by Ben Wolf
Axel should’ve figured something like this would happen. He’d just apologized to Riley, and now three of his distant relatives were trying to rip him apart.
“Magnus?” he yelled. “Calum—anyone, help!”
One of the Wolves toppled off him with a yip. An arrow lodged in its side. Axel grabbed the other by its left ear and wrenched it downward, then he bashed its head with the pommel of his sword. A quick follow-up stab killed the Wolf.
Axel tried to make eye contact with Lilly to thank her, but she had already nocked another arrow and focused her attention on the incoming Wolves.
With a half scowl, Axel did likewise.
Almost a dozen Wolves converged on Magnus. Upon seeing them, Calum wondered how long it would take Magnus to fling them off.
But when Calum saw them take Magnus down instead, his jaw hung open. If they lost Magnus, they lost a third of their strength, if not more.
Axel went down next, overwhelmed by six wolves. When the Windgales zipped over to help Magnus and him, the Wolves pulled them out of the air, all except Condor, who looped around the fight and executed surgical strikes on the Wolves, but he could only do so much against so many—
A force knocked Calum to the ground, and a snarling mouth clamped down on his armored right wrist.
Calum gritted his teeth and swung his left fist at the Wolf, but the punch barely fazed it. Another Wolf went for his neck, but Calum jerked his body to the side and shoved its snout away with his free hand.
Two more Wolves replaced that one. One of them went for his ankle while the other aimed for his throat. He wouldn’t last long with so many of them on him, and he wasn’t strong enough to free himself. With his sword hand otherwise occupied, he couldn’t even fight back.
Another Wolf latched onto his right wrist, and Calum’s sword slipped from his fingers. Yet another mounted his chest and exhaled hot breath onto his face. It leaned in toward Calum’s neck with its teeth bared.
Riley could feel his life fading away, even as his jaws squeezed tighter around the Alpha’s throat. Hot blood trickled down his sides, leaving him weak and dizzy.
The Werewolf’s knees hit the ground, and Riley’s back paws touched the earth. If he’d been stronger, he would’ve used the forest floor to help him jerk back and tear out the Werewolf’s throat, but he barely had energy left to keep his jaws tight, so he just hung there, limp everywhere except for his merciless jaws.
The Alpha had abandoned its attempts to gut him, and instead, its bloody hands now groped at Riley’s throat. They latched onto his neck and began to tighten, and its talons threatened to pierce into him once again.
One of its hands released its grip on Riley and braced against the ground.
All Riley could do was hold on. He would die here, but in doing so, he would save his friends, just like they’d saved him time and time again.
He closed his eyes, and with the last of his strength, he bit down on the Werewolf’s throat even harder.
Chapter Thirty-Six
A howl split the night air and silenced the Wolves’ snarls and growls. The Wolf chomping toward Calum’s neck looked up, and the Wolves gnawing on his limbs released their grips and did the same. Between their legs, Calum saw a glowing form emerge from the woods.
Another Wolf, covered in blood.
A thin red light outlined the Wolf’s lupine form as it approached. It walked on all fours at first, but three steps into the clearing it stopped, reared up on its hind legs, and started walking upright, just like Captain Brink had.
Its front paws elongated into clawed fingers, and its forelimbs shifted up and back with a loud snap, becoming arms. The muscles in the Wolf’s forelimbs enlarged until they resembled shapes similar to those of a human’s, only covered with fur.
The Wolf’s leg muscles swelled like those in its arms. It hunched over at first, but it spread its hulking arms wide and straightened its back and neck in a chorus of loud pops and cracks.
A series of gouges and lacerations covered its torso and face. But as the creature stood there, the wounds sealed up as if the beast had never sustained them in the first place, leaving behind only the blood that streaked and matted its fur.
From its throat, another howl reverberated off the trees, this one deeper and more haunting. The glowing red outline around it faded. It was no longer a Wolf, but a Werewolf.
Its head rotated, and it looked at Calum and the others with a pair of familiar light-blue eyes.
Calum’s voice rasped against his throat. “Riley?”
The Werewolf barked, and the Wolves rallied around him away from Calum and the rest of his group. He leveled his gaze at Calum and smirked. “Who else?”
Ten feet from Calum’s spot on the ground, Axel sat up, gawking. “What in the name of the Overlord happened to you? Why aren’t the Wolves attacking anymore?”
“I told you our hierarchies aren’t based on bloodlines or lineages but on strength. Whoever’s the strongest, whoever dominates the group, leads.” Riley tilted his head and curled his new fingers. “I killed the Alpha Werewolf, so now I’m the Alpha Werewolf.”
“But—how?” Axel asked.
“Wolves can transform by defeating a Werewolf in battle. I killed the Alpha who led this pack—and managed not to die in the process—and now I lead them.” Riley grinned. “In other words, they’re with us now.”
Calum and Axel stared at each other.
Lilly swooped over to him. “Are you hurt? You’re covered in blood.”
Riley shook his head. “The transformation process is like a rebirth. All my old wounds and injuries were healed, wiped out as if I had never sustained them in the first place.
“It was the same when I became a Sobek.” Magnus stepped toward Riley and his Wolves, many of which growled at him. He nodded to Riley, who now stood only a foot and a half shorter than him, which meant Riley had surpassed both Calum and Axel in height as well.
Calum got up next and went over to him. A sense of pride filled his chest on behalf of his friend, who no longer had anything to fear from anyone. “You did it, Riley. You saved us all.”
Riley’s light-blue eyes fixed on Condor. “I know.”
As the first ray of morning sunlight filtered through the forest, Axel stood near Magnus and Calum, watching as they tended to Kanton’s wounds.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my right hand.” Axel leaned over to stare at the bloody mess attached to Kanton’s wrist, and he cringed. He’d seen worse—and done worse—to enemies, but for some reason, Kanton’s wound unnerved him. “I’d be so unsure of myself in battle.”
“He didn’t lose it,” Calum said. “A Wolf bit it.”
“Chomped it, mangled it, more like.” Kanton sucked in a sharp breath as Magnus fastened a bandage around his hand. He’d already applied a liberal portion of his new vial of Veromine to it, along with some other medicines from Kanton’s pack. “In any case, for the time being, it’s as good as lost.”
“See?” Axel pointed at Kanton with his thumb.
Magnus snorted. “You are both overreacting. Your gauntlet sustained far more damage than your hand. These punctures are deep, but with the aid of the Veromine, you should regain full function of your hand in time.”
Kanton sighed. “If you say so, Magnus. I’ve seen many a wound in my day, and I don’t share your confidence.”
Axel scoffed. “At least we felled the mangy beast that bit you.”
A chorus of growls rose from the Wolves lounging behind Riley.
Axel turned and glared at them. “What? You attacked us.”
Riley cleared his throat. “You’re not helping, Axel.”
“You’re the one in charge.” Axel gave him a dismissive wave. “So calm them down.”
“Or I could sic them on you.” As Riley said it, the thirty-plus Wolves that remained rose to their feet and snarled, primed to leap at Axel.
His eyes widened and his mouth hung open for a moment, then his expression hardene
d into a snarl of his own. This was the kind of treatment he got after apologizing? “That’s not a good idea.”
“That’s what I thought.” Riley barked, and the Wolves reverted back to their relaxed positions.
Axel sneered at him. “Whatever.”
As much as he hated to admit it, the battle with the Wolves had shown him how ineffective he actually was when it came to fighting multiple quick opponents. But at least now that they were all on the same side, he’d have plenty of opportunities to practice fighting them.
“What happened to trying to keep a low profile when it came to traveling?” Axel muttered.
Riley must’ve heard him, because he replied, “The benefits of traveling with this pack far outweigh the drawbacks.”
Of course Riley had heard him. It had been bad enough before, but now, as a Werewolf, Riley’s senses had heightened even further. The only thing Riley couldn’t hear was Axel’s thoughts, and he wasn’t even sure they were safe anymore.
“There.” Magnus released Kanton’s hand and stood to his full height. “Allow it time to rest and recover, and you will be healed in short order.”
Kanton tried to grip his spear in his right hand. He winced and switched it to his left. “Guess that’ll have to do for now. Afraid I may not be much good beyond what I can manage left-handed.”
“We’ll watch your back,” Calum said, “and you can watch ours, too. And we can still rely on you if we get hurt.”
Axel whacked Kanton’s back. “Yeah. Like always.”
Kanton grunted. “Thanks.”
“I hate to interrupt,” Condor said from behind them, “but the Arcanum is still weeks away. Now that Oren’s dead, I suspect reinforcements aren’t far behind. The lack of Blood Ore flowing from that Chasm won’t be ignored for long.”
“I agree. Condor’s assessment does not even factor in the possibility of Vandorian following us. Now that day is upon us, we must go.” Magnus picked up his pack and started walking.
Throughout the course of the next few weeks, Axel had never felt safer while traveling. With nearly three-dozen Wolves stalking their footsteps, plus a Werewolf, a Sobek, and two Wisps, he’d also never felt more obsolete.
Magnus had been all but invincible since he’d transformed into a Sobek, with the exceptions of when he’d fought other Sobeks. Falcroné and Condor were both trained soldiers—leaders of trained soldiers—which meant they ranked among the best the Sky Realm had to offer with regard to their fighting prowess and speed.
Even Riley, the scared “puppy” who had run away and hidden from the last handful of battles, had grown into a Werewolf bigger than Axel. Plus, he also led a pack of Wolves who would do anything he commanded them to do, including dying for him.
Besides being fast, Lilly could fly and shoot her arrows with phenomenal accuracy. Even Kanton, despite being an old man with an injured sword hand, still had the advantages of flight and speed over Axel, plus he knew some of the healing arts.
At this point, the only member of their party who didn’t have anything amazing about him was Calum, yet somehow he still led the group and received dreams from Lumen, the ancient and mythical General of Light.
Axel exhaled a long sigh and unslung his pack as he walked at the back of the group. The morning sun shone above, and the forest had long since given way to rocky red terrain. Crimson peaks capped with snow loomed all around them, and according to Calum’s map and Condor’s direction, they should be reaching the Arcanum any time now.
He dug inside his pack and removed a piece of dried venison wrapped in a cloth, but before he could bite into it, a trio of Wolves rushed to his feet and whimpered.
“Noooo, no. Not a chance.” He held it above his head so they couldn’t reach it. “You all attacked me. This meat is mine.”
“Come on, human,” said a black Wolf with green eyes. “We’re hungry, too.”
“Yeah.” A she-Wolf with yellow eyes and a silver coat pushed in front of the male that had just spoken. “You can spare a little bit for us, can’t you?”
“I said no.” Axel had thought Riley was annoying, but these three were pushing the very boundaries of the word. “Now get lost.”
The Wolves who had spoken shot glares at him, then they bounded over a rocky crest, where they disappeared. Once Axel confirmed they had gone, he lowered the venison and took a bite.
A black blur darted in front of him and yanked the rest of the meat from his hands with its jaws.
“Hey!” Axel started to chase the Wolf, but another cut in front of him. He tumbled over its torso and hit the ground on his chest, but when he looked back, the Wolf who had tripped him was already gone. He slung a slew of curses at them and pushed himself up to his feet. “Bring that back!”
Lilly turned back with a grin on her face and shook her head. The sight of her pretty face both further frustrated Axel and brought him a much-needed distraction.
“What are you smiling at?” he grunted.
“Nothing. I’m just amused.” She waited for him to catch up so she could walk next to him.
“They stole my snack.”
Lilly shrugged. “They’re natural thieves, Axel. It’s what they do.”
“That was my last piece of venison. Now it’s gone.”
“Is it really so life-altering?”
Axel rolled his eyes. He’d already resigned himself to knowing Lilly would never side with him again in anything less than a life-or-death situation, so he abandoned his complaint. “How far are we from the Arcanum?”
“Last I talked to Condor, he seemed to think we only had a few hours left of traveling, if not less. That was about an hour ago.”
Ahead of them, Condor landed near Calum, and the whole party stopped once they caught up. Six of the Wolves formed a loose perimeter around Riley, and several more did the same thing around the group as a whole. Axel scoffed. Useful as they were, they were still dirty thieves, just like Riley had been before Calum spared his life back in Eastern Kanarah.
“It’s just beyond that ridge,” Condor said. “I didn’t recognize it at first, but I’m almost certain that’s the place. We’re only five minutes away from the Arcanum, Calum.”
A smile split Calum’s lips, and he nodded. “Show me.”
Axel raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. The moment of truth was near. Either they’d find out Calum had been right the whole time, or they’d realize it was all just a silly myth from Calum’s loony brain and perpetuated by misinformation from everyone else who wanted to believe.
Whatever happened, Axel would be there to see it firsthand.
Anticipation swirled from Calum’s stomach up into his chest as he approached the crest of the ridge. If Condor was right, then… well, he really didn’t know what it meant, aside from being vindicated. It would prove his dreams really had come from Lumen and that he wasn’t crazy after all.
When he reached the top of the ridge, all he saw was another ridge. Nothing struck him as out of the ordinary or unique about the landscape, and he didn’t see anything that resembled the mouth of a cave anywhere ahead.
He turned to Condor. “Where is it?”
“I recognize that rock formation over there.” He pointed to a weathered section of a rock that curved upward from its base. “One of my old mentors, General Regelle, showed it to me before he died. He swore me to secrecy and said I should never reveal its location except to the ruler of the Sky Realm. I figure Lilly’s close enough.”
Calum pulled the map from his pack and unfolded it. “I don’t think this is where the map has it located.”
“General Regelle said the maps were wrong,” Condor explained. “Upon our return, he actually saw to it that they were never corrected so the Arcanum’s true location would remain secret.”
Calum frowned. He’d chosen to trust Condor, but this string of last-minute revelations unsettled him.
Condor held up his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just repeating what I was told. If it helps any, Ge
neral Regelle was the most honorable person I’ve ever known. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
Lilly landed next to them, followed by Falcroné. “Is this the right spot?”
Calum shook his head and replaced the map in his pack. “I don’t know.”
“You said Lumen showed it to you in your dreams. What did it look like there?”
In his mind’s eye, Calum recalled the image as Lumen had presented it in his dream.
Tall red mountains, some with snowy caps, sharpened under Kanarah’s golden sun. The image panned down to the base of the mountains, swooped over several red snowcapped peaks, and lowered down into a valley set between two ridges. The picture ended at a wall of red rock. A concealed door set into the wall opened like the giant mouth of a crimson beast.
Calum opened his eyes and looked around. Despite the discrepancy between the map and General Regelle’s account, he nodded. “This may be the place.”
As he descended into the valley between the ridges, his heart rate quickened. After such a long journey, he may have finally reached the Arcanum. Now he just had to find out how to get inside.
The closer he got to it, the more the wall of red resembled the one in his dreams, and the more excitement flooded his veins. He took a few steps to his right, then he stopped. Backed up a step.
He pointed his hand toward the stone. It matched his memory perfectly. “There.”
Condor, Falcroné, and Lilly landed next to him, and Magnus, Axel, Riley, Kanton, and the Wolves followed.
“Uh… you sure?” Axel asked from behind him. “I hate to break it to you, buddy, but that’s a solid wall of rock.”
It didn’t matter what Axel said anymore. Calum had found the exact spot from in his dreams. Now he just had to prove it.
“This is it,” he insisted. “I know it is.”
“Mm. If you say so.”
Axel’s skeptical tone didn’t deaden Calum’s certainty.
