by Holly Evans
The hound shimmered for a moment as my focus slipped, but I quickly grasped onto it again. Kadrix chose that moment to enter the courtyard. He danced around behind the hound, a look of pure unadulterated glee on his face.
“Well done, Evelyn! I knew you could do it!”
Shouts spread inside; people pressed against the doorway and pushed into the courtyard behind us. Lysander formed his own great hound. They sat looking at the people around us with eager anticipation. Not to be outdone, Quin brought out his own party trick. A pitch-black dragon the size of a small house swooped down on the courtyard, much to everyone’s excitement. People cheered and laughed. We were going to win.
It was in that moment that a great thundering crash came from all around us.
Everyone went deathly silent until Elise shouted, “They’ve brought the fight to us!”
Panic erupted. People bustled, shouted, and someone screeched. Lysander roared, a deep snarling sound that would put the biggest of African lions to shame. Everyone stilled and slowly turned to look at him. He stood at his full height, shoulders back, his eyes dancing with blue fire. The hounds stood on either side of him, beasts of terror and war. In that moment, he looked every inch the marrok. I loved him more in that second than I ever knew possible.
“We have prepared for this very situation. Calmly take up your arms and split into your groups. We are going to put an end to this war!”
A calm settled over everyone. We were prepared. Everyone filed back inside and split off into various rooms. Lysander and I headed into the upstairs food room where we met the lycans, Quin, Kadrix, and a small collection of priestesses.
“We’re the shock troops. We will be attacking them from behind and driving them forwards into the courtyard,” Sam growled.
“I’ll be up on the roof with a number of fae. We’re going to be archers picking off everyone we can while my shadow dragon tears their rear echelon apart,” Quin said.
“You’re going up onto the rooves before you drop down behind them, Evie,” Elise said. “You’ll have some witches and an air goddess priestess with you to make sure you get down safely. We’ll be surrounding them and attacking them from all sides.” She grinned, a wicked sharp expression. “We’re calling in all favours and some extra reinforcements.”
I was suddenly very glad that she was on our side.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s move!” Lysander growled.
Screams cut through the air as we emerged out into the humid night. Stars were scattered throughout the dark sky overhead, the moon nowhere to be seen. The moon goddess was on our side. I breathed in the acrid scent of burnt magic, blood, and death. Flashes of bright colour tore through the darkness, highlighting the pastel shades of the buildings around the courtyard.
“We’ll go east. You go west. We’ll meet in the middle on the far side,” Lysander said to Sam.
I was glad to have my hound taking control; I was lost.
Lysander gently held my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“You can do this, Evelyn. Focus.”
I gave him a small smile before made our way up onto the rooves. The city stretched out around us. If I looked closely, I could make out the odd glisten from the broad ribbon that was the river. It was a good thing I wasn’t scared of heights as we jogged along the red ceramic tiles. The ledge was barely the width of my feet; we had no choice but to move single file with Lysander leading us. His broad back gave me some confidence as he stood between me and whatever might be fool enough to attack us head on. The calm comfort of his presence took the edge off my twitchy nervousness.
Two witches and two lycans were behind me. The hot breath of the lycan curled around the back of my neck when I slowed my pace, nerves throwing my balance for a moment. We’d barely made it halfway along the roof of the first building when neon coloured curses began flying at our heads. I’d been warned about those damn curses; I had no intention of being hit by one. They were designed to strip away the very life essence of the victim, leaving them paralysed as they slowly died. They were quickly followed by shadowy forms that crawled up over the roof tiles on either side of us.
“Do not stop,” Lysander growled.
We needed to get to the far side of the courtyard and out into Malá Strana proper. Speed and sure-footedness were essential; time wasn’t on our side. We pushed on. I kept my eyes up, focusing on where I was going. One foot in front of the other. Watch my centre of gravity. Keep moving. One of the shadowy things lunged at Lysander. It was a blur of black that swallowed up what little light reached us. Smooth muscles stretched into long savage claws. It twisted and reformed in barely the blink of an eye. In one moment it was a hellhound, the next it was a collection of bones with oil-slick skin drawn tight. Lysander barely acknowledged its existence. He merely side-stepped and continued on without thought for the inconvenience. Someone behind me growled.
“No fire, Evelyn,” Lysander snarled. “We must remain hidden.”
“They clearly know we’re here!” I snarled back as I slashed at the shadowy mass trying to sink its teeth into my calf. “No, they’re covering their bases on the off chance that we’re here. Look, Evelyn.”
He gestured to the spray of curses that were being aimed at the rooves. Other shadows lurked in the dips and hollows of the rooves around the courtyard, shimmering and ever-changing in their appearance.
“Keep moving. The priestesses and witches will deal with them,” Lysander said.
My blade struck home with the shadow thing. It stuttered and vanished. I grabbed onto the lycan’s forearm when his foot slipped out from under him a second later. He gave me a grateful smile and ignored Lysander’s glare.
“Keep moving,” Lysander growled.
The shadows were increasing in number. They clawed at our feet and tried to drag us down the tiles. We increased our pace, jogging along the top of the rooves.
“Don’t look down. Focus,” Lysander called out.
The screams of rage and agony echoed around the courtyard. The stench of death and blood carried on the increasing wind. I hoped that it belonged to the enemy. I risked a glance up as we turned the corner and started down the next side of the courtyard. We were making reasonable progress. That was, until the shadow hounds blocked our way. The clicking of their claws on the tiles sent a shiver down my spine. Even in their darkness, I could see their bones sticking out at sharp angles, the black leather skin drawn tight across every joint. Its needle-like teeth glinted under the faint starlight, murder ringing out through its snarls as it approached us. The clicking approached us from all sides.
I drove down the panic that threatened to overwhelm me. Calm and focus. The hound in front of the group threw itself at Lysander. The one to my left snapped at my hip, trying to push me to step backwards off the ledge. I leaned forwards a little and grounded my weight. There wasn’t the room to risk my usual flashy kicks. I had to remain solidly rooted and use my blades. Lysander didn’t agree as he drove his hound back, surging forwards with a series of fast swinging kicks.
The hound before me sank down on its hindquarters, preparing to launch itself at me. Its coal-black skin drank in the soft light around it. I side-stepped at the last second when it pounced. I drove my blade down into its stomach, throwing it off balance and causing it to scramble on the tiles on the other side of the steep roof before it tumbled and fell. I spun around as quickly as I dared and hacked at the back of the next hound’s neck when it snapped at my legs. Its claws gripped onto the tiles. Its legs were tightly coiled, limiting its movement as it held onto the roof for all it was worth. My blades connected with something hard. It surged upwards and almost threw me off balance, driving me backwards. I threw myself forwards and thrust my blades deep into its chest.
Something wrapped around me and guided me upright again. I glanced around to see the tall blonde witch waving her hands. She gave me a smile and nod of acknowledgement. We didn’t have a chance to breathe.
“Move forward,
” Lysander growled.
We moved over the rest of the rooves at as quick a pace as we dared. The courtyard below us was complete bedlam. Bodies crumpled, tattered and torn beneath heavy feet. Shadows tore through innocent lives. The curses flew through the air like a laser show, each a deadly ball of magic designed to steal life essence from the victim, or worse. Dark whispers wrapped around the screams and howls of agony. I had no idea who was winning, but it didn’t look good.
The other group of heavy-hitters were floating down from the rooves when we arrived. A pair of witches in pale blue and white were waving their hands, their eyes rolling back in their heads while a priestess stood guard behind them. Roof tiles cracked and shattered beneath volleys of curses, sending shards down into the maelstrom below. A soft weeping mingled with the single word ‘please’ caught on the breeze and made me freeze for a moment.
“When we touch down, remain in the shadows. We need to flank them,” Lysander said, snapping me out of it.
I gave him a nod of understanding. With that, he stepped off the roof and gracefully glided down to the ground. My stomach twisted into knots when I stood on the edge of the roof and looked down at the tarmac below me. That was one hell of a fall. I closed my eyes and stepped off. There was no time to doubt the witches.
I pressed myself back against the wall and looked around, trying to figure out how I was supposed to know friend from foe.
Sam bent down and whispered, “Our people have large green orbs floating over their heads. Don’t worry, the enemy can’t see them.”
I leaned out around him and looked into the courtyard. There was no denying that green orbs did in fact float over some people’s heads. I was a little dismayed to see the orbs were outnumbered two to one, possibly more. A tall broad man’s green orb flickered and died when a witch gutted him. She moved on before the life had even fully left him.
“We need to move into Malá Strana, keep to the shadows. We begin our push from the Charles Bridge and drive them into this courtyard,” Lysander said.
He glanced around our small group. The amber eyes of the lycans glinted in the darkness.
“We don’t have long. The priestesses won’t be able to hide us for much longer, they need to fight,” Sam said.
“Move out,” Lysander said.
I followed him out into Malá Strana proper. We slipped past groups of people fighting. The temptation to dive in and save my comrades was strong, but we couldn’t risk it, we had our own role to play. I looked away as a witch plunged her hand into the chest of an older elf with an orb over his head.
“Keep moving, Evelyn,” Sam growled.
I pushed on, keeping close behind Lysander. We pressed ourselves against the walls and ducked into the small alcoves before we ran as fast as we could across the open area of the road. Once we’d reached the pedestrian area that led down to the Charles Bridge, we ground to a halt.
“Evelyn stays with me. We’ll open with our hellfire beasts. You know what to do from there,” Lysander said.
The lycans grinned at him, their teeth elongating, claws pushing out from their fingertips before their muscles began tearing and bones broke, reforming again. The witches moved behind us and began whispering in a language I had no understanding of.
Lysander squeezed my hand before he said, “We need to form an entire pack of beasts, Evelyn. You can do this.”
I felt his faith warming the bond. I grinned at him. We were finally returning to familiar ground. Soon, I would slit throats and gut the assholes that tried to steal my city from me. I pushed the anger and rage at what they had done down through into the fire. The beasts formed easier that time. The fire flickered and danced, stretching upwards into large hounds with glowing red eyes. Their teeth rivalled the lycans’. Their eagerness rolled through me. They were an extension of myself and yet somehow their own creature. I felt their desire to tear down the enemy in the back of my mind.
The rhythm of the battle around us shifted once the enemy realised we were there. The attention turned from those they had been fighting for the last short while over to the beasts made of pure fire. Something tugged at my sternum. I struggled to locate it as a witch with a vicious pair of curved blades danced around me. Out the corner of my eye, I saw one of my fire hounds snapping at three of the shadow beasts. The shadows pressed in around my fire. A coolness flitted down the bond and sat behind my ribs. I ducked under one of the witch’s blades. The other sliced down my upper arm as I felt my fire hound dissipate. The shadows had enveloped it and torn it apart.
Pain bloomed in my shoulder. Lysander’s voice whispered in my mind telling me to focus past it. There was too much at stake. I pulled myself together and settled my gaze on the witch dressed in black jeans and a tight-fitting black T-shirt. Only her blood-red silk mask showed her as a witch. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face in a tidy bun; her hands never stopped moving. The blades were always spinning while she danced around me, graceful feline movements that would have been at home on the ballroom floor.
She cackled at me, a rich sound that fell like shards amidst the screams and death rattles that surrounded us. She moved almost too quickly for me to catch sight of, darting in, trying to slash at my arms again. She was playing with me. I hated being toyed with. I feinted to the left and moved around her at the last second allowing her extra momentum to carry her forward. I sank my blade into her kidney. She growled, an inhuman sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. The familiar stench of redcap filled my nostrils when she turned and slashed at my stomach. I blocked one blade, but almost stepped into the lunge with the other. The redcaps were circling around us, waiting for their moment.
I paused and grinned at her. She froze, her blades stilling, confusion flitting through her eyes. I dove forwards and knocked her to the ground where I drove my blades into her chest and stomach. It was messy, but we were in a war. Grace meant nothing. The redcaps laughed, a grating sound much like the rattle of old bones. I pushed myself up off her dead corpse and called one of my fire hounds to heel. I was going to need the help.
Lysander’s beasts tore through the group of enemy fae that were standing not far in front of us. The lycans had charged into the fray. Sidhe flew through the air and collided with the walls. The witches, in their burnt-orange robes, threw bright pink-and-green-orbed curses at us. One hit me squarely in the stomach; even with the protection from our priestesses and witches, I felt the icy cold magic sinking into my skin and muscles. I was aware of it slowly leeching out my life force. My joints stiffened, my thoughts slowed; I snapped to again. One of our witches had stepped in for me.
I ducked to the side and surrounded myself in fire. The number of green orbs was reducing at an alarming rate, and we hadn’t even begun to push the enemy back into the courtyard. We were losing. My throat closed up for a second as I looked around the carnage before me. A Sidhe that I’d seen around the war room disintegrated into nothing before my eyes at the feet of an enemy pixie. Two lycans whined and crumpled beneath the huge paws of the shadow beasts before they were torn into nothing but a bloody pulp.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed it all down. We were not beaten yet. I didn’t need to run to the fray. They came to me, like moths to a rather large flame. The young witch before me couldn’t have been more than a teenager. Her face was pulled into a twisted grin, straight white teeth glinting under the neon glow of the curses that converged on my head. Agonising cold cut through my focus, causing my fire to flicker and splutter before it went away again. They were getting closer. Our defences were failing.
I plunged my knife deep into the young woman’s stomach as her sister screamed out an order in a foreign tongue. A war cry went through the air; the lycans echoed it with their own howl. I pushed forward, hacking and slashing everything within reach. My hands were coated in blood, my body ached and cried out for rest, but I needed to drive them back.
Slowly, one by one, my fiery beasts were extinguished. The lycans’ furious howls and s
narls were cut short by hulking creatures formed of pure stone. Bones crunched beneath their feet, our people shattered under their fists. I didn’t dare think about how many good people we’d lost already, and the night was barely started.
We were not finished. I was a protector, and I was not going to let my city go without a fight.
The sharp angles of a pixie face suddenly appeared in front of me. Blood streaked across her forehead and dripped from her lips. I glanced upwards and saw no orb. Her claws slipped over my ribs as I twisted away from her. Her purple eyes flashed with malice and anger, not before I slashed at her stomach. We continued to dance around each other, fast slices and sudden lunges that got neither of us anywhere. She refused to set on fire. A blur of colours formed on the edge of my vision, witches perhaps. I couldn’t dare look away from the pixie. She dove forwards. Her teeth latched onto my shoulder. I drove my blade down into the base of her neck while thrusting the other up into her stomach. She sank her teeth deeper into my shoulder, her claws digging into my hips, trying to hold me still. I withdrew my blades and stabbed her repeatedly until she finally let go. Blood dripped off my hands as she crumpled.
There was no time to think. A curse hit me in the temple. Icy pain slowly spread across the back of my head like long fingers with sharp claws digging down through the bone. My fire flickered around me. I side-stepped an attack from a black-haired elf and refocused on my fire within me. It surged outwards once more, fuelling the inferno and driving the elf back.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the effects of the curse and the blood loss from the fucking pixie. There was no room for mistakes.
That was when the playing field changed.
The ground shook beneath my feet. I glanced up to see priests and priestesses lining the rooves, each of them glowing a soft silvery-white. A quiet whispering song filled the air, weaving between the screams and clattering of metal on metal, a soothing serenade that rose in pitch and tempo. It became a war song, a sweet choir calling down victory from the gods themselves. My heart stuttered. Three celestials gently dropped in from somewhere in the sky, their broad white wings elegantly extended. They were nothing compared to what charged down the street.
