I realized my thumb nail was lodged between my teeth and I was chewing furiously. I yanked it out and sat on my hands.
“So, how do the Demon wolves and Macu tie into any of this? The last wolf I took on had to be seven foot tall. If the chance of a portal that size is so small, what are the chances of being in the right place at the right time to just have it—pop-up?”
Jerry leaned forward; eyes gleaming. He was the numbers guy. “Think of a page of zeroes at least. Infinitely small.” Jerry warmed to his subject. “But, sometimes there are Magicals out there strong enough to create their own rifts between those worlds. It takes an enormous amount of energy to create and hold it for any length of time though.” He frowned and scrubbed the back of his neck in frustration.
Mayor Seul added. “My best guess is that someone or something has created just such a portal to let them in from that alternate dimension. It would have to be temporary; I don’t see how anyone could hold it for long.”
I nodded. “Well, that kinda makes sense to explain where they are coming from. But it doesn’t if it’s that difficult to hold for any length of time. More Macu are coming everyday much faster than we can keep up with.”
“I know. That’s the part we’re having an issue with, too.”
“Do you think maybe someone has held it open?”
“Absolutely not. That’s not possible,” Lucas Seul stated, face grim.
I didn’t reply. I wondered if that was what Mayor Seul knew for a fact—or just what he hoped.
Changing the subject, I glanced at Jerry Waverly. “Are you going to need more blood?” He winced, not liking what was happening any more than I did.
“Yeah, we do if you don’t mind. It’s been effective, but I don’t dare dilute it any more than I have.”
I nodded and pulled my sleeve up to reveal my arm as he pulled the supplies he had on hand in his bag. He’d known ahead of time it would come to this tonight.
Jerry wrapped the rubber tourniquet high on my arm and thumped a vein. I winced at the first poke and looked away, meeting Lucas Seul’s worried gaze.
We were in big trouble.
“MAKE DAMN SURE THEY don’t get close enough to rake you with those long claws. They don’t fight the same as the Demon wolves. They’re quicker, vicious little beggars.” My voice faded as I stared at my best friends. Wind whipped the leaves into miniature tornadoes at our feet. I shivered.
Sirris leaned forward and placed a hand on mine. “We’ll be careful Sadie, but this isn’t our first circus.”
I shook my head and grinned. “It’s rodeo; this isn’t my first rodeo.” She looked at me in confusion. I shook my head. “Never mind, I know what you mean. But if I get a scratch, it’s a band aide. It will not kill me.” I couldn’t resist adding.
Thomas added, too cheerfully. “The claws of those little gits will gut you right enough though.” His eyes were way too bright. He was looking forward to this. The price of getting the friend I knew and loved back was putting his life on the line.
Sirris added, grabbing her pack off the ground and unzipping it. “Sides, I have something for us. Dad has been working on these.” She reached into her pack and pulled out a slinky length of material that looked like the softest of metallic cloth. I looked closer, reaching out to finger the slick material. It was a woven garment made from thousands of interlocking chain links, densely woven to form a solid barrier. It was light but strong.
“Is that chain mail?” I wondered aloud.
Sirris shrugged. “Well, yeah, kinda. But what he developed; Lucas Seul made better. Dad made it for the Guard to wear. It’s super dense and along with the magical spell attached to it by the Mayor, it should hold out against all but a direct hit. The links move and bend with our body, woven together to prevent the claws from getting through the titanium links. Only way to do that is to bend them through a direct hit.”
I took one and shook it out and put it on. It was light and malleable; the sleeves extending to the ends of my wrists and hooking through a hole around my middle finger to hold it secure. The neckline was high to protect the throat up to our chins. If was comfortable, and I liked that it breathed, allowing the outside air in to cool a feverish body in the heat of battle.
It was something, at least.
THE GOOEY BLACK MASS smelled a lot like fresh earth and damp leaves. I pinched a dime-sized piece between thumb and forefinger. At least it wasn’t sticky. I looked around as everyone else smeared the thick salve along arms and clothing and over faces, spreading it thin, but thick enough, I hoped, to do the job.
I followed suit and glanced over to where Marcus Tannon and Thomas stood deep in conversation. It didn’t appear they were arguing, though I saw Thomas wave his arms once or twice toward the trees.
We’d gathered around the cold-fire ring near Sutter’s field after dark. Away from the academy and prying eyes.
I gathered with the rest of the guard as Marcus outlined their next move. This time we were doing things a little different. Instead of a search and destroy mission like before, depending on stealth and cunning, this time we would let them bring the fight to us. We planned to hide in “plain sight” within the cover of the trees. The black substance Thomas had given us would act to conceal our light faces and the scent of our tired bodies as we shimmied up the trunks and hid in the branches above.
I followed behind Sirris as we fell in line along the trail that led to the portal and the other side of Shephard’s Mountain. The chain mail had been dulled to a dark patina so as not to catch the reflection of the moonlight and shine. We didn’t want to stand out like a bunch of glittering fireflies lighting up the trees.
We moved through the tunnels in silence, all of us lost in our own private thoughts, preparing ourselves for the oncoming battle. We didn’t kid ourselves into thinking our goal was to end the war.
I ran my hand along my salve smeared arm, lifting it to take a sniff. It did a suitable job. I smelled like dirt.
The Demon wolves had a crazy accurate sense of smell, even better than Thomas’ whose abilities surpassed even my own.
We left the mountain corridor behind and moved into the dark woods in a single formation. Only this time, Thomas, not Marcus, led. Silence reigned as we placed our feet with care. Thomas drifted along the path like a wraith, silent and graceful for such a big teen.
He froze often to listen, the line behind him tuned to his movements and following suit at his direction.
We headed deeper into the woods this time, fanning out at the direction of Marcus Tannon and finding mature trees with heavy upper branches to support our weight and conceal our presence from below.
I gripped the smooth trunk of a massive cottonwood and imagined my fingers forming hooked claws. The warmth in my hands increased and the pads of my fingers grew numb as my fingernails sank deep, gripping the trunk as I climbed it with ease, using the broken branches along the way for grips and footholds further up. Others were not so fortunate. Sirris struggled until Thomas gave her a boost from behind, tossing her up to the first hefty branch until she could pull herself up the rest of the way.
I only hoped the extra exertion didn’t break through the salves ability to mask our scent. Thomas had promised it would do the job.
Secure and silent in the trees within a matter of minutes, we settled back to wait.
I didn’t know which direction I expected them to come from. I knew it would be from somewhere further down the mountain as they herded the dumber Macu between them on their way to the mountain’s rim and the invisible shield that protected us from the outside world.
As I waited, I wondered, and not for the first time, where they had come through—if there was a secret portal, then where was it?
Maybe we were going about things all wrong. We were nothing but damage control.
Shouldn’t we be concentrating on preventing them from entering our dimension and landing on Shephard’s mountain somewhere at all, instead?
I didn’t
have long to think about it. A noise further down the mountain caught my attention. A pebble skittering along the path? The snap of a twig? Could be a deer or some other nocturnal animal. My instincts said otherwise.
My keen night vision picked up the shuffling gate of shadows in a single file along a less-used trail, invisible in the darkened forest. Several Demon wolves moved into view, herding several Macu between them; snuffling the air, long snouts quivering. I watched as one of the lead demons turned sideways to cuff a Macu that had gotten too anxious along the side of its head. With a whine of protest, it slunk back and followed at a more sedate distance. Cattle, they were herding cattle. Hungry cattle that smelled food.
I remained frozen in my lofty perch, my eyes following their progress. The lead wolf had made it almost all the way past us when he lifted his head and ground to a halt, sending several Macu tumbling into the back of the nearest Demon wolf. Everyone froze. A low guttural growl issued from his throat as his snout lifted and quivered, scenting the air. His eyes scanned his surroundings. The yellow gleam of his eyes was visible even from a distance, reflecting against the moon. Almost the entire column stopped beneath us.
A tickle in my nose made my eyes water as I struggled to control the impulse to sneeze. I didn’t dare move to pinch the bridge of my nose.
The leader stood testing the air and looking around into the dense brush for several frozen seconds as if something that didn’t belong disturbed him. With a disgusted growl, he moved on and the others followed.
I wiped my running nose on my sleeve.
We waited several more minutes until we were convinced they had long gone towards the base of Shephard’s Mountain.
Everyone climbed down and gathered around Marcus, with Thomas at his side. I glanced away from his eyes.
Wolf Eyes, I mused. They were too similar to those of the Demon wolves to be comfortable.
All accounted for, we fell in formation behind our leader and his newest unspoken assistant. The salve had done its job and kept us hidden.
We moved slowly, sticking to the darkest shadows and avoiding the bare light of the moon that crossed the path at certain points. We grew near and heard the curious snuffle slurp of the Macu. They were feeding.
I wasn’t the only one that winced at that sound. We had the reports back; the shield remained at 85%. Anything less than 67% they considered critical. At that point, the shield was in imminent danger of falling. We couldn’t let that happen.
Fanning out, we surrounded the area, until we each had a target in place. We looked to Thomas on our left flank and Marcus at our right. Each of them looking at the other. We went on Marcus Tannon’s mark. I noted I wasn’t the only one armed with a bow. Along with my crossbow I made out several with compound bows loaded with poison-tipped quarrels. The guard was learning to respect the safety that the longer range weapons afforded us.
What seemed like forever but could only have been seconds later, the signal came. My fingers were on fire from the strain of holding them poised and ready.
The scream that issued from Marcus Tannon’s throat made every Demon wolf and Macu within hearing start and freeze. I released my bolt. It flew true, bisecting between the twin arches of two black ash trees and winging towards its target. It clipped a small sapling, moving with the faint breeze that blew it sideways just enough. The bolt flew wide, bouncing off the shoulder of the Demon wolf who now had me in his sight. The huge wolf charged before I was positive I’d missed, mouth wide in a snarl of rage as I set another bolt. He was less than a dozen steps away when I fired again, catching him in the meaty part of his side. He reached down and yanked the bolt out. But it was too late. The poison did its job, and I watched his eyes glass over as he stumbled. He slowed from the sickness coursing through his veins, paralyzing his limbs. He wouldn’t die, but he would be a lot slower.
I came at him, sidestepping an awkward swipe and swerving past him at a run. He wasn’t my target; I’d leave the others behind me to finish him. My job was different. Our attack from behind had taken out several of the Demon wolves. They should have been all but eliminated as a threat. But as I ran, I realized there had to be at least five more than I’d realized.
Where were they all coming from?
No matter, I didn’t have time to speculate on it as I ran, entering the other side of the woods and running along the edge of the mountain, looking for stupid and hungry. And they were there as I rounded the corner, slobbering away, their bodies fading to a strange translucent blue as the energy they absorbed coursed through them and they fed.
Hunger drove them more than survival and they didn’t see me at first as I loaded my crossbow. But even stupid had instincts and at the last moment they whirled, needle-like teeth pulled back in a snarl of rage, small orangish eyes sparking. We’d interrupted their meal and they weren’t happy. Three of them broke away and charged me all at once.
I hit the first as he came in low at me in the stomach, watching as his feet left the earth and he slid along in the dirt and tumbled to a halt at my feet. He writhed and twisted as the poison did its job. I leapt over the dying Macu, notching a bolt as I moved at a run and took aim. The next was almost on me, eyes trained on mine with an idiotic grin. Perhaps the only thing to equal its hunger was its joy of killing.
I pulled the trigger. Only nothing happened. My bow had jammed.
It was the last thought I managed before the beast was there. I drew my knife and used its charging moment to roll backwards under the impact as it slammed into me. We tumbled end over end, landing in an awkward heap. I lay on my back with the Macu above me, hooked claws scrabbling for better purchase through the chain mail that was all that stood between me and the sharp talons that would have ripped me to shreds. Happy eyes danced with wicked delight as those needle-like teeth dove in for a nibble.
I was going to die and my eyes widened in panic as I tried to hold it off.
A sudden sound floated along on the air, long and pure and sweet. It caught the Macu’s attention and mine as well. We both froze in wonder.
What was that?
Above me the Macu’s jaws went slack, and it relaxed, turning towards the sound.
With a grimace of disgust I used both feet and tossed it away where it lay in stunned silence, paralyzed by the melodic musical voice.
I turned towards the music. In the middle of the clearing stood Sirris, the battle raging all around her. The moon reflected off her slim form. She stood back, lit by the light in the clearing, hair gleaming like silver fire as it drifted over her shoulder and she sang.
It mesmerized every soldier, Demon wolf and Macu in the clearing and the battle seized for the briefest of seconds. Nobody was immune to the sweet elixir of magic that poured from her voice, smoothing like warm honey along numb limbs and through shocked minds. I struggled to pull my attention back to what happened around me, away from the drugging quality of that voice. I clapped my hands over my ears and shook my head, trying to dispel it. The Macu weren’t intelligent enough to realize what was happening. I could see the others struggling as I had against the deadly lull of that voice.
I picked up my knife where I’d dropped it, keeping my ears covered to block out the music.
I descended on the Macu like a vengeful angel, my knife cutting a swath through them, taking them out where they stood, mesmerized. When Sirris voice cut off all at once I whirled; too late.
One of the Demon wolves, smarter than the rest, had done what I had and covered his ears to block the sound out just long enough to get within striking distance of the beautiful siren singing in the middle of the woods.
He pulled back and swung a meaty arm in a wide backhand across Sirris mouth, sending her sailing through the air. Her staff clattered to the forest floor several feet away as she landed in a dazed heap.
I never even felt the Macu in front of me as he slumped dead to the earth under the swing of my blade.
In horror I watched as the recovering Demon wolves advanced on an unmov
ing Sirris, hair a gleam of silver and red as she lay in a tangled heap.
I opened my mouth to scream when a blur of enraged movement caught my attention.
Thomas stepped in front of them, sword drawn and shivering, moonlight reflecting off the steel surface of the blade.
I moved, picking up my cross bow and working to un-jam the bolt as I ran and reset it.
Not that I needed to bother.
The rage of battle glittering in Thomas’ eyes as he stood over his downed friend should have warned them.
There was a blur of action as his sword arm moved and a growl of rage issued from his mouth. He swung the blade; steel singing as it moved through the air and connected with first one demon and then another. He fought like a man possessed. I cringed as the second Demon wolf edged under the swing of the sword with razor-tipped claws and contacted the fine chain mail with a slide of sharpened nails. Thomas gave a brief grunt but he never stopped coming, twisting his body and sword in the same movement and slicing backwards along the muscled chest of the attacking demon until it crumpled..
Thomas made his way to Sirris, who was stirring, pushing herself to a sitting position. His fist clutched his side where the demon had struck him and I watched in horror as a thin line of red seeped between his fingers. The demon had gotten him!
As I ran, I realized that once again, the Demon wolves had stopped fighting and were gathering their wounded as they ran down the mountain, herding the live Macu between them as they went. The guards milled about in confusion.
I slid to a halt, bare feet from Sirris and a crouching Thomas. Looking around, I watched the guard gather their weapons.
My eyes narrowed. Where was Marcus Tannon?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I’m alive!” Thomas stated, mouth a flat line. “Stop Fussing, will you?” He moved to sit up as the doctors urged him to lay back down. He wouldn’t listen as he motioned everyone back with a rude wave of his hand. That was our stubborn friend...The medicinal smell of the hospital stung my nose, and I remembered it was one of my least favorite places, and for excellent reasons. Sirris and I shared a look. We were just both grateful that we were visiting him there and not the morgue.
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