Maximus (Boys of Wynter Book 2)

by Tess Oliver

  If Rikki had managed to go back through the portal, in her struggle to get away from whoever was after her, I was sure I would have seen her. She was not in the underworld. Which meant she was out in the mortal world somewhere, the captive of a bunch of serial killer miscreants. There was no other way to describe them. They hadn't risen from corpses, so they couldn't even be labeled zombies. The monsters who had Rikki were like no other, and I was going to tear each one limb from limb.

  The blood was my only clue. My pulse pounded in my head as I thought about Rikki bloodied and hurt and in the hands of murderers. I followed along the black drops until they were too faint to see. The road was just through the last patch of trees. Did they get on the road? Which direction did they head? I had no time to waste. I would need to follow the blood. Even the trace drops would eventually lead me to Rikki.

  I turned back and headed into a thicket of shrubs to be out of view from the road. I hunched down and closed my eyes to focus and summon the wolf. My worry about Rikki made it hard. I was tired from a long night of hunting, and it was never as easy to shift in the human world as it was in the clammy shroud of Wynter. There was a well-guarded law that we couldn't shift on this side of the plasma unless absolutely necessary. This situation called for it.

  Somehow I'd managed to clear my head. The transformation began. I clenched my jaw in pain as my bones twisted and turned. The tingling feeling, like a million hot pin pricks, raced from my head down to my feet as the fur grew along my back. Everything around me came into sharp focus. The odors of the forest overwhelmed my senses.

  I lifted my snout in the air to catch the scent of blood. Her honey sweet scent was mixed in with the bitter, metallic smell of blood. The worry and rage that had been building up in my chest roared out on a long howl. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

  I could see every night creature, owls, rats, even insects watching me from the trees as I trotted through the underbrush. The scent of blood led me to the road. It was insane to expose myself on the highway, but I had no choice. The blood trail led north, and the microscopic drops were far apart. They weren't on foot.

  The pounding in my pointed ears was my own heartbeat as I took off at a full run.

  Thirty-three

  Rikki

  The ropes were tied so tightly, they ground painfully into my wrists. With my hands and arms strung up over my head, my fingers were stiff and numb. It wouldn't be long before I lost feeling in my hands and arms. Struggling against my bindings only made the coarse rope dig deeper into my skin. Too much movement caused me to bump my head and back painfully against the trunk of the tree. On the bright side, the gash on my chin had stopped bleeding.

  I counted six disgusting monsters sitting around the rocks and tree stumps dotting the clearing. A glacial fog had coasted in from the shore and had begun to penetrate my thin cotton t-shirt. Without my arms to protect me from the cold, a chill was creeping into my bones. One thing was certain about my captors. They were not exactly a well-oiled team. For the most part, they seemed to hate and mistrust each other. Which made sense. Considering Vapour's realm was filled with the worst examples of humanity, I was sure the place wasn't exactly brimming with harmony and loyal friendships. There had been more than three arguments about what to do with their newest victim. It was easy to determine what the lip licking creep wanted from me and the thought of it made me want to throw up. Equally easy to read was the giant who eyed me as if I was edible. I was sure he was the murderous cannibal from the nineteenth century. My father had told me about many of the colorful, demented souls in Vapour's realm. And now it seemed I was seeing them all firsthand.

  "What are we supposed to do now?" The slimy gangster who had grabbed me at the portal seemed the most agitated by his newfound solid form. He paced the forest floor as he fidgeted with the buttons on his coat. The foot I had flattened was perfectly fine now. I'd been hanging on the tree long enough to put my mind to some use. I was confident I'd figured out the entire weird splayed foot event. It was a nugget of information I hoped would eventually help me out of my predicament. Although my will and strength were evaporating fast.

  "Charlie, sit the fuck down," the cannibal barked. "Tired of watching you hop around like a cat on hot coals."

  A movement in the trees sent them all to their feet. They all had knives tucked in their belts. Whatever it was it was big. I was sure no forest animal would come near the clearing. I hadn't seen even a bird twitter in the branches above me. Animals were smart. They knew that there wasn't anything natural or normal about these guys, and they stayed far away. But as the branches in the distance became more agitated, it was clear something giant was coming our way. All I could think was that I was tied to the damn tree, completely defenseless. Wouldn't it be ironic to be kidnapped and held captive by six semi-zombie serial killers and in the end get torn to shreds by an angry bear?

  My captors reached quickly for their knives. It helped fortify the theory I'd been working on that these creeps were not as strong as they looked. They might have looked human, with all the curves and ridges of solid muscles, but the gangster's foot had proved something was off about them.

  I found myself with no place to go as I backed up a few inches and met with the rough, splintery bark of the evergreen tree. The fog made visibility limited, but it was easy to see the massive figure that walked out from the trees. A whimper of relief shot from my lips as my tired, dizzy mind convinced me it was Maximus. Then the man stepped farther into the clearing and that same whimper returned. Only this time from disappointment.

  "Hey, boss," Charlie sniveled with forced cheer as he scuffled on his shiny black shoes toward Paygon. "We've been waiting a long time." Any moment of hope I had that Paygon was here to rescue me or send these goons back to the underworld was quickly dashed by the fact that all of them, with the exception of the vicious looking cannibal, were fawning over Paygon as if he was their leader. One of the creatures, a quiet man with horribly thin lips and a yellowish pallor that seemed to indicate he'd died of liver disease, hurried over to join the others in greeting. As he stepped over a fallen log, his leg suddenly disappeared into a thin stream of smoke. He yelled out as he fell over. The others watched in horror as the man slowly dissolved into smoke. Seconds later the smoke was sucked down in to the ground.

  Paygon's gang of weirdoes stood frozen in place, as they stared at the concave spot left behind in the soil. They looked to Paygon for an explanation.

  Paygon shrugged. "Told you that your days were numbered. That's why we needed that damn ferryman." He glanced around the clearing, but with only one eye and a thick fog, he didn't notice me dangling from the tree.

  The white cuffs popped out from Charlie's pinstriped coat as he eagerly pointed my direction. "I did just like you said. I caught her coming out of the portal."

  Paygon stomped closer. Again, I found myself futilely moving back, only to be stopped by the tree . . . and my bound hands, hands which I could easily forget because I could no longer feel them.

  My dad had always described Paygon as the big, bumbling idiot brother of Feenix. The few encounters I'd had with him had solidified that description. But big and bumbling as he was, he was also ruthlessly mean and strong. And it seemed I could add corrupt and traitorous to the list, since he had obviously decided to overthrow his brother.

  Paygon's sense of sight had been badly damaged when Stryker stabbed out his eye in a fight to save Willow from being forced to marry Feenix. He had to move closer to get a good look at me. He turned his head slightly so he could look me up and down with his remaining eye. He had covered the gaping hole on the other side with a patch that appeared to be made from the scaly hide of a large reptile. It fit the rest of him perfectly.

  His big, grubby hand reached forward. He lifted a strand of my hair and let it fall from his filthy fingers. "Who is this tasty tidbit and where the hell is the ferryman?" He spun around to a group of confused faces. His crew had not yet recovered from the rather ins
tantaneous disappearance of their buddy. It seemed they all stood a little less confident, worried they too might turn to smoke at any minute.

  Charlie was the first to respond. "Why, boss, that is the ferryman. Only she ain't no man, as you can real plainly see."

  "Fools. Useless, damn fools!" Paygon roared. "This is not the ferryman. Without the ferryman's hair and skin cells, there is no way for you idiots to use the portal. It reacts only to the ferryman's touch."

  Charlie wrung his hands together and looked almost as if he now welcomed the idea of turning to smoke and being whisked back to Vapour's realm. "I swear to you, boss, she came out of that portal. Sure as the nose on my face."

  "I saw her fall through it a few days ago." The man who had watched me in the forest stepped forward. He was quieter and less bizarre looking than some of his buddies, but there was no mistaking the cold, dead eyes of a murderer.

  Paygon turned back to me. "Who the hell are you? Where's Trex?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anyone named Trex. These men just yanked me out of the forest."

  "She's a liar," Charlie squealed. "I saw her. She even tried to go back through to escape me. That's when she cut her chin on the rocks."

  Paygon turned his meaty face toward me again.

  "I swear I don't know what any of you are talking about." I put an extra tremble in my tone.

  "Vapour will be mad as fuck when he hears that you idiots screwed up," Paygon snarled. "Guess I'll head back to the damn portal myself and wait for Trex."

  "What about the girl?" the cannibal asked, adding a little saliva sound to his words.

  "Kill her." Paygon turned to leave.

  "Seems like a shame to waste a pretty thing like that without some fun first," the white haired creep sneered.

  Paygon stopped. His laugh sent the white haired guy stumbling back. "You don't actually think your century old dead cocks can be used for anything, do you? But now that you mentioned it—" Paygon's face swung back my direction. "It would be kind of a waste. I'll let you boys watch so you can see what you've been missing all these years. Then you can kill her."

  Paygon stomped back toward me and roughly grabbed the front of my shirt.

  I had so few options, I decided to shock him with the truth. "No. They're right. I'm Trex. I'm the ferry captain."

  "Sure you are." The fabric on my shirt ripped open, and the cool night air brushed over my skin.

  His yellow teeth gleamed as he lifted his upper lip in excitement.

  "Steemer," I said quickly. "Catch and Steemer—they are my friends."

  "Feeling kind of insulted that you didn't list me first." The deep voice drifted through the mist, and the magnificent man followed.

  This time it wasn't just a whimper of relief on my lips, it was a full, loud sob. "Max."

  Thirty-four

  Maximus

  "What the fuck, Maximus?" Paygon growled as he turned back to me.

  I stepped toward him. "Yeah, Paygon, what the fuck? So you turned on your brother? Not that I give a fuck but seems kind of stupid, even for someone as stupid as you."

  "My brother can't be bothered with running the underworld, so I decided to help Vapour take control."

  "Well, bully for you, big guy. Found something to occupy your time other than jerking off and picking your ass." I reached for my knife as I marched toward Paygon.

  He pulled his knife free. My fist swept through the air and I knocked the blade from his hand. "Back off, idiot. I'm here for the girl."

  Tears pooled in Rikki's eyes as I lifted her chin to examine the cut. "Guess now I know where the blood came from."

  Her body shook with a sob. "I'm so glad to see you."

  My hand reached up with the blade. I began to saw through the rope, but my eyes didn't leave her face. "This counts as a save right?"

  "It does." She smiled weakly. Her eyes rounded. "Look out, Max!"

  As I twisted around, Paygon's hand came down like an ax. His hunting knife was clutched in his fist. It sliced my left forearm as I stabbed his shoulder with my right hand.

  Paygon howled in pain as he fell back. His second chance serial killers came at me like a group of oversized, angry trolls, each one armed with a knife. I counted five plus Paygon.

  "They look solid," Rikki said from behind. I'd only gotten halfway through the rope and she was working it the rest of the way on the tree bark. "Solid but without the usual human glue to hold it all together," she blurted quickly as they reached me.

  "No glue, eh? Interesting." The first one to reach me was the weirdo with the snow white hair. His blade had a hooked edge. Scary looking for the everyday human, but not a big deal for someone who spent their day hunting wraiths. He lumbered toward me with his crossed eyes, and I wondered if he could even hit a target. I wasn't going to wait and find out. What I did want to know was what happened when you shot a being who was only semi solid. I yanked my gun from the holster and fired it right into his scarred forehead.

  His head split into a million pieces but quickly sucked back together. Or most of it anyhow. A large chunk of his skull was gone. By the time my bullet experiment was over, the others had reached me. The cannibal jumped on me first. We were nearly the same size. As expected, he fought with his teeth or at least he tried to. I grabbed his head and gave it a sharp spin. It went round and round on his neck until the rope scar ripped open. There was no blood, just the smell of decay. He fell away long enough to straighten out his head, while the others took their time jumping me. My fist went right through one guy, and the hole never seemed to fill back up.

  A big arm went around my neck in a strangle hold. I swung my elbow back, hoping I could just punch a hole through the guy, but my elbow jammed against a rock hard stomach.

  "I've always wanted to know what it would feel like to strangle you," Paygon sneered in my ear.

  I managed to shoot my skull back into his face hard enough that I heard his nose crack. But it only made him tighten his arm more. As I struggled to get out of his grip, the cannibal was back with his knife. I couldn't duck out of the way in time, and the jagged blade gashed my side.

  Paygon was squeezing my throat enough to stop the flow of air. I swung my fist back but only managed to pop him on the head. I lifted my foot to kick his knee out, but he grunted and his arm fell away. Blood trickled down his forehead as he dropped to his knees. Rikki stood behind him with a large sharp rock in her hand. The broken rope was still attached to one wrist.

  She smiled. "I believe that's one point for the ferryman." Her gaze dropped, and she paled slightly when she saw the blood spreading across my shirt. "Max, you're hurt."

  "It's just a scratch. I heal fast." I swung around to the sound of footsteps behind me. Everyone had pulled themselves back together. It was going to be a long fight.

  "I guess we can't test my cornering the souls into a panic theory," Rikki said from behind. "There's no place to box them in."

  "That's all right. I'm looking forward to pounding them into the ground." I took a deep breath and plowed toward my attackers. Lights suddenly made the fog glow. Headlights. Three familiar figures emerged from the haze.

  Flint leaned to the side to see past me. "Well, look who it fucking is. The one eyed circus freak." He glanced around at the faces that had now turned to look at the new arrivals. "Actually, a whole bunch of circus freaks."

  "Let's finish them off so I can get back to bed. I'll take the guy with half a brain." Stryker eyed the white haired goober and headed straight for him. Paygon sat by and didn't even bother to stop us as we pounded Vapour's creatures into oblivion. I was in a one on one with the cannibal and he managed to get in a few good blows, but with each successive hit, his fist disintegrated. Within minutes, the clearing was left with only the smoky remnants of the vermin. The police would have several cold cases for murder victims that would never be solved, but at least the carnage had stopped for good.

  Paygon got up and trudged through the trees, mutteri
ng something about hating Boys of Wynter.

  "Do we tell Feenix that his brother betrayed him?" Wilder asked as he kicked at some of the last wisps of smoke.

  "Hell yeah," I said. "It'll be my pleasure. Besides, Feenix needs to know just how far this plot went, so he can keep a closer eye on Vapour. As much as I hate Feenix, I'd sure as hell rather see him on that throne than Vapour."

  "Good point." Flint tilted his head. "I think the ferryman wants you. And when the hell are we going to stop calling her ferryman?"

  Rikki stepped forward and took hold of my arm. "For now, you can say ferryman. But when my dad retires, and I take the helm from him, ferrywoman will work." She rested her head against my arm. "Or ferry goddess, if you prefer."

  Flint laughed. "Yep, she totally fits in with the group." He looked at Wilder. "Looks like it's just you and me, buddy. So much Wynter Fare to share. We're going to be exhausted."

  "Yep," Wilder agreed. "It'll be tough, but I'm up for the task."

  I held Rikki's hand as we walked out of the forest. "Hey, how'd you guys find us, anyhow?"

  Stryker looked back at me. "You know those old bikers who come in every night for a pitcher of beer? They said they were cruising back from a bonfire at the beach, and they saw a terrifyingly big wolf with straw colored fur running along the highway."

  "Oh yeah, might have passed a string of motorcycles. I was following the scent of blood."

  "Huh, so I was right," Rikki said proudly. "I thought my blood might be the perfect trail for you to find me."

  We reached the road where their three motorcycles were parked. Flint looked at the three bikes and then looked at Rikki and me. "I call dibs on the cutie with the cracked chin." Rikki hopped up and kissed me and walked over to his bike.