by Richard Amos
Greg offered a slight nod, and I saw Nay’s hand go to her potion belt.
Dean was focused on Lilisian, like a lion locked onto its prey. But his hand brushed mine ever so lightly, a sign he was ready to do this.
We were on.
Nay moved first, hurling a potion at the guard to Lilisian’s right. Purple screamed, throwing herself on the Supreme beast. The potion let rip, scattering the enemy across the room.
Everything went crazy …
I rushed Lilisian as she got to her feet, throwing myself at her. She waved her hand and set me spinning through the air. Greg leapt into my trajectory, taking the brunt of my flight, and we tumbled together across the golden floor.
“You good?” he asked, pushing me up to my feet.
“I’m good.”
Right, she had a lot of bells and whistles at her disposal. Still, she was vulnerable.
The guards were doing battle with the white eye guy and Brother Bennett. We had Lilisian and Purple covered.
Three more guards entered the room. One of them sprang into action quickly, hurtling his spear at me. Nay cast a spell before I could even think about bringing up my shield, changing its direction. The weapon struck the wall and clattered to the floor noisily.
Nice reflexes!
Lilisian gestured with her hands and pulled Nay to her as another guard charged at Greg. The crash of armor and the golem’s powerful punches boomed in my ears.
I roared and ran forward to get to the Supreme beast and Nay. Purple lunged at me with her sword. Dean took her legs out from under her with a sweeping kick. She went down hard, but took a swing, barely missing Dean’s legs. She rolled out of the way, getting back to her feet.
“Fucking fae boy!” she shrieked. “I’ll kill you!”
“Go!” Dean roared.
I was already moving.
Nay was suspended above Lilisian, her mouth wide open as the contents of her potions spiraled through the air in pretty coils, disappearing down her throat.
“Don’t move,” Lilisian warned.
I paused. “Let her go.””
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I do that?”
My muscles were so tense they were fit to burst. “This is between you and me.”
“But you’re a collective of my enemies.”
Shit!
“This is the end, Jake. I told you that. You’re going to watch this meddling witch be destroyed by her own power, and then I’m going to take your head and parade it around the city.”
I took a step, and Nay’s body convulsed. I froze.
Lilisian giggled. “Say goodbye to—”
A boom from outside the walls.
“What is that?” Lilisian yelled.
The potion contents were reversing. What the hell?
I caught the white eye guy gesturing with his fingers, digits rippling like some sordid maestro. He winked at me.
“Tell me what that is?” Lilisian demanded. “Now!”
Another string of guards, five of them, burst into the room. A woman at the helm of them looked panicked, fell to one knee.
“My queen,” she groveled. “The werewolves are attacking.”
“What?”
“They have come into the realm with more rockets.”
“Then destroy them!”
All of the potion contents now formed a ball, the strands tightly woven together like a bundle of elastic bands.
Her hold on Nay must have slipped a little because my friend managed to whisper something. A flash of bright light burst in front of the Supreme beast’s eyes, making her hands fly up to her eyes.
“No!” I heard Purple cry.
Nay was free. She fell to her knees, but grabbed the ball. I was on her, taking her into my arms from behind as she threw it, bringing my shield up as the potion bundle unleashed.
Through the prism of inky blue, I saw the laughing gas and the fire engulf Lilisian, as well as some turquoise lightning crackle around her.
“What was that?”
“You like it?” Nay replied. “A new one I’ve been working on.” She was a little breathless, and her voice was raw. “Will hurt like mad.” She coughed. “My throat … That bitch was … The white eye guy …”
“I know.”
“He just keeps on helping …”
“Still not making him part of the team.” I realized I was shaking. “Shit, Nay. I thought I was about to lose you.”
“So did I, babe. As … long as you’re safe.”
I hugged her tight, my arms around her belly. She’d give her life to save me, and I hated that.
My head was spinning, and I couldn’t stop it …
What if the wolves hadn’t attacked? What if the white eye guy hadn’t been here? This was crazy, so bloody crazy. We’d thought we could just walk in here and get the job done as a foursome. How wrong we’d been. We needed all the help we could get with this, had done from the start. We should have put together a proper army, had meetings with Sabrina West and even tried and get the trolls on board. It wasn’t good enough, all of this territorial bollocks. We were all in this together, all of the time. We should be one.
But I was the weapon. No one else. This was on me. Maybe I wasn’t enough of a beacon of hope for others to rally behind. I wasn’t good enough …
Stop! I screamed at myself.
The wolves were here now, so I had to stop with this bollocks. They’d helped with the giants. There was hope! Rose believed in me, my guardians believed in me. They would give their lives for me, and I was in my bubble whining and thinking and not out there doing my job. I had to bring down Lilisian.
I was in the house of the beast, and she was right over there, overwhelmed by Nay’s potions all collaborating in a dance of devastation.
“Babe?” Nay said.
I’d stopped my mind from spinning for now. No one ever got stuff done by letting the spin carry them into a never-ending whirl of procrastinating.
I dropped my shield as the potions finished.
Lilisian was on the floor.
Without another word, I went for it, going straight for the kill. Lilisian covered in an explosion of color, as if she were a victim of a paint ball war. She was sitting up, furious.
With no clear sign of an injury …
She screamed and the force of it sent me hurtling upwards. Snakes followed her powerful shriek, actual living snakes of red and black that wrapped their huge bodies around me and crushed my muscles, pinning my arms to my body. No scaly fucker went near my sparks.
Holy shit!
Fangs sank in all over my body, pushing venom into my veins.
I looked down, howling as the toxic fire tore through me, to see the largest of the snakes having hold of my legs, binding them together. And it was pulling me back down toward Lilisian, retracting into her mouth.
The pain was worse than the spider toxin, so much worse. She wasn’t playing around; I was already slipping. I couldn’t move, my body paralyzed completely. The green of the healing light reflected off the bodies of the snakes, flickering. I’d never seen it flicker.
I was back down, placed on the floor. My guardians were howling, the white eye guy too. I couldn’t so much as turn my head or even blink.
The snakes retracted and Lilisian stood above me, triumphant. “Let’s end this now, shall we?”
That wasn’t her at full power? What the hell was she gonna be like after Sunday?
Purple was there, blood pouring from her forehead. But she grinned through the endless stream, teeth stained crimson.
What had happened to my friends?
“Give me your sword, Dana,” Lilisian commanded, using Purple’s real name.
The purple scumbag handed her the blade.
Oh, shit. There was nothing I could do. I was helpless, completely helpless. My healing power struggled to fight the endless tide of poison. She’d got me good. Fool her once, shame on her. I guess there was no fooling that bitch for a second time.
I brought my shield up, not really sure if it would work. It sent her stumbling back, but flickered just as the healing power did. My desire to survive hadn’t died, but I’d bought myself seconds to prolong the inevitable.
This couldn’t be it!
Purple cursed and kicked me in the face, breaking some of my teeth. Blood poured down my throat.
A blur and Purple was gone. I heard her hit the ground, caught the scent of Dean. What the hell?
“You fools!” Lilisian screamed. “Kill him!”
She was back on me, sword coming down. A boot struck it, sending her staggering backward but not dropping the blade.
What was going on?
Darkness was creeping in at the edges of my vision.
The white eye guy was shouting something, Lilisian bellowing back at him. Greg leapt over me, and I heard a heavy crunch. Chaos was screaming around me.
Despite the noise, my hearing was fading, becoming muffled. My heartbeat was slowing, every breath a struggle. I was dying. I couldn’t move to cleanse my blood. Nothing. I was fading away.
Jake … the goddess said, not so creepy. My darling boy …
No! Please! This can’t be the end! Not now …
Believe …
Damn! I thought she was getting the ball rolling on crossing me over or something.
What can I do?
Believe …
Bloody cryptic deity!
My senses had dulled. A battle raged all around me, and I was stuck here dying. I had to believe, but I couldn’t see a way out of this. And where was Lilisian and her sword? Or Purple? Great. Jake Winter: the sitting duck.
Dean’s face loomed over me. “Get ready,” he said, barely audible. He showed me the sword.
In the next moment there was pain in my left arm. He’d cut me. Next, he showed me my sparking right hand and then moved it to the wound he’d just made.
My power got to work on me once more, burning through the beastly toxin.
The goddess has told me to believe … she’d meant Dean.
The paralysis was undone as green light filled me up, my lungs, heart and all my organs recovering. Dean helped me to my feet.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“No!” Purple shrieked.
Dean maneuvered me out of the way as the beast charged, using my shoulders as leverage to kick her really hard in the face. Her head snapped back, and she went down with a sickening thud. Nay was on her in an instant, beating her down. Purple shrieked and fumed and howled bloody murder while Nay kicked her arse.
Lilisian was watching me. I turned to face her color-splattered face.
“You—”
Before she could say anything, a wolf’s howl cut her off.
There they were, an army of them, a silver wolf at their helm—all fourteen of the wolf pack. It was Eric who’d howled, and he howled once again.
Bliss was the only one not in wolf form, her face covered in dirt and cuts. She had a wicked grin on her face, her rocket launcher ready to go.
“I dare you to move, bitch!” Bliss yelled. “We’ll bring this dump down on your head.”
Lilisian was smiling. “I see you decided to make an appearance, Sabrina.”
The silver wolf growled in response, baring her teeth. So, that was the alpha of the werewolves. I hadn’t met her yet. Man, she was huge—bigger than all the others.
A brown wolf flanked her left, also growling and being all imposing and scary, with the familiar copper wolf that was Eric on her right.
Sabrina West shifted with fluid grace to a naked woman with the skin of polished white marble, and long silver hair that flowed down her back. She was living moonlight.
Her coal eyes narrowed. “You’re done, Lilisian.”
“How so, wolf?”
“You’ve failed.”
Lilisian let down her hair, letting the brown locks fall to her shoulders as if this was nothing but a casual gathering. “Interesting thing for you to say.”
A blond wolf was plucked into the air, hovering above the pack.
Sabrina’s head snapped round, then came back again. “Put her down.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Lilisian said, “but aren’t your numbers at a pitiful level nowadays?” A burst of energy rippled from her, and I was sent to my backside … the entire throne room was.
The blond wolf still lingered in the air, whining.
“Put her down!” Sabrina roared.
“Get up and stop me.”
Sabrina leapt to her feet before another wave struck, sending me back down too.
Lilisian was panting, I noticed. Not fully charged yet. I was guessing she needed to be at full capacity to sustain her magic, to have it not make her pant like that.
I slowly got to my feet.
Time to strike …
The Supreme beast looked over to me. “Foolish weapon.” She then nodded her head.
A guard’s spear flew at the blond wolf, skewering her. Blood rained down on the pack, the twitching wolf still hanging there.
Sabrina shifted back to her werewolf form as Eric howled and charged.
The guards leapt into action, a clash of armor and fur.
More guards filled the throne room, taking the wolves from behind. And then came the pig beasts and the hyenas, a whole gathering of nasty. We were seriously outnumbered.
I was cocooned amongst Greg, Nay, Dean, the white eye guy and Brother Bennett.
“Stay in there,” Dean said. “We need to protect you.”
Lilisian was completely focused on me, mad glee on her face. I watched her over Dean’s shoulder.
A piggy came running over, only to be sent hurling across the room by Lilisian.
“Refusing help?” the white eye guy sniped.
The Supreme beast was silent, eyes locked onto mine. I could barely breathe under the ferocious intensity of her stare.
The white eye guy sent some of his own power at her, that same forceful push he was capable of doing.
It didn’t touch her. “Pathetic telekinesis,” she said. “Mine is of greater potency. I am beast-born.”
“Big head,” he retorted.
“I want you to understand something before I obliterate you, Jake,” she said softly as the screams of battle went on. “You may slither away from death time and time again, but you won’t evade it forever. I am a Supreme beast. Do you know what that means? Well, I believe you do.” She took a step forward. “I am terror. I strike fear in the hearts of all beasts of the realm. No one can match me, no one can destroy me.”
“You were locked in the body of an old woman,” I countered. “You can’t be that bad.” I just couldn’t help myself from mouthing off.
She took another step, smile gone. “That will not happen again.”
“Stay where you are!” Nay demanded.
“Silly witch. I almost had you.” Another step. My protective circle closed in. I had my shield at the ready, though it probably wouldn’t be any good for the beast priest or the white eye guy.
“What did I just say?” Nay said, tone vicious.
“I’ll break every single one of you.”
“The name of Lilisian is not the only name that strikes the bell of fear,” Brother Bennett said coolly.
Her eyes still didn’t leave me, but my God I almost saw steam come out of her ears. “Your belief in Claec is amazing.” She giggled suddenly. “What was that, Jake? Confusion? All the secrets from those you think are helping you. What company you keep. Don’t worry, though. None of this matters seeing as I’m going to kill you anyway. Priest? You’ve failed. Give up. Your dreams are dust and ashes. Did you really think you could come up against me and win? Have you forgotten who it was that put Claec there?”
“Vile creature!” Brother Bennett. “How dare you utter the name of the ancient one?”
“I dare.”
“Who the fuck is Claec?” I blurted.
Lilisian giggled again. “It doesn’t matter, Jake. Why bother learning now?”
“The weapon will claim you,” Bennett added. “He will devour your essence and fill his veins with you. He will strengthen and—”
“Boring.” The Supreme beast cut him off. “This means nothing.”
“You’re not getting anywhere near him,” Dean said.
“Is that so?”
“Yep,” Greg added. “No sale, bitch.”
The mighty roar of the dragon silenced the battle.
“Remember Daisy?” she said directly to me. “She’s all better now.”
A grinding, the floor rumbling beneath me.
“Oh, crap,” the white eye guy said.
The gold walls behind the throne slid apart, revealing the prize behind the golden door.
Daisy the dragon’s scales shone brighter than before now that the goblin magic had worn off. The glow of smoldering cinders tinged with ruby, and eyes that were a brighter shade of green. She stomped into the vast room, expertly avoiding knocking down the throne—a skill a creature of her size didn’t suit.
“My baby,” Lilisian said as the creature lowered its head down to her for a scratch under the chin.
The air was hot with her breath, those jaws way too close for comfort. Okay, so this was interesting.
Daisy growled.
Wolves howled and the battle commenced once more. Crap! I hoped to the goddess our furry friends were on the winning side.
“She can smell your fear,” Lilisian said.
“Yeah right,” I retorted. “It’s probably the lingering aroma of the parfum de gloop I’m wearing. You know the stuff, right? Kept in a pool with a whale?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, still smiling. “Foolish man. My dear Daisy enjoys the smell of fear like no other scent. Coldharbour reeks of it.”
“Kill him, my queen! Kill him!” It was Purple, face a mess of swollen eyes and blood. She staggered to Lilisian’s side, nose broken. “Kill him!”
Lilisian backhanded her, sending Purple to the ground. That was one nasty whack.
“Silence! Do not think to instruct me, slave!”
“P-please, majesty. I did not mean anything by it. You are wise, gracious, splendid, glorious and magnificent.”
Blimey, Purple was really laying it on thick.
“Be quiet, Dana.” Lilisian had softened. Seems she liked to hear all those sickly words.