“The creature reminded me of her personality,” she said, a look of disgust on her face as she stared at me.
“I’m not so keen on you either, Thunderstruck. But let’s get on with it, shall we?”
“Time’s running out,” Koda said, but he seemed unconcerned. Was tonight his night to die? “Someone bring her through the tunnels if they won’t come to us.”
Fionnuala started to stand. “This is—”
“As you wanted it,” Gabe said firmly. “Come, Ava. Let’s go meet your team for the night.”
I grabbed Esther’s hand, determined she see for herself. We hurried into the hidden tunnel and walked briskly to the werewolf cells.
Esther’s pulse raced in the darkness. The cages, the werewolves, the enclosed quarters all horrified Esther, but her fingers squeezed mine a little tighter when she laid eyes on the infamous trainer.
“Once I let them out of the cage they will be pure animal,” he warned. “I’ll need the rest of you to leave because the change means they are uncontrollable. They are beasts.”
“We saw one change the last time,” I reminded him as the others made a hasty retreat.
“That wasn’t a complete change,” he said. “They can’t in those cages. Be prepared, little one.”
I nodded. “So what do I do?”
“Both of us will bring two werewolves each on silver chains,” he said.
“Only two?”
“Two is enough for anyone. The longer they are in close proximity to each other, the greater the chances of a dominance battle.”
“And… what if they want to eat me?”
He leaned over and sniffed my neck, his nose brushing against my skin. I froze, my throat drying up. “Interesting. There is a scent that will pique their interest. Who chose you for this task?”
“Your mother, apparently. You’re Phoenix, right?”
He rubbed his chest, a little agitated. “That is my name.”
“How come you never tried to find Helena again?”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Who?”
I stared at him, seeing only blankness in his eyes. “Never mind.” Was I wrong? Or was there something wrong with him?
“I will try you with one wolf,” he said. “If you survive that, you may survive the night.”
He opened the cage containing the same werewolf I had requested. He held a whip alive with magic in his left hand, and the werewolf cowered in the back corner of the cage.
“This one is strong,” he said. “I figured we would start with a good werewolf, seeing as you requested him.” Phoenix stepped forward and tried to chain the werewolf.
The werewolf stopped struggling to stare at me, murder in his eyes.
“Hey again,” I said softly, feeling only pity for the creature. He looked like a feral human, and I could only imagine what his true werewolf form looked like.
Phoenix jerked the werewolf out of the cage, pulling the chain he had attached to the collar. The collar hung loose, and I opened my mouth to mention it when a sound rumbled under my feet. It took me a couple of seconds to realise the noise was a growl coming from the werewolf’s throat. Uh-oh.
The growl grew into a deafening roar, and as the werewolf reared back, his body rapidly growing fur all over. Phoenix ended up on his knees. The other werewolves moved to the backs of their cages, and I took a few steps backward too.
The creature’s fingers grew into obscene claws, and his back hunched over, forcing the man onto four legs. His legs and arms ballooned in size, his skin and fur tight over the bulging muscles and popping veins. A magnificent tail swished from side to side, and the man’s face finally turned wolf-like slowly, agonisingly. His nose lengthened and darkened, fur covering it in its new entirety. His teeth outgrew his mouth, reminding me of Becca, somehow. His ears pricked upward, and even his neck expanded rapidly.
I felt tiny and irrelevant before the creature, and when he reared up again, I realised he was well over seven feet from snout to tail tip. The thing was huge. And I was supposed to walk two of them? I didn’t rate my chances.
“You need to dominate him,” Phoenix called over the constant roar of the werewolf.
“Um, how? He’s gigantic!”
“By being his boss.” He yelled at the werewolf, “Down, Icarus!” He whipped at the werewolf a number of times before the wolf lay down. He was only slightly less terrifying that way.
“Icarus?” I asked, raising a brow.
“I like to name them,” Phoenix said, a dot of pink marring one cheek. Interesting.
I had drawn the werewolf’s attention by saying his name, and I wondered just how intelligent they were. “Icarus,” I repeated, keeping my hands at my sides. “I’m Ava. I’m not very interested in dominating you or anyone else, but we have a battle to fight tonight. If we lose, your little lady and baby will be murdered, or worse. You know that, right? But if we work together, we might all survive.”
Phoenix sighed. “That won’t work with him. Not coming from you.”
“I wouldn’t judge so quickly,” I said, observing a keen intelligence in the werewolf’s eyes. “I think we understand each other better than you would expect.”
The wolf stopped growling, and Phoenix let go of him. Icarus stood and walked over to me. I tried not to freak out and run, fearing that might provoke him.
“You in?” I asked him. “Can I accompany you and a friend to tonight’s battle?”
The werewolf kept coming. I held my breath. He brushed against my hand and sat next to me.
To my surprise, Phoenix grinned. “I and my friends here would be happy to escort you.”
“You like them? Treat them like people?”
“I do what I can,” he said. “Better me than any other. I’m sorry for the theatrics earlier. I had to be sure we could trust you.”
“And if you couldn’t?”
“You may have had a nasty run-in with a hungry, wild, uncontrollable werewolf.”
“So does that mean you were joking about not knowing Helena either?” I asked hopefully.
“No. The name feels familiar when I say it, but I’m not sure why. We fae have exceptional memories. In fact, many of us royals deal with memory magic.”
“That’s very interesting, Phoenix,” I said, meaning it. “Feel like winning a war tonight?”
Chapter Nineteen
As I strode outside holding onto the chains of two werewolves, I felt invincible.
“This is a kick,” I told Phoenix, but he had reverted into the sullen creature I had first met. At least while his mother was around. She watched us together, her eyes on the werewolves, and I made a show of struggling with the animals until she turned away as if satisfied.
“This is amazing,” I mouthed to Esther, but her smile was strained.
Her eyes drifted around as if searching for something. Her brother, probably. Maybe it was wrong of me to help keep them apart. Maybe I should have pushed them back together, but I didn’t know if her brother was a danger to her or not. After all, he was a good friend of Coyle’s, and I remained convinced that Coyle had something to do with Esther’s stabbing on the night she and I officially became friends.
I was hopped up on nerves and excitement despite all of that. I was still stiff, but my side felt numb. I would likely burst my stitches, but if all went well, we could be facing our last battle for a while. I could live with the pain.
“Phoenix and I should patrol,” I told Gabe. “You and the Council members might want to step inside, unless you’re going to fight.”
When Fionnuala, Koda, and Erossi were escorted inside, Gabe and the consultants remained in the yard. Marina stood close to Eddie, a weird gleam in her eyes. Phoenix and the werewolves visibly relaxed once Fionnuala was gone.
“Gabe, you’re still wrecked,” I said, a bit concerned. “You should hide out, too.”
“I feel safer out here,” he said wryly. He glanced around at everyone. “Which is a shocker, considering.”
Gabe jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Inside. Guarding, apparently.”
Esther found my eyes, an apology written all over her face. She knew Aiden avoided me for a reason. I shook my head. There was no need.
“Gabe, are you sure of your info?” I asked. “If we’re all gathered here, and the beasts rampage elsewhere—”
“Trust me. They’re all directed here tonight. Yes, the odd number may break free and run loose, but the humans can take care of them. They’ve proved themselves already. This is our night, Ava. They’re coming for us to do exactly what they did in the UK.”
“He’s right,” Phoenix said. “This is their best chance of success. Scattering attacks amongst the humans won’t win them a country.”
I blew out a whoosh of air. “I hope it’s that simple. Phoenix, let’s take a look around.”
When he nodded, I said goodbye to Esther and Gabe. “Be aware,” I warned them. “Night will fall soon.”
The werewolves were like gigantic sniffer dogs, their heads whipping back and forth as they took in the scents on the air.
“What will happen when the beasts arrive?” I asked Phoenix.
“You should release the chains using the safety latch before they rip your arms off,” he said in a dry voice.
“You really don’t remember Helena?” I asked. “No kids, no wife, not even Folsom? How about a sword that lights up… kinda green? Writing on the blade.”
“My sword?” His eyes opened wide. “That was lost many years ago. How do you know about it?”
“I’m pretty sure you gave it away.” I stared at him, checking for some kind of recognition. But there was none.
“You keep speaking in riddles,” he said, looking frustrated. Yet, he also appeared used to feeling frustrated.
“Sorry,” I said. “I expected somebody different.”
“I get that a lot,” he responded a little sadly.
He had to be old, older than Helena, who had stolen years to keep her body able to search for her children, but he looked the same age as the twins. Not that they looked their age either. But the more I looked at him, the more differences I spotted. He had the same sloping nose, the same cleft in his chin, but his eyes were harder, bitter, and something about the way he moved reminded me of a predator.
“You get on with Fionnuala?” I asked as we were led by the werewolves along a hedge.
He seemed surprised by the question. “As well as anyone could, I suppose. We are family.”
“I like to think of family as the people you choose to have in your life. So if the werewolf thing fails, can you do anything else? To protect yourself?”
He smiled. “I have more werewolves.”
“You’re gonna let more of them out?”
“If I have to. It’s getting them back in the cages that’s the trouble,” he admitted. “Fighting off an army is not going to be the hardest part of my job tonight.”
“Now I feel sick.”
“Don’t worry. The werewolves will only attack those I tell them to.”
I laughed. “So don’t piss off the trainer?”
“Something like that. People think they are wild, but they are also loyal, and they trust me. They’ve been locked away for a long time. They need to run and hunt and fight. But tonight may trigger something in them, turn them against me, if only temporarily.”
“You’re taking a big risk then.”
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” he said. “I’m tired of being locked away, too.”
“You could leave,” I said. “See the world. Maybe take your werewolves with you.”
“I can’t do that. They’re not really mine, after all. At least they’re safe here. A long time ago, they were hunted and almost wiped out. Violent things cause fear, and fear leads to desperation. Desperation can easily lead to death.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“And you. What’s your story? Who did you anger to have you stuck on werewolf duty?”
“Why? Is this your punishment?”
“Sometimes I think it must be. I just wish I could remember what it was I did.”
“I was born,” I said. “Apparently, that’s all it takes to piss off your mother.”
He surprised me by throwing his head back and laughing—Lorcan’s laugh. He seemed surprised by the sound himself. “It’s nice to be outside again.”
A shiver ran across my skin. “It’s time,” I said. “The vampires and their beasts have awakened.”
“You can tell?”
“I can definitely tell. They could come at any time. Should we go back to the others, or will it be safer for them if we keep the werewolves out of their reach?”
“We should stay close, but meet the vampires ourselves and let the others pick off the stragglers who manage to get past us. Don’t forget, Ava. Safety latch. As soon as the vampires approach. The werewolves will know what to do. It’s what they were born for.”
“We’re all born for something, eh?” I watched him carefully as we returned to the others.
Small groups of fighters were scattered around the area, ready to defend in any direction, but I had a sinking feeling there would never be enough of us. Phoenix and I kept our distance, standing apart with the straining werewolves, their muscular backs rippling with the need to run.
“Are you injured?” Phoenix asked, surprising me.
I glanced at my side. “I got bitten. I’ve been numbed up to my eyeballs, so it should be okay for a while.”
“Why are they relying on you to win this battle?” he asked. “Surely anyone can do what you do, an uninjured fighter even better. No offence.”
“None taken. Honestly? They’re willing to lose me. But I had a kind of connection to the first beast. She had this thing… like she was afraid of me sometimes. She was different from these beasts. Maybe she was the prototype or something because she was reckless. These aren’t so much. They weigh up their chances more.”
“You’re not a Guardian,” he stated.
I laughed. “They wouldn’t have me. I’m tainted. A mixed breed. Your mammy doesn’t approve.”
He raised a brow. “Tainted? Not good enough to be a Guardian, but good enough to die for them? I can see why you dislike them.”
I grinned up at him. “Who told you that?”
“You wear your heart on your sleeve,” he said. His werewolves yanked at their leashes as they strained forward. “Something comes. Watch out.” He signalled the others, and everyone silenced as one.
A rumble started, a slow vibration under my feet. I soon realised it was the four werewolves, all growling together. They pulled at the leashes, and my shoulders burned from holding them close to me. I kept my fingers close to those safety latches Phoenix kept mentioning.
Phoenix moved forward and away from the others. I followed, my entire body trembling with apprehension.
“Be ready,” Phoenix whispered as we jogged.
I reached out to see the world. Phoenix was a pleasant green energy, just like the twins when they held hands. The werewolves were more human than other, red and pulsing, apart from the rage. I could taste their anger and aggression, and it spiked my heart rate. Pockets of nothingness sped toward us.
“They’re here,” I murmured. Even counting couldn’t help my nerves. I had done a good job of keeping people’s spirits up, of convincing them I wasn’t worried so they didn’t need to be. But I couldn’t do it anymore, and my body shook incessantly.
“Calm down,” Phoenix said. “You’re agitating the werewolves.” His green eyes shone with an eagerness to fight.
“Can you make them go after the beasts? My dagger can kind of take care of the vampires with no trouble.”
He nodded, and my favourite werewolf let out a howl.
“Now, Ava!” Phoenix cried.
I pressed the safety latch a split second before Icarus ran. If I hadn’t, I would have been dragged along after him. Or
more likely lost an arm. The other three wolves followed his lead. They didn’t look like wolves at all. They looked like huge, loping monsters, deadly creatures ready to pull off some heads the first chance they got. At least, that was what I hoped would happen.
I pulled out my dagger.
Phoenix looked at it. “That… looks familiar,” he muttered, rubbing his chest.
I didn’t wait to hear more. I ran after the werewolves. He was behind me all the way, but I sensed he could easily go faster.
The beasts, only two of them so far, ran toward the werewolves. They faltered when they saw the wolves, obviously unsure.
Phoenix pulled me to a stop. “Watch this,” he said like a proud father.
The werewolves slowed and sniffed the air. The first one, my Icarus, made a sound that had the others running after him. For a second, the beasts appeared to consider fleeing, but then all six creatures ran at each other at full speed.
“Come on, Icarus,” I whispered.
“His mother died in childbirth,” Phoenix said as if in a trance. “I cared for him like he was my own child.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, my fingers tapping rapidly against the hilt of the dagger.
The monsters collided, and it was magnificent.
Icarus piled into the largest beast. They rolled over and over across the ground. Icarus ferociously ripped chunks of flesh from the beast’s body and flung them away without pausing. The other three werewolves attacked the second beast, and I didn’t see it again.
Icarus and his foe stopped rolling, and the beast made a frantic attempt to crawl away, fingers and claws digging into the dirt. An inhuman roar erupted from Icarus’s throat. He went in for the kill. His jaws clenched around the back of the beast’s neck, and he shook rapidly, viciously removing the beast’s head from its shoulders.
“Holy crap,” I whispered as the wolves devoured their kill. “Holy mother of…”
“I know,” Phoenix said. “I know. Stay away from Icarus. Don’t get too close after this. As much as I… you can never trust them during their bloodlust.”
“No problem. I have no intention of getting near that mess.”
“There can be no survivors to this,” he said urgently. “The fae made a deal with higher powers a long time ago. We were supposed to wipe out the last remaining werewolves. This was never meant to happen, and we can’t afford it to be known.”
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