by Simone Pond
I moved closer to the coyote shifter, but continued holding up my magic shield and stretching it around the people as they entered the grove. I studied Sawyer: he seemed different. He had a commanding air about him; gone was that nervous, maniacal giggling and his demeanor was less frenetic. And I could see why …
All along the perimeter of the grove crouched countless snarling wolves, foxes, coyotes, and mountain lions. The trees were filled with various types of birds and other winged animals I couldn’t identify. The ground was covered with a sea of slithering creatures. He had an entire shifter menagerie backing him up.
“So … you’ve taken over the Alpha’s realm, I take it,” I said.
Sawyer grinned politely and tipped his head, then stretched out his long arms. “As far as the eye can see, it’s all mine. And soon I will have my queen by my side.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see if Isabella had made her way through the portal, but there was still no sign of her. This gave me a little more time to figure out how to negotiate with Sawyer and the shifters of Lycaeon.
“How’d you pull it off?” I asked. “Surely there were more … capable shifters ready to fill the Alpha’s shoes.”
Sawyer pressed his lips into a tight grin, probably forcing back a fit of giggles. “It was quite simple. They’ve never seen the likes of me—both shifter and wizard. It wasn’t too difficult to sway the vote.”
His powers must’ve improved immensely to convince an entire region of shifters to follow his lead. I gave him a curt nod and peered over my shoulder again just as Isabella stepped out of the portal and into the grove. She caught my eye as I expanded my shield around her body.
“Ahhh,” cooed Sawyer in a dreamy voice. “My lady …” He began to make a slow and gallant approach, but I held up the rod.
“Don’t,” I warned. “You’ll be shot across the clearing and into the forest the second you lay hands on my shield.”
He narrowed his eyes and stepped back a few feet, staring past me toward Isabella. She maintained a cautious distance, standing between Lily and William. The rest had come through the portal and it was now closed.
Sawyer once again made a slow approach forward, holding out his hand. “Come to me, my Isabella.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she shouted.
I was going to warn Sawyer about the electric jolt one more time, but I figured if he didn’t heed the first warning, too bad. He continued walking toward Isabella, his slender fingers extending forward. I waited for the ricochet to come on impact, but Sawyer made contact with the outer edge of my shield and moved right through it without a single reaction.
“Pity your magic doesn’t work here in my grove,” said Sawyer.
I blocked him, holding out the rod. “What? Some sort of binding spell?”
He nodded and nonchalantly moved around me. “Precisely.”
I released my shield to reserve my magic resources and followed after Sawyer.
“Whatever parlor trick you have going on here won’t be able to stop this rod. I can guarantee that,” I said.
Sawyer halted and eyed me carefully. “Oh, I know. Rumors of the mysterious iron rod have spread throughout the Confederated Six. I have no intentions of taking that challenge.” He started moving forward again.
“Then what are you doing? I won’t let you take Isabella. Not without a fight.”
Laughter rolled up his throat. “I expected that, knowing you, Jordan Temple. And that is why I took precautions.”
Fantastic. The shifter was two steps ahead of me … again. We reached the spot where Isabella stood wedged between Lily and William. She kept her chin lifted and a glare of defiance in her brown eyes. Sawyer reached out and stroked her cheek.
She jerked away and spat, “I will never be with you.”
“My dearest Isabella. You must be so weary from your journey. I can’t wait to bathe you and take care of you again.” Sawyer held her hand, squeezing her fingers so tightly she couldn’t pull out of his grip. “And together we’ll rule all of Lycaeon.”
“You are delusional,” whispered Isabella, fear trickling into the corners of her eyes.
“In time, you will come to adore me as I do you. I’m not worried,” he said.
“Okay. Can we get to business?” I asked. “I’m here to make an offer and move on, if you don’t mind.”
“I have an offer of my own,” said Sawyer.
He removed a gold wand from his vest pocket and spun it around in the air a few times, spewing out some gibberish. Throughout the grove, thousands of twinkling lights flickered to life. They were strung throughout the trees and dangled across the vast expanse of the area, lighting up the entire place like an outdoor concert. Sawyer motioned to the south of the grove. Something massive was glowing: an enormous crystal cage. And inside the thing were all of our people.
I started to reach for his neck to strangle him. “You—”
He disappeared in a blink, then quickly appeared behind me and shoved me to the ground.
“Mind your manners, Miss Temple,” said Sawyer. “You wouldn’t want to upset me, now, would you?”
I stood up, clenching the rod. Sawyer clapped his hands and from out of the crowd of shifters appeared two extraordinarily large gorilla-like men carrying what looked like a giant bird cage. Trapped inside was a badly beaten up version of Benjamin in his human form. Isabella gasped. My throat burned as I fought back the desire to clobber Sawyer over the head with the rod.
“You see, I’ve taken meticulous precautions to ensure negotiations go smoothly,” said Sawyer as he yanked Isabella over to him.
The gorilla men set the bird cage down next to me. Benjamin glanced up through swollen eyes and muttered incoherent words.
“Let him go!” said Isabella.
Sawyer shook his head. “But my dearest, he’s the only guarantee working in my favor. If I let him go, what’s to keep you here?”
Isabella kept her gaze on Benjamin as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I will stay, but only if you free him.”
“Never,” said Sawyer.
Benjamin gripped the bars of the cage and pulled himself up. “Don’t harm her … Do whatever you want with me … but don’t hurt Isabella,” he murmured.
A giggle started to creep up Sawyer’s throat, but he caught it quickly and steadied himself. “Do whatever I want?” he mocked. “How about I cut off your arms so you can never fly again?”
“If that’s what it will take to ensure Isabella’s safety, then sure. Whatever.” Benjamin clung to the bars, his eyes honed in on Isabella as he spoke.
She kept her gaze locked on him, her expression speaking a million words. Sawyer stared at Benjamin, then looked down at Isabella. He saw the love they shared—a pure and true love—and his face fell long. All of his pomp deflated and he released Isabella from his grip and stepped back.
“I cannot … I won’t …” He fought to swallow down the inevitable. “Hehehe … dammit. I simply cannot stand here and pretend that … hehehe … I could win your love. Not when I see the way he looks at you … and you him.”
Isabella ran to the bird cage and gripped the bars, begging Sawyer to free Benjamin. He waved his wand and the door opened. Benjamin fell into her arms and they dropped to the ground. The poor guy needed a healer, but the only ones I knew were locked in that giant cage at the far end of the grove. I turned around to deal with Sawyer and finish the rest of our business.
“Release my people,” I said.
He stared at his fingernails for a long and irritating moment, then finally said, “No. If I can’t have her, all of you will know my suffering.” He clapped to the multitude of shifters waiting on standby, instructing them to attack.
Flocks of birds flapped from the trees, cawing and screeching overhead. The four-legged beasts began charging toward the hundreds of enchantresses and wizards. Several headed toward the south end of the grove and the massive cage that held the remainder of our people. The crystal bars th
at had been running along the front to keep them contained were now lowered, exposing them to the onslaught of predators rushing in their direction. I absolutely wasn’t going to let one of my people be harmed, nor was I going to attack any of the shifters without giving them an option first.
“Benjamin!” I called over to my friend. “Do you think you have it in you?”
He gave me crooked grin. “Sure thing, boss.” Then he shifted into his eagle form, stretching out his golden wings and swooping down to pick me up. We flew above the grove right as the battle was about to ensue.
“Stop!” My voice echoed like a sonic boom as I held out the iron rod over the shifters, enchantresses, wizards, healers, the children we had saved, and the residents of Alexandria and Mysterium who had chosen to come with us to the Madlands. The rumors of the power of the rod had spread far enough for everyone to know that not listening to my command would result in some serious ugliness. Every single faction stopped and looked up to me and Benjamin.
“This is our second to last stop on the journey. The residents of Lycaeon are the final frontier. And so, like all the other cities, I’m giving you the same choice. You can either return to the Ancient One, or continue worshiping Ashtar. If you come with us, you fight with us. If you don’t, you will die—one way or another.”
Only one person had a response. “It’s not much of a choice, now, is it?” shouted Sawyer.
“The Ancient One has given all of us many chances. Either you want to be with him, or you don’t. It’s your decision. The rod will know what’s in your heart.”
With that, I held out the rod and released the sixth charge throughout the grove. From both ends poured golden streams like two waterfalls. The golden liquid flooded through the clearing and swept away about a third of the shifters of Lycaeon. When the land was dry again, the remaining shifters returned to their human form and joined our party. Sawyer wasn’t among them.
Nils found me in the midst of the crowd and hugged me. “Almost there, partner. Just one last stop.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, hoping to get some rest or maybe some encouragement. The journey was catching up with me and exhaustion was pulling me down.
“So … do you know what happens when we get to the Madlands?” I asked Nils.
The only response I got was his notoriously sly grin.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The number of people we had gathered had grown to the thousands; I figured we were around ten thousand strong. Our massive band had been trudging along the mountain ranges through the valley for the last couple of days. The border to the Madlands was near. We’d reach the territory by noon and the city by mid-afternoon, just as the heathens would be waking up and starting to prepare for their nightly debauchery.
Along the way, we’d been preparing and discussing strategies with the assigned leaders of each unit. Bachar had taken on the role as our general, giving military guidance on how best to use our various forms of magic for the attack. It was strange seeing my grandfather from this new perspective—he was a different man and someone I was starting to like.
We’d be marching into the Madlands a solid army, prepared for the Final Battle. Though I had been at the front of the line with Bachar, Nils, Benjamin, and CeeCee, I wasn’t feeling prepared. Physically, sure, but mentally I was vacillating between “we’re all gonna die out there” and “this might actually work” with the former becoming the more prevalent voice in my head. I’m sure this was written all over my face since Nils kept giving me the side-eye. He finally pulled me aside for a private pep talk.
“What’s with the gloom and doom look?” he asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know what sort of crazy I’m about to lead a rag-tag army into.” I looked up at the mountain peaks, purposely avoiding eye contact.
“You’ve gotten this far, right?” It was more of a statement than a question, but I nodded anyway. “So why not hang on a little longer and trust that everything’s gonna be okay?”
I inhaled deeply and stared into Nils’s clear blue eyes. “I’m scared.” My voice sounded small and distant and I felt like a wimp for saying it, but I needed to get it off my chest.
“Yeah, well I’m scared too, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to lose hope. It means I gotta lean in and hold on tighter.” He gave my ponytail a tug.
“I know this,” I said.
“I know you do. But we all forget. We’re here to remind each other. So I’m reminding you to hold on. It’ll be over soon.” He put his hand on my back and ushered me forward to catch up with the front of the line.
“What happens to me when it’s over?” It was the question I’d been pushing away for days and days. “Will I go on to Shteim'esrei with the others?”
Nils shrugged. “Time will tell. You need to focus on what’s in front of you.”
I frowned and rolled my eyes. When we took our places back in line, I elbowed him and asked, “You’re not really scared, are you?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I just said that to make you feel better.”
We laughed like it was old times at the academy. Like we weren’t about to cross over into the worst city in the Confederated Six and face some undetermined hell. And it felt so good to laugh like that again. CeeCee and Benjamin glanced over, confused, but ignored us. Nils and I had a special relationship.
We continued hiking, discussing plans and backup plans. When we crossed into the Madlands territory, I tested my magic shield. It wasn’t working. I really loathed the Madlands.
After about an hour of walking across the dry, cracked desert, the iron rod started vibrating. I’m not sure what it was doing, but I had to keep switching hands to give my muscles a break. Shortly after that happened, instructions from the Ancient One started downloading directly into my mind. They still weren’t clear or explicit, but nonetheless, they were instructions. I breathed out an ocean of relief, grateful we wouldn’t be walking into bedlam completely blind.
“Only the first seven teams will go to the city’s center,” I told Bachar and the unit leaders. “The rest will be on standby along the perimeter. We need to start communicating this down the line.”
Benjamin lifted his eyes in shock. “That’s only about seven hundred of us going to battle, boss.”
“Seven hundred of our strongest and most equipped soldiers,” I said.
“You’re forgetting, most of these people are not soldiers,” he said.
“You’re forgetting who we’re fighting for,” I added.
No more arguing from the eagle shifter. He and the others got to work, moving the message down the line. Then it was time for the core units to continue onward to the city’s hub where we’d wait for night to fall and the Final Battle to begin.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We gathered in the street, packing in a mile deep, and waited as the sun made a painfully slow descent over the Red Mountains in the west. No one spoke or moved around. We were like statues frozen in time, awaiting the inevitable. As twilight came on and the sky darkened, the large metal trash bins lit up the streets with their orange flames. And soon, doors of buildings began opening and the inhabitants of the Madlands crept out onto the main strip.
It is time.
I whistled to our people, and heard the echo of other whistles moving through the group. Our army of factions turned, facing outward. The more seasoned enchantresses stood along the outside of the formation, the shifters were the next row in, and Claudius’s warriors stood at the center. Healers waited at the far end of the street and would only come when the fighting had ceased. The children were far back and protected by those in our party who weren’t fighting. I thought about Rose and Thatcher and how they both begged me to let them come along, but I told them we needed them to help with the other children and that their courage would be an example to all.
The main road continued to fill up with more and more warlocks, scraggly witches, half-man half-wolf types, and other supernatural degenerates. Some were so d
isfigured I couldn’t tell what they once were. The misfits of evil joined together under the name of Ashtar. As their side multiplied, I felt my insides knocking around—they outnumbered us considerably. But I held onto the iron rod with great intensity. I was surprised it didn’t fold in half.
You cannot bend me.
The rod began to vibrate again.
You must ask them.
My legs were like cement blocks and wobbly at the same time as I trudged forward ahead of my people. I stood in the open space between the two opposing sides. Roars and snarls rumbled through the cacophonous Madlands army. I knew I’d only have a short-lived moment of attention, so I got to work.
“I’m here to offer all of you a choice,” I shouted.
A bottle whizzed by my head and shattered on the pavement behind me. Another one was hurtling in my direction, but I used the rod to bat it away. The thing shot up so high in the sky that both groups gazed upward in astonishment. Then it broke through the black veil that hung over the Madlands and cracked it open like a plate of glass. Shards splintered downward, turning into black rain as they hit the ground.
I had their attention.
“The Ancient One is calling his people home. And you can either choose to come with us and live in peace, or you can die here tonight in the Final Battle.”
The entire street was a vacuum of silence … except for the sound of someone’s shoes clapping the pavement and grinding chunks of broken glass deeper into the street. They parted a bit and made room for the High Warlock to make his way through to the front of the line, and when he reached it, he stood across from me, smiling.
“Oh, hi, Magnus. I was wondering when you’d get here,” I said, smiling back at him.
His hands were in the pockets of his long black cloak as he stood staring at me. I couldn’t wait to see what magical weapon he’d created for this battle. I expected nothing short of extremely powerful and deadly. But when he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and hoisted a gold star into a pitching position, I froze. I couldn’t believe it, but I absolutely froze. He must’ve saved that first one I threw at him on the bridge.
