by Craig Zerf
‘We could take it,’ said Muller.
The gigantic old man shook his head. ‘No, Muller the pious. You might attempt to take it but even though thy companions and thyself art mighty beyond measure you are no match for me. Not even close.’
He stood up. It was like watching a tree grow in super fast motion. A force of nature. ‘Then he picked up the box and handed it to Troy. ‘I, Methuselah, the oldest of the Pack, also known as The Wolf of the Spear and The Wolf whose death shall bring judgment, hand this item of power over to you, Troy, Alpha to be. Do with it as you deem prudent.’
Troy stood to accept the box. ‘But, master,’ he said. ‘Does that not mean that judgment time is upon us?’
The old Wolf nodded. ‘My judgment, young Wolf. Not yours. They are almost here. Many, many Vampires. They followed you into the city and the city saw fit to allow them in. Leave via the back door. Travel straight until you come to a large green building. Enter. Seek the stairs to the basement. They will take you to a room that will transport you back to your world. Do it now, the enemy is almost upon us. I will stall them for as long as I can.’
‘We will stay with you,’ said Sylvian. ‘Together we can defeat any quantity of Vampires.’
Methuselah shook his head. ‘No. Not this many. And these are different. Well trained. Strong, fast and vicious beyond belief. Anyway, you are all too important to risk. Humanity will need you all to lead during the coming wars. Now go.’
Emily walked over and kissed the old man, rising up on her tiptoes to reach his cheek. The rest of the men shook hands and headed for the back door.
Except for Otto.
‘Come,’ said Muller. ‘We need to go.’
Otto shook his head. ‘I am not a leader,’ he said. ‘Humanity will not need me in the wars to come but the old man will need all the help that he can get here. Now. So you go. I have made my peace with the Lord. Perhaps I shall be remembered as something beside Otto the Blasphemer.’
Muller shook Otto’s hand. ‘I will ensure that you are remembered well,’ he said.
The old Wolf nodded. ‘Your help will be greatly appreciated.’
The team left via the back door.
Methuselah and Otto walked out of the front door and stood. Waiting.
While they did, Methuselah removed his clothes and changed. A slow metamorphosis from old man to frosty haired Wolf. When the change was over he stood over seven feet tall. Larger than a Dray horse. Teeth the size of a man’s forearm.
The Vampires appeared around the corner. Over fifty of them, walking fast. In front of them came Nathan.
There were no official challengers. No witty banter or one-liners. The Vampires attacked and Otto and Methuselah fought back.
At first it seemed as though the impossible would happen. Otto’s MP7 spat silver coated bullets, smashing into the opposing Bloodwraiths and the old Wolf ripped and tore into them at the same time. Ten bloodsuckers went down in the initial impact.
But many of them rose again, healing as they did and, as powerful as the old Wolf and the Knight were, they were quickly overwhelmed by the wave of evil that engulfed them. Methuselah went down under a pile of over thirty Bloodwraiths as they bit and hammered and tore at him. Sundering him apart as they did. He died surrounded by piles of Vampire corpses, a growl in his throat and a smile on his lips.
Just before one of the Vampires ripped the life from Otto, the Knight pulled out his pistol and put it against his temple. ‘You will never change me,’ he said. ‘See you all in hell.’
He pulled the trigger and a martyr was born.
Otto the Redeemer.
***
Nathan led the charge into Methuselah’s house as he and the Bloodwraiths frantically searched for signs of Emily, her friends and the Potestatum.
But it was to no avail.
They were no longer there and it would be impossible to track them down with no idea what direction they had been heading.
Gone.
He threw back his head and howled in anger and frustration.
Chapter 32
‘Perhaps they made it,’ said Sylvian to Muller.
Emily shook her head. ‘Methuselah is gone,’ she said. ‘I felt him leave. And I doubt that Otto would have survived.’ She walked over to Muller and grasped his shoulder. ‘Your friend was a very brave man,’ she said.
‘He was not my friend,’ whispered Muller. ‘I hardly knew him. He was a criminal and a blasphemer.’ The knight took a deep breath. ‘I shall miss him very much.’ He twitched the curtain aside and peered out. The sun had risen and the city sparkled under its coat of pristine snow. A veritable winter wonderland. Or perhaps a shroud. Death robes for a man who was more than a friend. A comrade. Otto the Redeemer.
Troy sat at the table in the suite of rooms that Sylvian had booked them into when they had arrived back in the actual city of Cluj. The entire top floor of the renowned five star Grand Hotel. On the center of the table was the wooden box containing the Potestatum.
Emily came and sat opposite the young Wolf. Troy looked up and then pushed the box across the table to her. ‘Open it,’ he said. ‘It is yours.’
‘Are you sure?’
Troy nodded. ‘We searched for it to give to you. Nothing has changed. We all believe in you. In your goodness. Take it.’
The rest of the men gathered around, watching.
Emily opened the box.
Inside, nestled in the red velvet lining, was a small shard of steel. An inch long and perhaps quarter of an inch wide.
Sylvian gasped. ‘It is a piece of the sword,’ he said, his voice hoarse with reverence. ‘Excalibur.’
With shaking fingers, Emily took it from the box and laid it in her right hand to inspect.
But as she did there was a blinding flash of light and her whole arm ignited, springing into flame. She screamed in agony and tried to drop the artifact but it stuck to her skin, burning its way into her flesh.
Then all went dark.
Seconds, or minutes or maybe a lifetime later, the group regained their senses. Rising out of the blackness like a leviathan coming up from the deep.
Emily stood by the window. Her flesh was whole. Her clothing untouched.
Troy rushed over to her and grasped her arm to check her burns. Branded into the palm of her right hand was a perfect, red pentagram. And on the back of her hand the crossed Z of the Wolf rune and the triangular Vampire rune. On her wrist and wrapping around her forearm was the final brand. The inverted horseshoe shape of the Omega.
Then she stepped forward and pulled the curtains open. Sunlight flooded into the room causing Sylvian to run to the far end, away from its damaging rays.
But Emily stood and basked in the sunlight, welcoming its life affirming force.
She turned to the room, a smile on her face, her fangs still visible to all. ‘I’m starving,’ she said.
She looked at Tag whose face fell as he stood up, ready to feed his ward once again.
‘Thank you, Big Man,’ she said. ‘I would kill for a Mac and Cheese. Supersized.’
Then she embraced the man whose bravery had kept her alive. Had saved her humanity.
And had helped to make her…
The Daywalker!
Authors note…
Thanks for reading another Emily book (The next one is out soon)…I hope that you enjoyed it. If you did, please could you leave a review? A few words would help immensely, a writers future relies heavily on your generosity here as reviews definitely help sales. Here is a link to the Amazon.com page http://a.co/3uxCyW4
And here is a link to Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.eu/2wjeISz
If you like the Emily books then maybe you would enjoy my “Forever Man” series. It’s doing pretty well at the moment with well over 200 4 & 5 star reviews. And the best thing is – Tah Dah – the first book is FREE. Here is a link to the FEE book “The Forever Man – Book 1: PULSE”
Amazon.com http://a.co/13gUFMf
Amazon.co.uk http:
//amzn.eu/htXqHJa
Finally – if you would like to have a chat, give me some advice or tell me off for any reason…here is my private email, I promise that I will get right back to you.
[email protected]
Thanks again and happy reading.
Your friend – Craig
Coming soon – Book 3 – DAYWALKER.
