Heart of the Resonant: Book 1: Pulse (Resonant Series)

by B. C. Handler

  The mystery didn’t stand for very long.

  The overcast passed and moonlight spilled from the smashed-in windows of the room, revealing the snarling werewolf standing with a bloodied, mangled body to its side, and a cowering young girl on the floor between us.

  I thought it was a mistake initially. The result of a pressured mind that was making me see something more terrifying than it actually was. Perhaps a large hairy man, or a barbarian in battle garb. But then I saw the bloody spittle dripping down its snout-like maw. Then I saw how its fur flared out from its grotesque, muscular body and ears. The ivory eyes, like two milky orbs lacking any characteristic of life, bored in to my being, devouring me.

  It was real. And it looked primed to kill.

  The young girl from the ground coughed and looked up at with pleading eyes. A thin line of blood traveled from her hairline and followed the contours of her nose and lips.

  “P-please,” she begged in a quivering, tiny little voice as a dainty hand seeked me.

  I look from her to the werewolf, then back to her.

  Hardly a choice.

  Now I get to fight a werewolf. Great. If I survive this, it’ll be a cool story.

  The werewolf stomped a harry foot forward and snarled, a dangling stream of blood-mixed spittle stretching towards the floor. The girl whimpered and crawled towards me. The werewolf’s eyes trained on her like the wounded babe from a herd.

  “Hey! Michael J. Fox,” I called out, winding up my glorified stick and stepped into the room. Slowly, I walked off to the side and away from the girl. The beast let out a coarse growl and it tracked my movements, then its body turned. “Good. That’s it. Just you and me, wolfy,” I said, trying not to let the nerves rattle my voice.

  As terrifying as this creature was, not what I pictured my first encounter with a werewolf would be like. Not that I ever actually thought such a thing would happen.

  The beast had a slight protruding muzzle, the features still vaguely human with extras: pointed ears, a tail, and some mean claws on its hands and feet. But it wasn’t monstrously big like werewolves I’ve read from books or seen in movies. A hairy, bipedal approximation of a man was more of an accurate assessment. The creature was lean, not too thick length or width wise. In fact, I’d say it was only a hair taller than me.

  Time had given my body a chance to recover, and as lacking as it was, I did have a weapon. Tangoing with this thing doesn’t seem too impossible.

  Thankfully, I wouldn’t be doing it alone.

  Eva’s crossbow launched a bolt that sank into the werewolf’s eye. It roared and thrashed about in a near-blind rage.

  Not wanting to waste this opportunity, I raced up to the beast with my sword raised only to have a hairy backhand send me across the room. The world spun and I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood, but that felt to be the worst of it. There was another thunk and another roar, signaling Eva got in another good shot.

  I shook my head clear and got onto my knees. Eva strode into the room with her crossbow loaded and leveled at the werewolf thrashing around on the other side of the room. She somehow managed to get the wolf’s other eye.

  “Get her out!” Eva barked.

  I didn’t realize the blow knocked me right to where the young girl was cowering. She looked to be about twelve, thirteen at the most, so she was easy enough to scoop up with one arm.

  “Hold on tight, sweetie,” I told her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and locked her legs around my midsection. I booked it from the room with Eva covering my rear.

  Once in the hall, Eva yelled, “Feral wolf-beastkin! Stay back unless you’re combat trained! Night watch! Someone call the fucking night watch!”

  A few individuals dressed in sleeping garb strode up to the room and took up a sort of formation, keeping the wolf-thing in check, while a few others broke off into a sprint to fetch the guard.

  I navigated past the gathering crowd and only stopped once the girl and I were a good distance away from any potential danger. Since picking her up, she clung onto me like a tick.

  I rubbed her back and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured into my neck. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t… have… to…” I trailed off as I felt something warm soaking into my shirt.

  “I’m sorry,” she squeaked, her voice cracking like she was on the verge of tears.

  I sighed and propped my sword against the wall. Then I gave the girl a firm hug and rubbed her back.

  “It’s okay,” I said calmly. “Honestly, I almost did the same thing back there.”

  Too bad it was true.

  A woman broke through the crowd in a rush, looking to be in her late teens, and jogged right up to us.

  “Runa!” cried the woman. “Is she okay?”

  “Might’ve bumped her head and she’s a little spooked,” I answered. “Okay now, Runa, how about you go with your friend and she’ll keep you safe, okay?”

  Runa nodded and eased her hold, then I set her on her feet. The women who came up to us dropped onto her knees and inspected her thoroughly, then embraced Runa tightly.

  “What about Maisie?” she asked as she held the younger one close to her chest.

  Unfortunately, I assumed that mangled body I saw was Runa’s roommate. I looked at the women solemnly and shook my head. Her eyes become glassy and her lips quivered. The woman nodded her head once with thanks, then started down the hall to get Runa some help, I hope.

  Eva came walking up to me with her crossbow in hand.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  She glared at me. “Obviously not, idiot! There’s a feral beastkin deep within Scintillion, Lucinia of all places!” Eva’s glare burned a few more seconds before it snuffed. She took a breath and rubbed a hand over her face before depositing herself against the wall. “Sorry. They’ve got it restrained, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Overhead, the crystal lights came to life and filled the hall with calming illumination. Two robed men carrying staves ran past us and towards the room where howling could still be heard. The night watch, I assume.

  I fell back onto the wall next to Eva and sighed heavily. “Good,” I said.

  “Is…” Eva started, then paused. “Is she alright?”

  “Runa?” Eva nodded, bearing a surprising face of genuine worry. “She might have a cut or something on her head, but she’s fine. A friend of hers took her off my hands.”

  Eva closed her eyes and leaned her head into the wall, looking relieved.

  “Good,” she replied while she stared off overhead. Her relieved expression twisted into disgust and she took a step away. “Ugh, you smell like—”

  “—Runa had a little accident, okay? Drop it.”

  “Al! Eva!” Neepa called from the other direction.

  Eva and I turned to see her jogging down the hall, still in her nightgown. She stopped in front of us, taking a moment to catch her breath.

  “Neepa? I told you to stay in the room,” I said with a frown.

  She fidgeted with her hands and looked over at the crowd clogging the hall ahead.

  “I got worried,” she admitted sheepishly.

  Seeing her concern for my well-being melted any annoyance I felt for her rushing blindly into danger.

  I grabbed one of her fidgeting hands and held it tenderly. “Everything’s okay. I think the people up there got a handle on things.”

  Neepa beamed and Eva made her annoyance evident. But all was well.

  Until there was another clamorous crash and all the lights in the hall died, submerging darkness unlike before. My eyes had time to adjust to the low light, but the light had ruined it.

  There was a series of cries and shouts from up ahead. I nabbed my bokken from the wall and walked out a little, attempting to see what the hell just happened. Moments later, there was a cacophony of screams, and then a thunderous boom that shook the floor. Eva sidled next to me, cro
ssbow pointing down the hall. Neepa, surprisingly, took point on my other side, squaring her shoulders to the commotion.

  A howl sounded from up ahead, being the first of a series that bounced off the walls, making it sound like they were coming from everywhere.

  Oh, fuck. I should’ve grabbed the silverware.

  Things grew hectic when screams, howls, and crashes blended into a droning shrill. The crowd dispersed as people frantically cowered away, revealing the cause of the new disturbance.

  Whole sections of wall were blown away on the left side of the hall, obliterating the lavish interior of at least four rooms and allowing more lunar luminescence to reveal the scene.

  A gaping hole hung above a group of partially shadowed figures; however, from the vague shape and earlier howls, I knew it was more werewolves, or beastkin; fuck, I don’t know.

  A few mages dressed in sleeping garb and one of the robed men I saw earlier stood before the ferocious bunch of beasts. One such beast was crouched low to the ground with the other night watch guard’s throat settled firmly in its jaws.

  The still living night watch raised his staff, but an unseen force knocked him to the side and sent him careening clean through a still standing wall. The other two, distracted by the sudden attack on their third, hardly had a moment to react when the werewolves pounced. One was brought to the floor and mauled. The other managed roll with the attack and kick away the werewolf. As he was starting to chant something, a torrent of wind knocked him into the wall, hard. He fell into a heap, and then became werewolf food.

  Neepa, Eva, and I shielded ourselves from the loose dust and debris as the gale rushed past.

  “Wha—wind magic? No. It can’t be,” Neepa muttered, taking a step back, quaking.

  The form that I thought belonged to another monster stepped out of the shadows to reveal themselves as another human in a black cloak, looking unperturbed to the snarling masses of fur around him. Even though we were about fifty feet away, he saw right through the poor light and our eyes met.

  As if we were long lost friends, he bore a bright, wide smile and raised his arms.

  “Ah, just the man I’m looking for!” he announced, his grin never breaking. A chill coursed through my body and my grip tightened around the bokken. He walked forward gallantly and stepped over the gnarled body of the night watch. “Do be so kind as to come without resistance. If you do, I’ll spare your whores a slow death.”

  Eva’s bolt flew in response, the projectile flying true until it veered off and into the wall when it was inches from his face. Eva fished out another bolt from her bag and loaded it.

  “Oh no,” Neepa quavered. “He’s an air mage. Eva, your weapon will do no good.”

  Eva clicked her tongue. “I packed a lot of bolts. He’ll use up his energy eventually.”

  “I take running is off the table?” I asked, hoping to not go up against three werewolves and a wizard.

  “Wolf-beastkin would outrun us,” Eva answered. “The best option is to hold our ground until help arrives. It shouldn’t be long.” The battle-ready blonde cracked her neck then reached into her bag to pull out three bolts, each nestled between the digits of her left hand. “Neepa, when I give the signal, light it up. Al,” she said, shooting me an emerald sideways glance, “close your eyes on my go. And be sure to swing at their snouts or strike their knees.”

  I swallowed harshly as I gave a small nod. Neepa looked scared, but kept her eyes locked and firm on the threat. Eva’s eyes were alive with fierce focus, ready.

  Me? Scared shitless.

  There was no way around this fight, I knew that, but at least Eva and Neepa had some sort of plan. They have experience with shit like this. There’s comfort in that, even if it’s minuscule.

  Just like the day my world ended, this was another fight I couldn’t run from. Well, if I’m going to go, I’m going swinging.

  Don’t want Dad thinking he raised a pansy if I see him on the other side.

  The man in the black cloak brought a whistle to his lips, then blew. An almost inaudible, low tone vibrated the air. The wolves charged.

  Chapter 17

  One blink and the werewolves were just a few paces away. Just as they were on us, Eva yelled, “Now!”

  I pinched my eyes shut just as light exploded all around us. Even with my eyes closed, it was like someone holding a flashlight right up to my face.

  The intense light faded and I heard Eva’s crossbow go off thrice in rapid succession. I opened to see the werewolves in front of us, all in a clear daze, and all howling in pain. She managed to nail the one on the right in the eye, the middle in the throat, and the last in its hairy thigh.

  Eva leapt into action on the middle one, and I went to strike at the blinded one. It was facing the wall as I ran up to it, oblivious to my presence. Doing what Eva instructed, I wound up like I was on home plate and swung at its knee like the werewolf owed me money.

  A satisfying crack sounded as wood met bone. The werewolf dropped, then howled again. Not wasting my time, I lined up the sword with the beast’s muzzle and chopped like splitting logs. The wolf made a whining sound like a pup upon contact. Bone crunched and the thing fell to the floor, limp.

  In just eight seconds flat, I dropped a werewolf. With a fucking stick.

  Awesome.

  I risked a glance to see Eva’s handiwork. Of course, the one she took on was lying in a puddle of its own blood, and she was just finishing off the last one, which looked pinned by white haze. Neepa’s light-shield, no less.

  Eva fished the throwing knife she buried in the base of the werewolf’s skull, and turned to me. I flashed her a victorious grin, proud of handling myself. After a second’s hesitation, she aimed her crossbow directly at me. Before my grin even had a chance to die, her bolt whizzed past my ear.

  There was a wet thud, a short gurgling sound, and then a heavy thump behind me. Looking down and over my shoulder, there was the werewolf I thought I finished off, only with blood pooling in its open maw with a bolt about three-quarters of the way through the back of its mouth. I looked back at her and blinked a few times.

  A terrifying woman, indeed.

  Neepa wiped a little sweat off her brow, looking rattled but fine. She kept a wary look ahead. The cloaked wizard still stood at a distance, looking mildly annoyed at how quickly we dispatched his hounds. The three of us huddled close, never taking our eyes from our foe, awaiting his next move.

  “So this guy’s an air mage, should we be worried?” I asked.

  “Depends,” Eva answered slowly.

  “He can use an air-shield,” Neepa whispered. “It can deflect most, if not all physical attacks. Winds can be called forth by his principle, producing powerful, focused gales. Elemental magic is costly, but there's no telling what his limits are. Fighting another mage is like a roll of the dice.”

  “Plan?” I asked to either of them. The extent of my fighting strategy is punch hard and not get punched back. Not graceful, but effective. Though that was before magic and eldritch monsters.

  Neither of them got a word out when the ground ten feet ahead of use erupted into a splintery mess. Standing before use amidst the cloud of wood particles and dust was a familiar pair of dark wings, tail, and an outrageously short skirt.

  “So, you’re the one interrupting my beauty sleep?” Aleih asked in an eerily calm voice. She looked over her shoulder at me. Smiling, she said, “Evening, Al.”

  I gave her a slow nod. Not the first person I wanted for backup, but this situation does call for a battle-hungry dragon-woman. If what Neepa said about mature dragons were true, this should be a quick fight.

  Or so I thought.

  Stalking from the shows behind the cloaked man, who had that whistle to his lips, were three more snarling werewolves. The man withdrew the whistle and sneered.

  “This is unexpected, but I’ve always wanted to kill a dragon,” the man said with a dark chuckle.

  “Oh!” she expressed with mock surprise. “We
ll, you’ll die with that desire unfulfilled.”

  The man’s playful expression morphed to a scowl. “You think too highly of yourself, lizard slut,” he spat.

  Aleih growled and her tail slashed through the air behind her. “Oh-ho, you just secured yourself a painful death. Maybe I'll hang you over a tub and slowly bleed you out.” Aleih wiggled her hips. “Hmm, I love warm baths.”

  The man used his whistle again, and then the beasts advanced with fangs bared and claws out. All three of us went rigid, feeling absolutely screwed for another forward assault. Except for Aleih.

  She held out her hand and all the moisture vanished from the air as a roaring inferno consumed everything down the hall, wizard and werewolves included. I shielded my face from the super heated air. Peeking through the gaps in my fingers, I saw Aleih standing prominently before her blaze, embers dancing around her like fairies.

  After such a display, I knew Eva wasn’t exaggerating when she said a battlefield was like a playground to them. The inferno of her doing threatened to set this whole place up like a tinder pile; certainly overkill.

  But to my, and Aleih’s, surprise, a werewolf leapt through her wall of fire, its dull black mane untouched. Fire parted around its body as it leaped at the shocked dragon-woman. She put out her arm to defend herself only for the wolf to seized her forearm in its jaws, eliciting a painful cry.

  The blaze disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a partially charred and smoldering hallway.

  Aleih slammed her free fist into the werewolf’s head with enough force to send it to the ground but then a second one pounced on her and sank its teeth into her shoulder, getting another painful screech and taking her to the ground. The other two joined in. One took her arm; the other, her leg.

  In moments, Aleih was lost in a violent flurry of fur and teeth, ripping at her clothes and flesh. And I was running towards it before my actions registered in my brain.

  As twisted as she and her family was, and no doubt being guilty of abusing Koko in some manner, Aleih didn’t deserve to be a chew toy.