I rode away from the house, leaving Kim, Neal and Arendiol in hopes of keeping any trouble from finding them. I went to the outskirts of town, still within Neal’s range and found a small park. I sat and waited as the sun slowly settled on the horizon, leaving the sky to slowly change colors as the sun fell.
Vampires were excellent hunters; they were on par with werewolves. I had no doubt, after my visit to Club Red that Sigmund could track me if he wanted to. I leaned up against the base of a tree, resting, but keeping an ear open for Neal. I had a feeling tonight was going to be exciting.
I was just about to fall asleep when, as if on cue, Neal’s voice rang in my head.
My lord, I have detected a large contingency of werewolves that have just crossed into my perimeter. There are five, no wait, eight, ten, fifteen, make that twenty werewolves who are advancing towards the house.
No, it seems as though they have all entered from different locations, encompassing the town in a circle which is closing as we speak, and their projected target is us, not you. He finished.
What the hell? Why were they not targeting me?
I jumped on my bike and fired it up, racing back towards the house.
They are traveling at a high rate of speed. They should be here in five minutes.
I will try, my lord.
Chapter ten
I flew through town, ignoring red lights and the speed limit. My fear for Kim was almost palpable. I couldn’t stop imagining what they might do to her; I had seen enough abuse of children to be able to visualize the worst.
I was almost there when Neal said, They have stopped. I am not sure why, but they have quit advancing on our position. They are all just waiting.
I skidded to a halt at the front door, sending small pebbles shooting off into the side of the house. I killed the bikes engine and hopped off, drawing my sword and pistol in one fluid movement.
They have encircled the house; they are spread out every ten feet or so, making escape impossible. The pack leader is the most dangerous and he is directly ahead.
“I know you are out there, are you still pissed about that beat down I gave you? Really it’s no big deal, can’t we let bygones be bygones?” I said, hoping he was in a generous mood.
I heard a deep rumbling laughter coming from exactly where Neal said the pack leader was hiding. A second later he stepped out from his position, he looked taller and bigger than I remember, and hairier. It was closer to the full moon.
“Your ability to sense us is impressive, but it doesn’t matter. I am here to exact equal punishment.” He growled as his eyes blazed yellow from under his bushy brow.
“What the hell are you talking about? Look, why don’t we just settle this like men, you and me?” I hoped I could keep this simple.
His smile was wolfish, it creeped me out.
“That time is long past. You have killed eight of my pack, not counting the two in my own territory. For that I am going to kill your pack, in your territory and then kill you.” The rest of the pack members who were hiding showed themselves, all of them looked on the verge of shifting.
“First of all, the two shit bags I killed in Alaska deserved it, they had kidnapped a child and were going to hunt and eat him, the rest of them attacked me first, I just defended myself.” I hoped he had some sense of fairness.
“I don’t give a damn, you will pay, no one fucks with the pack and lives, NO ONE!” He screamed, on the verge of losing it.
Fine if we were going to go at it, I wanted to at least make sure he was good and pissed.
“They wouldn’t have died if they knew how to fight, like their pack leader they were all chicken shit pups, afraid of their own tails.” I taunted.
I saw his face flow as his beast threatened to escape, anger made his eyes flare brighter.
“I’m going to kill you now, the rest of you, bring his friends to me!” He roared and came hurtling towards me, his body shifted and his skin burst off of him, as a seven foot tall werewolf with razor sharp claws and deadly teeth came flying at me.
His sudden transformation startled me; I thought werewolves were only able to shift either a few days away or on a full moon. His current form allowed him greater speed and strength. It also was much harder to kill.
The pack leader swiped at my chest, and I brought my blade up to block his attack. He quickly adjusted and instead of chopping his hand off I just managed to take a large chunk of his forearm. The bloody bit of meat and muscle sailed away from us as I spun and tried to kick him. He reached out and blocked my foot, grabbing my ankle I was helpless as he threw me into the side of the house.
The impact knocked the wind out of me, surprised that I hadn’t broken anything. I hurried to get up, knowing my opponent was coming for me.
My shoulder screamed in pain, but it still worked. The pack leader’s assault took me by surprise but I knew if I wanted to save myself and the others I couldn’t let it make any difference. I heard a loud sonic detonation as Neal fought off those who had entered the house. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. I had to kill this guy fast and hope his defeat would allow me to get everyone to safety.
I brought my pistol up and fired five successive shots, knowing it wouldn’t kill him, but needing the short respite it would give me. I closed the distance between us and dropped the pistol, using my sword to create a wall of flashing blue steel. He tried to find an opening with my offense but kept getting small parts of him chopped off, unfortunately whatever I sliced either grew back or healed faster than I could cut. I knew the only way to end this would be to take off his head.
I pressed closer, stabbing and slicing as I went. He roared in outrage and rushed me, unafraid of my sword. I stabbed him through the gut and tried to pull the blade out in order to land a killing stroke, but he spun and hit me with one of his large clawed paws. I kept my hold on my sword and pulled it out of his body as I flew ten feet in a hard slide.
I rose up ready for another assault when I saw he wasn’t advancing, he just stood there, smiling. His body shifted and he reverted back into human form, well semi-human form, his naked body was covered in an obscene amount of hair and I feared what his bill would be for a full body wax.
“Enough, it is over.” He growled.
“Like hell it is.” I growled back, stalking closer.
“Drop the weapon and die like a man or I’ll kill your friends, starting with the young one.” He motioned to my left.
I turned and saw Kim and Arendiol being held by the rest of the pack. Arendiol was still too weak to fight and Kim just wasn’t strong enough yet to break free of their grasp.
I’m sorry my lord, there were too many of them. Neal sent, he sounded muffled, like he was far away.
I am injured, it is not life threatening, but until I heal, I cannot aid you except for my council.
You are not a good liar, my lord.
“I said drop it.” He growled again, one of the werewolves held a sharp clawed hand to Arendiol’s throat.
I took a step towards him, anger making it hard for me to t
hink.
“Now.” He didn’t like being disobeyed.
I heard Kim wince and saw a small well of blood rise from one of her captor’s claws. My vision clouded red, seeing her hurt almost drove me to charge, but I knew I would be far too late. She would be dead before I could get to her, Atlantean healing or not.
I dropped my sword in a clatter of metal. The pack leader’s low rumbling laughter rolled over me.
“Good, it’s nice to know you can obey orders. Now where were we? That’s right, payback. I want you to watch as I kill your pack, starting with the young one and ending with your pet.” His words drove a deep anger within me, I had never known what love was, but I knew at that moment that I loved Kim. Seeing her in such distress unlocked something within me, the love I held for her filled me with a new power, an energy that grew from the feelings of protection I had for her. I saw the pack leader take a step back from me as a soft blue glow filled the area. I was confused, unknowing that the glow came from my eyes as I was filled with an alien power that at the same time just felt right, like it was within me all the time.
My entire being was filled with the need to protect Kim, to make sure these bastards didn’t hurt her anymore. I raised my right hand and pointed it towards those who held Kim and Arendiol. I heard my voice reverberate through the night, its power like a live electric wire, buzzing in the dark.
“AWAY!” I said and was utterly amazed as all the werewolves holding Kim and Arendiol flew back and landed in a tangle of arms and legs leaving their captives free and staring at me.
“What is this foul magic?” The pack leader said in amazement.
I turned to him and began to growl. The power that filled me gave me an unlimited well of energy.
“Let’s finish this you hairy bastard.” I said.
He growled in frustration and came at me, shifting as he charged. I reached out and without understanding how, saw my blade sail through the air into my outstretched hand. The pack leader got to within five feet and launched himself at me, clawed arms leading the way. I reached out with my other arm and caught him by the throat like he was a rag doll and with one powerful stroke cut his head from his shoulders.
I tossed his headless body aside and went to Kim, wrapping her in a hug as she stared at me in disbelief.
My lord, you are now ready. Neal’s voice reverberated in my head.
It carried a seriousness to it, which I instantly understood.
I smiled at Kim and the power faded from me, I saw as the blue glow vanished and the surrounding area was plunged back into the darkness of night. I felt exhausted, beyond anything I had experienced before and this time it was Arendiol who grabbed me as I lost consciousness and blacked out.
Chapter eleven
I woke to Neal standing over me, growling protectively. I looked around quickly, assessing the situation. Someone had dragged me closer to the house and Kim and Arendiol stood watch over me. Arendiol had my gun and stood in front of Kim who was slightly behind Neal.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
“After you killed the pack leader they all went crazy.” Arendiol said, while Kim nodded vigorously.
Her assessment is accurate, my lord. As soon as you fainted the rest of the pack members began turning on each other. I believe the loss of their leader created a power vacuum that they attempted to fill by killing each other.
I looked around; there were a number of bodies littering the ground. Out of the twenty werewolves, it looked like six of them had been killed. The rest were gathered in a rough group, all standing behind one guy. They kept their eyes averted, showing submission.
“I guess you’ve established a new pecking order?” I said, trying to remember if I had any rounds left in my pistol.
The new leader looked me over, probably trying to tell how dangerous I still was.
“Yes, I have earned pack leader, that just leaves settling up with you.” I couldn’t tell if he looked forward to that or apprehensive.
“Do you really want to go after the guy who just killed your old pack leader?” I didn’t have to say why the guy was the pack leader, we all knew it was because he was the toughest and meanest, meaning I had just beaten the guy who was stronger than all of them.
“There are two ways I can look at it. One, you killed pack members and deserve to die. Two, you were right, the two you killed a few days ago were hunting children, which I cannot stand for, and the rest died while carrying out orders a dead man gave.” He was trying to give me an out; I don’t think he was as excited about fighting me as I was him.
“Not to mention I was just defending myself.” I added.
“Very true, we all have a right to defend ourselves. I myself had to kill a few pack members, defending myself.” He said, but conveniently left out the fact that he was fighting them in order to gain power within the pack, why quibble about the small stuff?
“Well, then, I think our business here is concluded.” I said, framing it more as a question.
He nodded once, turning around and walking away, into the shadows.
“I truly hope we never meet again.” I heard him say, the feeling was mutual.
I watched him leave, slipping away like a ghost. They took the bodies of the fallen as well, leaving me without the hassle of dealing with them. Would miracles never cease? After a few minutes I checked with Neal to make sure they really were gone and he confirmed it.
We all went back inside where I made sure everyone was ok. Kim was shaken up and kept by my side, afraid to leave me. Arendiol had reinjured herself some, but it wasn’t that bad, she went back to bed, letting herself continue healing. Neal had apparently recovered from his injuries and kept watch by the door, keeping track of the pack, until they left his range.
I got Kim a blanket and she rested on the couch with her head on my lap. I was afraid after all the excitement she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but I think it had the opposite effect because she was snoring in no time. I gently extracted myself from the couch and slipped outside, needing the cool fresh air.
Yes my lord, there is much to discuss. For some reason a shiver went down my spine.
Instead of answering, Neal said. In order to understand the present and perhaps the future, one needs to know the past.
Okay, that was a little Zen, even for Neal.
What happened tonight unlocked the rest of my programming. The answers to the questions you have been seeking are now known to me, and I will give them to you, but first you have to know what happened in order to understand what is happening.
Let us begin with the Fall. It is detrimental to understand how you came to be here, that began with the Fall.
As you know Atlantean scientists were far more advanced in their technology than modern humans. They had already unlocked the secrets of the atom and had their sites set far higher. Through their research they became aware of what humans call dark matter. And through that they began experimenting with dark energy.
This was a very controversial thing to do. We did not fully understand this energy and had no real way of predicting what it could do. Some Atlanteans argued that this energy was everywhere and all around us and was the explanation for magic, or unexplained phenomena.
There have always been a few people in every culture that could tap into this energy, and could use it to predict events or make strange things happen. Although it was thought that these individuals were only capable of manipulating a small fraction of this energy. Others envisioned a world where we could tap into this energ
y and use it to fuel our needs forever, giving us and endless supply of power.
These two camps fought for years until the king and queen were convinced that the possible gains, if we could control this energy, were too vast to pass up. They were determined to be cautious, however, and decided to be present when the first experiment to harness this dark energy took place.
On the day of the test the king and queen, five royal guards and the top three scientists of Atlantis were present to witness the event. The king and queen stood by the emergency override controls, in case anything went wrong they would stop the test from proceeding.
Finally the time came and when the machine was turned on everything seemed fine.
Then everything went wrong.
It’s unclear as to what exactly happened, but from the best of my knowledge, they somehow created a trans-dimensional rift. The experiment resulted in an opening being created between our dimension and another, one made of pure energy, energy that was unknown and chaotic. There was a massive explosion as the influx of this alien energy interacted with our own dark energy device and everything changed. Those closest to the rift were transformed, the wild powers flew through them and caused them to change. The guards became what you know today as vampires, werewolves, sea witches, giants and trolls.
I knew vampires, werewolves and sea witches were real, but giants and trolls? What the hell?
I believe that is exactly what I have stated. Now if you would allow me to continue.
It seemed as though the energies tapped into the essence of those nearby and changed them according to their natures.
The scientists became seers, those with the ability to see the truth in things, namely the future, and the king and queen, with their natural leadership and commanding personalities, became wizards, able to control the dark energy that surrounds us.
Lost Son Page 10
