I paced up and down the hall for a few minutes, jumping at every little noise—including a bunch I’m pretty sure I imagined. Every now and then my gaze wandered down the hall, towards the room Kael had disappeared into. I tried not to let it, but a cynical thought was already creeping its way into my mind, growing stronger and stronger with every second Kael stayed out of sight: what if he didn’t know what he was doing?
The empty halls hadn’t seemed to bother him, but to me it just felt weird, like something too good to be true.
Like it was a trap.
My pacing finally came to a stop at the base of one of several paintings hanging along the hall. It was so big that the frame almost grazed the ceiling. I wiped my sweaty palms off on the sleeves of my sweatshirt and gazed up, into the face of a woman painted with expert brushstrokes.
Her hauntingly blue eyes were staring straight ahead, and a kind smile graced her pale pink lips. Her waist-length blonde hair fell in loose ringlets that rested in the folds of a simple dress that was the same sapphire color as her eyes. Impossibly green fields flowed out behind her and gave the painting an otherworldly quality about it.
The whole thing was mesmerizing—but it was her eyes that were holding my attention when, after at least a minute of gazing, I heard a sudden voice behind me.
“Beautiful, wasn’t she?”
I spun around and quickly flashed a fake smile. The old man behind me looked harmless enough, and my finger—which had found the trigger of my gun quickly—relaxed a little.
“Yeah. She was.” I did my best to sound normal. But I knew my breathing—rapid and shallow—was already giving me away. I swallowed hard. “You knew her?”
“She was my wife,” the old man said.
Maybe it was mean to think this way, but I couldn’t imagine him with someone so beautiful. They just seemed like such a…mismatch.
He had to have been several feet shorter than her; he was only an inch or two taller than me. And I guess he probably had a full head of hair at some point, but now he had nothing but a beard, still mostly brown but flecked with bits of grey in places. His face might’ve been a handsome one when he was younger, too, but now wrinkles had started creeping underneath his eyes and were spreading their way across his forehead, and while one of his eyes was a brilliant shade of blue, the other was a milky white.
He stepped to my side, reached his right hand up and laid it gently across the painted version of his wife’s. His left arm stayed at his side. It had a slight tremor. Very slight—the only reason I noticed it, I think, was that my grandpa had suffered from the same thing.
He stood in silence, revering the painting while I tried to decide whether or not I should make a run for it. I mean, he looked harmless. If he tried to make a move, I probably could’ve tripped him and he would’ve fallen and broken both his hips.
But I was so paranoid at this point that even lonely little old men were starting to look like assassins in disguise.
“Are you lost?” he asked suddenly.
“Lost? No, I just…”
Did I look that lost?
Did I look that obviously out of place?
He didn’t take his eyes off the painting as he continued: “I was just wondering if maybe you got separated from the others.”
“The others?”
My finger started inching toward the gun’s trigger again.
He finally looked away from the painting. His gaze paused briefly on my gun before he looked up, staring directly into my eyes for the first time. He nodded, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.
“I didn’t expect you to be alone.”
I took a step back, panic gripping me.
“Don’t run,” he said. He spoke in a near-whisper, but somehow his words still seemed to echo loudly through the hall. “You don’t want to make things hard on this old man, do you?”
“Who are you?” I demanded. “And why were you expecting me at all?”
“Don’t play stupid; you know who I am. And I know more about you than you know yourself, so why don’t we just skip the introductions for now? I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time—so I’d rather we just get on with things, if it’s all the same to you.”
He started to close the distance between us, but I lifted the gun with shaky hands until the barrel of it bumped against his chest. He stopped and glanced down at it with an amused look.
“You know, they say you shouldn’t aim a gun at anything you don’t intend to kill.”
“How do you know I don’t intend to kill you?”
“For one thing, I know you’ve never shot a gun before in your life—at something living, or otherwise. You can’t pull the trigger, because you can’t stop thinking about how you’re not a killer. And even if you were, you know better than to shoot me.”
My hands were trembling so hard, and they were so covered in sweat by this point, that it was a miracle I managed to not drop the gun.
“What are you talking about?” I asked in a single, panicky breath. But he knew what he was talking about. We both did—because I couldn’t focus.
I couldn’t even try to block my thoughts from him.
“I’ve got something you want. You and I both know that.” I shook my head, mouthing a silent ‘no’, but he continued: “If you did shoot me, then what would become of your dear little sister?”
He grabbed the gun and pushed it aside, and I couldn’t bring myself to point it at him again.
“That’s better,” he said. “Now maybe we can talk like civilized adults?”
“Where is she?” I asked, the gun hanging limply at my side.
“I thought you might like to see her.” As he spoke, he nodded towards whatever was behind me; at first I couldn’t bring myself to turn and see what.
Then I heard a voice, half-way between a cry and a squeak, say my name.
I knew that voice.
“Lora…” I whispered.
She was alive.
In one piece.
I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief—even though this wasn’t exactly the tearful, joyous reunion I’d been hoping for. There were two men I didn’t recognize, one on either side of Lora, holding her up. Holding her in place. Her posture was slumped, her expression lifeless. She looked like she might’ve been drugged. If those men weren’t holding her, I had a feeling she would’ve collapsed to the floor by now.
I wanted to run to her, to throw my arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay now.
It would have been a lie.
But I wanted to say it anyway.
“Ah…and there you are, Kael. I had a feeling I’d find you here. And as you can see— Alexandra is already here as well. It’s a fortunate coincidence, wouldn’t you say? Us all meeting here like this?”
There were two people on either side of Kael, too; but there was also a third person. And he was holding a gun to Kael’s head.
Kael’s expression was just as stoic as ever.
Mine was not.
“You look upset, Alexandra.”
I turned back to Valkos. He was smiling again. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“I thought you would be happy to see them? I’m sorry I couldn’t reunite you with your other friends—I’m afraid they left before you got here.” His lips rolled back into a small snarl. “You have Kael to thank for that.”
A gunshot.
I jerked around.
Kael was on his knees, his breathing heavy and obvious, his eyes closed.
I started to run towards him, but I’d only made it a few strides before Valkos seemed to materialize out of nowhere. I collided with him and stumbled back. Before I even regained my balance completely I’d drawn my gun and pointed it at his throat.
“Let them go,” I managed to choke out.
“I can’t do that just yet,” he said, his eyes focused intently on the gun. At first, his concentration on it was reassuring. I thought I had him worried.
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But then I felt a sharp pain in both my wrists. It stabbed all the way up my arms—like needles pushing in and out of my skin— and my hands shook so violently that I dropped the gun. It hit the ground with a clang! that reverberated through the hall. I couldn’t bend to pick it up. The needles in my arms were sinking deeper, and every nerve ending in my body was alive with pain.
“I need you to do me a favor first,” Valkos said, crouching down and picking up my gun. He turned it around in his hands, looking it over as he continued: “You see, Alexandra, a long time ago your Grandfather Cyrus—an otherwise brilliant lycan—had a small lapse in judgment, and he created a certain pact. You might have heard of it?” He looked up at me expectantly, and the pain in my arms mercifully started to fade.
I wanted to collapse with relief.
“And I assume you also know of your role—as the only one who can dissolve it.”
“I…I might have heard about it.”
“So you know, then, that quite an opportunity lies before you. You could be the one to erase the bonds that have been holding our kind down for centuries.”
I shook my head. “Not our kind. Your kind,” I said quietly. “I’m not like you.”
“Maybe not. I can already tell you’re a lot like Cyrus, though. He wouldn’t have wanted our race to suffer like it has. If he were here today—”
“He’s not here. I am.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Valkos smiled patiently. “So let’s forget about Cyrus for a minute then, and let me put it to you in terms you might understand a little better: either you cooperate, or these two—and everyone else you care about—will die.”
“Don’t listen to him, Alex,” Kael said.
“Shut-up, boy.” In one quick motion, Valkos abandoned me and had the gun cocked and pointed at Kael. “I’m starting to lose my patience with you.”
“If you kill him I’m not doing you any favors,” I said quickly, throwing an anxious look at the gun.
Valkos’s arm dropped a few inches.
“Oh?” He glanced back over his shoulder at me. “Not even if there’s still your sister left to save?” His arm swung sideways so that his aim was redirected to Lora.
Without thinking, I threw myself on his arm, knocking us both off-balance. My hands grabbed the gun.
He didn’t put up much of a fight, and I managed to wrestle it from his grasp easily enough. I staggered backwards, cursing under my breath.
“Look,” I said, positioning myself between him and Lora. I had the gun back, but my heart kept right on pounding. Something told me he didn’t really need that gun, anyway. “I’ll do whatever you want, but only if you let them go—both of them.”
“Don’t be stupid, Alex!” Kael shouted.
I ignored him.
“I have every intention of doing so,” Valkos said pleasantly. “The second you willingly—”
“No,” I said, surprised by my own audacity. My voice trembled only slightly as I continued: “No. You let them go first. Then I’ll do whatever you want. But not before.”
The corner of Valkos’s one good eye gave a small twitch. “And what reason have I to believe that you’ll keep your word?” he asked.
“You don’t have a choice,” I said flatly. “Either I watch them walk away, or I’m not willingly doing anything for you.”
A look of concentration passed over his face. He was probably trying to read my thoughts.
Hopefully it wouldn’t do him any good—considering I didn’t even fully understand what was going through my head right now.
He studied me for a minute or so longer, and then his lips parted into a small smile. “Okay. They walk. But you stay with me.”
“Alex!” Lora’s voice cracked before she even got my whole name out. “You can’t!”
I didn’t turn and look at her. I couldn’t. I knew that seeing her pleading eyes would’ve been all it took to change my mind.
And there was no way I could turn back now.
I couldn’t stare at Valkos either, though; his pressing gaze made the weight on my chest unbearable. So instead I stared through him, so that my gaze focused on the painting of his wife that was behind him. Her eyes were so kind, and even in their stillness they were lifelike and reassuring.
They reminded me of my mom’s.
Mom.
I had to make sure Lora got back to her.
I had to make sure those two had each other.
So I met Valkos’s gaze briefly, and I nodded.
“I stay.”
“No!”
Another gunshot. I turned, fearing the worst, but it wasn’t Kael on the ground this time. Instead, the man who’d been pointing the gun at Kael was lying on his back. There was a small bullet hole in the ceiling, and dust was pouring out of it while chips of sheetrock scattered to the floor.
The man lying on the ground didn’t move, and now that Kael didn’t have the gun to worry about it only took him another second to throw off the other two holding him back.
But Valkos didn’t seem overly concerned, even when Kael started toward us.
Because almost as if the gunshot had cued them, there were now several dozen beasts closing in, making their way down the hall to where we stood.
A handful of them sprinted ahead of the rest of the pack and surrounded Kael before he could reach us.
“What are they doing here?” I demanded as the sound of low growls started filling the hall.
“Just a precaution, my dear Alexandra. They’ll be escorting them out.”
“I want to see them to the door,” I said, drawing back as a grey werewolf approached us and crouched submissively by Valkos’s side. The creature’s amber eyes watched me curiously for a moment. Its teeth were bared, and a thin layer of drool hung from them.
Valkos gave a single, slow nod, and placed a hand on the werewolf’s head to calm it. “Of course. We’ll lead the way,” he said. Then he turned to the two who had been holding Kael back. “Grab him,” he called. “And try to hold on to him this time,” he added crossly.
The two obeyed, somewhat timidly.
I’m not sure what they were worried about—considering they now had the back up of no less than six snarling and snapping wolves who formed an almost complete circle around them, effectively blocking any escape route Kael might’ve had.
We were an odd procession, me and Valkos and the grey werewolf leading the way to the front door. We didn’t have far to go, which was a good thing—because I was so overwhelmed that I was having a hard time walking straight and not running into things.
We reached the door, which Valkos opened for me.
I stepped outside.
The grey werewolf followed closely at my heels, a constant growl rumbling like distant thunder in its throat.
The burst of cool mountain air was refreshing, and the sounds of life coming from the forest—the birds calling, the wind blowing through the rocks—lifted my spirits for a fraction of a second. But then Kael walked by me. He may have been walking toward his freedom, but he looked more like he was headed for the gallows. Our eyes met in passing.
He shook his head angrily and turned away.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Valkos said.
I cringed as he placed a hand on my shoulder, but I didn’t dare shrug it off. Kael and Lora were almost safe. I just needed to keep cooperating for a little bit longer.
What I was going to do after that, I had no idea.
Directly in front of us was a steep hill, and I watched as both Kael and Lora were marched toward it.
They were only about ten feet away when Kael suddenly stopped.
The lycans around him erupted into a chorus of threatening growls, but Kael seemed indifferent as he struggled with his restrainers until he was able get himself turned enough to look back toward us.
“Do I at least get to say goodbye?” he called.
Valkos’s grip on my shoulder tightened.
I could hardly even breathe
as I glared at Kael.
What the hell did he think he was doing?
Why was he screwing this up?
“Just because you didn’t get to,” Kael continued in an even voice. “Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t.”
My gaze fell back to Valkos then, and the look on his face made it obvious that something painful was going through his mind. I have no idea what it might’ve been, but the next thing I knew his grip on my shoulder relaxed, and then he pulled his hand away completely.
“Stay close to him,” Valkos said.
At his words, the lycans surrounding Kael stepped far enough aside to open a path back towards me. When he started to walk, though, their fangs were never far from his heels.
It was mostly anger that carried me forward. By the time I reached Kael, I was still torn between a strong desire to slap him and to throw my arms around him; I ended up doing the later—god only knows why.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I whispered angrily.
He didn’t say anything. He just stared into my eyes for a second and then wrapped his arms more tightly around me.
It was kind of weird.
“Now’s really not a good time to be getting all sentimental on me,” I said. But I rested my head against his chest anyway, breathing in his scent, trying to take some sort of strength from it. “You need to take Lora and get away from here.” There was a funny feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. I tried to pull away again, before it could get any stronger, but Kael’s embrace was unyielding.
“I’m not leaving you here,” he said quietly.
“Kael, you don’t—”
He was unbelievably quick. Before I could even gasp, both of my arms were twisted and pinned behind my back, held in place by one of his. The gun I’d almost forgot I was holding was suddenly wrenched from my hand, and a second later I felt the cold metal press against the side of my head.
“What are you doing?” Valkos’s voice was quiet, deadly.
“Let her sister go first,” Kael demanded. “Then we’ll talk.”
“I’m not sure what you think you’re accomplishing…I was planning on letting her go,” Valkos said, taking a step towards us. “But now I have to ask: why should I? The deal was that Alexandra stays with me and her sister walks.”
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