Stumbling back, he regrouped.
“Come on, you bastard, come and get me,” she growled in her wolfish tone. The sound of bones cracking, cloth renting and snarls surrounded the two advisories. She paced out of reach of Perkins’ blade until with the pain of the transformation until it ended. Her blood surged through her warding off the vampire’s power, whose dark magic fizzled weakly as they stalked each other.
With the change complete, Sonja lunged for his throat, snarling and snapping with her displeasure. She shoved at his chest sending him hurtling backward into the midst of his men.
Engulfed by the bodies of the agitated cavalry mounts, Perkins growled from somewhere on the ground, “Take her, you fools!”
The command set the vampires in motion.
Grappling with the surge of vampires, Sonja countered, blocking and in turn ripped flesh right and left. Over the screams, came Perkins’ laughter. The sound of his sickly amusement made her blood boil. A glimpse up showed him seated in a tall oak watching the clan at work.
Slowly rising like a resurrected saint, he hovered above the second wave of gnashing, wonton vultures on horseback. With a benevolent sweep of his arms, Perkins gave the order, “Seize her,” as if bored with the whole affair. The second wave of his men swarmed her.
With no time to think, Sonja, the she-wolf struck out, delivering blow after blow.
The skills Ty had drilled into her came in handy as she struck with an attack of her own. Her small human feet wouldn’t have been much use against the vampires’ vicious fingernails and teeth, but fur covered paws with razor sharp talons proved more of a challenge for Perkins’ men. Striking the first vampire she encountered across the cheek, she drew blood, a minor flesh wound, but enough to raise the stakes. With a nearby limb, she used all her strength as she plunged the wooden dagger deep into his chest. His eyes vacant and brittle dropped atop the heap of dust at her feet. The other advancing bloodsuckers didn’t pause. However, as she struck out again with renewed force and prowess, the vampires went on the offense.
“Don’t worry, mates, dying will be a boon for such as you,” she told the snarling, snapping bloodsuckers. With two more down, she caught the movement of another out of the corner of her eye. The third vampire caught her along the ribs. The wound wasn’t deep, irritating more than anything. She didn’t want to share even the first drop of her blood with these vile coffin robbers. As a vulture would wait for the last deathblow, Perkins hovered out of reach until only the two of them remained.
“I knew it would come to this, my dear.” His dingy fangs showed gray in the pearly mist swirling about them. Slowly he transformed into his true self and lifted with a sense of one floating mere inches above the ground. “You see, I know everything, one of the strengths provided me by my considerable age.” Flicking a long nailed finger of sickly gray at her, he taunted her with words. “Your training and tutelage are minuscule to my edification over the centuries. After a demonstration, I’m sure you’ll agree.” With a tap of one finger against his cheek, he smirked. “It’s such a pity I can’t keep you as a pet.” His eyes glowed red as his words slurred. He was turning into his truest form - the spawn of Hell, and as he did, he grinned baring all his rows of fangs. “You understand, my dear, you’re worth more to me dead than as my lackey.” His eyes flashed like red embers deep in the sunken sockets of his grotesque face. With features contorting, he transformed into a creature so void of life, Sonja could find nothing of the major which remained.
Watching the creature sway back and forth in abject demonic defiance, Sonja grinned devilishly. “Listen, Perkins.” She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “The hollows of Hell are calling. You’ve only to take a step over here and I will send you home.”
“Not before I get what I came for.” His voice rasped over his tongue. Flicking out his tongue to sweep over his fangs in sickening anticipation, he hissed at her.
Stepping into the light from the sun, Sonja smiled knowingly. For Perkins to follow her would mean the beginning of his demise. “Take a step, you bastard.”
Perkins staring back took her breath. Doing her best not to give away her plan, Sonja eased into the light. If she could just get him to step out into the light, she could destroy him and all those who followed after.
Perkins did, indeed, forgot himself and followed. It was enjoyable to see smoke seep from his booted foot. “I will have it now!” His last words uttered as his right foot caught fire, Perkins lifted off the ground, rising upward over her head. In the mist, the major’s foot sputtered and went out. His eyes turned red as he centered all his energy and dove out of the mist directly for her.
“As the sunlight seeps through the trees…” Sonja bit her lip in frustration. “While the vampire smolders, seize…” Her brow furrowed as her head pounded with the effort to remember the words. Oh, what a time to forget Hortence’s spell! Sonja brushed her snout with the back of her paw. The old witch had shared the magic with her only the night before.
Perkins’ gray nails skimmed her forearms. Pain seared her wolf’s flesh as she shoved the broken words of the spell to the back of her mind. Avoiding yet another blow, she leaped sideways into the air. White fur flew through the air as the vampire’s claws left their mark.
***
A contained rage drove Ty forward. Ever since Hortence had told him of a prisoner of war camp in the vicinity, he’d planned for their rescue. He couldn’t sleep without visions of the awful place being his men’s last resting place on the earth. His men had gone through hell with him. Discovering only days before, a vampire pit disguised as a prisoner of war camp and ran by Perkins made his blood boil. The knowledge ate at his insides until he’d have walked through fire to set them free. They didn’t deserve to die at the hands of vampires. He’d do anything he could to save them.
Being a werewolf provided a benefit in dealing with the bloodsuckers. Strength like he’d never known before allowing him to travel great distances without the need for rest. His body restored itself faster. A heightened sense of sight and smell beyond anything he’d experienced in his life came with the gift. On the other hand, his temper required a certain amount of control, which he still didn’t possess. He would speak again with the Guardian concerning the problem. What to do about Sonja as a werewolf was a situation of much greater magnitude.
She’d wanted to accompany him in the search for his men. Confident she could help, she couldn’t understand his concern over her safety. Her blood was the thing the vampires would continue to try to steal. Killing her was their main goal. The blood of werewolf-gods allowed the vampires to walk in the daylight. She carried the blood.
“How much farther, Abram?” Ty halted to allow his slower companion to catch up.
Abram Clemens, the Confederate who’d stumbled upon the horrid encampment, strained to keep up with Ty’s accelerated pace.
Bending over, Abram grabbed both knees with his hands. The struggle to breath prevented him answering right away. “If we could just rest a minute, Lieutenant, I’d be able to finish tellin’ ya what the monster said when I came upon him.”
Ty peered at his companion and narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have time to rest. If you can’t keep up, go back, and stand guard for Sonja.”
Jebedia straightened. “How you gonna find this here place without me? I’m the only one who knows where it is.” His hands settled on his hips. “Peers to me, you need my information more than you’re lettin’ on.” He spit and glared at Ty. “You’re moving so fast, I can hardly keep up.” Waving a hand to brush away Ty’s concern, Abram went on, “I’ll manage, but you need to listen to what I got to say.” Huffing out another impatient breath, Abram struggled to keep up with Ty as he bound off down the dim trail once more. Stumbling yet again, Jebedia growled and yanked hard at his boot. “Confounded briars.”
Jeb’s comment reminded Ty of something vague he’d managed to discard from his collection of thoughts. The remembrance centered on these wooded glades. The
undergrowth seemed alive, not in the sense of springing forth and multiplying as nature had intended. No, the phenomenon proved more otherworldly. Small vines moved without provocation and followed a person’s movements. If danger lurked nearby, tiny sounds went up as the warning call echoed throughout the forest. Reasoning the things he’d witnessed nothing more than an overactive imagination brought on stress, Ty tried ignoring his senses. Yet, his movements had been hampered in a solid attack. The vegetation could capture an unassuming traveler by winding their tinicals around the victim. He’d discovered this all too well on his last attempt at making it through these woods.
A frown creased his brow as he considered the phenomenon. If the events of the past several weeks had taught him anything, it was the fact that another universe suspended precariously under the reality he’d known all his life. While the undergrowth thrived in a sunless environment, it took on powers he’d never witnessed in other plant life. Having grown up on a cattle ranch, the growth of plants was a point of concern most of the time. Here it proved a point of major concern. When the plants reached out and wrapped their vines around a man’s leg, bringing him to his knees and binding him in order to prevent his movement, the phenomenon became quire.
Slowing, Ty glanced back at his companion. “Would you pick up the pace, Abram? We’ll never make it before nightfall at this pace.” Wiping the sweat from his temple, he paused with a sudden change of heart. The idea of a brief rest would do them both good. No sense in pushing his scout to exhaustion. After all, Abram was the only person with an idea where they were going.
Lowering himself to the moss covered earth, Ty’s eyes cautiously tracked to a nearby Morning Glory vine. The vine twitched in response causing Ty to roll his eyes skyward. Only a few days before, he traveled this way in search of Sonja after she’d become a wolf right before his eyes. Mentally checking his statement, he corrected himself. He’d traveled in search of the white wolf, the one that was Sonja. A gnawing feeling of dread crept past his guard. Slapping his Stetson against his thigh, Ty’s mind went to her gleaming blonde hair like gold in the sunlight.
The mental picture he carried with him eased some of his foreboding and he dropped his head a moment to regroup. Was he letting his emotions get the better of him? This trek through the woods could be a fool’s errand – both ladies had said as much when he’d announced his decision to save the men he’d lost because of the attack on the Rebels’ supply train. The fact he was responsible for that mission weighed heavily on Ty. When the supply wagons ended up ditched outside of Spotsylvania, speculation went up about where all the guns had disappeared. Jeb Stewart had been killed by one of those confederate rifles Yankee soldiers carried at the time.
“Tell me what you know of Jeb Stewart’s death.”
Abram dropped his head, sighing. “It’s a powerful sorry story, sir. The bastards ambushed us at the Yellow Schoolhouse. Our men were out manned and I would say out gunned but...”
“But what?” Ty urged Abram to finish.
“Well, it’s just peculiar the way they all but swooped in and attacked. It happened so quick and without much gunfire.” He shook his head. “I can’t recall them firing the first shot come to think of it. I just figured they used their knives and swords. No, they didn’t fire a shot,” he said with a look of bewilderment creasing his brow. “All I heard was the men screaming, begging for mercy. I heard lots of screaming before things got real still. The Yankees was gone. Hell, I didn’t even hear a cannon go off. Before any of us knew it, the whole mess was over and the general was dead. I skedaddled back the way we’d came. The witch found me and took me to her place. She said I was lucky.” Abram’s shoulders hunched. His expression reminded Ty of a whipped dog. “Peculiar how I didn’t feel all that lucky. But she said I could lead the Rebels to the Yankee vampires’ hideout.” He tugged off his cap, scratching at his skull. Bemused, he flicked a hesitant glance at Ty. “Sure was odd how the strangest feelin’ came over me. Felt like I knew just what she was talkin’ ‘bout, you know?”
Ty understood exactly what Abram meant. The sensation wasn’t new yet at one point not long before, he’d had the same feelings assail him. The confusion he’d experienced was something he’d never forget. If a man studied on the perplexing aspects of the whole thing, he’d surely go mad. Ty considered how he could best relieve Abram of the worry over things, which didn’t make sense. While he pondered the answer, a birdcall went up some place close to their location.
“That ain’t no ordinary bird, Lieutenant.” Abram peered owl eyes first left and then right.
“I know. Let’s get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps,” Ty growled.
Chapter 2 Belief
Soft, wet flakes of snow fell around her. The ground underneath her was warm still. How long had she been there? No twilight stars peeked from behind the clouds blanketing the spring dusk.
Sonja took small uneven breaths as she rose. The pain seared through her in waves, stealing her breath, robbing her conscious mind of calm. Her mortal part realized she would live while the beast in her raged at the atrocities she’d endured. The havoc her beastly soul wrecked in the time before she returned from her romp with the vampires was yet unknown to her.
Gingerly, she tested the arm, which sang out in agony with a touch. She needed time, she mused, time to heal and a safe place from further attack. Night came quickly to this part of the forest. She’d best be getting to a safer clime. Since her house lay in ruins, she set her hopes on the barn. The effort to rise brought on more waves of stabbing discomfort and nausea. Stumbling toward her home place, her ears ever alert, her keen wolf sight taking in every twig and flutter of a new leaf, Sonja limped toward home.
She’d taken no more than a handful of steps when a huge shadow stepped into the path ahead. His long arms hung well past normal, making him appear to drag his knuckles on the ground out of habit. Talons of a blue-green intensity jutted from his hairy fingertips and reminded her of an eagle’s claws.
Sonja recognized the soundless appearance of the one called Guardian. “Damn it, quit doing that!” She’d grown more accustom to his appearing and disappearing on whims. Still in the aftermath of a battle, she senses remained on high alert.
“You could have helped, you know,” she snapped the words out before thinking. Wouldn’t do to antagonize the first assistance she’d garnered since the battle began, Sonja mused.
“How would that have benefited your training?” The Guardian’s long wolfish silhouette gleamed with droplets of dew clinging to the course, straggly hairs on his snout and chin. “You did well.”
A small surge of pride sparked inside her chest. “Of course you watched.” Her short snort of laughter ended in pain. Stopped by the sharp thrust of what seemed like a blade piercing her side, Sonja swayed. She reached out with her good hand to grip a nearby tree for support.
“Your injuries are many, Sonja.” The Guardian stood alongside her and Sonja realized he’d used his transport powers once more. His disappearance and reemergence used to bother her. Perhaps she was growing accustom to his strange talents, or possibly madness was slowly taking over.
“I’ll be fine with some time.” Blinking at his great presence next to her, she asked, “Can you get me to someplace safe?” The pain shot through her side again and she caught herself before she winced. “I seemed to have burned down my house.”
The grin, which appeared on his ugly mug, couldn’t be described as pleasant. More of a smirk. “I’ll have you safe in a few minutes.” With the statement, he whisked her into his massive arms and the next place they came to was her sister’s house.
A big strapline Cur dog rested in the doorway to the modest but comfortable looking cottage. A trail of flowering Jasmine peaked out from the trellises on either side of the front porch. The steps down to the ground were steeper than Sonja’s steps and immediate gratitude to the great one came over her, when he deposited her on the planks of the porch rather than make her walk
up the small flight of stairs to the door.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she told him as he knocked on the portal for her.
“You’ll be safer here than in that rundown barn of yours.” Resting his great claws on her shoulder, he reminded her, “Besides, there are few who can cross one of Hortence’s protection spells.”
The truth of his words gave Sonja a moment’s comfort. The old witch, the Guardian spoke of was both her trainer and friend. Waiting on the moonlight rising over the ridge, Sonja said, “She disappeared this morning before the fun started. Are you two planning these disappearances or just scared of vampires?” Her wry poke at her mentor’s behavior brought an arched brow from the Guardian.
Without giving her room to argue the point, Guardian simply scooped her up again when the door opened to reveal a tall, slim redhead holding a large bowl full of flour.
“Sonja?” The young woman’s voice quivered for a second before the bowl thudded on a nearby table and she took a step forward, gathering Sonja in her arms.
Guardian opened the door wider and guided them both back inside.
“I’m fine, sis, no need to look so upset.” Sonja did her best to calm Briann’s concerns before her older sister fell on her like a mother hen. “Just a few scrapes and scratches is all,” she said trying to sound nonchalant. “I’m sorry to barge in like this, but I seem to have no place to stay.” Her sister’s mouth dropped open and Sonja shrugged. “Too many memories anyway. I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow.”
With a wink at Guardian, she relaxed a fraction as they settled her on a daybed near the fire. Her only living relative lived only a few miles from Sonja with her two boys since the passing of her husband, Stephen. Being an empath gave Briann more defenses against danger than most
“You sister should be concerned. The woods aren’t empty of danger.” Guardian wandered over to the small window of leaded glass and peered out. He formed such a strange sight in the otherwise warm, homey room, Sonja forced her eyes from him before addressing her sister and explaining further why he was there to begin with.
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