. Zoey followed, her psychokinesis already humming beneath her skin, ready for whatever waited.
The beach was empty.
Too empty.
"Something's wrong," Zoey murmured.
Wolfen nodded slowly. "I feel it too."
They walked forward, sand crunching beneath their boots, the Australian sun beating down on them. The tree line ahead was dark, shadowed, impossible to read.
Then something moved.
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, impossibly tall, its form silhouetted against the darkness. It stepped into the light, and they saw it clearly for the first time.
Thirteen and a half feet of elongated nightmare. Pale gray translucent skin stretched over dark red muscle striations. Blood—actual blood, or something like it—wept constantly from fissures in its body, dripping onto the sand with a soft, corrosive hiss. Its head was narrow, lipless, filled with needle teeth. Small red eyes glowed with terrible intelligence.
Arms longer than its entire body hung at its sides, claws scraping the ground.
It stopped twenty feet away, tilting its head, studying them.
When it spoke, the voice was wet, bubbling, forced through that lipless gape.
"Project Somatic-Necrotic Stalker-22." A pause. "But you can call me whatever you like." Another pause. "Lily is marvelous."
Wolfen's eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"
The creature didn't answer. It just stood there, dripping blood onto the sand, those small red eyes fixed on him with something that might have been anticipation.
Wolfen moved.
He vanished from his spot, reappearing beside the creature, a blade of Umbralite already formed in his hand. He swung—
The creature caught it.
Those long, clawed fingers wrapped around the black blade, blood dripping onto the edge, sizzling. It pulled Wolfen closer, its lipless mouth stretching into something that might have been a smile.
"Fast."
They clashed.
The fight was brutal, savage, perfectly matched. Wolfen's speed met the creature's reach. His fire met its weeping blood. They became a whirlwind of violence, sand exploding around them, the air itself screaming with each impact.
Wolfen's blade found its ribs—a deep cut that released a flood of crimson fluid. The creature's claws raked across his shoulder, drawing blood that healed almost instantly.
They separated, circling.
Wolfen was breathing hard. The creature's wounds were already closing, that hemorrhagic biology working overtime.
"You're stronger than I expected."
It lunged.
Wolfen braced.
And something punched through his stomach from behind.
He looked down. A blade—tungsten, twisted, familiar—protruded from his abdomen, dripping his blood onto the sand.
"I'LL KILL YOU, WOLFRIC!"
Scylla's voice was a shriek of pure, concentrated hatred. She twisted the blade.
Wolfen's vision went white.
---
He spun, ripping himself off the blade, Umbralite flowing to seal the wound even as he moved. His fist connected with Scylla's face—a solid hit that sent her staggering back. She recovered instantly, those cold killer's eyes fixed on him with absolute fury.
The creature—TSB-06—began to move away.
Zoey stepped into its path.
"Little girl." The creature's head tilted. "You cannot stop me."
"Watch me."
Her hand raised. Psychokinesis surged—
And the ground beneath the creature dissolved into black liquid. It sank without a struggle, without a sound, consumed by Shadow's portals before Zoey could even strike.
It was gone.
Zoey spun back toward Wolfen.
He was locked in combat with Scylla—two killers, two hunters, two people who had been waiting a very long time for this moment.
She wanted to help. Needed to help.
But Wolfen's voice cut through the chaos:
"Get to Lily! I've got this!"
Zoey hesitated.
Then she ran.
Behind her, the sounds of battle continued—metal meeting Umbralite, flesh striking flesh, two forces of nature trying to murder each other on a blood-soaked beach.
The hunt wasn't over.
It was just entering its next phase.