by Janie Marie
David shook his head. “We will be fine. Death seemed confident that unless you lost control like last time, or aimed a direct hit at someone’s heart, they’d survive the blasts you practiced. Remember, the last time you lost control, you had a blast radius of twenty feet with total destruction. Everyone else simply got knocked on their asses.”
“All right, I won’t hesitate.”
“That’s my girl.”
She winced. Death always said she was his girl. The sudden reminder of her angel made her feel guilty about all her moments with David. Worse, she felt guilty because she had been in the arms of two men and neither were her husband. In fact, her husband rarely entered her thoughts when Death and David were there.
She lowered her head and stared at the ground. It seemed stupid to consider having anything with Death, David, or Jason. Really, she was married to a human who not only thought she was dead or a zombie, but he was also her husband who hadn’t been in love with her for years. Then she had Death who was an angel she’d been in love with since she was a child. He’d left her to live a normal life, then when that life came to its end, made a bet with Lucifer to keep her with him for eternity.
Jane looked over at David as he spoke to Gawain. She hadn’t told him about Death’s bet. She would either turn evil, neutral, or stay as pure as possible, which would technically give David the victory in their eyes. Death hadn’t told her anything about the bet after they initially talked about it, but she was sure he didn’t want David to know. David would probably lose his mind if he did. This was a mess.
“All right,” David said. “The wolves we’re after are camping out at an elementary school ten miles north. Lamorak has taken his team after the last trail we’ve found on Lance. It went south with the other scents, but I don’t want to let our guard down. This could very well be another trap he’s made, but we will only find out by getting this over with.” He glanced over at her. “Arthur, Kay, and Bed will be staying behind with Dagonet and Lucan to watch your family.”
She gave him a weak nod, trying not to let her mind go to scenarios of her family being attacked or an ambush on any of their groups.
“Are the other scents more wolves?” Gareth asked.
“No, they’re rogues,” said Tristan.
Jane looked to David. “What are rogues?”
“Cursed and Damned,” he said. “But they are not like Dagonet and Lucan who fight beside us; they kill and turn humans to build small armies. Try not to worry about them right now—focus on the fight. If they do cross our path, though, we destroy them on sight.”
“Okay,” she said. She had yet to see a cursed vampire and didn’t know what to expect.
“Any questions?” David looked around, getting no from everyone, except when he looked down at her. “What is it, sweetheart?”
She looked around feeling almost silly. “Don’t the werewolves only change during a full moon?”
David grinned and shook his head. “They change every night, but Lance can change at will. I do not want you to be too overwhelmed because there are actually several categories the wolves fall into. I will explain more in time, but I do not believe we will run into the others here. Lance’s wolves are all you need to worry about for now. They are similar to the types you may have seen in old werewolf movies. They lose their minds every night and transform whether they want to or not. The unique trait is that Lance controls them. He’s the original of their particular kind.”
The dumbfounded look on her face made Gawain laugh. Jane ignored him and asked another question. “What about the zombie looking ones?”
David frowned and looked at the others briefly. “We haven’t figured everything out, but we believe he may have had some hand in the start of the plague. We will not know until we have more proof, but the coincidences the others noticed suggests he was a part of it. Perhaps a weapon to defeat us, in his eyes. But we have no other ideas besides he has infected wolves, and he can still control them. The positive side is we know that we can destroy them. For now, that will have to be enough.”
“What if I get bit?”
“We’re immune to their bite and the plague. The infected wolves left several wounds on not just you, but the others during the fight—no one suffered extra side effects.”
“But humans get infected from their bites, right?”
“Yes, but most humans don’t survive an attack. Their victims are eaten or dismembered, so there are no witnesses.” She swallowed, but David continued as if this was completely normal. “Most that are alive have to be created by a disciplined individual, of which there are only two. Lance is one of the two.”
“Why don’t we just wait till daylight when they’re in human form?”
They all shook their heads as David answered. “If we wait any longer, we could lose them, and they will take more lives that can be saved. The werewolves’ curse is different from ours because they descend from Lucifer, so there are some differences between us. They appear human in every way during the day, so even with our senses, we cannot tell for sure who is a werewolf or human captive. They often keep humans for various vile reasons, so even running in and attacking an entire camp would run the risk of murdering an innocent, and our oaths forbid us from doing so.”
Tristan smiled at her. “Trust us, Jane. You don’t want to be responsible for the death of an innocent. Plus, it makes a death by your hand easier on your soul to bear.”
Gareth nodded. “Just kick ass like you did before, and you’ll be fine. If they turn into a wolf, they cannot be reasoned with. It’s not a matter of the person they were, it’s what they become and the destruction they will cause. If they hold any good in them, they do not want to live as they are anyway.”
“I guess that’s true,” she said.
“It is, Jane,” said David. “They are Lance’s slaves. Most of their minds slip over time even if they are good men. Once they truly give over to darkness or madness, their punishment comes. If they don’t, Lance tortures and kills them, and they are granted peace.”
“Okay.” She was worried about what killing something that was still alive. Zombies were already dead. She’d had that thought process ingrained from watching zombie movies and didn’t give another thought about needing to destroy them because the person was already gone. When she’d first faced the werewolves, they were already monsters trying to kill her and the knights; she didn’t think of them as people. But now it hit her that they were still people during the day. “Well, we’d better go.”
Everyone nodded, and she turned to smile at David as he and Tristan lingered behind.
Gawain nudged her to follow him. “Did you think they howled at the moon, too, Jane?”
She scowled as she kept up with their long strides. “I didn’t know! I’m trying to learn, but you guys make it complicated. For all I know, Lance could walk up to me and say “Mine” and claim me as his mate like they do in books.”
Gawain, Gareth, Bors, and Geraint stared at her with blank expressions before all roaring with laughter.
“Jane has her own vampire prince, but she’s keeping her options open for a werewolf mate!” Gareth said, wiping his eyes free of tears. “David,” he hollered behind them. “You better come impress your girl with your alpha male qualities before she runs off with a sexy alpha werewolf!”
Jane covered her ears and refused to turn around as she heard David muttering something about showing her who the alpha male was, making the others laugh harder.
She laughed, but she was so embarrassed.
“Mate,” Gawain growled, tickling her neck.
She pulled her hands off her ears and slapped his hand away. “Quit making fun.” She turned around and met David’s gaze. “David, make them stop.”
Gareth and Gawain grinned at each other and both abruptly turned, dropping to their knees in front of David.
“He’s using his alpha order, Jane,” Gareth said. “Damn you, Alpha David!” He laughed as David knocked him over and a
pproached her.
David caressed her hot cheeks, and for once his touch didn’t burn her skin. “I promise, one day, when you give me a sign, I will toss you over my shoulder and declare you mine.” Her mouth fell open, and he winked before pulling his hand away and leading their group.
“Damn,” Gareth muttered beside her. “How does David turn that shit into a pick-up line? Got her speechless—then just walked away. Fuck. He even rhymed!”
“Because I’m alpha,” David said without turning around.
Jane blushed as Gawain lifted his finger to her chin, shutting her mouth.
“Sorry, Alpha.” Gareth laughed, jogging backward to catch up to David and Tristan. “I mean, Ahh-woooooooo!”
Lance kicked a corpse out of his way. “Get this shit cleaned up.”
“Sorry, Lancelot.” A shirtless man ran forward with another man and dragged the dead body out of the hall.
“Sire,” said another man. “They are fearful of the female who fights with the knights. Five attempted to escape after receiving the last orders.”
“David’s bitch is a joke.” Lance chuckled and took a bite out of an apple. “Where are the traitors?”
“They are bound.”
Lance finished his apple and tossed it on the floor. “Let the dead feast on them. If they live long enough, I shall have more pets by nightfall.” He walked through the hall until he stopped near a group of three naked women tied to a table. They cowered and tried to cover themselves, but he barely acknowledged them and glanced at the man behind him. “Where’s my brunette?”
“Ill, Sire. She said she is with child.”
Lance growled, his teeth sharpened for mere seconds before his face returned to its normal appearance. “Find her and bring her to me.” He grabbed up a blonde woman from the group. They screamed and tried to hold on to the blonde, but he kicked them away and dragged the one he’d chosen away by her hair.
“Yes, Sire.” The man ran off.
“Please, just kill me,” the blonde woman begged.
Lancelot smiled sweetly and caressed her cheek. “Be a good girl and I will consider throwing you to my men. They will be more than willing to fuck you to death.”
He came to an empty room and threw her in as his name was called.
His servant walked up, clutching a brunette woman by her upper arm. “Here she is, Sire.”
Lancelot shut the door on the crying blonde and walked up to the brunette. He grabbed her chin and turned her face. “You look like shit.” Tears slipped from her eyes. “I did not desire offspring with you.”
“I didn’t mean to get pregnant,” she said, crying. “I told you I wasn’t on birth control.”
He scoffed and roughly released her face. “I don’t have time to deal with this shit. You were told to prevent this. I cannot travel with a pregnant whore.” He looked at the other man. “Find the doctor and get her an abortion.”
“No!” the woman screamed, covering her belly. Lancelot didn’t look at her as his servant spoke.
“The last doctor was killed during the battle with the knights.”
Lancelot looked at the woman. “How far along are you?”
“I don’t know. It’s still early, but you can’t kill my baby,” she cried. “It’s your baby, too!”
He grabbed her throat, choking her to stop her cries and looked at his servant. “See if someone can get it out of her.”
“Unless we find a physician, I do not know how we can abort the pregnancy. Unless you are knowledgeable, sire.”
The woman sputtered and her face turned red as Lancelot stared at her. “There is one way,” he said before he squeezed his hand tighter around her neck. A series of cracks sounded, and he dropped her lifeless body to the ground. “Feed her to my pets.”
“Yes, Sire.” The man bent down to pick the dead woman up as Lancelot turned to enter the room.
However, Lancelot stopped and watched a group of three of his men carrying two small figures down the hall. He laughed. “Where’d you find these?”
“To the south,” said one of the men.
Lance pointed to the door opposite the door he stood at. “Put them in there. They will be perfect bait for David’s little whore.” They obeyed, and he entered the room he’d left the blonde woman in.
From the hall, a few men paused and listened to the woman beg for him to stop. None of them flinched when a loud slap and scream echoed from the room. Some went about their way, others covered their ears, and some laughed or masturbated as they listened right outside the door.
Her cries went on for hours.
THE PINK AND VIOLET HORIZON of the Texas sky grew darker as Jane and the knights ran through the streets. The stars were not yet visible; there was only a cloudless, midnight-blue sky.
Jane sighed and looked forward. It had been so long since she was last outside; she had nearly forgotten that a zombie apocalypse was still taking place. That fact was impossible to forget now as she passed rotting corpses, wrecked or abandoned vehicles, and looted homes every few hundred feet.
There was so much loss and ruin. She felt horrible for every giggle and smile she’d allowed herself—sorrow for everything she’d lost and would never have back, and guilt for every moment of happiness she’d shared with Death and the knights.
A middle-aged man covered in flies and ants came into view. Jane crinkled her nose as she eyed where his neck had been ripped open and the massive hole in his stomach where intestines had spilled out onto the pavement.
As she quickly scanned his wounds, she noticed differences among his injuries. She hadn’t realized she’d stopped running until David came to her side.
“It’s from the wolves, Jane,” he said. “This man was attacked by an infected human. See?” He pointed at the ripped chunks on the man and then to a broken zombie corpse she hadn’t seen. That body had been completely destroyed. “A wolf or wolves must have come along while he was already under attack. You see how the bites differentiate between ripping and razor like slices and tears?” She nodded as he went on. “The wolves are just as mindless as the undead humans. Sometimes they even forget to finish their meal.”
She could smell it, then. The stench that came from the nightmarish wolves.
“Come on,” David said, sliding his fingers down her arm until they touched her hand. “We’re running out of time; sunset is minutes away. We need to get there before they head out for the night.” Jane snapped out of it and nodded. David gave her hand a quick squeeze before he let go.
The others took off without a word. David did not take the lead right away and stayed at her side. She knew she needed to stay focused, but as she passed a small figure on the side of the road, she gasped.
“You okay, baby?” David reached out to take her hand and pulled her as she slowed to see it was a young girl. “Don’t look.”
Her eyes strained as she tore her gaze away. David gripped her hand tighter, and she held her breath as more children came into view. She couldn’t help but search each one they passed for similarities to her children. She had forced herself not to think of them, and now she was terrified because she wasn’t the only monster who could hurt them.
“Don’t let yourself become upset,” Tristan said over his shoulder while he ran just a few feet ahead of them. She nodded and breathed out her nose to keep from making a noise when Tristan spoke again. “Your emotions are more of a concern than the others. Those with abilities like ours need to have stronger minds.”
Jane nodded again, trying to take his advice. She knew that if she let her thoughts linger on her family, she would become a mess.
“Jane,” David said, squeezing her hand. “Remember what we talked about, okay? If you worry, you will become reckless. I need you focused on the fight and my orders. These children cannot be saved, but you can save others if you become the warrior I know you are. Show me the woman who destroyed monsters with only her fearless spirit and an M9 in her hand.”
Jane looked forward an
d inhaled, then exhaled as she cleared her mind. She did not look to the side of the road or search the bodies they passed. These were not her children, but she could do what she’d done before and fight to protect them and others who were still out there. There were more than zombies to fear, and she had to do her part to keep innocent lives safe.
She bobbed her head in a sort of commitment to let her sorrow and worry slide away.
“Good girl,” David said, letting go of her hand. “Just like that.”
She didn’t look at him, but she sensed his approval and delighted in it as he ran back to the front of their group.
Jane followed instantly, somehow aware he wanted her near him. The others grew tense, and she sniffed. A faint hiss left her mouth when strange scents reached her nose. She and the others turned their heads in unison to the west.
This scent was different than the one they’d been following. She snarled, not liking it one bit. The overwhelming urge to track down the new scent took over her thoughts, but David growled, and she turned toward him, not even questioning what she was doing.
Whatever scent she had caught continued to assault her nose, and she realized the others were agitated by it too, increasing her building anxiety. They began baring their fangs, so she copied, letting out soft snarls when the smell grew more potent. Threat, her instincts told her, and she was ready to destroy it.
David let out a more threatening snarl, and everyone, including her, released their attention on the foreign scents and raced toward their original goal.
Despite the obvious order to concentrate on finding the werewolf camp, she peeked at her leader. She knew he was the strongest here. He was feared and to be obeyed. The sudden urge to offer her blood and submit to him clouded her mind.
He cut a stern look at her. His gaze fell over her figure, and she wanted nothing more than to bite him and wrap herself around him. That single look had her ready to rip off her clothes. She couldn’t even recall what had held her back from letting him take her.
“Enough,” he growled. She shivered as goosebumps erupted across her arms. He bared his fangs and shook his head. “Control yourself, baby.” His harsh tone became soothing, but firm at the same time. “You’re giving over to the wrong instincts right now. Focus. We’re almost there.”
