by Kailin Gow
Briony hadn’t known that part. In fact, she had not even considered the possibility that Carol might have been seriously thinking of making a play for Kevin. Yes, she had called him cute, but that had just seemed like something designed to get under Briony’s skin.
It was working.
“So you don’t think I should say anything?” Briony asked.
“Some things are better left unsaid,” Aunt Sophie said. “After all, how would you feel if Kevin went and warned off the young man who has been following you around all day?”
“What? Brian? That’s different.”
Her great aunt shrugged again. “If you say so, darling.”
“He’s just being nice.”
“And if Carol were to go around being nice to Kevin?”
Briony had not thought of it quite like that. Did she need to talk to Kevin? To reassure him that everything was all right? No. She shouldn’t have to do that. If he truly cared about her, he would trust her. Briony noticed that Aunt Sophie was staring at her. She decided to take her opportunity.
“Talking of things that are being left unsaid-”
“I’m not telling you the whole story of what lies between me and Pietre,” her great aunt shot back.
“Why not?” Briony demanded. “It’s obvious that almost everybody else knows, so why shouldn’t I?”
“Because some things, I don’t want you to know.”
That didn’t seem like any kind of answer to Briony. She squared up to her great aunt. “I could just go and ask one of them, you know. I’m sure Jake would tell me if I really wanted.”
Aunt Sophie shook her head. “He won’t. I asked him not to.”
“Someone else then. Someone will tell me.”
Aunt Sophie’s hands were on her shoulders then, forcing Briony to look directly at her. She didn’t shout. It might have been better if she had shouted. “Briony, I’m asking you not to try and find out. Not because I do not trust you. Not because I do not love you either. Quite the opposite.”
“Then why?” Briony asked.
By the light of the porch, Aunt Sophie’s smile had a brittle edge to it. “Perhaps because I’m embarrassed? There are some facets of my past I really would prefer my teenage great-niece not to know the details of, in case she starts thinking what a stupid old woman I am.”
“I would never think that,” Briony insisted.
Her great aunt’s smile turned genuine. “I hope that’s true. Now, let’s go back inside. Maybe you can snatch twenty minutes alone with that boyfriend of yours if you’re lucky.”
Briony wasn’t that fortunate. Kevin was in the living room, accompanied by Jake, Carol, Channing and Brian. Carol was sitting next to Kevin, and Briony could barely persuade her to budge up enough to let her squeeze in too. Even that much came with a barely disguised glare in Briony’s direction.
The arrival of the next day did not improve things significantly. There was another strategy meeting, to which Briony was not invited, in the morning, so she spent most of it out in the garden, wandering among the plants that grew at the edge of the trees. She was still there when Kevin, Brian and Carol all came out from the house, apparently arguing. Briony couldn’t help noticing that Carol had thrown one arm around Kevin’s waist.
“She can’t,” Carol insisted.
“I’m sure she can,” Brian shot back, “and we all need the practice before this gets serious.” His eyes flicked over to Kevin as he said it, and Briony caught the unfriendly look there. That was all right though, because Kevin’s matched it. Maybe Aunt Sophie was right about Brian’s motives after all.
“What’s going on?” Briony asked.
Kevin started to answer, but Brian beat him to it. “Oh, my sister just doesn’t believe your Aunt Sophie’s claims about the way she fights. She doesn’t think any human could best a vampire without some sort of trick. Or a werewolf.”
Briony shrugged. “If she wants to spar with Aunt Sophie, I’m sure she’d learn quickly enough.”
Carol preened. “She’s too busy, apparently. Too scared, more like.”
“Carol!” Brian snapped. He turned to Briony. “I’m sure she’s not, but I am eager to see some of this fighting, if you’re willing to show us.”
Briony knew that she should say no, but she didn’t. Instead, she shrugged.
“Who wants to partner with me?”
Brian started to take a step forward, but Kevin edged in front of him. Carol sighed and stepped around them both.
“If we’re going to go through with this joke, I’ll do it.” She glanced at Briony. “So what do you want me to do? Try to punch you?”
“Sure, that w-”
The punch came almost impossibly fast, but Briony had been expecting it, and was already moving out of the way. Her foot hooked behind the werewolf’s, using the momentum of her swing to send her stumbling. Carol whirled with hatred in her eyes.
“Carol, enough.” Brian stepped between her and Briony. “Briony, are you all right?”
Briony was not surprised to find Kevin moving in front of her. “Maybe you had better concentrate on your sister, Brian.”
“I wasn’t talking to-”
“Enough.” Briony only said it quietly, but it cut things off effectively. “Kevin, come with me. Brian, can you keep Carol here?”
The werewolf nodded, but he did not look happy about it as Briony took Kevin away to another corner of the lawn.
“What is wrong with you, Kevin?” Briony asked. “I had that under control. Well, Brian did, anyway.”
“Yeah, I noticed. He’s around a lot, isn’t he?”
That made Briony laugh.
“This isn’t funny, Briony.”
“Yes it is,” she said. “It’s hilarious. You are actually jealous of me and Brian, when there is no me and Brian. But I bet you haven’t noticed the way Carol has been looking at you.”
Kevin looked uncomfortable. “I had, actually. I just didn’t want to turn her down flat in case it caused problems.”
“More problems than us both being jealous for no reason?” Briony demanded. “More problems than Carol trying to show you that she’s bigger and tougher than me? Look, if it makes you happier, I’ll tell Brian that I’m not interested, and you can do the same with Carol, okay?”
Kevin started to nod, but as it turned out, neither of them had time to tell anyone anything, because Aunt Sophie chose the moment to show up on the back porch.
“There you all are,” she said. “Come on. We’re waiting for you out front.”
“Who’s waiting?” Briony asked.
“Why,” her great aunt said, “our werewolf army, of course. It’s time for Pietre to get what’s coming to him.”
Chapter 19
It wasn’t quite an army, but Briony was surprised at how large of a group it was. The forest in front of the Wickhams’ house featured more werewolves than she had ever seen in one place before, a hundred at least. There were people there from all walks of life; old and young and everything in between. Briony even recognized a few from her school. Some were in human form, while others paced the edges of the trees as shaggy wolves, their fur shimmering in the wind.
Josh stood before them, and for the first time, he looked like a king to Briony. He stood there with a steady dignity that said clearly that he knew exactly what he was asking his followers to do, to risk, and he was asking it anyway. He had swapped his usual light turtleneck for a dark green one and camouflage pants.
Briony and the others moved to stand near him, with Aunt Sophie taking up a spot right next to the Werewolf King. As she did so, Josh began to speak.
“You all know why you’re here. Pietre and his vampires have been a threat to us for decades. For centuries.” He looked to where Aunt Sophie stood. “So, quite frankly, have the hunters. Well, it seems that we get to do something about both problems today. The hunters, we will fight alongside in newfound friendship. The vampires…”
“We will kill.” Aunt Sophie’s v
oice carried out clearly.
“Now, it might be that you don’t think this is worth it,” Josh said, “or maybe you’re afraid of the danger. I don’t blame you. There is a lot to be afraid of. So I’ll say this. If anyone here wants to leave, they can, and I won’t think any worse of them.”
No one moved.
“Then the plan is simple. We know where Pietre’s lair is. We will approach it through the woods unseen, and hopefully, we will catch Pietre and his closest companions together, without having to face every vampire in this town at once. Then, once it is done, we will mount a watch and wait for any stragglers to return. Is everybody ready?”
A roar went up from the assembled crowd. Those that were already wolves howled. They were ready.
It took a minute or two longer for Briony to be ready. Aunt Sophie reached into the bag she had brought with her, passing Briony a silver-edged sword, a short crossbow, and a quiver full of wooden tipped quarrels. Only then did they set off walking through the trees. The wolves melted into the forest around them.
“Nervous?” Kevin asked Briony, and Briony found herself nodding. “Good. I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
The walk was a long one, and for much of it, Briony did her best to stay close to her great aunt, her brother, and Kevin. The Wickham werewolves were harder to spot, moving back and forth through the trees, conveying messages along the line of would-be fighters. Briony could feel the weight of the sword in her hand. She had fought before, obviously, but she had never been in a full-scale battle. Would she be able to use it when the time came?
She thought of Pietre, and suspected that she would.
The journey wore on, and Briony had only the confidence of the others to go by when it came to knowing that they were even going in the right direction. How much longer would it be?
A howl from the trees interrupted Briony’s thoughts. She wasn’t sure why, because the werewolves’ travel had been full of yips and barks, howls and shouts, all designed to keep everyone going according to the planned route. This one was different though. This one had pain in it.
Aunt Sophie whirled towards her, a strange expression on her face. “Wait here, Briony. Whatever else happens, wait here.”
Briony did not have time to argue, because her great aunt was already off, running towards the sound. For a woman her age she moved quickly, and Briony soon lost sight of her in the trees. Josh and his family set off too, while Jake leapt into the foliage above, skipping from tree to tree like a skimmed stone. In less than a minute, Briony and Kevin were alone.
Briony took a step towards the trees. Kevin put a hand on her arm.
“We should wait,” he said. “It could be dangerous.”
“We’re on our way to a battle, Kevin. It’s meant to be dangerous.”
Kevin shook his head. “Your Aunt Sophie told you to wait here. We don’t even know what’s going on.”
“So we don’t know if they need our help,” Briony countered. “Kevin, I’m going. You can follow or stay here. It’s your choice.”
She set off in the direction that the noise had come from, and wasn’t surprised when Kevin’s large wolf form bounded alongside her. Briony moved forward as quickly as she dared without making too much noise. Kevin had been right on one count at least. They didn’t know what was going on.
Whatever it was, it was enough to bring out more shouts and howls from further into the trees. Some of them sounded like shouts of anger, while others had a tone that spoke of people in sudden agony. The combination amounted to just one thing. A fight.
Briony rushed forward then, and saw the battle unfold as she got closer. Except that it was not a battle so much as a series of ambushes. Vampires leapt from the trees, landing on werewolves and slashing with knives that gleamed silver. They tore at throats with their fangs and struck at fur-covered forms with fists and feet. Even as Briony watched, one vampire plunged a blade into the chest of a young woman in combat fatigues while another slashed at her throat. The werewolf never had a chance.
How had it happened? It was obvious that the vampires had ambushed them as they advanced through the trees, but how could they have? How could they possibly have known that they would be coming?
Briony did not have time to think about it, because a pale form detached itself from the shadows and flew at her, a dark dress billowing in the still air. Briony ducked on instinct, raising her crossbow and pulling the trigger automatically as her endless training with Aunt Sophie took over. The vampire attacking Briony gasped as the bolt struck her chest, crumpling into a heap amongst the undergrowth with blue flames leaping up to claim her.
Briony turned at the sound of furious growling behind her, seeing Kevin struggling to fend off a pair of vampires. They had leapt on him, rolling and striking in a whirling mess of a fight. Briony hefted the sword she held, slashing out at what she hoped was vampire. An inhuman shriek told her that she had connected, even as the creature she had struck detached itself from Kevin and lashed out at her. Briony struggled to evade the rush, but managed to turn at the last moment, sliding her blade’s point into the creature’s side and up into the heart.
Briony whirled to see how Kevin was doing, and saw that he had already killed the remaining vampire. He seemed to be all right, though there was no time to stop and check how much of the blood on him was his own. Instead, Briony plunged forward into the melee, trying to catch some glimpse of Aunt Sophie, of Jake, even of one of the Wickhams. She swung her sword on instinct whenever one of the vampires came close, not even bothering to check whether her blows were lethal or not. Still, she could not see what was happening.
For brief seconds, the battle seemed to roll away from her, and Briony plunged her sword into the ground point first while she struggled to reload her crossbow. It wasn’t the best weapon for such close combat, but if Pietre was there somewhere, Briony wanted the chance to send a shot his way.
A vampire tackled her just as Briony managed to pull the string back, sending them both sprawling to the forest floor. Briony struggled as it tried to pin her, its hands wrenching her head back until her neck formed a taut line. Briony actually found herself grateful for that. If it was trying to bite her, then she had time. More time, at least, than she would have had if it had simply used its strength to snap her neck or crush her skull.
Briony twisted towards it on her back, using her feet on its hips to keep the vampire at least a little way from her. The creature was a young man, not much older than her. His face already had blood on it. Who had he killed? Someone Briony knew? Even Carol deserved better than that.
With an effort, Briony started to reach down to the cross underneath her shirt with her left hand. The vampire’s fingers closed over her wrist in a grip so hard that Briony thought she felt the bones there creak.
“That won’t work,” the vampire said. How dare it sound so calm about the whole thing?
Briony smiled. “Distractions aren’t meant to.”
Her right hand whipped down to the quiver at her waist, pulling out a quarrel and thrusting it forward as hard as she could. It plunged into the vampire cleanly, and by now, Briony was good at hitting the heart first time. The creature fell back, dying, and Briony snatched up her sword again.
At the sound of movement near the next tree, she raised it, but stopped herself at the sight of Kevin, back in human form once more.
“Briony, there are too many of them. We have to retreat.” Briony shook her head, but Kevin pointed past her. “Look.”
Briony looked, and saw something that she was sure would haunt her nightmares afterwards. The battle ahead was furious, with no sign of quarter from either side. And the vampires were winning. Werewolf bodies littered the ground, probably cut down in the first moments of the fight, and now the remainder were hopelessly outnumbered.
“We need to run,” Kevin insisted, and in just seconds, his wolf form was beside her again. Briony knew what he wanted. Could she do it though? Could she just climb onto that broad back
and abandon the others like this?
Did she really have a choice?
Another vampire, a woman whose dress sense clearly hadn’t changed since the nineteen-twenties chose that moment to attack. Briony killed her with two swift movements of the sword she held, and made her decision. There was nothing more she could do there.
She clambered onto Kevin’s back, and he ran. Ran as only a werewolf could run, eating up ground with the sort of speed that could outpace deer and run down almost anything set against it. It was all Briony could do to cling on to both Kevin and her sword. Trying to look around at the same time seemed almost impossible.
Even so, Briony caught glimpses. Josh yelling at the others to retreat, then taking to his heels with his brothers. Jake smashing a vampire twice his size from its feet so that Carol could get clear before leaping back up into the canopy. More werewolves, precious few of them, running for the safety of the deep forest while vampires pursued them.
Where was Aunt Sophie? Was she dead? And how had the vampires known that the werewolves would be coming? As Kevin kept running, Briony did her best to hope. To hope that her great aunt was alive. To hope that the others would get to safety. And above all, to hope that she was wrong about the thought that had occurred to her.
Aunt Sophie had not wanted to go to the werewolves. She had hated them as much as the vampires, with Kevin as the only possible exception. Even her own great nephew had received a frosty reception from her at first. She would not have wanted the werewolves to win easily. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to set the vampires and werewolves up to destroy one another?
Briony did not want to believe it. She really didn’t. Yet the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Aunt Sophie had done everything she could to keep Briony outside of things there, even alluding to some ‘secret’ just to keep her uninvolved. She had even told Briony to wait away from the battle from the very first howl, as though she had known what was happening. Then there was the past to consider. Werewolves and vampires fighting, with Aunt Sophie’s family trapped in the middle? It sounded far too familiar, didn’t it? Far too much like what had happened to Briony’s parents.
