Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

there, gaping. “Well…run,” she said, discretely signaling the bandersnatch to give chase. Some days she really liked her job. The class scattered and the creature leaped after them. They didn’t stand a chance. Unless they’d done their reading. Then they’d know that, in this instance, music quite literally tames the savage beast. Hence, her humming.
    She watched the recruits with an amused smile. A couple had stopped and were standing still. They were either humming or singing at a low volume because she couldn’t hear them but the bandersnatch left them alone. Then it claimed its first victim.
    If they’d been in the jungles of Borneo, the beast would have played with its food, much like a cat with a mouse. A toss or two in the air and then it would rip into the tender flesh of its prey. Since the Agency tended to get pissed when the rookies got eaten, this particular bandersnatch was a bit more tame. It merely knocked its target down and proceeded to slobber all over them. While they screamed. Like little girls.
    A particularly piercing shriek from one of her students made her cringe. He so wasn’t cut out for this line of work. When the creature was through, it was evident roughly a third of class had done their reading. The beast stood in the middle of the field looking around expectantly. Finding no one else that wasn’t making some form of music, or hadn’t already been knocked down, it headed toward the nearest prone form.
    Opening its jaws, it leaned over a girl which was Ann Marie if Juliana wasn’t mistaken. Daddy undoubtedly loved this.
    “No,” Juliana scolded.
    The bandersnatch froze. It shifted its eyes so it could see her better and inched forward. “No,” she said again, stomping her foot for emphasis. The beast whimpered. “I don’t care if you’re hungry. You can’t eat the recruits.”
    With a sigh, it sat and hung its head in disappointment. She placed two fingers in her mouth and let out a long wolf whistle. It trotted over to her immediately. Humming in pleasure, it rubbed against her as she scratched behind its ears. After a moment, she patted it on the side and it moved back into the crate. One of the non-slimed recruits helped her seal the crate back up. She gave him a nod of thanks and turned to the bleachers to find Jeremiah and Nathaniel helping Ann Marie’s father up onto the seat from where he’d evidently fallen. It appeared her training exercise was a little too intense for dear old dad.
    She turned to the field. “Meet in the rotunda in an hour. Those of you who got slimed might want to hit the shower. Bandersnatch saliva contains corrosive properties.”
    Several people made a beeline for the locker rooms and dad swooned to the side again before Nathaniel righted him. The wolf shot Juliana an irritated look and she shrugged. The saliva wasn’t actually corrosive and they’d know that if they’d done their reading. Of course, if they’d done their reading, they wouldn’t have gotten slimed at all.
    Jeremiah made his way down to her. “Ben wants to see you two in his office.”
    Her lip curled. Seeing her boss ranked very low on the list of things she wanted to do today. Or any day for that matter. “Will you meet them in the rotunda in case I’m late? You know the drill.”
    He gave her a nod as he slipped his hands into his pockets. She waited for Nathaniel to join her before heading inside.
     
    ***
     
    Ben’s office was dimly lit and in complete disarray. Juliana grabbed a pile of papers off one of the chairs and dropped them onto the floor before taking their place. Nathaniel curled his lip at the state of the room and wandered over to look at the fish. He flicked his fingers in the water.
    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said.
    He glanced at her. “Why not?”
    “Wereguppies.”
    “Wereguppies? What the hell are you on about?”
    She sighed as if he was the stupidest wolf on the planet. “Those. Are. Wereguppies.”
    “They are