“Indeed.” Abaddon said gravely.
I watched him shift and I did the same. We ran in silence and after a few hours of retracing our steps we found our campsite. I reverted back to human form and got dressed in the clothes that we had left last night. Slipping on my boots, I heard Abaddon on the phone.
“No, we’re fine; we’ll be there in a few hours. I need you to be there, we have some things to discuss.” He said.
He hung up and went over to the fire, making sure the hot embers wouldn’t start any fires. I packed up our things and loaded it in our vehicle. We got in and drove in silence towards home.
An hour later as we started to enter more populated areas I finally was ready to ask him some questions.
“My gauntlets have swords.” I said.
“Yes, it would appear so. It seems your father’s workings on your weapons were more extensive than I imagined.” Abaddon said, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Do you know how they were able to ignite?” I asked.
“When your father made them he infused them with some of his own magic, or the power of his Beast. You can only do that if you are extremely skilled and have total mastery. It allows your weapon to be enhanced with a particular attribute. Apparently your father thought you might need fire, should the need arise.” He finished.
“But how was I able to make them alight?” I asked.
“I think you already know the answer to that, it’s the key to all your power.” He said.
“I willed my Beast to do it.” I answered, remembering how I made them flame on.
“Correct.” Abaddon said.
So, my father had made my gauntlets with the particular ability to wield fire, the biggest weapon against vampires. Seems like an awful convenient coincidence.
“Are weapons like mine common among the Ascended? Does everyone have magical swords and stuff?” I asked.
Abaddon turned to look at me with intensity.
“Most of what I know about them comes from the study your father did before making those.” He said pointing to my bracelets.
“We talked about many theories and practiced those theories for months until he made them. I had no idea what he was making until they were done and he never told me what they actually did, even though I suspected they were powerful.” He said.
“You never answered me.” I said.
“I only know of one other that has any magically enhanced weapon, Vicktor.” He said.
Great, the one guy who stood in my way of getting the needed help to go after the Lord. The guy who took control of the Pack after my father left and was in bed with a vampire and had years of experience fighting and using his weapon. Not to mention having sorcerers who were willing to create Altered that he could send my way on his side.
Well, no one ever said anything worth doing was easy.
“What is his weapon?” I asked.
“A large double bladed axe, but before you ask, no I have not seen what it can do.” Abaddon said.
We had reached the loft and pulled into the garage. Katrina’s small coupe sat in the space next to our SUV. We got out and made our way upstairs. I hurried into the loft, worried about Max.
I walked in and was surprised to see him sitting at the couch watching T.V. Katrina was in the kitchen standing behind the island slowly sipping a cup of coffee.
Max heard us come in and he turned, nodded and said, “What’s up guys?”
“How you doing, man?” I asked, curious.
He seemed upbeat, all the previous emotional weight from the vampire encounter gone.
“I’m good, just watching a little boob tube. Where have you guys been?” He asked.
“Um, you don’t remember?” I asked.
“Remember what? We went camping, then Katrina brought me home when you guys went out running through the woods.” He said.
I turned to Katrina and Abaddon, both stood together in the kitchen, with a questioning look.
“He was remote most of the way back, then he let out a deep moan and fell asleep, when he woke up he has been acting like this.” She said, waving her hand at him.
“Right about the time he killed the vampire.” Abaddon speculated.
Katrina looked to him, understanding.
“That would make sense. It left a residual psychic shockwave.” She said.
“Hello, anyone care to fill me in?” I asked, aggravated.
Abaddon turned to me, smiling slightly.
“We have sometimes seen this sort of thing happen with some of the Descended. When the mind is attacked, either from a vampiric tag or the Beast, it can shutdown or block out the incident.” She said.
“That happens all the time with normal people. There is case study after case study where people consciously block out traumatic experiences so that they can function.” I said.
Max got up from the couch and walked over to us.
“I’m gonna make me something to eat, anybody else want anything?” He said.
“No, I’m good, thanks.” I said.
“Alright, suite yourself.” He said.
He went to the fridge and started getting things out to make a sandwich.
We all moved over towards the T.V. area, letting him have the kitchen to make his food.
“Is he going to be like this forever? Will telling him about the vampire make him have a breakdown?” I asked, concerned.
Katrina looked over at him.
“I don’t know, these things usually work themselves out. Other times the person goes their whole lives in denial. It depends on the individual. I say for now, we wait and see. Give him a chance to work it out himself.” She said.
I watched Max tentatively, worried about him.
Katrina looked at him with open concern before she hid it under a mask of neutrality.
“What happened out there?” She asked.
Abaddon and I recounted the night’s events. I told what I saw from my perspective and he filled in any blanks.
“So you think he may be alive?” Katrina asked.
“We don’t know if he is.” Abaddon said.
“We don’t know if he isn’t, either.” I added.
“That changes things.” She said.
“Yes and no.” I countered.
They both turned to me, waiting for an explanation. I noticed for the first time that they both looked at me as more of an equal than of an ignorant student. They wanted to know my opinion they were beginning to value it.
“Well, yes things have changed, from the perspective that my dad might still be alive. If he is that puts a whole new angle on being able to rally the troops to our cause, my dad has already established relationships with the members of the Pack that we need on our side.”
“No, things haven’t changed in how we continue to prepare for the Rite. If my dad is alive, great, but we have to at least assume he may not be, in that case we still need to be ready to make sure I succeed in my Rite. We can’t let them know we know. That would only make us a target. Right now, the only people who know what’s going on is Vicktor, us and the vampire. If we go into the Pack screaming about an invasion, especially from a non-member, Vicktor will send everything at us.” I said.
“He probably knows now, given his failed attempt to kill us with the Altered last night.” Abaddon said.
“Probably, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to kill the vampire bitch. I need help to do that. That means getting support from other Pack members. In order for that to happen I have to prove myself and prevail in the Rite. I also have to convince them to help me, to put their faith in me.” I said.
“I told you he was worthy.” Abaddon said to Katrina, approvingly.
I looked from Abaddon to Katrina, dawning realization hitting me.
“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you have been training me and why Katrina has been teaching me how to operate within the Pack. You knew it would be necessary for me to be ready for this?” I challenged them both.
Abaddon looked at me squarely, while Katrina openly smiled at me.
“Of course, boy. We never lied to you. We knew something was happening, but not what exactly. You needed to be prepared, you still need much more training, but at least your mind is sharp. You had to come to this path yourself. You had to make the decision on your own, that is what gives it power. We are just the tools.” He said.
I knew the truth behind what they said. I was a little angry at myself for being so blind, but not at them. They never lied to me; they just let me keep my illusions until I was ready to remove them.
“I just wish we knew what Vicktor and that death whore were up to.” Katrina pondered.
“You know.” Max said from where he was sitting at the kitchen bar. His sandwich almost eaten sat on his plate.
“I was making this sandwich and I noticed I had gotten everything out of the fridge I could to make a huge party sub, three meats, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, bread, onions, olives etc…”
“I stopped for a second and wondered why? Why did I get so much out, I just wanted a simple sandwich? Then answer came to me, hunger. I was hungry. With that one thought I remembered something I had forgotten. I remembered being frozen under the gaze of a monster. I remembered feeling what it felt. The unfathomable depths of its hunger almost drove me insane. All it felt as it had me was hunger, hunger for life, my life and my essence.” He said.
He had his head down this whole time and when he looked up I saw tears in his eyes and his cheeks were wet where they had already ran down. His eyes were clear, however. Maybe slightly haunted, but clear and focused.
“Hunger, that’s what these things are. Humans can only handle one feeding, I imagine, maybe a couple. Either way we are snacks. You guys are fucking buffets. Maybe it’s nothing more complicated than mere hunger.” He said.
Then he got up and put his plate in the sink and without looking at us said, “I’m taking a nap, wake me for dinner.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Abaddon said quietly.
Katrina watched Max go to his bed, smiling slightly.
“So.” Abaddon said. “What now?”
“Now, we finish my training.” I said.
Chapter 24
I felt like we had been doing this forever. This time, however, my opponent was much easier on the eyes.
Katrina stood ten feet away, facing me in our new arena. We left the loft and moved far outside the city limits. Abaddon had a large cabin out here and we made this our new home. It was still smaller than our previous place, but the openness off the wild was welcome.
I took a deep breath, smelling the purity of the pines and clean crisp air of the forest. The trees filtered the air and it always had a cleanliness that was refreshing. I knew there was a squirrel fifteen feet away foraging for nuts, a bird’s nest high above nestled in the forks of two branches housed three chicks who kept quite while their mom gathered worms for breakfast. I also knew there was a snake that kept constant vigil below the tree hoping one of the chicks would foolishly try to leave the nest before it was ready.
Unlike Abaddon, Katrina liked to talk while sparring, she figured you should be able to fight and come up with witty dialogue at the same time.
“Are you going to stand there all day marveling at the wonders of the forest, or are you gonna come get me?” She said with a mischievous smile.
I narrowed my focus on her. It wasn’t a hardship. She stood in an easy stance, her hand resting on the pommel of her Spanish style sword. She wore a tight black tee shirt that was cut low in front, showing just enough cleavage to draw the eye. Her shirt was short enough to expose her lower abdomen and her pants were low on her hips letting that space just above the belt but below the navel show. Her legs were on display in her tight jeans and as she shifted her weight it did marvelous things to her shape and the contours of her stomach.
It was all a distraction, an attempt at drawing me towards her sexual appeal and causing me to lose focus on the task at hand. A month ago I wouldn’t have been able to take my eyes off of her, but now things had changed. I wasn’t as easily distracted and I smiled right back at her, making her think her ploy had worked as I made a point at looking at all of her glorious womanliness.
In the second I took my eyes off her in a serious way and started looking at her like she was a piece of meat, she attacked.
I was not unprepared; in fact, it was exactly what I wanted her to do. If she could try to use her feminine appeal to weaken my focus, I could use them to make her think she had succeeded.
She was fast, faster than Abaddon, but he was far more powerful and could anticipate most moves, making her speed less of a factor.
As she came in, I acted surprised. Her smile deepened as she thought I was caught flat-footed. At the last second before she reached me, I dropped and kicked out, connecting with her knee. I heard it buckle and she let out a satisfying grunt of pain as her charge faltered and she fell.
I heard a deep growl come from her as her knee realigned and healed.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t think you’re gorgeous, but I’m not some kid to be dazzled by a pair of boobs, no matter how nice they are.” I said.
“Well, let’s see how mature you really are. Shall we?” She said.
When she fell after I kicked her knee she landed on all fours. She never got up while her knee healed and it was from this position that she came at me again. This time there was no distraction, no attempt at subterfuge. The ferocity of her assault took me by surprise, but I defended against her blade with my gauntlets. She came at me with a series of strikes, each one powerful and fast. I was forced back as she pressed me with her sword.
Normally I would have started panicking. My brain would be furiously working out what I had to do next or where I could go. It would have actually gotten in the way of my body and I would have stumbled somehow and Katrina would find my weakness and exploit it.
That didn’t happen this time. I let her attacks come, but didn’t really analyze it so much as let my body do the thinking. She was extremely skilled and her attacks were disciplined and efficient. She wasn’t sloppy and it took all I had to counter her sword. I waited, like a wolf who stalks a deer. The deer may be fast and strong, but during the hunt all it takes is one misstep to gain the upper hand. Ideally, you want your prey to be weak or sick, but when your prey is strong and dangerous you have to pick your attack carefully.
I let her move me around the area, she never relinquished and I went with her, letting her think she had me on the defensive. We moved around the space and every once in a while I would block and then try an offensive maneuver, to keep her from suspecting my tactic.
She was so good and skilled it took a long time for my opportunity to arise. Even though we are werewolves and had enhanced abilities, it all revolved around the strength of our will. We were only as strong as our minds.
She swung a powerful backhand slash at my neck and I stumbled on a root that poked out of the hardened earth. I saw a gleam in her eyes as her eagerness to finish our fight pushed her to make her one and only mistake.
I twisted my ankle and found purchase where it appeared I had stumbled. Katrina made a quick and sloppy stab for my chest, but I had already started moving in. I took one powerful step inside her thrust and while she was lunged out in an attempt to skewer me, I came inside her range and with the power of the Beast punched her one time in her chest and sent her flying out of the arena into a small bush.
I heard a deep snarl and a few seconds later the bush exploded as Katrina in her Beast form flew from the foliage with murder in her eyes.
This time I was taken off guard and she closed the distance between us and hit me hard.
We went down together and she raked my chest and arms with her claws. Her impact threw me onto my back and as I rolled over I kicked Katrina off of me. She landed on her feet and crouched on all fours, preparing for another charge.
She left her sw
ord somewhere in the bushes which meant this had turned from a weapons lesson into a test of skill with tooth and claws, fine by me.
She launched at me again and I willed my body to change. She hit me before I could finish and again was able to bring her claws to bear and stinging pain screamed from where she used them.
Our sparring session quickly became a down and dirty struggle for survival, she bit and scraped, I hit and clawed. We wrestled and fought on the forest floor. It was nasty and not the least bit civilized.
I was able to get on top of her and pin her arms down, using the power of my Beast I forced her attacks to stop and when she lunged forward with her mouth attempting to bite me I head butted her. I had to do it several times before the lesson set in and she realized I had beaten her.
I had used more of the Beast than I had intentioned to get her under my control and it rose in me, driving me to lean down and clamp on her neck. It pushed me to end her struggles like was the wont of prey. I saw myself do it, I saw my jaw close on her neck, cutting off her air and severing her artery. I imagined the warm salty sweetness of her life’s blood as it filled my mouth and I caught myself an inch from her exposed neck.
I inhaled deeply, relishing her scent and realized I had come a hairsbreadth from killing her.
“ENOUGH!” Abaddon commanded from a few feet away.
The power of authority filled his voice and I was startled out of my thoughts and back into the situation at hand.
Katrina lay perfectly still, unable to break my grasp and presenting a form that was void of fight, hoping to still the Beasts urges within me.
Understanding how close it had been, I quickly got up and put distance between her and myself.
She reverted back into human form and got up walking into the bushes to retrieve the clothes she had left there. I had a hard time averting my eyes as the sight of her bare flesh sent a wave of pleasure through me.
Abaddon stared at me without flinching, accusation in his eyes.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her.” I said, knowing what he was thinking.
Gauntlet Rite of Ascension Page 17
