Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  I didn’t respond with words. I lunged forward and sliced the dagger through the air. The silver cut across his shoulder and Arian jumped back with a growl.

  “We can stop all this, Chase—together. We could both get what we want, but if you wish to make things harder, so be it. I have tricks you have yet to see.”

  Arian reached out towards the others, and Rayna and Willy dropped to the ground, screaming as their beasts came to the surface. Clear fluid exploded and their bones snapped and shifted, reforming themselves into their beasts. A black panther and an even larger wolf stood beside Tiki, and their eyes were locked on me.

  “This is your big surprise? Tearing the beasts out from inside my friends? You lack imagination.” I moved with a hunter’s speed but Arian caught my arm and threw me to the ground.

  “Oh, the show is not over,” he said. Power reverberated around me, and Tiki let out a primal roar unlike any I’d ever heard. The orange of his eyes vanished and the inky blackness took over. His tanned skin stretched and tore as white claws and bones burst from the flesh on his arms and hands.

  Fangs dropped from his mouth, each of his teeth morphing into a serrated point. Spikes broke through his knuckles and skin, covering him in razor-sharp edges. His shoulders dropped and popped out of place as his legs grew to thick and long stems from his demonic body. All of his muscles swelled and in seconds, there was a massive orange monster towering above us.

  Arian smiled and his dark eyes stared back at me. “I don’t just bring forth beasts, Chase. Not anymore. Now I can tear the demon out of an Underworlder, and I can control them too.”

  The ground rumbled as Tiki stomped towards me. Rayna and Willy crept up behind me in their animalistic forms. I was trapped in a triangle of power and each point was ready to attack.

  “I withdraw my previous comment,” I said, my eyes studying each of my opponents with caution.

  I adjusted my stance and turned as throaty growls came from Rayna.

  Willy’s colorless eyes locked onto me as his target. His top lip pulled back in a snarl and he snapped at the air.

  Tiki dragged his claws against each other. The bone-on-bone scraping sent a shiver down my spine, and my breath caught in my throat.

  “All you have to do is say yes, Chase. Become a part of my pack and let me lead you to greatness.”

  “Why me? You can turn anyone you want. It doesn’t need to come to this.”

  “I’m afraid it does. The only way to get the attention of someone like your father is to take what he needs. He may not know why just yet, but Riley knows he needs you, and as such, I want to take that control from him.”

  “Riley doesn’t control me, I control myself.”

  Arian laughed. “For the moment, but you are predictable. Just look what I’ve done by taking one of your precious comrades. All Riley needs to do is threaten your loved ones for you to succumb. If he challenges one life that you care for, the world as we know it changes forever. I can take that fear away from you. I can give you the power to shut off your emotions and disconnect with this world. That will become your greatest asset, and it is exactly what you need to defeat your father. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “I don’t need to give up my freedom and will to do that. I’ll stop Riley, but I will do it on my own terms.”

  “Now you don’t really believe that, do you?”

  Arian entered the circle with me, but my friends’ eyes didn’t stray. There was a hunger that filled them, and in that moment, I was the only thing that could sate their appetite.

  I wanted to reply but I couldn’t. My words were stolen by the truths he spoke. I had doubted myself. I didn’t believe I could beat Riley. Not now—especially not without my elements.

  “I didn’t think so. Until you complete the circle as the Protector, you will continue to fall apart. Think about it, Chase. You need me and I need you. We can help each other here. We both get what we want. All you have to do is shift.”

  “What do you mean complete the circle? You mean there is a way to stop this?”

  Arian paused for a moment and then smiled. “Just a little tidbit I picked up from your father…but like I said—you help me, and I’ll help you.”

  That was it—a glimmer of light at the tunnel’s end. It was dim, only a pinhole in a shaft of darkness, but it was there. He knew there was a way to stop this, and if he found out, so could I.

  “How do you know what to do? You didn’t get that much information from Riley.”

  Arian shrugged. “My methods of persuasion will remain my own…for now. One shift and you can end this. What more are you willing to lose, Chase? You’ve lost your mother. Do you wish to sacrifice the girl too? Perhaps your pet wolf or that little bird of yours? You, Chase, can break your father’s quest for power, but how badly do you want it?”

  Riley’s face flashed before my eyes. It was the face I remembered from my childhood. His clean-cut blonde hair and deep blue eyes had looked down at me. I’d been young, only coming up to his waist, but even at that age I knew he’d loved me. His eyes had swallowed me with love and his warm laughter had filled me up. His touch had been gentle as he ran his hand through my hair and smiled.

  I didn’t know what had happened to him. How did he become so lost? This was the earliest memory I had of my dad. I had been eight or nine years old and I’d never forget it. After this, he’d slowly faded away and become someone new—someone I would spend the rest of my childhood afraid of.

  “What do you say, Chase? Are you ready to end your father’s reign before it begins?” Arian hummed the theme to Jeopardy and the sound pulled me out of my vision, but it didn’t fade completely. Instead, it changed.

  Riley’s face had morphed into a different version of itself. The smell of his aftershave that had made me feel at home vanished. His warm complexion, over time, had paled, and his body thinned. The blue eyes that had gazed upon me became rippled with darkness, and now, darkness slithered beneath his veins and pushed against his skin.

  I closed my eyes and thrust the image away. Watching it fade was nearly as heartbreaking as the memory of who he had been, but I knew he wasn’t that person anymore. He would never be that person again.

  Now he was on a mission for power with demigods helping him obtain it. I wasn’t just a hunter; I was the Protector. I was blessed by the goddess to protect all the dimensions from Ithreal, and as much as I knew the odds weren’t in my favor, I would never give in. I would never stop fighting. The gods believed in me. Now it was time to believe in myself.

  Elyas was with me in that moment. She didn’t speak or show me visions, but she granted me the courage I needed. Her presence pulsed in my head and the smell of fruit filled my senses. She was a small piece of Serephina, and the seductive scent reassured me. She reminded me who I was and who I was fighting for. She made me realize I had the tools within my grasp; I just needed to find them and reach out.

  “Yes, I’m ready to stop him, but I won’t be doing it your way.”

  Arian’s face shifted and a frown pulled at his lips.

  “I am the Protector, and you are nothing more than an obstacle. You’ve gotten in my way time and time again. You’ve attacked me, you’ve hurt my friends, and now you’re trying to use your magic to turn them against me, but it won’t work.”

  “I don’t know…I think it’s working quite well, wouldn’t you say?” Arian’s power fluxed and Willy crept forward, snapping at the air in front of me. His red and white fur shifted to black and his white eyes were vibrant.

  “That depends on your perspective. They have me on their side. You don’t.”

  Arian laughed and shook his head. “Foolish boy.”

  “You might think you know who I am, and you might know what my destiny holds, but you have severely underestimated one thing.”

  “Have I now? And what might that be?”

  “My tolerance for bullshit.” I shoved my dagger into Arian’s stomach and his eyes opened wide.

 
Arian’s power detonated and Willy, Rayna, and Tiki all lunged at me, but I was ready. I wouldn’t let the pain hold me back. This fight with Arian was about to end at any cost, and I used the tools at my disposal without fear of the consequences.

  Shards of rock shot from the earth as my earth element was born. Slabs of stone boxed in all three of my friends and their roars echoed off the stony walls.

  The pain was immediate and something sliced across my back. I felt the deep gouge in my flesh, and with each breath, the wound pulled itself open. A million needles drove themselves into my skin. I swallowed the cry of pain trying to escape and focused on Arian.

  Crouching on one knee, surprise littered his face. A deep growl flowed from his throat as he pulled the dagger out and threw it back towards me.

  The world slowed for only a moment, and I snatched the rotating blade from the air, never breaking eye contact with him.

  I stalked forward, heat washing over my face. He stumbled back, crawling on his hands and knees. His eyes were scared as he saw the fire light up my eyes. Like discolored night vision, everything became a bright shade of red.

  Arian growled and the fear on his face disappeared as he called his beast. His eyes became black and his bones crunched. I could see them sliding in and out of place beneath his skin, and I ran forward in hopes I could beat the shift, but I wasn’t fast enough.

  His body morphed, and a snake’s tail slammed into the side of me, knocking me to the ground. To dodge his next strike, I rolled across the grass, dry leaves scattering beneath my weight.

  Two long white fangs struck out but landed deep in the earth. Arian’s massive green body coiled as he tried to pull his snout up.

  My body protested as I jumped to my feet and blood ran down my spine. I cursed under my breath and lunged forward, thrusting my blade into his skull. It slid into the scaly flesh just as his fangs broke free of the ground. His head smashed into me and sent me flying through the air.

  I fell into the swings, and my legs tangled up in the chains. I writhed in the cold steel, and the swing unwound itself slowly, forcing me to wait out its release.

  Arian’s body snapped and clear fluid burst into the air as he took on the form of a wolf. He howled in the air, and his voice echoed through the moonless sky.

  A few seconds of silence passed and another howl came, but this time it wasn’t from him.

  My body hit the ground with a thud as the swing finished its final rotation. Sand stuck to my face and hands, and I pushed myself up, searching for my daggers.

  Branches snapped and more wolves stepped out of the forest, although they were not shifters—Arian had called real wolves to his side. As they stepped up beside him, his energy changed, and so did the wolves’ fur coats.

  Each wolf changed color—the gray, white, red, and brown that made them each unique became a solid black. They stood in a line, lips bared and snarling. Arian’s body shifted and shrunk to their size, and as the wolves paced the ground in front of me, he became lost in the crowd.

  Growls rumbled and a deep boom echoed as Tiki banged against his stone prison. The wind picked up, sending leaves scattering, and the air was thick with moisture.

  Thunder grumbled in the gray skies above me and I scanned the ground for my daggers. I was empty handed now and nearly a dozen wolves were creeping towards me. Magic was my last option.

  I climbed onto the playground’s platform, taking refuge along the swinging bridge. I tried to buy myself more time, but the wolves were circling. Wolves climbed to the platforms on either side of me while the others waited below.

  I searched their eyes, trying to figure out which wolf was Arian, but just as it was with their fur, they all looked the same.

  Two wolves lowered themselves, skulking towards me with bared and jagged teeth.

  As I was preparing to jump from the bridge, one of them lunged towards me, but a bang echoed through the sky and the wolf went limp in mid-air.

  The entire pack turned towards the sound and a group of people stalked forward like a small army. Dozens of men and women moved in the darkness, and as they came closer, I saw Eric leading the group.

  He dropped two more shells into his gun and snapped his wrist, locking the barrel of the shotgun into place. “Silver bullets, baby. Werewolf or not, they don’t survive that.”

  The pack broke into a run and lashed out at the group. Fire and water burst through the air as their elements came to life. An assault of rocks cracked off the wolves’ skulls and yelps carried on the wind. This was the largest group of hunters I’d seen since my days at the Circle, and they fought like a well-oiled machine.

  The walls to Tiki’s prison shattered and gigantic claws swung through the air, crumbling the elemental jail around Willy and Rayna. A wolf howled as they all broke free and magic vibrated in the air. My friends jumped out of the cages I’d built around them and entered the battle, attacking the arriving hunters.

  Lashing out at any hunter within their reach, all the wolves fought relentlessly, with the exception of one. The howling wolf stayed at the edge of the battle, its head low to the ground.

  I jumped off the platform and rushed towards it. My movement caught its eye and it attacked. Pushing forward, I lowered myself and with a hunter’s strength I caught the wolf by the throat and drove his body into the ground.

  He yelped and my grip broke as his body morphed, revealing it was Arian. I stepped back as hard, black scales broke through his furry shell. His tail grew long and thick, a natural arc forming above his head. Legs shot from his sides and massive pinchers burst from his shoulders. A black scorpion that was nearly the size of a small car rushed towards me.

  I rolled to the side as Arian’s tail poisoned the earth. His pinchers snapped at the air and his eight legs scurried across the sandy terrain. Hairs covered his face and part of his claws, and if my life hadn’t been on the line, I’d have been terrified.

  A whistle sounded and Eric tossed one of my daggers through the air. The silver glinted with each rotation and skidded along the sand at my feet. Eric nodded towards me and turned back to the fight.

  Fire lit up the park and the ground shook as more hunters channeled their elements. I scooped up the blade and bent my legs, ready to attack.

  The poisonous tip of his tail came at me again and I sidestepped, dodging his attack and cutting into his tail with my blade. Arian hissed as red fluid ran down his scaly tail, and he lashed out with his claws. Massive black pinchers wrapped around my leg and split the skin. I screamed as the claws pressed harder, waiting for my leg to snap.

  I twisted around and turned the blade in my hand, driving it just beneath where the protective shell ended and the scorpion’s face began. Smoke poured from his eyes as blood flooded the sand beneath him. I pulled the dagger out and drove it in again. Arian’s tail lashed out in retaliation. The spike on the end hung loosely as blood splattered everywhere.

  His magic swelled and his body shifted, leaving a naked Arian curled up on the ground. His left eye was gone, split into pieces and pushed back in its socket. His other eye looked up at me and his lips trembled.

  “Spare me, please,” he gasped. “I will disappear from this world, and you will be rid of me forever.”

  Anger coiled deep in my soul and I shook my head. “You chose to leave your pack once before, and even after that shame, you returned. You’ll never stop.”

  “I beg you… this curse your father has put upon me, it has infected my brain!”

  “Don’t waste your breath. Before all this, you relished every opportunity to torture your own people.”

  Arian’s one eye opened wide with shock.

  “Yeah, I know about your past, Arian. How you mutilated your own family and tore their beasts out for pleasure.” As I hovered over him, my knuckles popped from squeezing the dagger so tightly. “You were evil long before Riley, and there’s no place for it in this world, or any other.”

  I thrust the dagger down into his throat and Arian screamed
. I pushed until the sound turned to a deep warbling, and finally there was nothing. Arian’s head rocked from side to side, separated from his body.

  Orange light burst from his eyes, spreading over his flesh as his body consumed itself in flames. His skin flaked and peeled back, lighting up the night as he turned to ash.

  As the last few embers extinguished themselves, his magic broke. The few remaining wolves howled, fleeing into the forest behind the park, and the hunters turned to the only demons left.

  “Wait!” I stood in front of Tiki, Rayna, and Willy. Blood coated their fur coats, and Tiki had been stabbed in multiple places. “Eric, these are our people.”

  “They ain’t my people,” he said. “And they attacked us, not the other way around.”

  “It was Arian who did this. His magic made them fight. They didn’t do it by choice.”

  Bones popped and shifted behind me. I turned to see Rayna and Willy lying hurt and naked on the ground. Tiki’s demon retreated, leaving only fragments of his white pants to cover his groin. Punctures in his side were dripping blood and he fell to one knee.

  “Rayna?” Eric asked, both shock and disgust thick in his voice.

  “Eric, please,” Rayna said, covering herself with her arms.

  Eric turned his eyes away and fidgeted with his shotgun.

  I pulled the shirt over my head and moved towards Rayna to cover her body.

  “Bloody hell!” Eric shouted, shooting his shotgun off. “I damn near shot you, girl.”

  Rayna stretched the shirt down as far as it would go, and black and red strands of hair hung in front of her face. “Hi…” she said.

  Eric shook his head. “You four get your asses back to the warehouse. Marcus should be there soon and we need to regroup. If we’re diving head first into hell, everyone needs to get their crap together.” Eric cursed again and pushed past us, each of his hunters falling in line behind him.

  As Rayna tried to walk, a deep gash on her leg caused her to wince and limp. Willy’s back was covered in red blisters and burns, and Tiki’s hands were cupped over his wounds.

  I searched the ground until I found my second dagger lying just outside the sandy border of the playground. I sighed, looking at the pile of ash that was now Arian. We’d won the battle, but the war was at our doorstep. We’d already paid too much to be rid of just one enemy.