by Peter Saenz
Looking back at the Archons, I reluctantly nod my head, accepting their terms. Satisfied, they turn and exit the arena, leaving their body guards behind. Jason lingers behind and says to me once the other Archons are several feet away, “Good luck using your magics in the trials. Wolves are immune.”
He then turns and leaves. After inspecting me visually, the bodyguards left behind join their kinsmen already in the arena. I know I’m going to have the fight of my life in front of me. My previous coven attacks now seem weaker by comparison.
I look at Damon and am amazed to see that his expression hasn’t changed one bit. The look of optimism stays on his face and suddenly a glimmer of hope appears in my heart. For some reason something Anna had told me before comes to mind. It was when she was telling me about her ancestor, St. Elizabeth: ‘No matter how far you try to run from who you are, or what path you take, you will always be led back to the place you were meant to be’. Is this really where I was meant to be all along?
I will the sound system to return to use. Immediately after, I hear Jason say into the loud speaker, “After meeting with the Archons, it has been ruled that the outsider Devin will fight alongside the Enopo Damon. The opponent warrior count has been doubled to meet our traditional guidelines. I would now ask for the Synoro and Basque ambassadors to leave the arena.”
Knowing we’ve already said our goodbyes, I turn to my father and Gabriella to look at them one last time. They smile at us and turn to leave. Once they are out of view, Jason continues with his grandstanding. “Wolves, are you ready?”
The 24 opponents across from us raise their swords and cheer.
Jason continues, “Enopos, are you ready?”
Damon and I look at one another, then take out our swords and raise them into the air. Dearest Gaea, mother of us all, guide and protect us.
“Then let the trial begin!”
The werewolves move into military positions, forming small staggered groups around us. They then move toward us at a rapid pace. Without breaking eye contact with them, Damon says, “They’re going to attack us from both sides, then head on. We’ve got to slip past them and attack from behind.”
In unison, Damon and I race toward the soldiers, feigning to make a full frontal assault. We dodge several small thrown blades along the way. Just when we get within arm’s reach the both of us leap into the air, tumbling over their heads, and land behind the first group of wolves. We slash at their backs with our swords, sending three wolves to the ground. We then leap into the air again as another group is about to dive in for the attack, landing behind them also. Just as the group before, the soldiers at the back of the crowd fall to the ground as our swords make quick work of them.
A roar of approval can be loudly heard from the spectators watching. Damon and I race to an open area in order to get a better view of what the assailants plan to do next.
Damon says, “They’re not going to fall for that move again. We need to keep changing our strategies.”
“Agreed.”, I reply.
I turn to my side and notice two soldiers have used my blind spot to their advantage, and are almost on top of me. I use one sword to block their attack, and the other to swipe at their knees. Three more take their place but I don’t have time to confront them outright as I see two other wolves are about to attack Damon from behind while he tries to fend off more opponents directly in front of him. After I teleport myself in front of the wolves attacking Damon from behind, I impale them on their shoulders. Oos and aahs can be heard from the crowd, surprised at my use of magic. I can hear my silver blades singeing the wolf attacker’s skin upon impact. I then round house kick them across their faces, knocking them unconscious.
Needing to clear some space, I link my arm with Damon’s and use his body to ground myself as I kick away his attackers. Damon then uses the same move to kick away attackers directly behind me. Seeing a newly opened space directly across from us, we both race for it, hoping to get a second at catching our breath and to get our bearings again.
The soldiers left standing then consolidate themselves into one line and use it to surround us. They then close in, hoping to pin us to one spot. I can tell they are waiting for us to try to leap over them again. Instead, I use my magic to help us out of the bind. Instead of using magic directly on the wolves, since I know it will have little effect, I focus my magic on their clothing. I will for them to be pushed backwards several feet. The trick works as the wolves are sent flying in several directions. Unfortunately all this does is anger them. As they rise back to their feet, all of their eyes shift to yellow. The crowd oos dramatically, showing a sign of foreboding.
“Oh shit.”, I hear Damon say.
Slowly the soldier’s features change to half human and half werewolf. They look almost beautiful in a terrifying sort of way. The brown furred wolves have the most mass to them, whereas the gray furred wolves have more of a sleek look about them. The red and black furred wolves fall somewhere in between the two as far as body type, but the black wolves seem more contemporary in their fighting styles whereas the red wolves seem more primal in their actions. I look beside me and see that Damon has also halfway shifted his appearance, so I follow suit.
When I shift, all of my senses are heightened to a large degree. I don’t know if it’s the wolf aspect or the heightened level of magic, but suddenly I’m more aware of things like distance between people around me and their movements.
A few of the wolves near us take out small bamboo rods and hold them up to their mouths. I remember back to my first fight with Nicholas, and how he had darted Tobias, almost killing him. This must be how he did it. I prepare myself, waiting for what comes next. As soon as the darts fly into the air at us, I use my gifts to halt the darts in mid-air and direct them back to their attackers. Once the wolves are hit, they fall to the ground convulsing. The crowd goes crazy with applause around us. Are they insane? They’re cheering that members of their own people are falling in combat. Don’t they care? Casting my psychic perception out over them, I can sense the darted wolves’ body metabolism is working in their favor. The poison has knocked them unconscious, but isn’t as lethal to them as it is to humans. Thank the goddess for small favors. Casting my psychic vision aside, I look around us with my normal eyes and now see that there are 12 wolves left standing, not counting Damon and I. I take this as a good omen. Unfortunately they notice also and become more aggressive in their fight.
Casting aside all strategy, the remaining wolves charge at us, hoping a dog pile tactic might work instead. Damon and I start running toward one end of the arena. From one of his leg pockets, Damon takes out a type of stringed weapon. On either end are two metal balls. Damon twirls it in the air a couple times before he throws it at the pack behind us, hitting one wolf at the ankles. The string wraps around him, sending him to the ground face first.
A subtle whisper on the wind says into my ear, “Gaea’s earth”.
A memory of the last fight with Malik comes back to me. I remember Tobias creating an earth pillar to help block one of the coven’s energy attacks. I ask Mother Gaea to come to my aid, causing various height pillars to come from the ground. Immediately the ground shakes and 20 to 30 pillars rise from the dirt below, filling the arena. Several strike the still charging wolves while others merely block their path.
Astonished, Damon tells me, “Just how powerful are you?”
Unsure, I answer, “Since I’ve had Fenrus on my side? I really don’t know.”
Once we reach the end, Damon prepares a new battle stance, ready for another attack and says, “At least now they can’t attack us from behind. For our sake, I hope you’ve got a lot more tricks up your sleeve.”
Using the pillars as climbing platforms, the wolves continue their attack, leaping into the air directly at us. Devon kicks one aside while I cause two to collide into one another magically. One wolf reaches Damon and they begin their sword duel. Two more wolves then manage to jump on top of me, knocking me to the grou
nd. Before hitting ground I see several more approaching Damon, swords in hand. I panic and summon forth my full werewolf form, gathering enough strength to throw both attackers off of me. Leaving my swords on the ground, I then race over to Damon and swipe several wolves off of him with my claws. They wince in pain, somehow surprised that such an attack would hurt them. Most fall to the ground, seriously wounded, but a few stay standing, attempting another attack. I can see them trying to shift into their full werewolf forms as well, but are too wounded to accomplish anything other than the half wolf transition. They swing their swords at me, but I knock them down easily.
The other wolves who have yet to engage us see what has happened. Angered that none of the other attacks have been successful, their eyes change to a brighter shade of yellow and their bodies increase in size. Their faces form more of a lupine quality, with their mouths and noses forming into more of a snout. Their ears become more pointed and raise their location towards the tops of their heads. Their hands become larger and their claws more defined. Their feet stretch and grow until they resemble those belonging to a canine. The transformation becomes too much for their clothing as the majority of their battle gear rips apart and falls to the ground. Where once military style warriors stood now stands huge oversized fur covered beasts. Their numbers grow as the wolves Damon and I had wounded earlier, now healed, join their fully transformed comrades. All gloves are cast off, obviously. The nature of the fight has just changed completely. The audience roars their approval, hoping to see as much blood spilt as possible.
Damon’s voice snaps me out of my trance when I hear him say, “Devin, the wolves you just attacked with your claws...their wounds aren’t healing. You’ve managed to truly hurt them somehow.”
I look down at the wolves on the ground and see that he’s right. They have shifted back to their human forms and continue to bleed. More flashbacks go across my mind, as I remember Nicholas being bandaged after our first fight. My wound had somehow slowed down his naturally rapid healing process. Is this something I can use against the others as well? Is that my loophole?
In a guttural voice I say, “They’re done playing Damon. You need to change now.”
Without hesitation, Damon alters himself into his full werewolf form as well. He grows several inches taller and becomes just as beastly as the wolves across from us. One of the wolves in the arena howls, sending the others into a frenzy. The audience wolves join in with the howling. A chill goes down my spine. I may match their size and appearance, but they still have lots more experience on their side. I have to come to terms with the fact that the imprinted battle skills I swiped from Nicholas just might not be enough. Knowing we’re outnumbered, my mind races to possible scenarios where my magic can give us an advantage. I try to push out Jason’s last taunting words, ‘Good luck using your magics in the trials. Wolves are immune’, but it’s very hard to do. Doing so can’t change the fact that he’s right. In their full werewolf forms, they will hardly feel anything I magically send at them.
All at once they charge at us. Damon gives a guttural growl and opens his claws, ready to take as many wolves with him as he can. I race toward the wolves, hoping I can get the majority of them to focus on me and not Damon. As I run I become aware of different pressure points that I might be able to use to my advantage. More of Nicholas’ imprinted skills? Either way, I take the first wolf and swipe him with my claws across the chest. I then move on to another wolf, biting him on the back of the neck. I then use the claws on my feet to rake against a third wolf before being thrown on the ground by a fourth wolf. As I land, I can see that the three wolves I attacked are now laying beside me. They slowly revert to their human forms, wincing in pain at where I had attacked them.
Three more wolves are now on top of me and are about to dive in with their own teeth and claws to finish me off. Just before they do, I close my eyes and will for a bright light to appear in front of me. Through my closed eyes I can tell the trick worked. In a second the dazzling bright light disappears and I am able to open my eyes again. The wolves on top of me are temporarily blinded and holding their claws to their eye sockets. I take advantage of the small window of opportunity and slash their chests with my claws, then slip away.
Across from me I can see that several other wolves are engaging Damon. His ferocity and cunning surprise me. The battle skills his parents and Nicholas taught him have definitely paid off. For every swipe of claws made against him, he has either a block or pivot to counteract it. He uses his amazing agility to jump from place to place, never allowing his opponents an opportunity to grab hold of him properly. More wolves are approaching him though so I pick up a portion of broken earth pillar and throw it at them. Once it hits, they whip their heads at me and growl. Good. Come at me you bastards.
Before they reach me, I am slammed into my side by someone behind me. We land hard into a pillar, and I hear it crack behind me. Angered, I hit the forceful wolf with the back of my fist before he can get any more licks in. The hit sends him flying away from me. Seeing that the wolves are almost at me now, I use the loose pillar to my advantage. I will for it to break apart completely and fling itself at my oncoming attackers. It strikes them in their midsections, knocking the wind from them. I run over to them to finish the job the pillar started, but see that they are now unconscious on the ground.
I count 14 werewolves left. Five are trying to take Damon down and the remaining 9 are gearing up to charge on me. Gaea help me, I’m getting tired. Not wanting to wait for his companions to finish strategizing, one wolf charges at me and we begin a bloody brawl. In the middle of it I look over at Damon. Just at that moment I see one of his attackers slashes him across the face, knocking him backward. The others are about to pounce upon him to finish the job. Something inside me snaps and I give out a growling howl. I then grab my opponent, pick him up and throw him at Damon’s attackers. As they impact one another I race over also and begin clawing and slashing away at Damon’s would be murderers. Staggered and hurt, they fall. I then turn to Damon and see that his facial wounds are slowly beginning to heal. Ignoring the now almost deafening cheer from the arena stands, I offer my claw shaped hand to him. He takes it, using my weight to help him to his feet.
When I see he is fully recovered, we turn back to the remaining wolves. 8 left. For the first time I see something in their faces I hadn’t seen before: fear. I can feel Damon senses it too. We both roar at the others, showing to them our confidence. The wolves keep their eyes locked on us, but slowly begin to back up. We charge at the remaining group, each of us taking half. I lose myself in the battle. All of Nicholas’ fighting skills seem to almost flow out of me. When I can, I also manage to include some of the techniques Mika had taught me as well. Looking over, I can see that Damon has already taken out two of his opponents. Despite his tired state, the other two seem manageable for him to handle. It’s almost as if their fighting spirit has all but left them due to the insecurity at seeing so many of their once large number of comrades dwindle down to only a few.
As I smile to myself, one of my opponents uses my distraction to her advantage. She slashes at my stomach, kicks me in the groin, and savagely bites me on the neck. Howling in pain, I knock her away from me and fall to the ground. In seconds the others are on top of me, biting and scratching as quickly as possible. I become disoriented. My only thought is to try to punch and kick as many as I can before I begin to bleed to death or lose consciousness, whichever comes first.
In my hazy vision, I think I see one of the wolves attacking me stop to grab at their neck. Is that one of the bolo weapons Damon used earlier I see around his neck? Another wolf stops their attack also and I can see a long red feathered needle sticking out of their cheek. I take the last two wolves by the neck and slam their heads into one another. They fall to the side and suddenly I realize there’s no one left attacking me anymore. I try to get up but can’t. I can feel some of my bones have broken. The pool of blood beneath me also tells me that I’m proba
bly a lot worse off as well. Inside my head I can hear Fenrus telling me, “Lay still. Your wolf body will heal itself but it needs time.”
“But what about Damon? Is he okay?”, I ask.
Soothingly, Fenrus says, “See for yourself.”
I close my eyes and will for my spirit self to rise out of my body. I look down at myself and see a bloody mess. How can I still be alive after looking like that? I then search the arena for Damon. He is a few feet away from my body. He’s reverted back to his human form and is doubled over with his hands resting on his knees. His last two opponents lay beside him, dead. He’s breathing in heavily from exhaustion. The sweat from his face drips down to his chin, falling rapidly to the ground. After a few moments he staggers over to where my body is laying. “Devin...Devin, it’s me. Are you...are you alright?”
I move my spirit self to his ear and whisper to him, “I’m fine. I just need a few minutes to heal.”
I then return to my body, feeling the pain it is enduring, wishing it could stop. Damon takes my hand and says, “We did it.”
Pushing through the pain, I move my hand raise into the air and place it on top of his. Another roar of cheer can be heard across the arena as I succumb to the agony and fall into unconsciousness.
§
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Death Clash
When I wake I find I am laying on a cot and surrounded by not only my father, Damon, and Gabriella; but by Nicholas and quite a few Archon leaders as well. Fenrus, I also see, is laying beside me in vigil. He licks the skin on my hand, helping me realize I’m back in my human form. Turning my head, I can see that I am in one of the arena window boxes. The sun has already begun to set, creating a beautiful array of fall colors across the sky. My muscles are sore and I can feel a tenderness to my skin and bones. I try to sit up but my father pushes me back down.
