“Here’s the thing about martyrs,” I said, raising Mjolnir and calling upon the lightning. It came down upon me, and the strength of Thor surged in my veins as I pointed the head of the hammer at him. “They’re dead.”
“Stop!” the voice of the King of Wolves resounded through the clearing, and as he spoke, I turned to see Justin’s father striding forward flanked by Sheev and Merlin. It looked a bit crazy, but I didn’t care.
“Do it, Annie,” Alabaster said, and the smug satisfaction in his voice made me want him to die so much it physically hurt. “Kill me.”
I growled, turning back toward Alabaster. He stood there, arms spread outward with his eyes closed, and while I knew I was giving him everything he wanted, I didn’t care. He’d hurt, probably killed Justin. Now he’d pay for it.
I dropped the hammer. It struck the ground with an air of finality, and as it did, the King of Wolves strode forward looking like he’d never been hurt at all. His skin gleamed, and his eyes were made of the darkness that would engulf the sun.
“Alabaster, what have you to say for yourself,” the King of Wolves said, and his voice made me suck in a breath. There was power in that voice. It was the coming night, and I was instantly thankful I’d dropped the hammer so it wasn’t directed at me.
“That you’re a traitor,” and with those words, the King of Air and Fire attacked.
A lance of flame exploded from his hand and struck the King of Wolves in the chest, burning clean through him. The King’s eyes widened in shock, and as he looked down at the hole cleaved through his torso, his mouth opened and closed in surprise.
Alabaster whipped his hands out, making a jagged tearing motion with his fingers, and as he did, the wind screamed in agony as it lifted the King of Wolves off his feet and hurled him toward the dome. He impacted the magical barrier surrounding the city with a sound like a fly hitting a bug zapper, and as the whole of the dome crackled and arced, I realized that Alabaster was going to murder the King with a sneak attack. If that happened…
“Why is no one stopping him?” I cried, spinning around to look for help, and I immediately realized why. Merlin. He stood there, a confident smile on his face as he inspected his fingernails. Did he know what would happen if the King of Wolves died?
Everyone else, werewolf and mage alike, was frozen in place either in shock or awe, but no matter what I knew the mages wouldn’t help, and the werewolves, well those here had to be loyal to Alabaster, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. No, this was a setup, and the sad thing was? Assuming Justin was still alive, I knew I should let Alabaster do it.
“This is a matter for wolves to settle. We should not interfere.” Merlin’s smile grew wider in a way that reminded me of the Grinch having a wonderful, horrible idea.
“And if I interfere what will you do?” I asked, taking a step toward him. If I could stop this, maybe someone would step in. Maybe blood didn’t need more blood.
Merlin’s smile grew malevolent. “Do not test me, girl.”
The way he said it struck me as odd, but as I stared at him, something else caught my eye. Sheev was moving too, and what’s more, he was next to Justin, head bowed in prayer. White light shone along his hands, and what’s more, he was pulling a reverse Humpty Dumpty on Justin. Somehow, he was performing a feat even all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t accomplish. He was putting Justin back together again.
If Justin was still alive, and the King of Wolves died, Justin would inherit his powers. We could have a chance. Only then it would be on Justin to take Alabaster on, and who knew how quickly his new powers would manifest. No, that was too iffy. I had to make Alabaster stop, had to let the King of Wolves take control.
“Alabaster,” I called over the whipping wind. “I spoke to the God of Wolves earlier, and he told me that if the King of Wolves dies, Justin will inherit his powers.” My smile widened. “And while you’re surrounded by cronies right now, I’m willing to bet the prince is a touch more popular than you are back home.”
Like fucking magic, the wind died away and the King of Wolves fell from the dome. As his smoking body crashed to the ground, Alabaster turned to look at me. “If that’s true, nothing is stopping me from burying that old bastard in a deep dark hole to keep Justin from ascending.” He took a malevolent step toward me. “At least until after I’ve killed the Prince.”
24
“That will be a lot harder to do than you think,” Justin said as he stood and glared at Alabaster. “You can’t beat me without your magic.”
“Well, it’s fortunate I have magic then,” Alabaster replied, and he looked so smugly satisfied I wanted to slap the smug off his face. Okay, I wanted to slap him anyway, but still. This was definitely an extra slapping level of smugness, and I did not appreciate it even slightly.
“Are you really so weak that you won’t fight me without your magic?” Justin said as he strode across the battlefield. Was it my eyes or was golden light clinging to him?
My eyes traveled past his princely form to settle on Sheev. My old master had his head bowed and while one hand was clutching a bible, the other was outstretched toward Justin. Was he channeling power into Justin still? If he was, that wasn’t good because it meant Justin was likely still hurt.
“Um… is that a serious question?” Alabaster replied, gesturing toward the wolves behind him. “What would you have me do next? Tie my arms behind my back because I’m stronger than you too?”
The surrounding wolves grumbled. Some were shifted, but most were not, and I could see the tension in their bodies. I was willing to bet that if it came to straight fisticuffs, Justin could probably take on any of them, but Alabaster was on a whole different level. He was strong even without his magic.
“No. I want you to stop hiding behind your magic and fight me like a wolf.” He smacked his chest with his palm, and as he did, he started to shift. Blond hair sprouted from his body as his jaw elongated into a lupine snout with far too many teeth. “We are werewolves. We fight and we bleed. We die thrashing on the ground surrounded by the corpses of our enemies. We fight with tooth and claw.”
Justin was fully wolfman now, and as he passed by me to stand in front of the diminutive albino, I almost thought he could win. Almost. Power that smelled like oranges and pine trees thrummed in the air around him, hot and heavy like summer sweat, but at the same time, Alabaster had that stupid bemused smirk on his face. That concerned me. A lot.
“You may fight with tooth and claw.” Alabaster shrugged, and as he did, the air grew heavy and thick. There was a whoosh next to me, and Justin fell to his knees gasping and clawing at his throat. “But that is because you are weak.”
Alabaster began to walk then, circling Justin like the wolf he was. He still hadn’t shifted, but he didn’t need to shift. His magic was more than enough to take on all comers. It was why he was a king and why the kings ruled. What did it matter if you could bench press a tractor if you couldn’t breathe?
“See, here’s what you don’t understand, Prince,” Alabaster spat the title like an expletive. “I have long since been more powerful than your father. The only thing that has kept me from killing him is because he can negate my magic.” A grin spread across his face. “It’s sort of like the situation you’re in now. I hope you appreciate the irony.”
His hand whipped out lightning fast and his fist crashed into Justin’s face. The blow had enough force for me to hear Justin’s skull crack as his head snapped violently sideways. His body left the ground, and he tumbled across the ground.
“Stop!” I said, turning toward the King of Air and Fire. Mjolnir still lay on my feet, and I was sure I could grab it before he could attack me, but what then? Was I really going to fight him like this?
Alabaster glanced at me and raised an amused eyebrow at me. Behind him, Justin was crawling to his feet. I just needed to buy him time. I could do that.
“I’m guessing that because the dome is sealed, you have defeated Morgan.” He shook
his head. “Honestly, mages. Ah, well. You know how it goes. If you want something done right, you do it yourself, eh?”
He came at me fast. One hand lashed out at me, and while I could have dodged, I didn’t. I let him grab me by the throat and haul me up into the air. I let his fingers close around my windpipe so hard I knew there would be bruises. I did all of this because at heart I was just a fool who’d read one too many samurai stories.
See, in ancient Japan, samurai would sometimes let their opponents strike them with their sword, and then with their enemy’s blade encased within their own body, they would deliver a killing blow to their enemy. Sure, it was risky, but it worked as long as you were willing to do anything to take your opponent with you.
I wasn’t quite there yet, but I didn’t need to be because as the King of Air and Fire hoisted me into the air and glared daggers at me, Justin hit him hard from behind. I was willing to bet Alabaster didn’t see it coming because as soon as Justin landed on the albino with the full brunt of his quarter ton werewolf bulk, Alabaster’s hand tore away from my throat.
Alabaster slammed down hard into the street with Justin riding him down like a bad bronco. I stumbled backward, blood streaming from wounds on my neck, both from where he’d bitten me and from where his fingernails had torn the skin from my throat, but as I watched Justin rear back, a strange sense of calm settled over me. We just might win.
As Justin brought his gleaming claws down on the King of Air and Fire for a coup de grace, his entire left arm erupted into flame.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the smell. It was worse than the scream that tore from his lips by a huge margin. Maybe that was because Justin clamped his lips down around the scream, stifling it as burning flame rippled across his flesh as he brought down his hand down, anyway. As his claws hit Alabaster, they turned to ash and disintegrated before my eyes.
I shrieked, rushing forward, and as I did, Alabaster shifted. It happened so quickly, I’d barely made it one step. One minute the King of Air and Fire was pressed face first into the ground. The next Justin was flying across the clearing as a huge white wolf creature rose to its feet.
His fur glistened like fallen snow, and as he craned his head heavenward and howled, my gut churned in primal instinctive fear. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as I looked around for somewhere, anywhere to hide. Even a rabbit caught in a fox den wasn’t half as scared as I suddenly was.
Justin tried to rise, to pull himself to his feet, but even though the flames on his arm had extinguished, the charred nub that remained was hardly able to support his weight. He collapsed back to the ground as Alabaster strode forward in his wolfman form like an avenging god.
“You wanted a fight as a wolf?” The King of Air and Fire snarled, his claws gouging furrows into the asphalt as he moved. “Well, you’ve got it.” He raised his hand, and the wind shrieked to obey him. It forced Justin to his feet and propelled him forward.
Justin stumbled, his steps woozy. This wasn’t good. Even from here I could see that his eyes were glassy. I had to do something. I had to help him. Only, how could I do that?
If I interfered directly, it would tarnish Justin’s credibility. There were at least a dozen wolves inside all watching, and at least twenty times that just beyond the dome. As I glanced toward the horde waiting to come inside and tear us limb from limb, I sort of realized why Morgan had done what she’d done. She’d opted to sacrifice a few people to save her city. It had been a hard choice, and I wasn’t sure I could make a similar one, but I understood it because it was like when Madisyn had been willing to sacrifice herself to stop the tornado. Unfortunately for Morgan, there’d been no one to step in and make that choice for her.
Justin attacked, lashing out with a strike that Alabaster sidestepped with ease. He buried one claw into Justin’s guts and raked outward, spilling his entrails across the ground. A cry of agony ripped from Justin as his forward momentum caused him to slip on his own insides and topple feebly to the ground.
He face-planted into the asphalt and shook himself, obviously trying to get his head back in the game. I wasn’t sure what Alabaster had done, but from the short, shallow breaths Justin was taking, I was guessing it had something to do with his ability to breathe.
“Like your father before you, you’re nothing.” Alabaster gave him a contemptuous little kick. “Prince.”
Justin lashed out with his good hand, and just as it seemed he might catch the white werewolf off guard, his hand hit a wall of living flame. It caught hold of his arm like a lasso, cinching down around it and lashing him to the ground.
As fire blazed across his body and his screams filled my ears, my eyes turned back toward the dome where the werewolf army waited. All that stood between us and annihilation was a lone wolf, and that lone wolf was losing because this wasn’t a Chuck Norris movie. No, it was real life, and in real life heroes don’t win. Villains win.
I knelt then and grasped Mjolnir. As my hands tightened around the handle, I called upon my power and brought the hammer to life once again. Lightning rumbled overhead as I struggled to lift it. Unlike last time, when I’d grabbed it in a mindless desire to help Justin, it was heavy. The world’s truest immovable object. It barely moved as I strained and fought to lift it.
Only I had to lift it. I had to do this. It was the only way to save Justin, to save everyone. I just had to be willing to make the hard choice. I shut my eyes and pulled so hard it felt like my arm was going to rip from the socket. I could make the hard choice, even if it meant throwing away my chance with Justin. To save him and everyone else, I could bear that cross.
“Yoda can suck it,” I whispered, and even though everything in me told me to flip my switch and let the pain and anger drain away, I didn’t. I pulled hard on all my emotions, on my love for my douchebag brother, on my hatred of the wolves for what they’d taken from me. I brought it all to bear.
I. Hefted. The. Hammer.
Lightning exploded from above and thunder roared so loudly it was like the end of the world, and as Alabaster turned to face me, eyes wide with fear, I pointed Mjolnir at him.
“You will not win this day, wolf,” I said and unleashed a blast of lightning from the hammer that reduced Justin’s father to ash.
25
The world was silent for a moment, and in that moment, I knew what forever felt like. It stretched out to infinity and a day. It wrapped up the whole of the world in its tight little ham fist, and then it fucking exploded like a firecracker.
Magic went everywhere, tearing free of the King of Wolves like a molten hot wave of magma the color of cherry Chap Stick and stinking of garlic fries. It rippled along the inside of the dome and struck deep into the hearts of the wolves gathered around.
I couldn’t tell you how, but I felt the pulse of the moon even from miles beneath the ocean, and as I turned my head toward the heavens, every single werewolf shifted. Not into their hulking man beast form. No, into wolves the size of donkeys with fangs like saber-toothed cats and paws the size of my head.
They collapsed onto all fours as the moonlight beat down ceaselessly on them, and through that beating, that thrumming power, stepped a moon goddess made of light and shadow.
Her alabaster skin gleamed as she opened opaque eyes and looked around with eyes that could not see but did. She smiled at me, and the smile made my heart ache, and before I knew what I was doing, I was on my knees, head bowed before her.
“I’d wondered if you’d have it in you, animator,” the moon goddess spoke, and her words washed over me like summer’s rain and springtime daffodils. It pushed the tension from me and pulled tears from my eyes. I was suddenly calm. I didn’t hurt, didn’t rage.
Mjolnir turned lifeless in my hands as she strode toward me on feet that never quite touched the ground.
“Um… thanks?” I offered, still barely able to look at her. It was like trying to stare upon the face of an angel and in so doing know you were unworthy. Only, she didn’t mak
e me feel unworthy. My pathetic, wretched human side was to thank for that. As those memories rushed up inside me, as I realized what I’d done and what it would mean, she knelt before me and placed a finger to my lips.
Soothing heat radiated from her touch, and before I could say anything, I felt better than I ever had. I felt clean. I felt absolved, and even as memory and heartache tried to wrench me back down, the heat stayed, a constant reminder of her grace.
I tried to speak but couldn’t. My voice evaded me as she turned and settled her eyes upon Justin. He lay on the ground beside Alabaster, skin charred and melted, fur burned away. His body shuddered as she strode toward him, leaving moonlight in her wake.
“Goddess of Wolves, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” Merlin asked, and his voice felt like such an intrusion I wanted to do everything in my power to silence him. Even that momentary bout of rage was washed away under her soothing voice.
“Merlin, I have come to put an end to this childishness. My brother made a promise to the animator though he should not have. I have come to keep it.” She smiled as Merlin shook his head like a kid who was used to being scolded. “Wolves are not to fight amongst wolves. Wolves are to stand united and proud. To protect the world, not just harvest it for profit. For that, they need a true king.” She shook her head as she knelt beside Justin and placed a hand on his bleeding, burned shoulder. Moonlight enveloped him all at once and quite completely, and in that moment, the whole of Atlantis gasped.
As the light faded, the goddess vanished, and Justin lay there. Not as a full on wolf or a man, but as a man wolf. His fur gleamed like spun moonlight, and as he stood, a wave of power fell off of him, washing over the whole of the werewolves. His eyes were no longer amber, but that strange off-white of shining moonlight, and as they fell upon Alabaster, the King of Air and Fire knelt.
Prince of Blood and Thunder: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Spell Slinger Chronicles Book 2) Page 17
