Resist

by Shawn Knightley

  A bright flash of blue light exploded in the distance. Lothar’s back was up against mine, defending my six as I defended his. He never saw the blue magic erupt from her hand. Nor did he see her face light up like I did.

  ‘It’s her. It’s Margaux.’

  Only she wasn’t being tormented anymore. Her eyes were dark, focused, and vicious. Her magic erupted in a ball of sparks, shooting balls of blue light right at Lothar and me. I rose both my hands in the air as fast as I could, expecting to have to defend us with my magic. Only when I did, the scarlet red fog rolling through the forest rose up in the air at my command. It launched at her and covered her entire body in a sea of magical flames, threatening to consume her just as it had Devon.

  “Watch out!” Lothar shouted once he turned around and saw her in the distance.

  “I’m already on it.”

  Or so I thought. Margaux took control of my magic with her wand and spun it in a tornado of light over her body. She gathered it up in a ball to shoot right back at me.

  ‘Okay, so that definitely won’t work.’

  Whatever power her wand had, it was beyond what my magic could stop.

  “Shift!” Lothar ordered me. “Shift right now.”

  ‘Wasn’t it your idea to unshift in the first place?’

  “And then what?”

  “Run!”

  I shifted and took off into the distance. Lothar chased after me in lycan form. I could hear the hammering of his heart. If he was panicking, that meant only one thing. I should be afraid. Whatever power Margaux had, it wasn’t something we could fight back against.

  I heard the magic channel through Margaux’s wand and shoot out directly at us. I swung my body up in the air and tried catching onto a tree branch, getting out of the way just in time. Her magic caught my foot and singed the fur on my back right paw, setting my skin ablaze. I howled from the pain and let go of the branch, crashing back down to the forest floor. Lothar came up beside me and tried to get me to stand back up. I hobbled onto my feet and kept running. Only I wasn’t healing fast enough. I was holding him back.

  I wanted to tell him to keep going. To run away without me. I had enough vixra blood left inside of me. Not much but enough. It might have to do.

  He wasn’t having it. He snarled at me and latched onto my shoulder with his bare teeth.

  ‘Hey! Watch it!’

  I could feel his jaw clench down on my skin as he tried to get me to move faster.

  ‘That’s not helping!’

  “Get over here!” Jake screamed from the distance in human form. “We found a clearing!”

  Alina and Jake both shifted back into their lycan form. Lothar and I followed them through the trees. Well, Lothar followed them. I limped along, getting stronger with each passing second as my foot gradually healed from being struck by Margaux’s powerful magic.

  We were running down a hillside by the time Margaux got close enough to send more streaks of her magic in our direction. I fumbled my way down until we reached a valley with no trees. Alina and Jake managed to find a space where we could open a vixra tunnel.

  Lothar was the first to unshift and gained control of the situation. I shifted back into human form as he dragged his hand down before him and opened up a tunnel. Then he turned back toward me with the wind from inside wafting through his short hair and surrounding his body in a glow of golden light. He looked more angelic than human. And far stronger than any other man I had ever seen.

  Alina and Jake shifted back and ran through the tunnel’s opening without looking back. Lothar held his hand out for me and didn’t move an inch until I was fully transformed back into my human form and reaching out for his hand. His fingers clasped over mine, pulling me in and guiding me into the tunnel as it closed up behind us. We barely managed to get inside and seal it shut before flashes of blue light threatened to strike and keep it open so we couldn’t escape. Or worse, so Margaux could follow us back to the lycan realm and do even more damage.

  I ran through the tunnel with Lothar at my side. He didn’t let go of my hand. Not even when we reached the other side and the wind stopped ripping through our bodies. We both fell back down to the ground, hitting the dirt road and rolling repeatedly until we both came to an abrupt stop.

  I rubbed the dust from the dirt road out of my eyes and waited for them to adjust from the brightness of the tunnel to being back under the moonlight. When they did, I was horrified by what I saw. Lothar was only an arm’s length away from me. And he wasn’t moving.

  I rolled over and gathered myself up on my hands and knees, crawling to him and checking to see if he had a pulse. His skin was warm to the touch and his chest was rising up and down. That was a good sign. I could hear his heart rampaging in his chest and gradually calming down.

  “Lothar!” I pushed against his chest. “Lothar, it’s me! Wake up! Please don’t be hurt. Wake up!”

  ‘I did this! I caused him to get hurt. I should never have taken the Vontex to the ritual site!’

  His emerald green eyes cracked open, looking back at me and nearly making me blush at how intimate we must have looked. I was leaning over him with my hand on his chest, peering down and desperately trying to force him awake. When he did, his hand reached up for me. He brushed away some dirt on my face and pulled back a strand of my long black hair, setting it behind my ear and staring right back at me.

  It was almost the exact same gesture Rodrick had shown me. Only Lothar’s touch brought out a sense of relief I hadn’t felt in weeks. And along with that relief came a sudden realization. One I didn’t want to admit or even think about.

  ‘It’s not in my mind. Or Alina’s. He’s attracted to me.’

  Every time he gave me a cold glare or I saw tension gather in his features wasn’t what I thought. He wasn’t angry or impatient with me. He was trying to hold something back.

  ‘You and Rodrick have that in common.’

  Footsteps hurried down the dirt path. Lothar gently pushed me away and got up to his feet. I held onto his arms and made sure we were both steady as we gradually rose back up. Once we were both able to stand on our own he let me go at the sight of Alina and Jake getting closer.

  “That damn tunnel dropped us both nearly half a kilometer up the road,” Jake complained. “Those things can’t be trusted.”

  “Only because you never used them properly,” Lothar said. “Don’t ever run through one unless you want to land somewhere you don’t intend.” He brushed passed me and went over to Alina. She must have taken a tumble as well because her cheek was stained with blood. Only her skin had already healed.

  “What was the point of all that?” Jake went on.

  “There was a huge damn point,” Alina fired back at him. “We have a workable theory now. And we know just the vixra to get in touch with to help us remove the spell over the ritual ground. We’ll know more if we can get to the crypt below.” Alina’s eyes wandered over to me.

  I was examining what was left of my black leather boots. The heel had been seared off from Margaux’s magic hitting my foot. Lucky for me, the skin had already healed over. My shoe, however, didn’t survive the encounter. I would have to walk back with one foot covered and the other one bare at the sole.

  “I’ll write to Adeline,” I said. “I can’t imagine she’ll be happy to hear from me. Not about this.”

  I walked right by Lothar, determined to head back to my chamber before dawn. Not just because I needed to rest or to write to Adeline. I needed to think.

  I had been in the cross-hairs of men before. Growing up among the sophisticated artists my mum had me around in my teen years made me very familiar with the prospect of men going out of their way to get my attention. Rodrick wasn’t like that. Nor was Lothar. My senses were on fire when I was near the two of them. Which wasn’t good. Not only for me, but also for them. If I decided to act on the fire burning inside of me, it could destroy my opportunity to join the Vontex. Or worse, my opportunities at the academy.


  I didn’t have a choice. I needed to keep Lothar and Rodrick at a distance. And yet, I was forced to work with both of them.

  ‘This isn’t going to end well for me.’

  I never felt so powerful and helpless at the same time. I was a lycan. I had ancient magic stirring inside of me. And I was in a position to lose all of it. Not just because both Rodrick and Lothar were powerful men but because whatever I cared for most could become a target.

  Both Rodrick and Lothar took a chance on me. They protected a young woman they didn’t even know. I didn’t have a choice. I had to do the same for them. And that meant refusing to give in to the feverish heat burning away inside me like an oven every time I was near them.

  8

  When I woke up, Alina was already out of her bed, hurriedly writing at her desk. By the time I was showered she had already left. I dragged myself to the dresser and pulled out some clothes, relieved to have some time off from the Vontex and to get back into the routine of going to class. My finals for the current semester were nearly here. My grades were among the top in my classes but that was at the expense of my sleep. Not just because of my adventures with the Vontex or my lessons with Rodrick but also because my dreams were getting more and more terrifying. I didn’t know what to believe. Were my dreams always visions? Or were nightmares simply that? Just nightmares?

  I shrugged off the thought and reached for my trench coat before leaving the bedchamber. That was when I saw the note Alina left me by the door.

  Going out to investigate more details about what we saw. Will return by dawn.

  -Alina

  ‘I guess that means my first class is canceled.’

  Alina confessed that she was the one who tore out pages about the Dolch Erbe from the library. It must have been in books I hadn’t gotten my hands on. Could she be the one who tore out the pages on information about the Blackatters as well? And if so, why did she do it? She claimed she didn’t want students getting too curious and falling into enemy hands. That could only mean that she knew more about the Dolch Erbe’s tactics than she was letting on. Which wasn’t a comforting thought. She was a professor after all. It was her job to know such things.

  By the time Professor Huxley’s class came around I was able to get an extra few hours of sleep. Hours I desperately needed. Especially when McKenzie appeared right outside the tower of my bedchamber and blocked my exit. Her arms were crossed over her chest as though she was irritated. Which honestly, seemed like most of the time when it came to me.

  “What?” I asked, slapping my hands against my thighs in agitation. “I have to get to class before you have the chance to contaminate my supplies with corspine again.”

  “Why so rude? I was the one who helped you out of your fit,” she snarled.

  She wasn’t wrong. For whatever reason, she held my head when I was possessed by my brother in Professor Huxley’s class. I was seconds away from doing my best to appear grateful. Then in McKenzie-like fashion, she opened her mouth again.”

  “Must be nice,” she said, blocking the doorway with her arm extended across the frame. “Rooming with a professor while she does her lesson plans.”

  My brow furrowed. “Are you suggesting that I’m cheating?”

  “No one comes to the academy and rises to the top as quickly as you have.”

  “I’m not on top.”

  “You’re in the top ten, so that’s sufficient enough.”

  “Sufficient enough for what?”

  “To suggest you have extra help. Or rather an unfair advantage. I’ve seen how close you and Professor Alina Sokolova have become. And now you two live together.”

  I scoffed. “Maybe because unlike you she befriended me when I first arrived.”

  I ducked underneath her arm blocking me and scurried away from her.

  ‘I have enough problems on my hands without you poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.’

  “No one gains this kind of favor with the Dean and the Vontex so quickly,” she snarled. “It simply doesn’t happen.”

  “I don’t think you’ve been here long enough to know if that’s the case,” I argued, refusing to turn around and face her. I had to get to class whether she liked it or not. And given we shared that class, I doubted I could getaway.

  “I’ve been here longer than you.”

  “That doesn’t make you an authority.”

  “What about being a Blackatter is so damn special anyway?” she hollered at me a little too loud. “You’re more of a danger than anything else and yet you get special treatment.”

  That finally got to me. I stopped and turned around to face her. “If you honestly think that being a Blackatter is anything short of an inconvenience that’s almost cost me my life numerous times you’re very mistaken. I’ve been a target for years without ever knowing it and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”

  With that, I darted off to class and left her wondering what I meant. I was feeling far too impatient to fill in the gaps. Not that she would ever understand a word that was coming out of my mouth. I was in danger since I was a child and I never even knew it. Being a Blackatter put a mark on my back. If not for the Dolch Erbe then definitely for my father. He kept me hidden away. And my mother made decisions that affected both my brother and me as a result of knowing what we were. My brother was taken from me. And now he was hunting me. Along with only god knows who else. On top of all that, I knew the inevitable truth now. It didn’t matter who I wanted to be with. I would always put them in harm’s way given what I was. I had no choice but to resist whoever caught my eye. Which only made being a lycan more difficult.

  ‘She can have my Blackatter abilities for all I care. It’s brought me more bad than good..’

  Class began only seconds after I got inside the room and plopped down on my seat. I opened up my textbook before me provided by the academy and turned to the page number Professor Addair had written on the board. I was intrigued when I saw the title of the chapter.

  Enticing Prey.

  ‘This might be a good one.’

  McKenzie walked in a few minutes later, pretending as though she didn’t see me.

  ‘Good. Keep your distance.’

  “Alright, let’s begin,” Professor Addair said. If there was ever a professor who threatened to cross the line a little too much it was Professor Addair and her wardrobe. Today, she wore a tight corset that made her breasts look particularly perky along with skin-tight black trousers. Her hair was up in an intricate braid and her nails were freshly polished. I wondered if this was how she was actually dressed or if it was a part of her abilities as a master shifter. There was no way of knowing who else in the class knew about her remarkable ability. I was probably one of the few. I knew the truth. She was much older and her face was covered in wrinkles. Her fancy hair was nothing more than long gray locks. Whatever vanity she possessed, she wasn’t about to let old age get in the way of how she wanted to appear.

  “I hope you have all completed the homework on the previous chapter and your essays are ready to be passed forward,” she said as she motioned for everyone to take out their homework. We did so with a groan and began passing our parchments to the front of the class. “Today we will move on to the intricacies of enticing prey,” she continued. “One of the most useful ways of doing so is through the use of our scent. As lycan, we can project our scent across rooms, across streets, and even across the boundaries of human and lycan barriers. The barriers we place before ourselves as a sort of protection. The part of you that tells you no when someone is pursuing you, that it doesn’t feel right, or you’re not attracted to a certain individual can be completely shut off when a lycan uses their scent to the best of their ability.”

  A few students whispered among themselves. I could tell they found the prospect intriguing.

  “Tell me,” Professor Addair cut off their whispers with a higher pitch to her voice. It was her way of letting students know she was agitated. “What led you all toward being
bitten and down the path of becoming a lycan? Were you attracted to any particular individual?”

  I sank deeper in my seat, not wanting to participate and suddenly not keen on the subject of the lecture. The way Devon ensnared me was a black stain on my pride.

  Apparently, a few other students agreed with me. Not a single person answered Professor Addair’s question. Nor did they raise a hand.

  Professor Addair leaned forward on the podium with her elbows planted on the surface, showcasing her chest to everyone from a rather suggestive angle. “Really?” she encouraged the men in the room. “Not anyone can tell me that you noticed your hunters smelled rather… intoxicating?”

  A few girls laughed uncomfortably. I wasn’t one of them. I remembered the way Devon smelled with perfect clarity. He imitated Rodrick’s scent with utter perfection, drawing me in closer for the kill.

  “That’s only the start of the hunt,” Professor Addair continued. “Projecting your scent toward your prey is the first step in gaining their attention. It’s a form of forcing prey to make eye contact. And once you’ve accomplished this, you can do what lycan refer to as mind tapping. Once you’ve tapped into the mind of a human or even another lycan, you can set a trap for them that few ever escape.”

  Sweat trickled down my backside. My stomach flared up with fire raging inside my gut. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world. It reminded me of the shame I felt for falling into Devon’s arms in a greasy pub bathroom. The way he caught my attention on the train then followed me out of the station. And how he found me in the pub where I was performing.

  ‘Did he mind tap me?’

  “Once you’ve mind tapped a human,” Professor Addair continued, “their scent is forever marked inside your mind. You can find them in any large city no matter where they run.”

  ‘Oh holy shit! That’s how Devon found me in the pub that night!’