by Cheree Alsop
“Look,” he told her.
On the city side of the wall, another sight gave Everett hope. Monsters from the Asylum spread out and fought the beasts that made it through the breach. Chirit threw balls of ice with amazing accuracy, knocking creatures back with the sound of a bat striking a ball. The little siren sat in one corner singing. A pair of wendigo stared at her as though they were in a trance. She motioned with a hand and the two tree nymphs from the second floor threw vines to ensnare the dark creature’s legs. When they hit the ground, Jehlani attacked them with all the strength of her sphinx lion body, belying Adrielle’s worry that she didn’t know how to hunt.
Near the other side of the wall, a strange creature that looked like lizard covered in bristles stood on its hind feet. It opened its paws and small objects flew out. The wendigo they attacked fell back with screams of pain.
“What are those?” Everett asked.
“Cactus fleas,” Vanguard replied. “He sleeps under the sand. I tripped over him once, which is a mistake I’ll never make again.” He winced. “Those fleas can shoot their barbs.”
Kai, the yacurun with the webbed feet and black eyes, hissed, sending a stream of yellow fluid into the face of one of the wendigo. It screamed and clawed at its eyes.
Everett’s heart slowed at the sight of Xander near one of the holes in the wall. The ogren looked smaller outside than he did guarding the dark entrance to the Asylum. He punched the face of a wendigo trying to crawl through a hole. The creature opened it mouth, revealing its black fangs. The shriek of anger that came from it cut through the chaos. Xander tried to punch it again, but the wendigo was faster. It caught his fist with its black horn and jerked its head sideways, slamming him against the wall.
Everett was about to jump down to help the ogren when an ear-splitting roar tore through the air. The sound raised with Lisette’s anger, pouring her wrath into the only thing she had at her command, the ability to terrify every living creature without earshot. The wendigo at the breach hesitated, the monsters cringed, and the dark creature that had Xander pinned fell back from the wall.
“What is that?” the DRAK around them asked.
“Is that Lisette?” Dr. Transton echoed.
Everett nodded with a proud grin. “She’s a handy poltergeist to have around.”
Dr. Transton opened his mouth to ask something, then closed it again and shook his head. He motioned to the far side of the wall. “You better hurry. I don’t know how long Lisette’s distraction is going to work. The wall’s crumbling as we speak.”
Giant cracks ran from the holes the dark creatures had created. If they were allowed to work at it much longer, the entire thing would collapse.
“I’m ready,” Everett replied. He knew that before him lay the inevitable. He read it on his friends’ faces and the sad but proud smile Dr. Transton gave him. Jumping into the horde of wendigo was a death sentence. No one could defeat that many of the dark creatures.
“I’ll cloak you,” Vanguard said. “They can’t attack what they can’t see, right? It’ll give you a fighting chance for a bit at least.”
“Thank you,” Everett said, grateful for the help. He met Angel’s gaze. “I want you to stay up here.”
“No way,” she protested. “You need another vampire down there. There’s too many of them!”
Everett shook his head. “There’s too many even for both of us.”
“Then you’ll fight to the death with a friend at your side,” she replied, her tone allowing no room for argument. “You’re not going down there alone.”
Everett didn’t know how to talk her out of it. Every second lost could cost the city. He looked at Vanguard. “Can you cover both of us?”
“For as long as my concentration holds,” the warlock replied. He cracked his knuckles. “Let’s get invisible.”
Everett took a calming breath. The puppy whimpered and he realized with a start that he was still carrying it. He had gotten used to the weight at the crook of his arm even though the animal had grown bigger so that he was now big enough to reach the middle of Everett’s shin.
“Here,” he said, handing the puppy to Dr. Transton. “Watch him for me.”
“What’s this?” the doctor asked in shock.
“Don’t ask,” Adrielle replied.
Everett met Angel’s gaze. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Let’s protect your family.”
He motioned to Vanguard. The warlock lifted his hands. Everett took a calming breath and channeled his strength. A glance at Angel showed her concentrating the same way. He grabbed her hand. Together, they bent their knees and jumped off the wall.
“Be careful, Everett!” Adrielle shouted.
As soon as they hit the ground, chaos erupted around them. The dark creatures knew they were there, but with Vanguard’s invisibility, they couldn’t find the vampires. Angel let go of Everett’s hand and she vanished into the madness.
Everett tried to bite as many of the wendigo as he could reach. The thick hide on their back legs and backs below the spikes was impenetrable. He bit a front leg and the dark creature gave an ear-piercing shriek of pain and fell over. Everett leaped onto the next wendigo’s back and bit it at the base of the neck. It stiffened and began to shake. He jumped off it onto the next one. If he could avoid being stabbed by their spikes, a bite at the throat was the quickest.
“Go for the throat!” Everett yelled. He hoped wherever Angel was that she could hear him. There were so many wendigo around he couldn’t see anything else.
All of the dark creatures near him turned at the sound of his voice. He realized that the invisibility had vanished. A glance at the wall showed it crumbling. Vanguard was attempting to pull Adrielle back on top while the DRAK fought two wendigo that had made it up the side. The vampires were on their own.
Chapter Thirty-one
The wendigo closed in on him from every side. Everett was buried under a thrashing, clawing pile. He bit at every dark creature he could reach until his mouth was filled with ash and blood from the way their tough hides cut his gums. He worked his way slowly forward, taking down half a dozen at a time.
Gashes from their claws and spikes covered his body. He could feel the places where blood dripped. He hoped he would heal quickly enough that the wounds wouldn’t become debilitating. Gratitude for Adrielle’s strange jungle bird filled him.
He bit down on the back of another neck, then spun to the right to avoid reaching claws. He landed on the bumpy, spikey back of the next dark creature and bit down before the wendigo could either shake him off or impale him on its spikes. He rolled forward and landed on his feet just as two more wendigo collided on top of the other one. He grabbed a front foot and bit down hard regardless of the way the serrated, rust-colored claw sliced into his hand. He ducked under the other one and bit at the soft part just below its armpit.
Three more wendigo piled on top of the two he had bit. The seizing bodies collapsed, pinning him to the ground. He struggled to break free, biting into anything he could reach. His back arched in pain at the fiery burn of serrated claws slicing through his skin. He couldn’t reach the creature to bite it. Its claws pinned him to the ashy ground. When he turned his head, the wendigo’s mouth opened and its black fangs glittered in the moonlight. Everett tensed, expecting to feel the teeth latch onto his head.
A high-pitched growl sounded from his other side. A gray blur launched itself over him and latched onto the wendigo’s muzzle. The dark creature was about to shake its head to free it of the distraction when it froze. It stared at the amarok Everett had carried from Bloodhaven.
Everything around Everett and the wendigo slowed. Everett could only watch as the dark creature lowered to the ground, its entire focus on the amarok. As soon as the puppy’s paws touched the earth, he let go, but his gaze stayed on the wendigo. The white fur on the back of the pup’s neck rose and he opened his mouth.
Everett swore he could see the black mist of the wendigo’s soul as it was
sucked into the amarok’s mouth. The animal’s eyes, which changed from baby blue to whirling black and red, stayed locked on the wendigo’s face until the last of the mist was taken. The dark creature fell to its side. Instead of turning into ash like those Everett bit, this one’s skin wrinkled and collapsed inward on itself until only a pile of mushy flesh remained.
The puppy turned away and its gaze locked on Everett. Its eyes whirled with black and red for a moment and Everett feared he was about to be its next target. While he watched, the amarok’s eyes changed back to baby blue. It gave a little bark and jumped up to lick his chin.
“Thank you,” Everett told him, shaking. He could feel the blood clotting in the wounds along his back. He was starting to heal, but his strength was beginning to suffer.
The waves of wendigo closed in on them once more. Everett fought with all he had. The little amarok battled at his side, bring down the dark creatures by sucking their souls. He didn’t seem at all daunted by the size difference. Everett tried to keep the little animal in his sight, but more wendigo pressed it, trapping him against the crumbling wall.
There were too many of them. Everett couldn’t even tell if he had made a difference. He bit every creature within reach, but the moment it turned into dust, three more took its place. He worried about Angel and the others on the city side of the wall. With the amount of wendigo they faced, it was hopeless.
Everett couldn’t give up. He grabbed the closest wendigo, bit its neck, ducked under the next one and bit its forearm before he reached the third. He jumped back to avoid its claws and stumbled over the fallen body of the second. The wendigo leaped at him. Everett scrambled backwards.
The dark creature pinned him against the wall. Its serrated claws sunk into his chest and its foul breath washed over his face. He wanted to duck, but its claws held him to the bricks. More wendigo raged behind the one he faced, fighting to have the chance to take him down. Nobody else was in sight. With him gone, the wendigo would have nothing between them and his family. He struggled, but he couldn’t break free. He didn’t want to die and leave his loved ones helpless.
Thoughts of Annie and Bran washed over him. He could see his mother smiling and his father winking at him over the top of his newspaper. He wouldn’t leave the twins or Celeste and Donavan. He couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing Hadley and little Isabella grow up. They needed him. Everett gritted his teeth and pushed against the wendigo’s claws in an effort to bite it, but the pain was too great. He fell back against the wall.
The dark creature leered at him as if it enjoyed his pain. Its fangs glittered, then a scream escaped its open mouth. Its eyes rolled back and a shudder ran through its skin. Its limbs stiffened and it stumbled, freeing Everett of its hold. He fell to his knees and watched in amazement as the creature collapsed, then turned to dust.
“I gave you my word.”
Everett looked up, then stared. Leander stood in front of him.
The vampire smiled, showing his fangs. “Sorry it took me so long. That jungle’s insane.” He held out a hand.
Everett let the vampire pull him to his feet. “There’s so many of them,” he said.
“That’s why I brought so much help,” Leander replied.
Everett looked past him. Everywhere his gaze fell, wendigo collapsed to the ground. The vampires flowed to the next group with such speed they were almost a blur.
“How?” Everett asked, unable to put more into words.
Leander’s gaze narrowed as he studied the battleground. “Let’s just say Leon’s way of governing has rubbed more than a few of us the wrong way. Sometimes we just need a push in the right direction.” He nodded at Everett. “You gave me that.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Everett said. It was hard to wrap his mind over all that Leander’s appearance meant. His family was safe. Nectaris wouldn’t be overrun. The walls could be rebuilt. They had an army with which to face the rest of the wendigo attacking the Pentagrin.
Leander put a hand on his shoulder. “You saved my life. We’re even.”
At Everett’s nod, the vampire vanished back into the skirmish. The wendigo were retreating from the vampires’ merciless assault. They had met their antivirus. A smile touched Everett’s lips.
He fell in at Leander’s side, slaying those on the right while Leander took the left. Every creature that collapsed beneath their bite meant one less threat to the humans and monsters of the cities. A gray shadow brushed Everett’s leg. Relief filled him at the sight of the amarok puppy whole and unharmed.
The animal’s thick gray and white fur protected it against the claws that sought purchase when it sucked a wendigo’s soul. When one was distracted, Everett took down the others that attempted to kill the pup. He lost track of how many they turned to ash.
“Everett?”
He spun to the right. Angel stood in a pile of slain wendigo. She held her right arm, but lifted it to wave at him.
Relief flooded Everett. He hurried to her.
“I was so worried about you,” he said honestly. “You disappeared and there were so many of them!”
“I felt the same way,” Angel said, giving him a tight hug. “So many of them were at the wall that I couldn’t fight my way back. I promised you I’d fight at your side...”
The emotions that filled her brilliant blue gaze gripped Everett’s heart. He hugged her again. “I’m alright, Angel. You’re alright.” He smiled. “We’re all going to be just fine.” A fit of happiness washed over him and he picked her up and spun her around.
When he set her down, she stepped back with a slight flush to her pale cheeks. “What was that for?” she asked.
He shook his head, unable to explain. He settled for, “I’m just amazed it turned out. Nectaris is safe.”
She smiled. “Your family is safe.”
“I’d like you to meet them,” he told her.
She stared at him. “Are you sure?”
She had seen everything about them that made him who he was. She knew why he fought so hard, and why it was worth jumping into an insurmountable number of wendigo to protect them. She had done the same based only on his memories. She at least deserved to meet them in person.
“Completely,” he answered.
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Everett stood on a raised stage in the middle of Nectaris’ gathering square. The citizens of the city and many from the other four cities of the Pentagrin filled the square so that it was standing room only with overflowing spectators down each of the alleys. He had never seen so many humans in one place. It made him want to hide and bask it all in at the same time.
The fact that he was standing next to the Kingship of the Pentagrin doubled his anxiety. Dr. Transton stood with Adrielle and Vanguard on the front row. They had already received honors from the Queen and her Lessers for their efforts in ridding the cities of the wendigo. Only he and Angel were left. The Queen stopped in front of the female vampire first.
“Thank you for your service to our fine cities,” she said, setting a medal on a green ribbon around Angel’s neck. Everett had to give the Queen credit for only barely flinching when her fingers brushed Angel’s skin as she settled the ribbon in place.
It was his first time seeing the Queen up close. She looked younger than he had thought. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun and the creases around her mouth showed that she gave frowns of disapproval more often than smiling. She held herself as though a rod ran completely through her, and when she spoke, her words were clipped as if she couldn’t end them soon enough to suit her.
“You will always be a welcome member of the Pentagrin,” the Queen concluded. Everett wondered if he imagined the slight twist of distaste that touched the Queen’s mouth before she turned away from the vampire.
“Thank you,” Angel said.
The Queen nodded without looking back at her. One of the many DRAK that surrounded the Queen escorted the vampi
re down next to Everett’s friends.
“Almost done.”
He wasn’t sure if he thought the Queen had whispered the words or if she had really spoken them. Either way, her smile looked forced. She raised her voice so that the citizens who watched the ceremony could hear.
“Everett Masterson, I am honoring you with this seal. It marks you as a protector of the five cities. Thanks to your bravery and selflessness, the Pentagrin is safe once more. We will forever be in your debt.” She placed the red ribbon bearing the medal around Everett’s neck and lifted her voice once more. “Thank you for being our hero.”
A cheer rose from the crowd. It echoed along the walls and bounced back from the alleys. Everett found his family among the throng. His father smiled proudly with Hadley on his shoulders while his mother dabbed at the tears that shone on her cheeks. Isabella sat on Annie’s lap while Celeste stood behind Bran’s wheelchair.
The children stared at the DRAK closest to them. Gabe and Finch whispered, no doubt planning to steal one of the blades from the closest guard. Donavan stood just behind them, ready to intercept the pair should they act on their plans. Torrance waited with Donavan. It surprised Everett when the human had asked to be there, but he had insisted, saying that Everett had saved his life from the wendigo, and the least he could do was be there when Everett was honored for saving the city as well.
Silence followed the applause. Everett realized with a start that he was supposed to say something. Luckily, Dr. Transton had schooled him on what would be appropriate if the situation arose. He cleared his throat nervously.
“Thank you very much. I love Nectaris and the Pentagrin, and I greatly appreciate the service you provide to our community. It’s my hope that monsters and humans can learn to live as one. Thank you for your acceptance.”
