by Cheree Alsop
Carrigan rose and shook her head. “I’ve never had anyone jump in front of any kind of bullet for me. I know I’d be grateful.” She put a hand on my arm. “Zev, I don’t know you, but I know Fray. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on what the Captain told you, but I caught enough to know that she’s in trouble. Do everything you can to save her, please.”
“I will,” I promised her.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I don’t know how to repay you.” Then her eyes lit up and she said, “I know!” She lifted her hands and they began to glow.
I backed away fast enough that I hit my leg on the bed. A string of partially-formed curses escaped my lips in a hiss with the answering pain. It would have brought me to my knees if my brace had allowed it.
“Calm down,” Carrigan scolded. “I’m not going to work any love magic on you. I already promised.”
I shook my head with my hands out in protest. “I haven’t had great experiences with magic.”
“Well, you’ll like this spell,” she replied. “Trust me.”
I couldn’t do anything but watch as she whispered words that sounded similar to those Virgo chanted. Her runes glowed purple and pulsed in time to her heartbeat.
“Now, hold still,” she said, her tone still chiding.
She knelt and put her hands on either side of my brace at my knee. Immediately, the sharp, shooting pains that had been coursing up and down my leg eased to a dull throb.
She looked up at me. “Better?”
“Much,” I said, amazed.
She stood and held her hands in front of my chest. “May I?”
I was still nervous, but forced a nod.
She put her hands over the incisions where the doctor had repaired my lung puncture. The tight, painful feeling eased so that I could breathe again without pain.
A sigh escaped me. “Much better,” I said.
She stepped back with a satisfied smile. “Now that’ll only hold for a couple of hours, but hopefully you’ll be back here in time for another dose.” She speared me with a serious look. “That doesn’t mean push your leg too hard. You heard the Captain. Phase or mess it up and you’ll be crippled for life. Don’t push it just because it hurts less.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.
She grabbed a rod with a bent top from the corner and brought it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Your cane,” she replied. “You’re not to put any weight on that leg. The brace is to keep it in one position, not to be walked on.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I protested. “You expect me to go traipsing through the city after demons with this?”
“Either that or I can remove the spell so that the pain keeps you from walking on it.” She lifted her hands threateningly.
“No, no,” I said, backing away while hopping on one leg. “I’ll be good, I promise.”
She held out the cane and I took it.
I shook my head. “This isn’t going to garner me much respect.”
She grinned. “Win them over with your charm.”
Chapter Twelve
“Win them over with your charm,” I muttered as I limped toward the mass of shades.
The helicopter lifted behind me with steady beats of air that nearly knocked me over.
“Their signal vanished right over there,” Ten, the commander of the beta weapons’ team said as he gestured toward the outer walls of a massive loading yard.
“Take me to it,” I replied.
I cringed inwardly at the fact that they had to keep my pace, but considering the number of shades heading our way, slow and steady was going to be the best choice.
Secondary teams flanked either side of us. As soon as shades were shot down, others pulled the humans aside to recover safely away from the horde. But there were so many of them. It felt as though we were a spear cutting through a sack dummy. The human shades were the straw, and I was the spear tip. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
Shades closed in on every side as we made our way through. The teams shot down enough to keep us moving, but to deal with the number of humans who had been taken over, they were going to need far more soldiers. Captain Roarsh’s resources had been pushed to the max. Before we left, he had reassured me that the FBI had units on the way.
“Don’t have too much fun until they get there,” he had said.
My refusal to comment on his idea of fun might have angered him, but I had more important things on my mind like making sure my team survived.
If it truly was Clay opening the doors, then we were in serious trouble. The demons had no doubt been his first attempt; who knew what he would try to summon next? He had raised the dead the first time I met him. Vanquishing his coven had nearly cost the lives of everyone I cared about. We had also lost Virgo’s mother; she was an irreplaceable woman in everyone’s hearts. The man hadn’t even cared when his wife and son were on the line. What could I possibly do to stop him now?
“They’re closing in tighter!” Ten shouted. “Make your shots count!”
A chill ran down my spine. I glanced up at the moon just peaking above the buildings to my right. The need to phase surged so strongly through my body that I stumbled. I would have fallen to the pavement if a soldier to my left didn’t steady me.
“Are you alright, Sir?” he shouted above the gunfire.
“Fine,” I replied. “Let’s keep moving.”
He nodded and fired at several shades who had drawn closer when we stopped. The soldiers around us walked forward, keeping with my limping pace.
I didn’t know how long I could keep from phasing. I had never been put in a situation where I couldn’t do so. It was physically painful to disobey the call of my body. I wished I could tell it what would happen if I gave in. I couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to force my body into wolf form given the shape I was in. If it wasn’t for Carrigan’s help in dealing with my injuries, I wouldn’t have had the strength to fight off the call of the moonlight.
“We need to go through that doorway, Sir,” Ten said.
I followed the direction of his gaze. The doorway he talked about was packed with a wall of shades. The outliers had proven nearly too much for our small team. There was no way we could take that route.
“We need another way,” I told the man. “What other options do we have?”
He hesitated, then pointed at a walkway near the top of the high wall. “We can get up there, but it’s a climb.”
I felt several other gazes on me.
“The other way, we risk far too many lives. Let’s go to the top,” I told them.
“We’re going to the top!” Ten told his team and the others through their earpieces.
The groups changed direction.
I marveled at the efficiency with which Ten’s team cut through the shades. They worked like the many parts of the same machine, like a pack. The thought gave me a twinge of homesickness. I shoved it aside. There wasn’t time to dwell on what couldn’t be.
“Up that ladder,” Ten directed his men.
Two of them climbed to the top and ensured it was clear.
“Your turn, Sir,” the soldier told me.
I could feel his searching gaze and wondered if he saw how much the simple walk had exhausted me. The strain of holding my wolf form at bay beneath the light of the full moon along with my injuries made me feel as though I was walking through tar.
“We could rig a pulley—” he began.
I shook my head, determined not to show the weakness I felt. I threw down the cane. “That won’t be necessary.” I grabbed the bar, put my good leg up, and pulled the other up behind. Another grab and a hop got me to the next step. By the time I reached the top, I was sweating in amounts uncharacteristic for a werewolf, but I felt triumphant just the same.
When I turned my gaze to the inside of the open shipping yard, the elation vanished.
The yard was packed with shades, all of whom faced a stack of metal shipping crates in t
he middle of the yard that made a sort of stage. Two warlocks were locked in combat on top. An archway glowed beside them.
My heart fell at the sight of Virgo and his father countering spells with shields. From the distance at which I stood, I couldn’t see the strain on Virgo’s face, but the shouts that came from the pair carried weighted tones laced with tension. Flashbacks of Clay holding Virgo above the flames warred against the image. What if Virgo wasn’t strong enough? What if I failed to save him this second time? I banished the thought and focused on my surroundings.
A fenced enclosure stood a few feet in front of the crates. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Fray chained to a post inside. Her head lolled and she didn’t appear to notice the shades hitting the fence and fighting to get in.
My ears picked up the sound of clamoring from some of the huge shipping crates along the wall. It wasn’t hard to picture the missing teams inside. I had my work cut out for me.
“What now, Sir?” Ten asked, joining me.
I looked around the shipping yard. There wasn’t an easy way to get to the crates in the middle. Going through the shades would take way too long and Clay would see us coming.
My eyes lit on a crane towering above the shipping yard. The massive hook hung in the air close to where the warlocks battled.
“I need to get up there,” I said, pointing at it. “And we need a team to get to those crates and free the people inside.”
“How do you know there are people inside?” Ten asked.
“I can hear them,” I said.
His eyebrows rose, but he gave the commands. Five of his men set off running along the wall toward the crates. Two others made their way carefully in the other direction toward the crane.
“What about Fray?” Ten asked. “Should we go for her?”
As much as I wanted to say yes, too many lives would be at stake if I sent them through the shades.
“Just keep an eye on her. As long as that fence is between her and the shades, we’re fine, but if it starts to give, act.”
“Yes, Sir,” Ten replied.
The hook swung slowly in our direction. Gratitude filled me at the silence with which it moved. Any creaking or mechanical noise was swallowed up by the moans and cries of the shades beneath us and the explosions and electricity from the battle in the center of the yard. The crane glinted in the light of the moon as it moved, but neither warlock appeared to notice.
I kept my eyes on Virgo. The younger warlock was showing signs of fatigue. His back foot kept slipping in the face of his father’s onslaught, and though he held his shield of light steady, several shards from Clay’s spells had broken through, tattering his shirt and no doubt the skin beneath. I didn’t know how much longer my friend could hold up.
“Come on,” I whispered as the hook moved closer.
The pace was maddening. By the time it drew near, I realized with a plummeting heart that it wasn’t going to be close enough. The crane didn’t quite reach the wall. I would have to jump for it.
The voice in the back of my mind noted that there was no way I could clear the space with my brace on. I gritted my teeth and backed up. I had to try.
I was about to jump off the wall into what would be a failed leap and plummet toward the shades who were starting to notice us when someone grabbed my shoulder.
“Maybe a different day,” Ten said.
I spun to see him gesture to two of his teammates. They had found a long crate claw and were busy extending it to catch the hook.
My throat tightened as the two women reached the thick cable on top of the hook and pulled it over so I could climb on.
“Good luck, Sir,” Ten said. He saluted.
I saluted back before stepping onto the hook with my good leg.
At Ten’s gesture, the men at the crane controls swung it inward. I barely dared to breathe as I was carried over the shades toward the warlocks.
The closer I got, the more forms behind the archway became visible. It was far bigger than the one in the subway and it looked as if demons of every shape and size were clamoring to get through, but they were held back by a barrier of some sort that they couldn’t breech. I wondered if Virgo had interrupted his father before the final spell could be finished. If that was the case, there was no way to know how close he was to completing the job.
I pulled a gun from my waist and aimed it at Clay. The man’s dark beard had become a stringy mess and his hair was long and caught up in debris. His hands were pale and his long shirt was torn and tattered; he no longer looked like the warlock who had risen the dead to control the world. Instead, he looked desperate and insane; it was a lethal combination.
The warlock shouted another spell and knocked Virgo back a few feet. My friend’s eyes widened. I was close enough to see the fear on his face. His shield faltered. One more spell and it would be gone.
I squeezed the trigger. The dart flew from the end of the gun on track to embed between Clay’s shoulders. I held my breath and clung to the cable. I wasn’t sure if the tranquilizer was enough to knock the warlock out, but it could perhaps give Virgo a chance to recover.
Clay turned at the last second with one hand outstretched. The dart stopped midflight and hung in the air just before his palm.
His gaze shifted from it to me; a cruel smile spread across his face.
“I was wondering when you would show up.” He flicked his finger and the gun flew from my hand to land among the shades below. The warlock gave my braced leg an interested look and then glanced at the moon. “How’s the moonlight treating you, Werewolf?”
Virgo tried to send more spells into the warlock’s shield, but his father appeared to have no problem deflecting them with one hand. A sickening knot twisted my stomach at the realization that Clay had been just toying with his son, waiting for my arrival.
Clay’s eyes gleamed as if he guessed the direction of my thoughts. “The question I have for you is, will you save my son or the girl? Because you can’t have both.”
I looked from Virgo to Fray. The warlock’s implications sunk home. Virgo wasn’t the one he was toying with; it was me.
Clay shook his head. “Werewolves and their love, or is it dumb animal loyalty? You can never be too sure.” He gave me a sad, twisted smile. “Perhaps this is too much pressure for a half-beast to handle; I’ll remove one of your choices from the equation.”
He motioned and the fences around Fray fell. She woke up at the sound of shades clambering over the chain link. The dhampir struggled against her chains, then her head jerked up and her eyes locked on me suspended above the shipping crates.
“Zev!” she shouted.
“Do you know what the bites from a shade can do to a dhampir?” Clay asked.
My lips curled back from my teeth at his cloying tone. “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
He turned his gaze to where the shades were drawing closer to Fray. “Imagine venom coursing through your veins with the heat of a thousand fires. The fever turns into chills that cannot be quenched. You hallucinate, torn between conscious and unconscious, and battle the demons that are in a war for your soul.” His smile deepened. “It’s a war she’ll lose, Zev, because there is no cure for a dhampir bitten by a shade.” He turned back to meet my gaze. “But if you choose to save her, you can’t help my son.” His eyes took on a menacing glint. “And you don’t want to go back on your word to Rosy, do you?”
The taunting way with which he said his wife’s name stabbed through my chest with the force of a spear. I had promised her I would protect Virgo, and I had nearly done so with my life. But she had died that night, sacrificing herself willingly to save her son. I didn’t regret my actions that day, but it was hard not to wonder if I could have saved her as well. Clay knew exactly how to twist the knife so that it hurt, and the mocking in his gaze said he was enjoying it.
I glanced at Virgo. The warlock didn’t take his eyes off his father. His face was taut with the strain of holding the shield. His arms shook.
I knew he was at the end of his strength. I didn’t know whether he heard his father’s comment, but he didn’t let it show.
“Look,” Clay hissed.
I followed his gaze and saw that the shades had reached Fray. The dhampir shook in an effort to get away from them, but her arms were chained over her head and there was nothing she could do to fight them off. My heartbeat thundered in my ears at the sight of her in trouble. I didn’t know how to help her. I was trapped on the hook with no gun, a bum leg, I couldn’t phase, and if I left my friend he would surely die at the hands of his deranged father. I gripped the cable in frustration so hard it bit into my hands.
A shout caught my attention. I looked up to see Ten’s team making their way through the shades. But they were too far away. There was no chance they would reach the dhampir in time.
More shades were advancing on Fray. One bit her leg and she let out a scream of pain.
“Stop!” I shouted and thought at the same time.
To my surprise, the shades around Fray paused. Several turned their faces toward me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clay’s smile falter.
“Attack,” he growled.
The shades surged forward again.
“Stop.” I said it with authority this time, pushing power into my thoughts the way I had done to keep the demon from making it through the archway.
The shades froze in uncertainty; their glowing white eyes shifted from Clay to me and then back. It would have been laughable if the situation hadn’t been so dire.
“It doesn’t matter,” the warlock spat. “They’re merely pawns. I will finish what I started and you can’t stop me!”
Clay faced Virgo again and held up both hands. White and black bolts of electricity jolted into Virgo’s shield. The younger warlock let out a cry of agony and fought to keep it up, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees with the shield barely held in front of him.
I did the only thing I could think of. I used the weight of my brace like a pendulum and swung it toward the shipping crates on which the warlocks fought. As soon as I was close enough, I let go.
