The Knight of Disks (Villainess Book 4)

by Alana Melos

  “I didn’t cheat,” I said. “I used what came naturally to me. Explain how that is cheating?”

  He didn’t answer, but kept his teeth bared. “And so, this is the furthest he dared go until we spoke to you,” Adira finished. “Some things are so deep, they must be obeyed. The strongest lead, and it’s always been this way for us.”

  She fell silent and I gave Mauler my full attention. He looked much as he had before in the playground: dark green and black fur with funky patterns over him, the vines grown into his flesh, with glowing green eyes. It occurred to me this would serve to our advantage, but I didn’t know quite what to do with him, not yet.

  “What is ‘the Mother’ doing?” I asked him, more concerned about the city than the power dynamic.

  “Rrevenge,” he growled. “She wishes me back, and to inflict pain upon those who hurrt Herr.”

  Adira grasped my arm and squeezed. “She’s not getting you back,” I said, reading her message loud and clear. “Can’t you tell her to back off? You control these plants, don’t you?”

  The werewolf shrugged. “I ask, and they obey.”

  “Right,” I said. “So, ask ‘Mother’ to back off.”

  He shook his head, glancing over his massive shoulder to the window. “I cannot,” he said. “What is morre, even if I could, I would not.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  He let out a heavy exhalation of air, turning back to me. Those bright green eyes bored into mine. “Because Herr rrage is rright,” he growled. “Yourr kind arre a blight on the land. You apes should be killed, yourr population contrrolled.”

  I stared back at him, unafraid. “You’re going to wipe all of us out?”

  At the naked challenge in my tone, he narrowed his eyes, one of his ears twitching. “Some few will be sparred,” he said. “Do not worrry, you arre among them. Only the strrongest.”

  “Gee, thanks,” I said, letting my voice turn snide. “But it’s not happening. The plant is going back in the planter before it wrecks any more of my city.”

  He scoffed, loudly. Adira narrowed her eyes at him. “This is our home, yours too,” she said.

  “My home is with Herr,” he replied.

  “The fuck it is,” I snapped. “We’re going to beat this bush back and you’re going to help us.” When he scoffed again, almost chuckling, I stepped forward. “Don’t make me beat you down, Wolf.”

  “Do you not rrememberr how ourr last encounterr began?” he said, a wolfen smirk on his face.

  “I know how it ended,” I said, but my cheeks warmed. Adira glanced over at me, a question in her eyes while Wolf chortled. “It won’t be the same this time.” He didn’t say anything in response to that, but the look in his glowing green eyes said all he needed to say: he didn’t think he was dominant, he knew he was. I curled my lip up and got ready to teach him a lesson. “Right here and right now,” I said, challenging him. “No weapons. Just your natural abilities against mine.”

  “A challenge?” he asked. “Verry well.” He stepped forward…

  ...and that was all he did. With my telekinesis, I slammed him down on the ground, hard. He hadn’t expected that. I knew what he had expected me to do--to fight fairly with my hands. Screw that. I’d told him the parameters. He’d just figured wrong.

  The werewolf struggled to move, and I struggled to keep him in place. He was a lot stronger than I thought he was. Were he a regular person, or even in his human form, I would have been able to keep him immobile fairly easily. It’d drain me pretty fast, but he wouldn’t have been able to move a muscle. In wolf form? He moved a little bit here and there out of my hold. I shifted my focus and moved one of his arms out, then began to dislocate it from the shoulder, slowly.

  Pain raced up the left side of my face. My hold wavered for a second, then I clamped down hard on him again, shoving my fear beneath the tattered, fading blanket of not-feeling-much. I didn’t have time to feel fear, but the thought wouldn’t leave me: what if I burned myself out on my teke too? Was it even possible? Much as I tried to ignore it, the question floated around my mind, tearing gently at my concentration.

  “Give up,” I said, my voice straining as my mind was. “Or I’ll tear your arm off.” The baleful look in his eye told me he knew I could do it, that he remembered my powers were natural to me and I liked to use them, but he wasn’t happy about it. Even though the pain pounded behind my eye and lit up half of my face, I was determined to win. I was so god damned tired of all the alpha male bullshit. That fueled me, helped me to fight through the pain.

  “You are the victorr,” he growled. Just like that, it was done. I recalled from some nature show or documentary often real challenges in the wild were like that: one, two, three hits and it was decided.

  I released him, but the pain didn’t go away in my head. It throbbed, pulsing with my heartbeat. “I’m the alpha bitch in charge here,” I said as he climbed to his feet. “And you’re going to listen to me.” I jabbed a finger towards the forest, “Imperial City is my fucking city. It’s my territory, and no one fucks with it. We’re going to put your ‘mommy’ back in its box, and you’re going to help us do it.”

  He laid his ears back. Had I my telepathy I could have known for sure if he was thinking of challenging me again. Even if I made my head explode, I welcomed the challenge. I wanted to put someone in their place. As it was, I felt pretty sure he was going to attack. I stood there, tensed and ready.

  The big wolf surprised me. Other than the show of displeasure, he inclined his head incrementally. “If that is yourr wish,” he said, his tone relaxed, if growly. “What do you wish forr me to do?”

  Huh. That turned out a lot easier than I thought it would be. “First, you’re going to play well with others,” I told him. “That means being nice to the vamps and our other allies.” He chuffed, blowing out a lot of air all at once to show me what he thought of that. “Second… you’re going to tell us everything you know about the damn plant. Every last bit.”

  “And then?” Adira asked as she glanced back and forth between us.

  “And then, we’re going to go play hero,” I said. “Or at least play with heroes. One of the two.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It turned out Wolf didn’t know much more about the forest than we already knew. The forest was sentient, and it had spread everywhere in the city through spores carried on the breeze. I think I actually knew the most after having seen its origin firsthand. When pressed about what the plant planned on doing, Wolf would only answer that she slept now, and she would kill us all when she decided to wake. When that was, he couldn’t say. Couldn’t or wouldn’t. I wasn’t too sure how on board he was with our intent to put the plant back in the greenhouse.

  Getting nowhere with him, I turned to Adira. “I need you to find Nosferatu before the sun rises,” I told her.

  She gave me a skeptical look, glancing to Mauler, then back to me. “Why?”

  “We’re going to need all hands on deck for this,” I said, gesturing around. “This is bigger than just a handful of us.” The flat look on her face gave me nothing. I frowned, “He’s not going to want this messing with his supply of victims.”

  “I will try,” she conceded.

  “Good,” I said. “I’ll take Mauler with me.”

  “To do what, exactly?” she asked. “You’ve said more than once that you are not a hero, and now you’re saving the city?”

  “I told you,” I replied, gritting my teeth. “This is my city. Are you with me, or not?”

  She raised both of her hands in defeat. “I will try,” she said once more, “but I would not expect him to help you.”

  “We’ll see. Just ask.”

  She left, shaking her head. I’d assumed the vampire bites worked on vampires too. In the meanwhile, I took Wolf with me and headed back to my Wastelands hideout. It had been overgrown and I grumbled cutting through the branches and vines covering the apartment. Holes had already been made by other people either trying to get
out or get into the building. Ghouls of different shapes and sizes were about in the area, trying to free their homes… but a good many seemed to ignore the plants. As long as they could get into their houses and stores, that’s all they cared about. It wasn’t like many people drove down here anyway, and the plants hadn’t moved since they grew.

  After my third slice with my blade on the plant matter blocking the door to my building, Wolf whined. “What is it?” I asked, irritated.

  “She hurrts,” he replied, and reached out for the thick wall of veiny plant matter. It was so matted together I couldn’t tell if it was one thick wall, or a lot of smaller branches and vines woven together. “Let me, instead.”

  As he reached for the vegetable, the wall of vines shifted, growing towards him. The emerald vines wrapped around his arm and stroked the fur. My left brow twitched as I watched. When I looked up at Wolf, pleasure at the recognition from the plant had left him happy, on the verge of looking elated.

  “Better move out of the way if you want to keep your arm,” I said, my tone harsher than it needed to be. The freaky plant stuff was starting to really get on my nerves. It reminded me too much of certain hentai anime. My headache increased in intensity for a moment, and I lowered my o-wakizashi and rubbed my temple.

  “No need,” he said, the harsh voice soft. As he stroked the vine with his free hand, more and more of them pulled off. Some simply moved aside, others caressed him in a loving manner. I watched, nausea in the pit of my stomach. It would have been better to kill him, but that decision was too late now. Gerard had been right. I should have left well enough alone.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it of these doubting thoughts. In the time it took me to boost my confidence, the doorway was clear. Wolf gestured with his enveloped hand, and I entered and he followed. In my apartment, I breathed a quick sigh of relief. With the blinds drawn, it looked normal, just how I’d left it. I changed clothes quickly, then brushed my teeth and ate a quick, but really big, breakfast. I’d need the energy, especially if I was going to be carting the big wolf ass around all day. Wolf simply stood in the living room, his massive arms crossed over his barrel like chest. In the apartment’s light, I saw his fur wasn’t quite as dark as I thought it was before, and that patches of black still spotted him here and there. He looked like a crazily dyed hyena.

  When I finished, I hauled out the Kevlar and put that on too. Though my red leather jacket was still torn up from when we’d rescued my Wolf, the armor plating was still intact so I wore it. I didn’t have to look good. Now fully dressed and with a black mask done up with red painted lips in my inside pocket, I stuffed the rest of my pockets with energy bars and a couple rolls of cash. I didn’t know when I’d have the opportunity to revisit a safe house, or get a chance to eat a decent meal, so it was best to be prepared. The plants hadn’t done any damage yet as the “Mother” was still sleeping, so I figured we had some time. I had told Wolf on the way over here to inform me the instant she woke. Growing over the city was only the first move. I knew an opening gambit when I saw one. The “Mother” was getting her pieces into place first. I wanted to be ready when it struck… ideally before it struck, but that might be asking for too much in too short an amount of time.

  My phone rang. Glancing at the number, I saw it was Adira. “Did you find him?”

  “I did, but the sun is rising,” she said. Her voice turned dark and scornful with her next words, “He says that he cannot hold his human host during the day, for some reason.”

  “There’s not much Michael will be able to do,” I said. “Not much either of you guys can do until nightfall anyway. Stay in touch.”

  “If you wish,” she said, her voice resigned.

  When I hung up, Wolf stirred. “Wherre now?” he asked, no trace of malice or arrogance in the gruff voice.

  “We’re going to start gathering the troops,” I replied. “Starting with the biggest and best. Other than me, of course.”

  He smirked. “Lead, and I will follow.”

  What a relief it was to hear someone simply agree instead of fighting or arguing about it. I knew it was because he viewed me as an alpha--maybe not his alpha but an alpha--and I’d bested him. That was all it took. For harmony to reign, there had to be only one leader. I knew if he really disagreed with me, he’d bring his point up for me to consider… and that was all. Hrm. Maybe that tactic would work with others too. I’d just beat them all into submission.

  Submission might actually work with the person I had in mind. I wasn’t kidding about getting the biggest gun first. Alistair was a mage with a lot bigger punch than I’d originally thought. He’d opened some big rift thing to another place. Another dimension or something. I still wasn’t quite sure. I could never make magic work for me, no matter how hard I tried. I didn’t have the patience for study. Alistair did. He also had a thing about being a submissive, so maybe I really could browbeat him into doing what I wanted. Just because I didn’t trust him with my mind so much didn’t mean he couldn’t do some damage to this overgrown weed.

  I flew Wolf and myself over to Rebekah’s building, in Manhattan. It wasn’t too far from her father’s, but I doubted Gerard wanted to see me. I’d collect him later, if I needed to. Instead of being the luxury apartments and condos Ger and myself favored, this building seemed more geared towards single, professional people. People who wanted to live in Manhattan to be near their jobs, but not ready to expand for a family or for show yet. They were still nice enough, and normally had a doorman on the door. Not today. The plant had covered a lot of Manhattan, though not all of it. This happened to be in one of the infected zones.

  However, unlike the other parts of the city I’d seen, this one had heroes and metahumans working to try and clear the buildings free of the vegetative visitor. I landed in an alley by building and walked around, keeping an eye out for the dark blue uniforms of the ICPD. Wolf merely trotted along behind me, uncaring if he was seen or not. We watched them burn, blast, and slice the plant matter. A soft growl behind me sent a shiver through my spine. I glanced at Wolf. His ears were laid back low on his head and his eyes were narrowed.

  “You know the plant can’t stay, Wolf,” I told him as I looked back to the working metahumans. “It’s a public disaster.” Or it will be, I added silently.

  “It is a grreat wrrong,” he growled. “I should rrip them all aparrt.”

  “You won’t get past one, not with this many heroes here,” I pointed out. Although they worked to keep the building clear, I noted they were just working the entrances, leaving the sides and scaffoldings covered. I shook my head. That would come back to bite them in the ass.

  “This is trrue,” he said. “They’ll wanderr off alone, eventually.” I heard him breathing deep, scenting the air. Maybe he was trying to get their scents to take them out later.

  “I don’t see anyone I know,” I observed. “It might be safe to just walk over. It looks like their door is clear.”

  “Verry well,” he growled. I turned to regard the big green wolf, and was about to point out to him that he’d draw less attention if he switched back, but we didn’t have any clothes. A naked wolf or a naked man, he was going to draw the eye no matter what. At least, he wouldn’t be on any wanted posters being how he was now.

  I strode out from the alley, walking like I belonged there. Wolf kept pace with me to my left, his nostrils flaring as he continued to smell the scents on the air, a grimace on his snout. Ignoring the people around me as much as possible, I longed to reach out and get a read on their feelings. Being mindblind wasn’t just a hindrance, it was a handicap. As I walked on exuding confidence, inside I writhed in doubt. Were they looking at me? Did someone recognize me from a mugshot? Were they circling around even now? Calling in backup?

  In the end, I just walked across the street and opened the door, holding it open for my werewolf. When I turned and glanced around, most of the people were staring at us, but their eyes were focused on the big green wolf rather than me. We
ll, at least he offered me some sort of camouflage.

  We rode up the elevator to Rebekah’s apartment. Wolf stood still in the small box, but he huffed and chuffed most of the way, evidently not liking being confined in a small space, yet not wanting to show weakness either. I knocked on the door and waited. Just as I was about to knock again, Rebekah threw open the door and grinned at me, her hair mussed and her face flushed. I raised a brow.

  “Didn’t interrupt you, did we?” I asked.

  She shook her head, then her eyes fell on Wolf. The grin faded as she looked up and up and up. “Mein… my… what?” she asked, half stammering the words.

  “Rory,” I said. “He’s… better. Not healed and not quite himself, but better.”

  At that, she smiled anew and pushed past me to give the big wolf a hug. He looked at me, a brow cocking and his ears standing up as he asked me a silent question. I shook my head for ‘no, don’t kill her’. Awkwardly patting the diminutive girl on her shoulder, he greeted her. “Rrebekah,” he said. “It is good to see you again.”

  She let go and backed off, tugging at the end of her t-shirt. It barely hit the edge of the shorts she wore--clothes obviously thrown back on in a hurry--and smiled. “It’s good to see you are better!” she exclaimed. “I thought you were dead. Er, the human you, I mean. Which isn’t to say the wolf you isn’t nice…” Her words trailed off and she looked at me. “He is human still, ja?”

  “Yes,” I answered. “Sort of. That’s one reason why we’re here.”

  “We arre?” Wolf asked, his ears half-flattening again.

  “Among others,” I said soothingly. “Can we come in? I want to speak with Alistair.”

  “Oh, he’s not here,” she said. “He’s at the construction site, overseeing the rebuilding of his house.”

  I blinked in surprise. “What were you doing then?” I asked, as I’d been pretty sure they’d been in the middle of making out if not having sex.