| |
The scorching heat was broiling, even at this far of a distance away, searing the exposed skin of my face and arms till it felt I was melting into a small puddle of Kyri. I could see the buildings crumped like paper under the mighty power of the inferno devouring everything in its path. The wall of orange flames growing stronger, wider as it received more and more fuel from the burning wood, leaping high into the air as it gave birth to the endless mass of black smoke that blotted out the powerful summer sunlight. The snapping crackle of the flames sounded like bones breaking over and over again was horrifying, but even worse was the screams. The screams of thousands of people terrified out of their minds and running for any escape. The gleaming helms of dozens of soldiers glimmered in the black smoke, herding the smoke-bruised citizens away from the worst of the flames.
At first, my brain refused to comprehend the destruction that my eyes were seeing. My legs frozen numb against all movement while my mouth hung open like a fish’s. Why? How? It’s only been a few minutes since we stepped inside the estate. The whole city couldn’t have possibly blazed up in just that short amount of time.
“Hey, come on. We’ve got to go!” Alec’s rough voice roared over the crackling flames while he tugged on my arm, but I just couldn’t move. All I could see was the shop going up in flames. The raw material, completed dresses, and silken threads would all be excellent fodder for the raging blaze, as would the aged dry wood that formed the building that housed our shop and quarters. It would all go up in the blink of an eye as smoke and ash, trapping whoever was inside to a fiery death. Mama’s gnarled fingers would be clawing at the wood, scratching at the glass, trapping inside and screaming, just screaming for help but no one would stop, too caught up in their own terror to help their fellow person.
I shook my head to clear my muddled thoughts. The shop is probably fine. The flames are widespread but there probably not reaching the center of Lentiqua. Probably contained to just this side of Lentiqua, I guess. But... maybe I’d better go check. Alec pulled on my arm again, tugging me past the unmonitored gate and out into the rapidly crowding street full of a teaming mass of fear blinded people. His fingers gripped onto my arm so tight that blue bruises were already starting to form on my skin, trying to prevent me from becoming separated from him the jostling mass of the chaotic crowd. Even from my stumbling steps behind his determined stride, I could see the rigid line of Alec’s tighly clenched jaw, stress and determination gleaming brightly in his emerald eyes while he herded us away from the dangerous inferno.
I wanted to dig my heels in and force him to stop, but as strong as Alec is, he probably would have just dragged me on behind him – again, why does he have to be so damn strong? Frowning, I glanced down at my wrist. Maybe if I just twist a little bit... Ah-ha! Free!
“Kyri! Come back! You can’t go that way!”
Oh, but I most certainly can! Gathering my skirt in my fist, I weaved through the herd of charging people blind with panic. A few times I was pushed backwards by outstretched hands and slamming bodies, but I continued my charge onward, eventually breaking through the mob and right into the inferno. The heat is smothering, sweat instantly appeared on my skin and dripped through my hair. The black smoke gathered in my eyes and throat, streams of grimy water running down my cheeks while the ash clogs my throat like there is a fist sized lump inside the soft tissue, making it hard for me to breathe safely. Both sides of the street raged with orange flames, the ablaze buildings showing visible tongues of fire leaping out into the air through the windows and roofs. Groups of soldiers here and there throw buckets filled with water on the blazing monstrosity, but it instantly turns to steam before even encountering its destined target. Each squad of soldiers scream for more water, but it’s useless, the buildings are already too far gone, and some have already crashed to the ground in a snapping crumble of ash and timber.
“Kyri! Come back! You’ll get hurt!”
I ignored Alec’s pleads and traveled onwards towards home. The soldiers pay me no mind, consumed in rescuing the still trapped and trying to put out the meager fire rather than stop one weedy girl from rushing into the heart of the flames. The destruction grew worse the deeper I travel into Lentiqua. The inferno having already spread and consumed most of the buildings and stalls into piles of smoldering ash before moving on. What few that remaining still standing are blackened, hollow shells of their former self. The intense, sweltering heat has abided somewhat, but the charred smell of smoke is so thick in the air that the tiniest hint of any other scent is completely obscured. The flickering embers of orange and red float through the air like tiny faeries of flame on the wind, each seeking out a faint place to land and spark again into a renewed furious flame.
The cracked, buckled streets take far less time to navigate now with the buildings gone that formed most of the maze-like paths around the giant market. The hem of my skirt is burnt black around the hem, catching the on the embers that float around my feet as I wander and weave through the rubble. I paused at the entrance to a narrow path half hidden behind the remains of another fallen building, the more I stare, the more familiar the sights become. Off to my left, Hughie the beggar boy’s half collapsed stand where he hawked his battered and bruised fruit to the masses. Directly across from him was Mr. Millstone’s now incinerated shop where he sold his wood carvings. Continuing on down the burnt street is the rat-lading apartment building where most of the neighborhood’s vermin troubles originated – and a highly frequented place by high ranking nobles and their chosen ladies of the night. The Petro’s bakery, the shoe cobbler, the artist’s booth, all reduced to mere cinders. A familiar etched sign protrudes out from one particular pile and what breath I have catches in my throat. The word “Mystique” is still legible despite the black tar that conceals the remaining text. I rushed forward and started digging with my bare hands, and then using a still stiff board as a spade, heaved the ash and debris away in small mounds.
The faster I dug, the more ash and debris fell forward to cover the removed portion of ground. It wasn’t long until I was ankle deep in the remains myself. Every time I found an exposed space or a tunnel, I pushed my arm inside and felt around for anything, flesh, bones, objects, but there was always just more rough edged debris. Where was Mama? I know she couldn’t run, the arthritis in her legs from years of kneeling and crouching on the floor while sewing wouldn’t let her. Maybe someone did help her evacuate and my search was all in vain. I hope that was true, it was so much better than the nightmares I had concocted so far. Something metallic clattered against my makeshift spade and I quickly slung the board aside, blindly plunging my arm into the depths to find what it could be. Various scratches and scrapes both old and new stung like a wasp’s sting from the sweat and dirt sticking to my skin. Groping blindly till my fingers brushed against something thin but firm, I twisted my fingers around it and pulled. My efforts rewarded by a tumble backwards onto my butt and the grime-clad object wrapped securely in my fist. A little puffed golden heart pendant, tarnished by the black ash till the inscribed initials “M + L” were barely visible. My mother’s necklace. The one she said my father gave to her on their wedding night and the same one that she never took off. I was right. She is here, buried under the rubble and forgotten by our neighbors. My digging became frantic as I searched, the board breaking under the strain of my renewed frenzy, so I returned to scrabbling with my bare hands clawing at the debris. Another three handfuls of matter into the dirt and I touched something hard, firmer than the scraps of wood littered around me but a different texture all the same. I rubbed away as much of the ash as I could with my fingertips, and the object soon appeared along with a river of pure ice water that streamed down my spine. Five elongated charred bones, the deformed tips curled under from the throes of death, were still joined together by strings of rubbery black and red flesh to a larger wrist bone. Above the wrist, five long slash marks scored through the remaining flesh. A gold band melted partially into the right ring finger still gleamed even in the blackened debris, the oblong white diamond still intact in its setting as it had been in life for as long as I could remember.
The ground rushed up to meet me as I collapsed back into the debris with a long keening scream. I couldn’t breathe, my lungs were frozen. My arms couldn’t move, completely paralyzed from the shoulder down. Even though it was so hot, I was cold. So cold that I was shivering. Trails of stinging tears slid down through the grime on my cheeks, feeling like bugs trampling over my face, but I couldn’t stop them. All I could do was just scream.
It almost seemed like I had been screaming for hours when a heavy hand clamped down on my left shoulder and hot breath blew over the back of my neck. I screamed again, this one shrill with fear, and tried to wriggle out of its grasp. I summoned the magic into my palms, glittering twin orbs of crackling light forming up at an instants notice, and I threw the them as hard as I could over my shoulders at my unknown assailant. In response the hand squeezed hard against my bones, pointed nails digging deep into my shoulder till fresh blood leaked down my dress. One second I’m scrabbling against the ground trying to escape and the next, I’m flying through the air, skidding across the pavement till I roll to a stop against the ashy wood across from where I had previously been standing. From where it repeatedly hit the ground, my head feels like it split open like a fresh egg, all the mushy insides running straight out of the crack. The throbbing pain blurs my vision but I can see a furry grey blob standing where I was previously. Then the blob moves, rearing up onto its muscled hindquarters while a thick furred tail wields around behind, whipping through the air to smack against the debris and send it scattering across the ground. The bloodstained clawed fingers extended from densely muscled arms, up the body keeps stretching till it looks like its seven feet tall. The furry pointed ears stand high on its skull, above the protruding muzzle with the thin skin around the snout wrinkled up in a brutal snarl, exposing long white fangs gleaming brightly in the weak sunlight. A long, low growl rumbled up from the beast’s throat, the thick grey fur around its throat and shoulder spiking up as it moves closer while the long claws on its feet scrape harshly against the pavement with rough rasping sounds. The shiny black nose twitches as it scents my blood and the magic still shimmering across my palms.
It’s a werewolf.
Every step the beast took forward, I inched backwards. My shoulder burned with movement and a small river of blood slid down my arm to pool under my palm, taking on a eerily enchanted light from the golden scraps of magic that clung to the liquid. More growls rumbled out of his – I think it’s a male – throat. Those golden eyes glowed almost hypnotically, like shadowy whispers beckoning me to come closer, closer to his drooling jaws and sate his savage hunger. Something blunt brushed against my back and I reached behind and grabbed it with my right arm. Great. Another half-burnt board. What am I supposed to with that? I could smack it across his face, but that would probably break my hand – Werewolves have impossibly thick skulls and bodies in general, making them extremely hard to kill. If I aim right, I might could get the splinters into his eyes, but that would only give me a few minutes head start – extremely fast healing powers is another valuable weapon in their arsenal – and my magic seemed to have had no effect on him at all. What am I going to do?
My back bumped against something solid this time, a block wall that survived the fire singed but otherwise unharmed and still sturdily intact. Crap! Dead end. The werewolf snarled hard, the fleshy lips pulling back even more over the fangs till it looks like a gruesome smile and the long pink tongue darts out to swipe over his lips. I gulped. It seems that this is a dead end in more ways than one.
“Hey, leave her alone!”
The werewolf’s shaggy head swiveled around toward the voice. Alec, vaulting over a waist high pile of debris like it was nothing, was running towards us. The werewolf issued another growl and changed direction to face the new threat—or prey depending on how you looked at it.
That’s when I struck. I pushed the crackling light energy from my palms into the board and swung it as hard as I could, hitting the beast right between his spread legs with both physical pain and the shocking light of my magic. The board broke in half upon impact but the werewolf howled in pure agony and sank to all fours – yep, it was a male after all. The muscled body hunched in on itself as anguished whimpers started breaking into a deep moaning howl. I didn’t stay and feel sorry for wounding him so badly, I just ran as fast as I could. Heading straight for where Alec had stopped, he held out his arm and just pushed me on forward as I blew past, my long grey skirt trailing behind me like a bat’s wings.
“Move it!” Alec urged in my ear. I was running as hard as I could but Alec kept pushing me harder in the back. Daring to risk a glance over my shoulder, I quickly saw why. The werewolf had recovered and was charging forward with renewed vigor – albeit a little more spraddle legged than before. The golden eyes gleamed even brighter now with total fury from pain and increased anger. Where our feet skimmed across the ground, his clawed paws sunk deep into the concrete path and churned up clods of pavement that went sailing into the air behind him. The harder we ran, the closer he came. So close on our heels that I could smell the coppery scent of fresh blood on his breath.
“In here!” Alec yanked me towards the left, a burnt shell of a building extremely blackened but still standing and it had one of the most important things still left, a steel door. We darted inside, the werewolf still plowing down behind us, and Alec slammed the door tightly shut, pushing me safely out of the way to take shelter on a damaged staircase. The impact of muscled beast versus burned steel rattled the entire building, sending down a shower of ash and dust from the scorched flooring above. Another thud and the walls bend enough that one claw tipped hand snaked inside and flailed around, trying to catch ahold on either one of us. The snapping jaws were not far behind, the beast groaning as it tried to chew its way through the wood casing surrounding the door. Alec leaped forward and slammed his entire body weight against the door, a sharp crack coming from the hairy arm was stuck between the two surfaces and the werewolf squealed, the now broken limb dangling useless with the thick white bone protruding through the skin before retracting backwards while Alec pushed the door firmly shut once more.
The silence that followed is broken only by the sound of mine and Alec’s heavy panting and the crackling energy of my palms against the wooden staircase. Was that it? Would the werewolf retreat now that his prey was out of reach? Or is he patiently waiting, nursing his wounds and waiting to see if the weak little humans come crawling out like insects?
Exhaustion and a strange melancholy swept over me in a sudden thick fog. Everything was gone. My mother. My job. My personal belongings. My life. All gone. Burned into cinders along with the hopes and dreams of a thousand other people. I was spared the terror of fleeing the flames beforehand, but now here I am, crouched in the ashes like the mouse I was named after while the predator to end all predators awaits the taste of my blood outside. If this had all been a story in a book, I would have been screaming at the heroine to shove the woe-is-me attitude and get on to fighting the enemy, but it’s not. This is real life with real stress and a real danger of dying, even more so than the encounter in the forest with the Bloodwrath, the bleeding claw marks in my shoulder are proof of that.
Laughter, deep and strong, started out as a tiny giggling bubble deep in my throat and steadily grew stronger. As the sound took on a hysterical quality, I couldn’t stop the loud cackles that left my ribs aching and shoulders heaving. My eyes closed as wetness seeped down my face for the second time tonight, the cackles of a madwoman realizing that her entire life had dissolved into nothingness.
“Are you okay?” Warm hands rested on my knees, completely ignoring the sparking light that enveloped my hands. My eyes cracked open to meet concerned greenish gold eyes staring at my face in return. It’s funny, I’ve never noticed before how Alec’s eyes almost seem to glow more gold than green in the dark. His right hand reached out and tucked a loose strand of ash laden hair behind my ear. “Your home burned to the ground, I take it?”
A few more harsh barks broke out of my throat. Phenomenally stiff Alec, his words cold and blunt despite the concerned sentiment in his eyes. I pressed my head against the crooked stair banister, the hysterical humor gone for now, leaving only the melancholy sludge in my thoughts behind. “Everything’s gone.” My voice is raspy from crying and the fire, the sound of someone who’s smoked a pipe for years. “The shop. The apartment. Mom. It’s all gone. Burnt to nothing but black ashes.”
“Are you sure Mrs. Dekote is dead? She could have been rescued and mixed in with the survivors gathered in the Crown City?”
“Well, she’s going to be more burnt than a piece of chicken dropped in a fire if she is.” I circled the fingers of my left hand around the middle of my right forearm, demonstrating the portion of the bones I found in the rubble. “I shook hands with her charcoaled bones. The burned flesh was still holding her bones together and her arm was outstretched like she had been trying to crawl out. I also found the necklace my dad gave her, and she would have died before leaving that behind.”
“I’m truly sorry. Mrs. Dekote was one of the sweetest – and the most determined – people I’ve ever met.” His eyes soften, showing sadness and pity. “She will be greatly missed by many people.”
The screech of twisted metal and sudden vicious snarls was so surprising at first that we both sat and stared at the steel door being torn off its hinge and flung aside as if it weighed nothing. The screams that followed were my own as the sunlight fully illuminated the bloodstained werewolf against the darkened shadows looming in the wake of the interior. A nightmare brought to life by the destruction of the blaze. The long snout wriggled and the golden eyes narrowed to paper thin slits when he spotted us by the stairs. Then, he started stalking forward on upright legs, not dropping to all fours as he did before. The long, clawed tipped fingers flexed and curled as he moves, probably imaging the moment he can sink them into our soft flesh.
“Kyri. Go upstairs. I think I saw a window from the outside. Crawl through it and run like hell.” Alec murmured just soft enough that I could hear. His eyes never left the werewolf’s, a match of green vs. gold glares occurring while Alec slowly maneuvered his body between mine and the werewolf’s, a human shield that’s forcing me to back up the steps on my own while the werewolf advances forward. I placed my hands on the fire-pitted banister, the wooden surface absorbing the light from my palms temporarily, and I lunged to take the steps two at a time. This triggered the werewolf who charged forward with a loud snarl. Alec lunged forward at the same time as well, slamming the creature a powerful blow right in the ribs and they both hit the rickety banister so hard that it breaks in half with a loud crack.
Only a few feet above the floor, both man and beast are quickly back up after their sudden descent, rolling back up into a fighter’s crouch as they squared off. Alec’s fists are clenched as he brings them up level with his shoulders, shifting into a boxer’s stance as he stretched to his full height. The werewolf growls, upper lip curled back and revealing long fangs, his thick tail repeatedly slapping the floor like a drumbeat of war. Another pause, and Alec’s smiles, a chilling expression of a grin long and wide as he shifted from foot to foot. It’s like a match striking flint, and the battle explodes.
The werewolf surged forward. Clawed hands extended and fanged lips open, drops of yellowed saliva tinged with pink dripping from the white teeth as the body rushes forward.
Alec dropped to the floor, one long leg flashing out in a sweeping kick that sends the werewolf crashing to the floor, but only for a moment. Instantly, the huge hairy beast is back up. The wolf leaped and twisted, sailing over Alec’s head and straight towards me. I screamed and ran, stumbling up the flight of stairs with the beast’s steaming breath on my back. The rush of air whooshed against my back as his claws swiped and missed my spine by mere inches. Again he lunged and swiped, this time to my right side but he missed again. Smashing my body against the wall on the left, his claws snagged my sleeve, ripping the whole strip of fabric free from my arm. Only a few more steps and I’ll have reached the flat part of the staircase, but it seems like an impossible distance. Alec is yelling something, but it’s intelligible over my rushed breath and the werewolf’s roaring bellows.
The werewolf slammed into me from behind, grunting slightly as my sparkling glowing palms made contact with his flesh. My chest hit the staircase hard, driving away my breath as my body crumples like a limp doll on the floor. The prickling sensation of his claws drove into my shoulders and his suffocating weight pinned me against the floor, completely preventing my escape. Saliva, hot and wet, dripped from his lips, oozing down the exposed portion of my neck like fresh steaming oil. My right hand is pinned under my stomach, but my left hand is free. I slapped the limb backwards, pushing as much power as I had in my magic but I had nothing left, the light magic was strangely empty as a dullness replaced the shimmering energy that always flowed through my veins. The attack only being as effect as a normal human hand slapping in vain at a monster.
The werewolf’s nose brushed against my cheek, a gentle maneuver from the sticky, rubbery appendage that left a trail of slimy liquid that strings as his pulls away. I shivered from fear, and he pulled my body closer, his fangs now trailing across my neck in search of that one perfect spot to bite. I’m going to die for sure this time.
The steps vibrated beneath my body and the wolf’s grip loosened for a moment in surprise. There’s a wet smack of flesh against flesh and the dull crack of bones breaking, then the werewolf’s weight is gone. I rolled to my side and gasped for breath like a fish stranded on dry land, a shocking scene unfolding before my eyes that sent my stomach plummeting to new heights of fear. Alec, his emerald eyes hidden by the curtain of his blonde bangs, had his lips curved into a snarl that exposed a set of elongated canines and his arms locked firmly around the werewolf’s thick neck, both dragging the beast backwards down the steps and choking him at the same time. It shouldn’t be possible, the werewolf is twice Alec’s size and probably twice as strong as well, but he’s dragging the wolf down to the floor like he is nothing more than a stubborn housecat latched on to a pair of curtains. The wolf slashed at Alec’s arms with his filthy claws, leaving ragged slashes of weeping red behind in the smooth muscle of his forearms, but he doesn’t flinch in the least. His heavily muscled arms squeezed tighter and tighter as he blocked off the wolf’s airways, trying to induce a spell of unconsciousness. The coppery scent of fresh spilled blood hung in the air like a dense fog, obliterating the stench of the new ash and freshly burnt wood.
The wolf floundered in vain now, sulfur yellow eyes rimmed in red bulging from their sockets while he weakly struck at anything within reach of his limbs. The searching claws caught in Alec’s blonde hair, wrenching his head painfully backwards, slightly loosening his grip on the beast. The wolf took advantage of the temporary opening and slipped from the trapped circle of Alec’s arms, twisting around before I could even take a breath, the wolf’s claws arched up, opening a long slash in Alec’s chest from navel to collarbone to end in a insanely powerful uppercut to Alec’s jaw that sent him flipping head over heels to finally land on his bleeding stomach a few yards away.
Alec shuddered once, twice, and started to rise again. It didn’t seem possible, not after the damage that he took, but his body rises onto his hands and knees, but something... something isn’t right. His movements were jerky, like the limbs of a puppet connected to the wrong strings. His head tilted back, exposing emerald green eyes now the burned into the color of fresh gold. A strong shudder trembled along his spine, vibrating his whole body as the bones crackled like popcorn underneath his skin. Then, Alec’s body began to lengthen, his jaw and nose bulging out into an upturned snout filled with teeth growing long and white. The bones in his arms gave two sharp cracks as the growing muscles writhed under his skin like worms, becoming extraordinarily strong and capable of feats no mere human could achieve. His legs wavered as the muscles bulked up, stretching his pants to the very limits of the distressed seams almost to the point of splitting completely. A tail long, whip thin, and hairless emerged from the base of his spine, as did the long curved nails thickening on the tips of his fingers. Fur sprouted out of the newly transformed skin like thousands of tiny wavering needles as it encompassed his body, all of the luxuriously dense and fluffy hair the same silvery white-blonde hue as his normal hair. Now having reached eye level with the other werewolf, his height increase continued until he had surpassed his opponent’s height by another six inches before stopping, leaving him fully formed into a truly massive werewolf.
Exposed by his shirt split completely in half, the five long strips of torn flesh scoring his chest and abs were knitting themselves together, leaving only the vibrant stain of blood remaining on his fur where once gruesome wounds had existed. Towering over the other werewolf by half a head, Werewolf Alec lunged forward and sliced at the other werewolf’s face with his dagger-sharp claws. The grey wolf barely jumped aside in time, smashing into the wall as Alec’s claws continued on their momentum to slice cleanly through the fire-weakened wall. Bright sunlight blazed through the newly formed openings, illuminating the specks of dust and ash swirling through the air, and the wrinkled muzzles of the two werewolves. The grey werewolf growled low in his throat, yellow eyes glinting with hints of madness darted warily between this newly strengthened foe and the weak human prey cringing on the steps. The grey wolf snapped his jaws in the air as a warning to the slowly stalking Alec not to come any closer. Alec snapped his in return, a much stronger clash of teeth against empty air serving as a reminder of who the stronger wolf was. The grey decided not to head that warning, lunging at Alec with a surprising burst of speed and strength that bowled Alec over onto his back. Clawed hand locked into clawed hand, the grey wolf pinned Alec to the ground with his slavering jaws inches from the tender exposed skin of Alec’s neck. Curling his long legs up to his chest, Alec stopped fighting the grey for the space of one heartbeat, allowing the other werewolf’s weight to drop fully on his feet and with mighty kick, he launched the grey werewolf into the air to smash into the opposite wall with a bone jarring thud.
The burnt walls of the building trembled more and more as the continued assault of the werewolves’ teeth, claws, and body blows shook the damaged foundation, dislodging more ash and dust till it rained down in a continuous shower of gritty grey powder. Blood sprayed against the shaking walls in long red arches. Chunks of fur and flesh littered the floor in matted clumps, gouged by claws sinking deep into each other’s flesh. The constant barrage of snarling growls echoed like thunder, nearly drowning out the ominous wooden creaks and groans that forewarned of a new looming threat, the building’s sturdiness fading fast as the ashes flowed down in sheets and the entire structure in danger of collapsing in upon itself now becoming a very real threat.
The stairs beneath my feet dipped and swayed dangerously as two heavy werewolves plowed through several of the wooden support beams. My fingernails scratched half-moon grooves into the banister as I screamed, trying to hold on for dear life. My temperamental magic flared to life in a sudden burst of golden sparks that rained down on the floor below along with the dust before vanishing once more. Alec’s head snapped up at my cry and the sight of my shimmering golden flecks, the resulting destruction of their violent brawl clicking into place as he realizes just how much danger there is. “Kyri, run! Get out of here!” His voice is pure guttural, a rough, rasping sound that grates against my ears like rough hewn gravel.
In the very moment that I took his advice and started scrambling up the shaking staircase on my hands and knees like a crab, the grey wolf takes advantage of Alec’s momentary distraction by wrapping his massive hand around Alec’s throat and driving his head into the wall with a crunching wet smack that sends him sinking to the floor in a boneless heap.
Ungracefully landing on the second floor with a flop onto my stomach, I tried to catch my breath and ease the burning in my legs when the floor rumbled beneath my fingers. The weakened steps snapped and cracked under the much heavier weight of the grey werewolf as he thundered up the stairs in pursuit of his prey – namely, me—his slavering jaws open wide and yellow eyes glinting with glow of pure madness. There was no way I could outrun this beast, and I couldn’t outmagic him like this with my current shortage, but maybe I could outsmart him.
I ran through the corridor lined with broken doors that formed the remnants of the upper floor, slinging as much debris behind me as I could to form a few obstacles that might slow the wolf down – the roof had collapsed inwards in the fire, so the floor was littered with old roofing tiles still bearing nails. You never know, one nail might actually turn out to be silver instead of steel. The wolf’s heavy breathing continued to follow me close behind, never wavering, never stopping. I pushed the doors open one after another, but each time it seemed that my fate was destined to be a werewolf’s dinner as they all contained solid walls and piles of junk with not a true hiding spot in sight. The fifth door I kicked appeared to be a bedroom, as a large four poster bed occupied much of the room. A scorched royal blue velvet canopy dangled from the frame and provided an excellent spot for someone to crawl under, but that wasn’t the most important thing. A picture window, encompassing nearly the entire outside wall, was bare of glass that had been blown out from the fire.
Forget hiding. I’m getting out of here.
I slammed the door closed, propping a piece of wood from the roof under the doorknob. Not exactly a match for werewolf strength I know, but it was better than nothing at all. Even though it had been scorched quite badly, the canopy’s fabric was still strong enough to use. I quickly loosened the ties that held the velvet to the bedding, the knots were extremely tough but I ripped it from the holster, looped it around one corner of the bedpost, and tied another firm knot in the fabric. Testing the fabric with an experimental stretch between my fingers before I flung it out the window, it still seemed sound enough for me to climb—luckily, this was an exceptionally large king-sized bed, so the canopy was longer than a normal one – the blue velvet rippled into the sky as I gave it my best throw, unfurling into the air like a proud banner with the dangling unraveled edges ended just a few feet above the ground entrance to this house of nightmares, just enough distance that I could land on the ground without breaking any bones... I hope.
The wolf’s pounding footsteps grew closer, pausing just outside the door as a low rumbling growl sounded just when the doorknob started to jiggle about. I gulped, rubbing my sweaty hands against my dress before tugging on the fabric rope once again to ensure that it was tight. I guess it was now or never, do or die. I swung astride the rope and started to lower myself down hand over hand when the door exploded completely off its hinges and went sailing over my head. I yelped in shock, pressing my neck down in my shoulders like a turtle retreating into its shell. In response I sped up my stride, sliding down the rope as fast as I dared with the fabric burning my already tender hands. The werewolf’s growls of fury echoed above as it poked its great shaggy head out the remains of the window. A surge of victorious energy pumped through my veins like a bold of liquid lighting. Yeah! You’re going to starve today wolf! I’m nobody’s meal!
That’s when I heard the stiches start popping.
I looked up and what I saw made me gasp.
The werewolf’s rubbery lips upturned in a sadistic grin, baring those long yellowed fangs. His claws danged over the fabric, cutting the stitches of the fabric apart one by one till they could no longer support their own weight, much less my own. A tear already an inch long had formed in the thick fabric, exposing the broken and frayed blue threads to the sunlight as they continued to rip apart of their own violation now that the initial damage had been done. I looked down but the ground was too far away to risk jumping unharmed, I would fall and smash like a china cup against the rubble, so I clung tightly to the weakened fabric but my weight only made the fabric sway and rip more. The fine blue threads frayed even more as they continued to bloom outwards towards the sunlight like a newly blossomed flower. The werewolf’s smile grew wider as the cloth slowly started slipping downwards with every new broken thread, and I instantly knew what he wanted. He wanted me to fall and die. For my guts to be splattered all over the ashes below. My bones to break into thousands of tiny shards and mix with the ones left behind in the rubble. He would rip apart any chunks of my body that survived the fall to sate his own hunger, this I knew for sure and all I could do was hang helpless in the air like a poor spinning cocoon suspended by a single breaking thread.
“Kyri! Let go of the rope and I’ll catch you.”
What? My head snapped down and I saw Alec’s blonde furry head hovering below. His arms outstretched, ready and waiting for my body to drop into his grasp. His dangerously clawed grasp. “Are you insane?” I yelled back, lurching a little as the fabric tore a little more.
Alec swore under his breath, a slight hint of frustration glowing in those golden eyes of his intensified to concern as he looked up to see the grey werewolf trying to climb out of the window and reach me, cutting himself on the glass as he did so. “Kyri, don’t be stupid. You won’t survive a fall from that height by yourself. You trust me, so let go.”
“I trusted you before I knew you were a werewolf! You lied to me, and you took advantage of our hospitality. Staying with us for weeks while you healed was a bunch of bull! You heal instantly! I saw it happen earlier!”
His exasperated sigh drowned out even the grey wolf’s snarls. “Are you really going to do this now? You’re usually so agreeable.”
My face felt like it was burning as hot as the flames I ran past earlier. “Agreeable? You want me to be agreeable? You’ve done nothing but lie to me since the moment I met you. Poked and prodded at me to get me to say something, and now you don’t want to hear it but just fall into your arms like some kind of magical dinner deliverer! Let me give you a spelling lesson. N. O. Means no!”
Alec stared in shock – stunned by my unexpected outburst was more like it—for a moment, his long jaw open slightly with the slight tip of his pink tongue protruding between the white fangs – yes, I would have gloated if I weren’t currently hanging twenty feet in the air. Then, his head shook to clear his thoughts. Carefully considering the options, he hefted a piece of wooden plank as thick as my leg and nearly as long into his hands, aimed with one eye closed, and threw it like a spear. I curled up into a ball, expecting a strike that never came, but the wooden projectile kept on going, striking the grey werewolf clean through the neck and carried him off to smack into the side of another building. Based on the wood through his neck, the steel beam piercing his chest, and the rapidly spreading circle of red surrounding the steel, the grey wolf wouldn’t be coming back for another round.
“Now will you trust me? I promise, you’re going to be okay.” He swore.
I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if he would really hold his word. Everyone always said that werewolves are the worst creature imaginable, capable of slaughtering entire villages and kingdoms without remorse, but if that were true, why is he so determined to save me? Could I trust him?
Another long stretch of ripping fabric provided my answer.
“KYRI! JUMP NOW!”
I let go of the fabric just as it tore free of its bonds, with legs and arms pinwheeling freely through the air, the weightless sensation of rushing through empty air tore the scream from my lips. My eyes frozen open wide as the scenery rushed together in a blur of grey and black. It dimly registered that this was the first time I’ve heard his voice scream with something besides pain, breaking from the eerily calm tone that controls his every spoken word. The rushing air grew faster and faster, the ground rushing up to greet me in a bone shattering welcome to the beyond.
Then it stopped, the shock of landing in his arms drove home just how close my brush with death came as he held me protectively to his chest like a baby, my trembling hands and face burying deep into the thick ruff of blooded fur at his neck with only the faintest yellow glow reflecting off the silver and white. He caught me. He didn’t lie. He really caught me. As slowly as if I was made of the frailest glass, he lowered my legs to the ground till the tips of my toes lightly brushed against the rough surface. My legs swayed but stood true as I slowly released the death grip my hands had curled into his neck to drop limply at my sides, standing fully on my own two feet.
“Th-Thank you,” I whispered, curling my fingers into the skin of my palms to try and hide the glow. My voice was extremely husky due to my throat stripped raw from both screaming and crying all in such a short period of time. My eyes wandered through the rubble and remains, briefly glancing up towards the skewered werewolf pinned to the wall, but mostly looking anywhere to avoid Alec’s hypnotizing golden stare.
“Are you alright? You’re bleeding?” One of those massive clawed hands reached out towards my shoulder. Those same kind of claws were scratched in my mother’s bones and carved into my flesh as they tried to kill me. I can’t do this right now. I stepped to the side, avoiding his reach and a glimmer of surprise and hurt appeared in his eyes. “Kyri.”
“Don’t. Just don’t. Not right now. Just leave me alone.” He tried again to reach out but I shrugged off his touch, picking my way through the rubble to go anywhere but here. I needed time to be alone, to pick up the pieces of what was left of my life, and not deal with some lying werewolf who would at best get me arrested and maybe even executed if I was found out. I was barely four yards away when Alec came sailing over my head in a long leap, landing lightly on the balls of his feet and he whipped around to face me before I could even speak a single word.
“What do you think you’re doing? My fear and rage gave me strength as I aimed a shove at his chest, using everything I had plus more of what I could summon up. He still didn’t even flinch, staying silent and still as a marble statue. Those golden eyes darted about in search of something while the tips of his pointed ears flickered like a moth’s antenna. Something had alarmed him. Was it another werewolf? Or something even worse?
Five seconds later, I heard the rolling thunder of hoofbeats striking pavement. Horses. The unmistakable sound of the Royal Army’s prized horses. The raven haired stallions and mares appeared from the rubble like shadowy wraths themselves. All messengers of doom with their onyx armored riders astride their backs. The silvery glint of swords, spears, and arrows flashed in the sunlight, as did the rearing golden griffin emblazed on their chests, the King’s personal seal marking their armor as his personally selected champions to uphold the law and order of his rule. The squad continued to advance down on us like a rolling wave of darkness.
“HALT IN THE NAME OF THE KING!”
Oh, shit! We’re in trouble.