by ST Branton
The adrenaline kicked into my veins. Was this it? Had I finally found Lupres’s secret subterranean lair? Unable to contain my anticipation or impatience, I broke into a stealthy jog down the dark hallway, ears tuned for any abnormal sound. My footsteps were relatively quiet, and I smiled, thinking that Amber would be proud of me. And who knew, maybe I could still retain some element of surprise.
The torch-flanked door turned out to be a doorway that transitioned into a huge, open, high chamber. More torches speckled the chamber with unreliable, flickering light, lending the whole place a spooky, ethereal aura. At first, I didn’t see anyone. My eyes were busy taking in the unmistakably thronelike structure that had been erected at one end of the room on a crude plinth. Atop this throne sat a beast I recognized immediately, if only because of his one missing hand.
Lupres.
We saw each other at the same time—it was clear he had been waiting for me—and he raised his arm in an insultingly lazy motion. I thought he was greeting me like an asshole, but then more Weres emerged from the shadows—a lot more Weres.
They’d been standing watch in the deep darkness surrounding his throne, hewn from the natural rock of the cave’s wall. I didn’t take the time to count them individually, but somewhere between twenty and thirty was the range my brain automatically spit out.
In short: not good. Really not good.
I was simultaneously longing for backup and super glad I hadn’t brought Amber in with me. These were some truly bad odds.
“The girl who bears the sword.” Lupres’s grotesque, uncannily lupine face arranged itself in the closest achievable approximation of a smile. It was not a good look. I wanted to physically recoil, but I steeled myself and glared straight into his cruel bronze eyes.
“I’ve been looking forward to this encounter. Not many creatures have the strength to wound me. Your death shall be exquisite, as is befitting your skill.”
Pay no attention to his threats, Marcus said.
“Why? You think he’s bluffing?” I whispered.
Surely not. Lupres’ skill is remarkable. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you last time. I was simply encouraging you not to focus on these dire straits. The power of positive thinking, as your Oprah would say, yes?
I shook my head. So close, and yet so far.
Lupres laughed, exaggerating the malicious glee plastered all over his furry countenance. “Nothing to say for yourself, human girl? You were much more talkative in the woods. Perhaps now you have learned some manners.”
“Sorry,” I responded. “You’ll find I’m not the best of students. None of us are, humans I mean. Not really. Especially not under threat from butt sniffing dick heads like you.”
His smile remained, but the light in his eyes dimmed.
“Fear not. I will teach you respect before this night is done. And as for the rest of your puny race, I have already told you. I am not here to earn their fear, but to purify them.”
“Is that what you’re doing? Purifying them. Because to me this looks like devolution. I mean, at least humans don’t lick their own balls.”
“You are too stupid to understand, but fear not. As I said, I will teach you. These that you see before you are simply the beginning. They have drank of my blood and taken my flesh. And in return, they will spread my glory to the world.”
“How?” I asked. It was cliché, I know, but I assumed this asshole hadn’t seen enough movies to know that end of film monologues always ended in disaster.
“The ritual of course. One that I performed for thousands of years before Kronin trapped me in that hell he called heaven.” He spread his long arms wide enough to touch the shoulders of the Weres standing closest to him. “Under the light of the full moon, my faithful servants will leave this chamber, climb to the surface, wade into the depths of the water, and commit their lives to the cause.”
I frowned. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? “You mean—”
“Yes.” He licked his lips. “They are more than my servants. They are incubators. And they will gladly tear their bodies asunder to release my blood into the world. This reservoir feeds millions. Most will not survive the transformation, but the army that emerges from the chaos will carry my power throughout the world. And then, no human, no god, no stupid girl will be able to stop me.”
The Weres answered with a chorus of rumbling growls. Apparently, no one dared to howl in the presence of their supreme leader. He was right, they were all ready to die for him. To tear up their own wrists and bleed out—infecting millions. This was worse than Lorcan’s factories, this was an epidemic.
“You’re a bastard,” I shouted. But it barely made a dent against the cacophony echoing throughout.
I looked around, trying to size up the army before me, but my eyes singled out Maya’s reddish fur. She stood to the left of the god, staring straight forward, as mesmerized as the others.
Lupres noticed me eyeing her and sat up straighter, his posture interested and predatory. “Oh? Could it be that you have formed a connection with one of my vessels? Fascinating.” The tongue emerged again to make a circuit around his glistening teeth. “I can hardly say I blame you. The weakness of humans is utterly astounding, isn’t it? It is only natural for you to seek out a being of higher power with whom to ally. Perhaps you thought you would be granted shelter from the great, imminent violence. I am sorry to dash your hopes.
“But fear not. I, Lupres, am a most generous deity. I will give you chance to be with her before she dies.”
He flicked a claw in Maya’s direction. Her eyes cleared. She shook her head, stepped forward. My fists clenched in rage as I realized what was about to happen.
“You’re a fucking monster,” I hissed through my teeth.
“No, not me.” He sat back, the aura of smug satisfaction palpable. “Her.”
“Maya, no!” I shouted, hoping desperately that something might make it through to her.
She reached for my throat.
I caught her by the wrist, forcing her grasping paw upward and dodging underneath, away from her. Maya growled her displeasure, raking down her claws. The very tips caught the back of my coat—I felt the fabric hitch a little as I spun out of range. She tried again immediately, her speed more than evident in close quarters. Grimacing, I vaulted backward. A ripple ran through the onlooking Weres.
“Give them their space, my acolytes.” Lupres spoke like a doting parent. “This dispute is theirs to resolve.” He chuckled low in his throat. “For us, it is merely the entertaining side of justice.”
I pulled in my breath and centered my focus on the person in front of me. If I looked hard enough at that Were, past her gleaming eyes and teeth and claws, I could see my friend buried under layers of a supernatural scheme she’d been forced to facilitate. I knew that if I could figure out what would make her respond, she’d break out of there. Don’t ask me how; I just knew it.
Talk to her, Victoria. Remind her who you are and who she is. Try to get as close as you can. I have an idea, though I cannot guarantee its success.
An idea was better than nothing. I dodged around Maya’s next strike. “Maya, can you hear me? It’s Vic, and trust me, you don’t want to do this. There’s no way for things to end well for either of us unless you break out of that mind prison this jackass put around you.” She swung. I crouched. “I know you don’t want to be a sacrifice, doc.”
Her lips pulled back from dark gums. She raised her hackles. I couldn’t tell if that was because she heard me and it was pissing her off, or because she was just pissed off in general.
Lupres was talking again, but the words didn’t even register in my brain. I laid my own voice over them to drown them out, keeping my eyes trained firmly on Maya. “You’ve got to be at least a little aware of what’s going on here,” I said. “Look at all these people. They’re citizens of Silver Banks, just like you. They have jobs, and lives, and families, and pets. You’ve probably seen their dogs and cats dozens of times, right?”
The ice-cold malice in her gaze flickered a little. Her next step faltered. I evaded her more easily than before. Not by a lot, but enough to let me notice something had changed. Maya grunted, ears twitching.
Good. Keep going. Remember to get close if you can.
“If I get close, she’ll freaking eat me,” I muttered under my breath, careful not to let Lupres see me speaking.
No. You will have to trust me.
“How can you just say no to something like that?” I wondered. But I did trust him, so I started to creep in closer at every opportunity. What little ground Maya gave, I gained in a flash before she could think about taking it back again. Of course, those claws and lightning reflexes helped her regain some; there wasn’t much I could do about that.
Still, little by little, I chipped away at her. It was clear she wasn’t a fighter in her human life. Her attacks, though fast and unpredictable, lacked cohesion. Once I got used to that, dodging her almost became second nature.
That meant I could keep talking. “Remember the other day when I showed up at the clinic with my shit all torn up?” I asked. “Or how we put all those sick burns on Wade at the bar? I’ve known you for a matter of days, Maya, but you’re still my friend. I need you to snap out of it and help me kick some ugly werewolf ass.”
She staggered again, pitching herself down onto the cave floor. The peanut gallery edged closer. From his VIP seat, Lupres made a disappointed scoff. “Get up!” he barked. “No child of mine will be defeated by a human!”
“Do you hear this bullshit?” I asked her. “You’re not his child. You’re not his follower. You are a boss-ass bitch from Oakland, and he has no right to tell you what to do! You’ve been fighting his call for days. You helped stop the rampage in Silver Banks. You saved Smitty from the river.”
Maya’s arms dropped to her sides. She stood swaying slightly, blinking as if she’d just been hit in the head. For the moment, all aggression faded from her demeanor.
Now! Marcus commanded. Grab her!
I had no time to ruminate on the logic of grabbing a Were. My instincts kicked in, and I just did it. As I charged toward her, Lupres roared, “What are you doing? Kill the human wretch!”
Maya turned toward him at the same time that I jumped forward. My fingers buried themselves in the fur on her shoulders. I wrapped my legs around her back, clinging for dear life.
“Whatever you’re doing, Marcus, you better do it fast!”
Put your hand on her head.
Maya thrashed wildly, nearly breaking my nose with the back of her skull. Shielding my face, I took hold of her hair and forced her to hold her head somewhat steady. She began to buck in rebellion, trying valiantly to shake me off.
Against my chest, the gold medallion warmed. I flashed back immediately to our talk in the hunter’s cabin, and it dawned on me that Marcus was a damn genius. If a connection with someone other than Lupres could be forged with enough strength, it might break her mental bond with the god.
This was probably why Marcus had been the one serving in Carcerum, not me. I understood how to play my part, though. Locking my fingers against her scalp, I retained my death grip even as Maya threw herself around the room, slamming into things and bowling over her compatriots. The other Weres didn’t do much to help, possibly because the last thing they’d been instructed was to give us our space.
Like before, the gold metal grew hot on my skin. I hunched my shoulders, trying my best to protect my head from incoming surfaces and debris. Marcus’s energy hummed through my veins, pouring through the tips of my fingers into Maya’s brain.
“Remember, Maya,” I said. I thought it was a whisper, but I was actually yelling, trying to break through. “Remember that I saved Amber, Smitty, that I protected you. We are in this together.”
Nothing. Damn it.
“Come on, Maya!” I yelled in her ear. “Work with me here! I don’t want to do anything else to you. You’re better than that thing, than him! Come back!” The medallion burned, but I didn’t care. If this was what it took to snap Maya out of her murder-fugue, so be it.
Maya whipped her head back one more time, and then her fierce struggling abated so suddenly, my first thought was that I’d killed her somehow. She stood stock still, perfectly upright, her whole body heaving from exertion.
“Maya?” I asked tentatively. My grip on her fur did not release, just in case the reprieve was only temporary.
“Vic.” Her voice was low and gravelly, like she’d suddenly picked up a vicious cigarette habit. She turned her head toward me, fixing one much calmer eye on my face. “I’m… I’m back. Sorry I didn’t make it any easier.”
I grinned. “Would’ve been disappointing if you had.” Not quite true, but she seemed to appreciate the levity.
“Impossible!” Lupres boomed, killing the moment as swiftly as I was sure he’d like to kill me. I dropped down off Maya’s back, and we both glowered in total defiance of the god who thought he’d controlled her.
“Are you ready?” I asked Maya. She nodded. “Then it’s time to end this for good.”
Lupres let out a mighty roar, summoning the rest of his minions with a commanding sweep of his arm. “Tear them to shreds!”
They fell on us, a wave of hungry shadows. But at least now I wasn’t alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Maya and I stood close as the swarm of angry Weres engulfed us. Unable to put it off any longer, I unleashed the Gladius Solis, and just its mere presence afforded me some instant breathing room. This time, it didn’t last.
The Weres were urged on by whatever psychotic hold Lupres had over them—not even the fiery glow or the burning heat of the sword could dissuade them. I held the hilt in both hands, chopping with half-measured, overhand slices through the air.
I still didn’t want to kill any of them, but there were so damn many. Too many. I’d be overwhelmed soon if I didn’t start cutting them down.
“New rule,” I said out loud, partly to Marcus and partly to myself. “No one dies, but they might get hurt real bad.”
Once the words were out there, I felt like I’d signed a contract with the universe or whatever, and I took off the kid gloves. Soon, blood was flowing in red rivers from open wounds on Were bodies. The air filled with the yelps and whimpers of the Gladius Solis’s victims. Just like old times, except it came with a vague sense of unease that hadn’t been there before.
I wasn’t going soft, but maybe I was growing up some.
Maya on the other hand was less than generous. A lifetime of pacifism and pent up aggression were channeled through her monstrous form. Despite the fact that she was smaller than almost all of them, they fell before her fury.
Victoria. You must destroy Lupres if you want to survive this fight without causing harm to the others.
A pair of furry arms locked in a vice grip around my torso, straining to pull me to the ground. Another limb swiped for the sword and almost succeeded in knocking it out of my hand. The world went upside-down as I reeled backward precariously on my heels. My fingertips caught the very edge of the hilt. It flipped back up against my palm. Bracing myself, I sliced blind at the Were holding me hostage.
A warm, thick current rushed out over me. The Were’s arms loosened, and then one of them fell away onto the floor, the clawed paw still twitching. Its owner, a huge grizzled silver male, howled mournfully, forgetting about me in the haze of shock and pain. He backed off, doing his best to cradle the bloody stump.
Victoria, Marcus said again urgently.
“I got you,” I told him. “I was just a little, uh, preoccupied.” And now I was covered in Were blood. On the plus side, it appeared to camouflage me a little, as long as I was right in the thick of the melee. The strong, sharp smell did a lot to cover up my telltale human stench. Though I was still embattled, the fight eased up in the sense that there was no longer a mob of Weres attempting to tear me limb from limb.
Which did not mean I had an easy way forward. T
he whole chamber was clogged with a surging, battling mass of bodies, all hellbent on preventing me from reaching my destination of Lupres’s rock throne. If I had thought the trees were a phalanx, they had nothing on the wall of furry flesh knitting itself together before my eyes. I shoved and cut and stabbed my way forward, but the going was painfully slow, the Weres infuriatingly resilient.
A loud crack echoed from somewhere near the ceiling. Up ahead, a smaller Were dropped like a rock, bringing the three surrounding her down as well. Another crack, and another. The Weres stumbled, whirled around, took to their knees. They clutched arms, legs, sections of torso. The gunshots—I knew now that was what they must be—kept coming.
“Dammit, Amber.” How had the girl even gotten in here without anyone noticing? She was either more clever than she had any right to be or luckier. Or maybe both. I still made a mental note to acknowledge that she may very well have saved my ass; in terms of time, anyway. I wanted the sun to rise on Lupres’s dead body. And now my favorite feisty seventeen-year-old was making that possible.
“I owe you,” I whispered, glancing up at the ceiling as I plowed my way down the path Amber cleared. At the end of it, Lupres sat in the crude seat of his throne, presiding over the chaos with a stony expression fixed on his untamed, grotesque features.
When he saw me coming, that face twisted into a mask of rage. He leapt up, seized the Were closest to him, lifted his own lackey over his head, and hurled him at me. I spun clear, and the hapless Were crashed into a squad of his compatriots. Swatches of fur went flying.
“Worthless!” Lupres bellowed. It was unclear if he was talking to his henchmen or me, so I assumed both just to be safe. Hurdling over the last few Weres convalescing on the ground, I lifted the Gladius Solis so its light shone directly into Lupres’s eyes. He snarled. “Out of my sight! No relic of Kronin’s belongs here!’
“Come take it from me, then,” I said. “Pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
