The Rising
Page 50
Chapter Forty-Four
The king looms above the water. His multicolored scales glisten in the sunlight, lighting up the rock and the water that surrounds it like a rainbow. The king rides the arched kaleidoscope of colors like he has done it his entire life. Undine and werewolves alike stand transfixed. The wolves are prey to the first tidal waves that wash over the beach.
When it moves out, few of the wolves manage to escape. Many are drawn into deep water, where the second wave awaits. The water turns white with a frenzied panic as Undine attempt to drown the werewolves.
What is left of the wolf pack on the beach stare out, whining. They are powerless to do anything about it. Entering the water would just create more casualties. They all look to Alaric for direction. Another tidal wave comes, and Alaric himself backs away from it.
Murphy shouts, renewing the charge against the wolves. For the first time, numbers are almost in favor of the Undine. A few more waves might cinch their victory. On cue, the king sends another one. Serena launches herself toward a wolf, wrapping her arms around his neck. The wave washes over them both. They tumble over one another, and her arms unlock in the turmoil. She is determined to hang on to him. She reaches out with her legs, squeezing again around his neck. She transforms. Scales grow over her intertwined legs, and over his neck, helping to tighten the vise grip.
Her fins flutter and she drags him out to sea in a state of half-transformation, delivering the wolf to her people. As she comes back to shore she passes Ervin doing the same to another werewolf.
The temporary reprieve from the glaring sun, and the short jaunt in her own element reenergizes Serena. She uncrosses her limbs, and her feet hit sand. She rushes up to help Murphy and Kai.
Serena picks up her trident and knocks down a wolf before he can take Kai from the side. She keeps a wary eye out for Alaric, and Liam has yet to make another appearance.
The fighting grows more desperate from both sides, and more wolves continue to emerge from the forest.
Serena looks back at the king, frowning. What else can he do? He needs to get out of there. Already, the wolves that still survive in the water are paddling toward him. Hopefully the Undine in the water will help protect him.
A sharp crack echoes down the beach. Serena looks at Kai, eyes wide.
"Gun," he says. "Ungainly weapons—not good."
She looks to where she thinks the noise came from, but Kai is pointing in the other direction, directly at Ervin.
Bent over, Ervin holds his chest, seeming almost out of breath.
Serena starts toward him, but is blocked by another group of wolves.
Where are the waves when you need them?
Between exchanging blows with the wolves, she sees Ervin. When he takes his hand away, there is no blood. There is, however, a significant dent in his brown scales. The man holding the Ungainly weapon looks confused. He looks down, fiddling with the gun, then takes aim at Ervin again.
Serena fights harder to get through the wolves. Kai attempts to help her, but his trident is too easily knocked aside and his breathing is labored.
There is another crack. Ervin's shoulder is punched back and a few of his scales fly off. He stumbles in the sand and falls to his knees. As more Ungainly wolves are drawn to the weakened prey, two are spared to restrain Ervin. They hold on tight to his arms, and step on his legs, pinning them down.
The man narrows his eyes, stepping forward and raising the gun—this time directly against Ervin's forehead.
"Ervin!" Serena screams. She kicks out, using the same tactic Lilly did in desperation.
The wolves fighting Serena, temporarily blinded by sand, duck their heads. It doesn't help. Serena lunges to the side with her trident. The golden weapon slices through falling sand. Once, then twice, she stabs straight through the wolves' chests. Kai does the same with the third, though it isn't quite as precise. He leaves the wolf only wounded, not dead.
Before the last of the grain has fallen, Serena is through the maelstrom.
Crack.
Half of Ervin's face implodes. He falls forward, limp. Serena swings her trident in a wide arc over her head, gaining momentum. Her stem smashes into the side of one man's face, his temple cracking under the blow. Another man closes his fist and punches out. She catches his arm in between the intertwining double stem of her trident. She rotates her entire weapon, forcing his body to follow his arm. As he falls, Serena retracts her weapon, grasping the stem with two hands. She thrusts down, straight into his neck, driving him the rest of the way to the ground.
A searing pain punches into her gut. She bends over, and looks up—straight into the barrel of the black, Ungainly weapon. It reminds her of the tunnel leading to the archives.
This is it, she thinks. My path to the afterlife. She can only hope it will be as heavenly as the archives.
Serena refuses to look away. She’ll face her death head-on.