“Sorry Venators,” said Selina, “my people have spoken. It looks like you will both die tonight. Get’ em!”
At Selina’s word the demon pets charged.
“Run!” Arantay roared, throwing himself to meet the monsters, his sword whistling through the air.
Brooke didn’t want to leave Arantay to be slaughtered. But she knew she had to get help. Veneseron needed to know what the Dark-Venators were planning.
She turned and fled, even as Arantay hacked off the bear demon’s snout, before slicing one of the snake demons in half.
“Get her,” she heard one of the twins shout.
Brooke summoned a shield of air around herself without looking back. A second later, an arrow struck the shield hard, bouncing away just before it could sink into her thigh. It seemed Nick had tried to make good on his promise.
The demonic vulture came next, its talons outstretched as it tried to gouge out her eyes. The vulture was held back by her shield, but every time it struck, her spell became weaker. Her magic was already running low. Brooke was forced to abandon her shield and threw a bolt of lightning at the vulture instead. The demon squawked and retreated, but Brooke heard sorcery bloom behind her.
She leaped behind one of the cargo crates just as two energy spells exploded in front of her. Rath and Ragul were the culprits, laughing manically as they hunted her. Brooke rolled away as the crate itself exploded when another spell burst into it. Both twins pulled knives from their belts and circled the crate remains between them.
“You gonna’ bleed for us, pretty?” Ragul snarled.
Brooke replied by throwing a handful of flames in his face. Even as Ragul screamed and reeled away, Rath pounced on her, knives thrashing. She parried both of his blows before throwing an elbow, striking his nose and hearing it crack.
“You Glarqing bliak,” Rath whined, dropping one of his knives to hold his broken nose.
Brooke raised her sword to finish him off, but was hit from behind by something. She hit the ground with a grunt and turned to see the toad demon leering at her. The demon croaked once, and then its fluorescent blue tongue shot out of his mouth and wrapped round her throat. She felt her air supply cut off instantly, but then raised her sword and slashed the grotesque tongue in half. She pounced on the monster before it could hop away and stabbed it repeatedly, throwing up gouts of green blood. By the time the toad demon had expired, the twins had regrouped.
“You’re mean,” Ragul moaned, his face smarting from her fire spell and some of his spiky red hair burnt to cinders.
The twins stepped toward her from either side. Brooke tried to summon another spell with her free hand, but it sputtered out before she could. She had no sorcery left.
It was a tremendous effort for her to even stand up straight.
She looked round desperately. Over Rath’s shoulder, there was an alley. If she could just get past them and away, she could…
“No,” Selina’s shout interrupted her thoughts.
Selina’s whip flew through the air again, batting Rath’s hand away before he could attack Brooke.
“Oww, what for?” Rath whined.
“Leave the girl,” Selina said, “she’s mine.”
Selina then threw her whip to the floor and unsheathed her sword.
“Fight me Brooke. Just us girls, eh? If you best me, I’ll let you walk out of here.”
The twins reluctantly moved back, leaving the path clear between Brooke and Selina.
She looked behind Selina to see Arantay fending off the other Rakarn. He was still alive. The archer, Nick, had pulled out a dagger and was attempting to stab Tay from behind as he fought the others.
“Arantay!” she screamed.
He looked behind him, sidestepping Nick at the last second and fighting back. He batted Nick’s dagger aside with one strike and then slit his throat with the other.
Nick turned and tried to mouth something to Selina, before crumpling to the ground.
Selina swore furiously, turning away from Brooke. Brooke didn’t care if it was cheating, when her life was on the line she’d do anything to survive. As Selina turned, Brooke ran at her, sword arcing through the air. Selina realised Brooke was coming a fraction too late and leapt back, but not before Brooke’s blade bit into her leg.
“You bitch!” Selina snarled.
Wordlessly, Brooke advanced, slashing wildly. She had never wanted to kill anyone, until now. Their swords clashed together incessantly as Brooke drove Selina back across the wharf. Brooke desperately tried to find away through Selina’s guard, but the other girl was too skilled. After the tenth parry, Selina suddenly struck with her own sword. Brooke didn’t realise Selina’s sword was so close until she felt the point scrape her throat.
Hot blood poured out of her neck and over her chest. Selina’s grin returned as Brooke dropped her sword in shock. Her hand went to her throat and a flash of relief jolted through her. There was a lot of blood, but the wound didn’t feel too deep. She bent down to retrieve her sword, but Selina booted her in the face instead.
She hit the ground for a moment, but Selina seized her hair and dragged her to her feet. Brooke screamed incoherently, turning and punching her in the face. She tried to hit again, but fell to her knees, winded, as Selina drove a knee into her stomach.
As she gasped for air, Selina dragged her across the wharf. She struggled frantically, but Selina kicked her legs out from under her, yanked her head straight, and placed her sword at Brooke’s throat.
It took a moment for her vision to clear. When it did, she saw Arantay kneeling directly opposite her. Rath and Ragul each held one of Tay’s arms, whilst two more Rakarn held him by his shoulders. Tay’s face was a crimson mask, his own blood mixed with the Rakarn he’d fought.
“I’m gonna’ stick this through his ear hole,” Ragul cackled, positioning his dagger by Arantay’s ear.
“Wait,” Selina said. “Let him watch me kill his girlfriend first.”
Brooke met Arantay’s gaze. His eyes had been afire with fury as he fought, but they melted into deepest sorrow when he saw she hadn’t managed to escape. The Rakarn’s enchanted blades had hacked into his armour, leaving bloody gouges across his shoulders and chest. There’d just been too many of them. Even Arantay had been worn down in the end.
Brooke stared deep into his eyes. Arantay’s face would be the last thing she ever saw. She felt strangely calm. At least she’d died fighting, trying to make a difference.
“Please…don’t,” Arantay pleaded to Selina. “Let her go.”
“Shut it,” Selina snarled. “You slit Nick’s throat, it’s only fair I do hers back.”
Brooke felt Selina’s hand tighten on the hilt of her sword, preparing to slice through her neck.
A white blur suddenly barrelled into Selina from the side, sending her sprawling to the ground. Her sword skidded across the ground.
Several more blurs shot into the Rakarn holding Arantay, yanking them away. The blurs materialised into pale figures, who used their nails and fangs to rip and rend the Rakarn. One Dark-Venator had his helm ripped off before the vampire sunk her teeth into his neck, ripping out a chunk of flesh.
Brooke stumbled to her feet, staring in confusion. A vampire with long blond hair battled Selina as she shrieked in frustration. He seized her by the hair and wrenched her up. Selina, however, summoned an acid spell to throw in his face. The vampire stumbled back, screaming as his flesh bubbled and began to melt.
She cried out and ran toward them, but Selina had already plunged her hand into the vampire’s chest. Brooke watched, horrified, as the vampire’s white flesh turned burnt black and he fell to the floor, deceased.
To her left, the Dark-Venators and vampires were in a melee around Arantay as he tried to fend them off. He was battling one Rakarn, whilst another ran at him from behind. A second before the Rakarn drove his spear through Tay’s back, however, a dark-haired vampire appeared from nowhere to snap the Dark-Venator’s neck.
A fl
ash of light caused Brooke to turn back, realising Selina had summoned a portal.
Brooke picked up Selina’s sword and threw it with everything she had left. As Selina turned, the sword landed in her stomach. She backed away, staring at Brooke in shock. Slowly, Selina pulled the sword back out of her, gasping in pain as her blood leaked out. Brooke limped toward her, trying to stop her, but Selina dived through the portal, leaving a pool of blood behind as she went, the portal closed behind her.
Brooke stumbled to the ground from sheer exhaustion as the Rakarn retreated. The vampires stopped several of the Dark-Venators, but Rath, Ragul and a few others managed to flee into the nearby streets.
Her body felt incredibly heavy, but Brooke managed to raise her head enough to study her surroundings. A dozen vampires had come to their aid, doubtless saving her and Arantay from execution.
The vampire who’d snapped the neck of the Rakarn trying to stab Tay, was helping him to stand.
“Thank you, Malian,” Arantay rasped, spitting blood.
A flash of recognition went through Brooke as she realised Malian was the same figure who’d been watching her on Seelie Square earlier that night.
Malian was dressed in a Victorian-era frock suit, making his skin all the whiter. He looked like an aristocrat, with silky black hair and unnaturally chiselled features.
Arantay shrugged him off however and hurried to embrace her.
“How bad are you hurt?” he asked, gently tilting her chin up to see the mark Selina’s sword had made.
“It stings like a bliak,” she said, “but I’ll live.”
She was about to ask him how badly he was injured, but she saw through the rents in his armour that his flesh was already beginning to heal itself.
The wharf was decorated with the bodies of Rakarn and vampire alike. Four Dark-Venators lay, accompanied by two moroi, including the one who’d saved Brooke’s life. She couldn’t stop herself staring at his face. If it wasn’t for him, Selina would’ve slit her throat. Brooke didn’t even know his name, and now he was dead.
She saw Malian gazing at his two fallen blood brothers, his face a portrait of anguish. Hastily his expression changed to a business-like manner.
“You must come Venators and swiftly. Hallia requires your presence,” Malian said.
“We’ve already received that same order from Vore,” Arantay replied, wincing and hunching over in pain.
“Yes, but Hallia has no need to kill you,” said Malian. “My sire wishes an alliance with demon hunters. Come quickly, our coven’s base is the only place you’ll be safe now. I suspect Vore has set the whole pack on you. If the Dark-Venators don’t kill you, the wolves will.”
“What, why?” she asked.
“His messenger,” Malian cast a look at Leanne’s body. “He’ll assume you killed her too. Any moment now, more of his pack will arrive here, and they’ll tear you both to pieces without thinking twice.”
“Just what Selina wanted,” Brooke cursed. “But the Dark-Venators.” She gestured at their bodies. “This is proof that we weren’t behind what happened to Andon. Surely they’ll believe us?”
Malian’s patrician face creased to a frown. “Are you well? Werewolves distrust magic-users more than any other Moonlight Race. They scarcely know the difference between a Venator and a Rakarn. Besides, you did kill Andon tonight, and have previously slain Markus.” Malian turned to Arantay. “Vore will not stop now until he has your head.”
“Fine, we’ll see Hallia,” Arantay murmured weakly. “Venators aren’t supposed to take sides, but I guess we don’t have a choice. We need to tell Veneseron everything, but our Holophones have been destroyed.”
“So we have no way of telling Veneseron what’s happening?” Brooke asked, fear clenching her insides.
“It’s okay,” Arantay wheezed. “Veneseron has ways of getting hold of Realmers without Holophones. It’ll just take longer.”
Brooke knew it was a risk. Everything she heard about vampires from training led her to believe they couldn’t be trusted. But they had no choice. They couldn’t receive Veneseron’s aid and nowhere else would be safe for them. Plus, she was too hurt and exhausted to argue.
Brooke’s eyes kept straying to the dead vampire who’d saved her, his lifeless eyes bored into her own.
“Leave the bodies,” said Malian. “Let the lycans see the Venators wearing black were here. Hopefully you can convince them at a later date that it was Rakarn who caused this chaos. Before they try to kill you, that is. Although I doubt they’ll ever believe you. Come, we need to leave before all of us are chunks upon the ground.”
Even as he said it, Brooke heard the roars of approaching werewolves. She even thought she could hear the heavy pad of their paws.
“Okay,” Arantay winced, turning to pick her up without warning.
“What are you-”
“You won’t be fast enough to outrun the wolves,” Arantay said, even as Malian and his fellow night children ran ahead, now only pale smudges in the dark.
So they left the wharf, littered with the bodies of vampire, werewolf and Realmer. As they departed, the roars of the coming lycans grew tremendous in their fury. Brooke knew this was far from over.
…To Be Continued
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Moonlight War- Act I.
Look out for the sequel, Moonlight War- Act II, available here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUH7NED
Also look out for The Realmer Chronicles, which is a series of short stories focusing on Veneseron and its many Venators.
As an author, I love feedback. Whether it’s positive, negative or constructive, it can always be helpful. You can shoot me an email at [email protected] if you’d like to know anything about the series, or just to share your thoughts on the books.
If you have the time, please feel free to leave a book review. As the reader, you have the power to let other potential readers know what they’ll be getting, why they might like it, or why they might not. You can even contribute to the book’s success.
Thank you for reading, I hope to see you again.
In gratitude,
William Collins.
MOONLIGHT WAR- ACT II
PREVIEW
…
Arantay could barely catch his breath as he stared back at the pack leader. Blood dripped where Kane had caught the side of his head and more then a few of his ribs were likely broken.
“It wasn’t any of the Moonlight Races who made Andon lose his mind,” Brooke said desperately. “It was magic, used by the Dark-Venators. Hallia believes they did it to ignite a war between werewolves and vampires, to endanger the humans and cause chaos for us at Veneseron.”
At her words the werewolves went crazy, howling so loudly she was surprised the people in the nightclub above couldn’t hear it, even above the deafening music.
“The Rakarn live to create bloodshed and anarchy, and to aid the demons,” Arantay explained.
Vore ordered his pack to some semblance of calm as he considered what they’d said. His own gargantuan body seemed to be seething.
“Sorcery is behind this?” Vore growled. “I have heard evil tales of both Venators and Rakarn. Magic is an evil thing,” his eyes flashed menacingly, “no matter who wields it.”
“The Venators of Veneseron work to aid everyone against demons and other monsters,” Arantay argued. “We were sent here to stop Andon, and now we are working to stop this war before anyone else gets hurt. The Dark-Venators are the ones who use magic for evil, who don’t care for the casualties. They relish any pain and destruction they cause.”
Vore stood, a brooding giant as he took in their words.
“I think we should believe them, we all know of Hallia’s talent. Maybe we should focus on capturing the Rakarn, and let these two go,” said Quinn.
Brooke felt a rush of gratitude toward the boy as he spoke to the pack leader on their behalf.
Vore looked as if he was just about to heed Quinn’s words
and let them leave quietly, but then an agony filled howl erupted from behind.
Everyone in the cellar looked startled as one of the werewolves in the circle started jerking spasmodically, his eyes bulging and his mouth frothing.
“What’s happening to him?” Serren shrieked.
Suddenly the wailing wolf turned on the lycan nearest to him, clamping his massive jaws down in its brethren’s shoulder.
“It’s just like Andon.” Quinn stared, mesmerised.
“You,” Vore’s huge head abruptly snapped in Brooke’s direction. “You and your magic are behind this.”
“Magic, yes. But not ours,” Arantay shouted.
The crazed werewolf barrelled into another one as he roared hysterically.
“She is the only magic user here,” Vore roared, jabbing a finger at Brooke. “You say Rakarn are behind this, but where are they? I only see you and the magic at your fingertips. You, who slaughtered my brother.”
Vore shook his head as his face mutated. His skin stretched and bulged as the wolf inside was unleashed.
“Kill them!” Vore’s voice distorted gutturally as he completed the change.
“Run!” Quinn pushed her back.
She didn’t need much encouragement, but as she turned back to the stairs she found a line of transformed werewolves and shifters blocking the way.
Arantay came to her side, even as her magic came to the surface. Brooke battled to shove her terror down, even as her body quivered with it. There was no way out. They couldn’t hope to get out of this alive.
Suddenly the ceiling above shook and shards of rubble dropped to the floor.
Brooke looked up in confusion, a second before the whole ceiling caved in. Arantay dived to the side, grabbing Brooke and saving them both from the falling rock.
A huge hole was blown in the ceiling and three forms crashed down into the cellar in a tempest of stone.
Moonlight War- Act I (The Realmers Book 2) Page 31
