by Martha Carr
“I set us down a few blocks away to give us cover. Figured we would need to see who’s already arrived and what side they’re playing for before we dive into the battle.”
Leira whipped around at the sound of gunfire and screams as Correk set Yumfuck down. “Sounds like we’re late.”
The troll grew to his full measure, standing up at eight feet tall, claws bared as they made their way toward the sounds of a battle already underway. They turned the corner at the end of the long street just as people were running toward them, fleeing from something. The small knot of people took one look at Yumfuck and veered to the right, some stumbling and one man pausing long enough to throw up the contents of his dinner along the curb as they fled.
Leira pulled in energy as the symbols lit up along her skin, flipping over at an ever increasing rate. Correk glanced down to get a glimpse of what the magic was predicting and grimaced. He didn’t like what he saw.
As they got closer Leira formed a fireball in her hands, ready to aim it at whoever or whatever she saw first. At last she got to the side street set among three story brick buildings that must have looked picturesque in better times. But tonight, all Leira could focus on were the shifters growling and pawing at the ground on one side and the Witches and Wizards on the other in close quarters, their wands drawn. Trapped to one side, pinned against a dead end were the PDF agents, or what was left of them. Two were already laying still on the ground.
“Alan…” Leira watched in horror as Alan Cohen moved his gun back and forth between the two sides. He had the same determined look as when he faced down the dark mist.
Correk pulled out an arrow, lighting up the sharp end with a fireball and taking aim at Sirius Pickering standing in the front of the Wizards and Witches.
“Look out!” Agnes swung around with her wand, aiming it right at the arrow but not soon enough to deflect it entirely. The fiery ball caught Sirius in the shoulder, burning a hole through to the bone as he cried out in pain, dropping his wand. He gritted his teeth and picked up his wand with his other hand as he aimed it at the agent standing next to Alan.
Alan fired his gun, but this time Agnes did a better job of deflecting the bullet, creating a transparent shield of energy, sending the bullet around in a ricochet as Sirius sucked the breath out of another agent, dropping her to the cobblestone street, lifeless. Alan made himself stand still and fire again, putting himself between the dark magic and the two remaining agents behind him as the shifters closed in toward them.
Leira threw the fireball in her hand, watching it divide into a hundred smaller balls of blue fire, seeking out their targets, pelting the faces of the dark families standing in the front. The embers hit their targets, burning holes into their skin, not letting up as Leira ran as fast as she could toward the middle, feeling the muscles in her legs responding as she picked up speed.
The shifters growled, pawing the ground and moved in closer toward the agents.
Correk drew another arrow and aimed it at the shifters as Leira yelled to him. “Stop! They’re not attacking the agents. Something is off. Where’s Lucius? Aim at the families. Yumfuck defend the humans. I’m going to find Lucius. He’s here somewhere.”
Yumfuck turned his back to Correk, roaring at the shifters, swiping at the closest beast leaving a long thin wound along the shifter’s neck and face. Correk stood directly behind him facing the dark families, his bow raised with another arrow, his jaw set. He aimed the arrow high over the heads of the front row at the Wizards and Witches behind them, showering them with blue embers, setting them on fire as they rolled on the ground, screaming. As he hoped, some of the front line turned with their wands to put out the flames and Correk saw his chance, firing off one arrow after another, all aimed at Sirius. Take out the head of the snake.
Alan stood his ground just to the right of Correk, still aiming his gun, not sure what else to do. The remaining two agents behind him aimed their weapons at the shifters, their eyes wide with fear, even as they didn’t give any ground. A shifter leapt at an agent as Yumfuck moved swiftly, catching the beast in the air and whipping him against the nearest brick wall, knocking him unconscious. He quickly shifted back to his human form, laying still on the ground.
The agents looked on in horror as they realized the beasts in front of them were part human. “What the fuck is going on?”
Sirius screamed in anger. His entire plan was blowing up in his face. None of his precious shifters were obeying his commands. Even the ones created from his own former ranks were siding with their alpha. Lucius.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Leira moved down a side alley, sending out a stream of magic ahead of her. Find Lucius. She traced the stream of dark magic to an old patisserie. The front window was shattered and the bakers in dusty grey aprons were spilling out the front. Found him.
She rushed inside, running to the back and found herself face to face with Lucius, his claws wrapped tightly around Tess’ arm, her long white hair falling across her face. Her eyes were a blank stare. An older baker with red hair was standing in front of Lucius, holding a long wooden peel, swatting at the beast as if he were just a pesky fly. A cigarette was firmly clamped in his mouth, smoke pouring out as his breathing picked up, determined to defend the seer from all comers. He wasn’t going to betray his promise.
Leira threw a fireball at Lucius, watching it split into fragments as it found its target, as Lucius raised a claw to shred the lone baker. Leira sent out a pulse of energy, throwing the baker off his feet and out of harm’s way just as the claws came down, barely missing their mark. Now it was between Leira and Lucius and the prize was the seer.
Tess raised her head and turned her face to the left and the right, sensing Leira’s presence. “No…” she hissed. “This was the trap. Run! Get out! Run!”
Leira noticed too late. The black mist swept in, rolling in large clouds along the floor, already engulfing her legs. It had grown more powerful since Lucius had escaped the world in between. Leira could feel the cries of all the beings the dark mist had trapped. The sound was excruciating.
Lucius smiled, letting out a low growl. “I made a deal with the dark energy that runs through the void. My part of it was to deliver you. Getting Tess is a bonus,” he growled.
Leira reached for the bracelet, taking it off her wrist, ready to fling it in Lucius’ face. “Stop!” yelled Tess, reading the energy in front of her. “Just run!”
“I never run from a fight,” whispered Leira as she raised her hand.
Something powerful shoved her back before she could throw the artifact, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see Rhazdon standing in front of her, hunched over, facing Lucius.
“It’s me you want, motherfucker!” Rhazdon raised her arms, swirling the black mist around all of them as if they were inside of a tornado, the familiar roar of a train drowning out the fight from the street.
“This was the part of the deal I was after,” yelled Lucius, loosening his grip on Tess.
Rhazdon raised her withered arms, drawing on as much energy as she could through her dying body as she whispered an ancient dark spell. Leira got to her feet, ready to fight.
He can’t breathe. She’s sucking the life out of him. Leira hesitated, not sure who to trust as Lucius bore down, his face grimacing in pain as he struggled to close in on Rhazdon. He let go of Tess as Leira reached out her hand, yanking at Tess’ arm and pulling her close.
Lucius reared back, his mouth opened wide, screaming in pain as he decided to inflict a little pain of his own, grasping at Tess, scraping his claws along her arm. Leira grabbed onto Lucius’ arm, the artifact still in her hand burning brightly, branding him with the liquid stone. The shifter yelped in pain, pulling back his hand as Rhazdon continued the spell.
But Lucius wasn’t done, yet. He had waited eight hundred years for his revenge, always watching life moving on without him. He wasn’t going to be denied. With his last breath, he lunged forward using the weight of his body t
o propel him the last of the way, sinking his claws into Rhazdon’s chest, even as she whispered the last of the spell. There was a satisfying smile on his face as he collapsed to the ground, pushing deeper into her flesh, even as his body was shifting back into the form of a Light Elf.
Leira ran over to Rhazdon, even as the dark mist was creeping back toward her, this time more slowly. Leira grabbed towels from the counter and pressing them against Rhazdon’s wound, watching the white linen turn a rapid crimson. “I can’t stop it. Tell me how to stop it. You have to have a spell for this too.”
Rhazdon looked up at Leira, locking eyes with her only inches apart. Her body was growing limp as she shifted one last time back to the beauty she had been all those years. She was young again, for just a moment.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as she drew her last breath, gasping as the life ran out of her and her body quickly turned to ash, running through Leira’s hands, sinking into the mist as it continued to rise, pulling at Leira’s feet. Leira shook her head, anger and remorse coursing through her.
She stood upright, pulling in all the energy she could, dropping the bracelet as the light quickly spread through her, balancing out the darkness, opening up the void. Leira’s eyes widened as she looked directly into the world in between and saw thousands of desperate faces looking back at her.
“Leira, no…” She looked toward the door in time to see Correk rushing in, Perrom and Ossonia right behind him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes shining as she looked at Correk and the mist pulled her closer toward the edge. Correk reached for her hand, unwilling to let her go as Perrom held him back, using the energy of his bionic arm to stop his friend. Leira smiled for a moment at Perrom, grateful Correk was out of harm’s way, even as the tips of her shoes went over the edge.
Ossonia saw an opening and slipped past Perrom and Correk, pulling in her own energy to shove Leira back just as the void opened wide, sucking her inside of the darkness as it closed around Ossonia’s surprised face. Leira’s eyes widened in horror and she summoned the energy within her, willing it to tear the void open again, the energy lifting her off the floor. But Leira could already feel the absence of the dark magic. The world in between was closed and with Ossonia inside of it even as the light sought to claim her for its own.
Perrom dropped his grip on Correk and screamed out, swiping at the air where Ossonia had just been standing, helpless to save her.
Correk slid across the floor, grabbing the artifact as the light continued to build in Leira, lifting her higher. He pulled her down closer to the ground, the bracelet digging in against her exposed stomach, all the while pulling her body toward him, pressing his chest tightly to her as the light did its best to push away the energy that sought to control it.
Every muscle in his body was at the breaking point as he held onto Leira, refusing to let go, the stone in the middle of the artifact spinning as it turned to liquid, pummeling back against the light.
The baker crawled in front of Tess, pushing her toward the secret passageway behind the enchanted oven. “Hniga dyrr soemiligr landi.” The old door creaked open as the baker helped Tess to her feet and picked her up, carrying her down the stone steps of the kemana as the oven closed behind them. He had kept his word, his cigarette still clenched in his mouth.
The light began to give way, even as the energy still pulled through the middle of Leira, her toes still off the ground, burning through the scar on her abdomen. Correk held on tightly, unwilling to let go, the artifact pressed between them, his face inches from Leira’s.
Leira grabbed onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing the side of her face against his, her fingers gripping his skin as the energy finally ebbed and the room grew quiet.
Leira’s feet came down to the floor as Correk slipped the bracelet back on her wrist. “Never again. Make that another one of your rules.”
“The agents…” Leira ducked around Correk, her arms slipping from around his neck as he tried to stop her.
“Don’t Leira, it’s over. The dark families are gone, and the shifters ran off.” You don’t want to see what remains. He left the rest unsaid, reaching out to grab her arm.
But she was already halfway out the door even as Correk turned back to his grieving friend.
“Ossonia! Ossonia!” Perrom was still screaming her name as if he would get an answer.
“We’ll find a way to get her out. I promise you.”
Leira ran down the side alley, listening for any signs of a battle or a wounded survivor, her heart pounding in the eerie silence. She ran into the space between the buildings and found the alpha shifter standing guard next to a fallen body.
Leira instinctively formed a fireball in her hand, ready to throw it as the alpha turned and looked at her.
“It’s you.”
The purple energy glowed in the palm of her hand. The shifter backed away from the body, lowering his head. “You’re protecting him…” Leira let the flame die out as she saw who was lying there. “Alan… no…”
The alpha backed away further, turning to watch the street as Leira ran to Alan, pressing her fingers against his neck. Still alive. There was a burn mark down his chest from a Wizard and he was still gripping his gun. Leira picked up his head and rested it in her lap.
“Alan, hang in there. Help is coming. Hang in there.”
He opened his eyes and tried to smile at Leira as small red bubbles formed on his lips. “Leira.” His voice came out in a throttled gurgle as she tried to surround them both in energy, but nothing was working.
“Alan, please, hang in there.”
His eyelids fluttered as he raised a hand and touched her face, letting it drop to his chest and breathed his last. Leira ran her hands over his chest and face, trying to bring him back but it was too late. It was only then that she looked up and realized they were all dead. None of the agents had survived the attack. “The war has begun. It’s too late to stop it now.”
Yumfuck came running down the street, out of breath as Leira sat back, still holding onto Alan. He came to rest by her side, still eight feet tall, protecting Leira as Correk took his place by her side. Eventually, General Anderson arrived and the street quickly filled with other agents, reclaiming the dead.
Somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Lucius slipped away, freed from the curse but still a shifter, looking for his pack.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Leira sat in the large room of the Garden Grove ranch in Buda, watching her grandmother fuss over her mother who was dressed in a long, cream colored wedding dress and a ring of roses atop her head. They were in a large villa getting ready for Eireka’s wedding to Don, at last.
Two weeks had passed since the battle on the streets of Paris and Leira was still numb from the losses. She was grateful to have Correk next to her when she tried to sleep, jerking away in the night, replaying the last moments as she curled up next to him, feeling his even breaths next to her. She tried not to think of Perrom’s anguished face as his father came to take his son home. Perrom looked up at Leira as he stepped through the portal and she reached out to him, but he turned away in pain.
“It’s not your fault, Leira.” Correk wrapped his arm around her, grateful she was safe, even as he mourned for Ossonia and Perrom, swallowing hard to hold back his grief.
General Anderson had cleaned up the streets and sent out a press release about terrorists and heavy losses, suppressing any reports of crazed wolves or strange beings with wands. But this time the rumors persisted despite his efforts.
Still, he had ordered Leira to say nothing.
Alan Cohen and his team were given medals posthumously that would be buried with each of them in order to keep the secrets. After their hastily arranged funeral, Leira turned in her resignation. In the end, Hagan did the same, settling in at the sanctuary and volunteering his services to Leira if she ever needed them.
“Once a partner, always a partner,” he had said, gently patting her sho
ulder.
Still, today was her mother’s wedding day and she had managed to keep the news from her all this time. She was determined not to slip now. Let her have this day. Leira took a deep breath and smiled at her mother. It was easy to do. Eireka Berens was so happy, turning around in her dress and touching the roses in her hair, the engagement ring sparkling in the light.
“I’m so glad the two of you are walking me down the aisle. It’s just perfect.” Eireka’s joy was bubbling over. “Look, even your father sent a gift.” Eireka held out a pale blue finely woven handkerchief with an embroidered B on it. “The note said it’s an artifact that brings joy to the one who holds it. It’s my something old.”
“Oh, thank you. I was a little concerned that was going to be my role.” Mara winked at her daughter as Eireka let out an easy laugh.
Leira smiled and stood up, silently thanking her dad. I will need to go see him soon. Maybe I can tell him everything that’s happened. “I’ll be right back.”
Mara looked over at Leira, her eyes narrowing as she studied her granddaughter but she said nothing, instead smiling at her daughter and taking her hand.
Leira found her way outside and went out to the lawn where the guests were waiting, their chairs all turned toward the trellis at the end of the aisle, covered in vines and long, billowing white curtains draped on the sides. Leira stood back in the shadows and pulled in the energy from the ground, grateful to be using it for something to make someone she loved happy. She set out an intention and smiled as small blooms appeared on the vines and the scent of lilacs wafted across the grounds. The air glittered with flecks of gold in the sunlight as the guests all felt a lightness of being and couples reached out for each other’s hand and friends smiled and laughed.
Leira made her way back to the room and held open the door. “It’s time, Mom. You look beautiful, even radiant. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you this happy.”
