More creaks came from the glass and then it cracked. It started as a small fracture, spreading outward. The veins within turned white and the glass expanded, growing wider and longer. Energy pulsed from the Claw, tingling against my skin. In a few moments, it had shifted into something entirely different. The glass re-formed, veins stretching to fill the new structure, and leaving a glass short sword in my hand.
The blade was smooth on one side, but on the other, the smooth edge faded halfway up the blade, leaving a vicious and jagged edge. Three new claws emerged from the base, stretching downward around the rubber-like handle and creating a shield of sorts to protect the hand that wielded it.
“Whoa,” I said.
“A weapon of the gods, to kill a god.” The voice came from the back of the room and it startled me
I peered past Tiki to the open doorway and there stood the small, awkward-looking creature of Silas—Grayson. He raised his three-fingered hand and waved awkwardly. His orange skin glistened with a layer of sweat and his plump lips grimaced as though he’d done something wrong. His massive eyes looked cartoonish and he lowered them, his hair swaying behind him.
“Grayson, where have you been?” I asked. I already knew the answer, he’d gone back to Silas, but I still couldn’t understand why.
“I returned to my home dimension,” he said, not lifting his gaze. “After seeing what we were truly up against, I knew that true evil had risen. It is the Dunopai’s duty to keep the balance between light and dark, no matter the cost. I could not neglect my duty. The Caller, and our elder, Alaric, needed to know what the spirits of Yore had failed to show us. He has now seen the truth and we are here to aid you. We are here to help you keep the balance.”
Vincent appeared behind Grayson and his voice made the small creature jump. “What he means is that they’re outside. All of them.” Vincent shuddered. “Even the fat arrogant one who locked us up.”
Grayson nodded sheepishly. “Yes, Alaric has come. The Dunopai fight together, or none of us fight.”
I didn’t bother with more questions of why he left, they weren’t important. Grayson was safe, he was here, and so were his people, which meant our numbers had grown. “Did you know about this?” I asked, holding up the sword.
Grayson shrugged. “It was legend among the Dunopai that the Claw wielded many shapes. This does not surprise me. Nathaniel is a god who adores weapons of all kinds. When he walked within the dimensions, he carried a different one in each of his four hands. He respected war and battle and the baring of a man’s soul that came from a true fight. He had little respect for cowardice and defense, focusing solely on the attack of one creature against another. It is said that is why he created us—deadly warriors with skills unlike any other, but not built for defense.”
“Well, I hope you and your people came prepared to die,” Vincent said, impartial and cold. “We’re about to go to war.”
Grayson quivered. “The Dunopai do not fear death…most of us, anyway. My people are well aware why they are here.”
“We appreciate you coming,” I said. “Where’s Alaric now?”
“He’s outside with all the others. There are many creatures shouting over how we are moving forward.
“We better get out there and help get organized,” Marcus said.
“Agreed. There will be more coming. We can’t keep them all here,” Chief said. “We need to move to a bigger location.”
“There isn’t time,” I said. “We’re moving to the location. They’ve got Rayna, and if we can get her back before anything starts, we could avoid this war altogether.”
Vincent laughed. “You sound hopeful. You can’t honestly believe that.”
“No,” I sighed. “But hope is all we’ve got left.”
******
The sun had set and a pale glow cast over the gravel-covered lot. There were creatures everywhere and it felt surreal. We really did have an army, and this was only the beginning.
Vincent gathered his vampires to the far side. Although they tried, they were unable to avoid all of the Dunopai and most of the shifters, and the tension between the groups was visible.
I’d grown a lot over the last four months. I knew there was good and bad in everyone. It had nothing to do with what they were, but rather who they were. The rest of the world hadn’t come to that realization yet. Although we’re all on the same side at the moment, it looked like we were about to see a civil war already.
Jax and Chief managed to recruit almost two dozen packs, and with the vampires and Dunopai, we had hundreds of people gathered in the parking lot. There were curses, roars, and even the beginning of a few shoving matches. The leaders of each respective group did their best to keep things calm, but so far it wasn’t working.
Hunters from the other Circles had been arriving, and Marcus took charge of them. Eric was among them, trying to challenge Marcus for who was in charge, which left them the least organized. Most of the hunters didn’t know one another. Although they’d been informed, they weren’t ready to fight alongside demons. Their weapons were drawn and the rigidity was palpable, but I trusted Marcus to take care of them.
With the sun gone from the sky, all the Underworlders’ eyes were glowing in the lightless eve. The moon was masked behind pools of grey clouds and the demonic noise grew more intense. Part of it was the circle of life: hunters hated demons, demons hated hunters, and among the Underworlders there were demon-on-demon rivalries that went back centuries. The other part was pure fear—fear of the unknown.
After the facing off against pure bloods, the Dark Brothers, and Riley, everyone had a taste of what they were up against, and they wanted someone to ease their nerves. Between fears being shouted across the lot, the demons bickering about who was in charge, and the thought of working with someone you’ve grown up knowing was your enemy, the crowd was on edge. They needed to become united, and the only way that would happen was if someone did it for them. Groups like this needed a single voice to bring them together. I just wasn’t sure I could be that voice.
In the last four months, my world had been flipped upside down, turned around, torn apart, and reassembled. I didn’t recognize this life, this world, or these people. What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t tell them it would be okay, I didn’t know that it would. Marcus and Rayna had shown me a new world, but it had taken death and pain for me to truly see it. It took time to realize I didn’t know anything. There was no black and white. Everything was some shade of grey; a wash of colorless light that blended one moment to the next. There were no answers, so how I could give them one?
Tiki stood in front of me, his orange eyes studying me. He looked confused, his head tilted partly to the side. “You are the leader, Chase. You need to say something.”
“What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey everyone, there’s a good chance a lot of you will die, but it’ll be for a good cause, so let’s go out there and kick some demigod ass.’ I can’t do that. How can I even ask these people to go into battle with me? They don’t know me, and they don’t know what they’re up against.”
“When the Suriattas go to war with another clan, we understand the risks we take, but it is for our honor and freedom that we fight. That is worth the risk of death for most people, Chase Williams. But everyone, no matter how strong, still looks to someone for courage and inspiration in times of doubt. Nobody lied to these people. Nobody told them it would be easy or that they’d survive, yet here they are—ready to fight even with their fears. We all fear death, but they fear death from the unknown. There is doubt among them, and they need you to vanquish it.”
“And what if I’m not ready to be anyone’s leader?”
“It is what you are, whether or not you are ready.”
“That’s comforting,” I sighed. “I don’t exactly have the best track record with leading anyone or making decisions.”
“Most things worth fighting for in this life almost always come at the cost of comfort. Life does not care if you are prep
ared. It gives these moments without bias. They are pivot points in life that allow change. There is no destiny so great it cannot be altered, Chase Williams. Stone can be broken, parchment can be burned, and words can be lost. The past is all that is constant. It is a tool used to sculpt who we become, and that tool lies in your hands now. Sculpt the worlds, my friend, not only for yourself, but for all of these warriors. This moment will be in their lives forever. Do not cheapen it with fear that you are not ready, because they are ready for you.”
Tiki’s words hit me hard because they were true. I hadn’t been ready to be exiled, or to lose my mother, or Willy. I hadn’t been ready to be chosen to stop all this. And I certainly hadn’t been ready to fall in love. But this is the hand that had been dealt. It hadn’t always been easy, but it was my hand, my life.
These people didn’t know me and yet here they were, willing to stand beside me. We were brothers in arms tonight. We were going into battle, the biggest battle any of us would ever see. This was a powerful moment.
“I know it isn’t easy.” My voice was immediately loud, drawing the attention of the crowd.
Everyone grew silent and ember eyes stared back at me, yearning for the security they hoped my words would provide. There was no podium, no stage, no soapbox for me to stand on. This was real. We were on level ground, looking at one another eye to eye. We were equals. Demon to demon, hunter to hunter, this was it.
“You’re standing here looking at the guy beside you and knowing on any other night, one of you would be walking away from a pile of ash: vampires versus werewolves, werewolves versus werecats, and hunters versus demons. On some level you’re all enemies, but tonight you’re bigger than that. Tonight you’re stronger. Tonight you’re here for a greater cause.”
I didn’t know when I had started moving, but my eyes panned over the crowd and I walked side-to-side, meeting stranger’s face after stranger’s face.
“It isn’t easy to stand here in front of you and preach unity. I feel like a hypocrite. Four months ago I’d have been in the middle of all this too, throwing daggers and taking the lives of those who didn’t deserve to be taken. It didn’t matter who you were, it only mattered what you were. I was wrong, and soon I believe you’re going to see you’re wrong too. It isn’t about what kind of monster you are; it isn’t about whether or not you’re a monster at all. It’s about who you are and what you represent.”
There were a few coughs and even a few laughs, but it didn’t faze me. The tension in my shoulders was gone. I felt nimble and at ease in front of everyone, and my confidence grew with each passing moment. Looking at all these people, I knew deep down inside that we could win. I knew some would die and others would be hurt, but everyone would be forever changed.
“Tonight we become one people, fighting to save the very thing we’ve taken for granted: freedom. Tonight you’re fighting to save not only yourselves, but also the people you once called your enemies. You’re going to see monsters you’ve never dreamed of. You’ll see magic you never thought could exist. You will see power and resistance in its rawest form. Tonight you might see a god rise from the depths of true darkness; the god wants to strip you of who you are and the freedom to choose who you want to be. You may see your brothers slain, but you’ll continue to fight because you refuse to lose. This is the most important night of any of our lives. We will win, or we will die, but our freedom will not be stolen!” My breaths were heavy, my shoulders rising and falling dramatically. Hundreds of eyes pierced my soul and their power pressed against me. “Tonight we fight for ourselves, but we also fight for others. Tonight, my friends, we are heroes!”
I didn’t know what I expected. The silence felt like an eternity. The eyes in the crowd intensified and creatures shifted in place, looking at one another for a reaction. And then all at once there was a sound unlike any other. From the back, the hunters cheered. From the right, the werecats rumbled and the wolves howled. From the center, the Dunopai screamed, and from the left, the vampires roared. The sounds merged together and altered the world around us. Blood and clear fluid spilled into the air as shifters broke free of their fleshy shells, unleashing the most ferocious group of animals I’d ever seen—wolves, panthers, falcons, tigers, eagles, and lions tore at the earth with their fierce claws.
Vampires shifted, their pale skin gone and replaced by a clear coating of protective armor. Their veins bulged, running from red to black, pushing at their skin. Fangs of all sizes were bared, and talons ripped from the tips of their fingers.
The Dunopai screamed their unique battle cries, clanging their weapons together. Sparks flew into the sky as magic channeled through their blades. Their unearthly orange skin glowed a demonic hue, one full of rage and intensity, vanquished of fear.
The hunters’ screams somehow managed to compete with the animalistic sounds of the Underworlders. The elements of the world exploded in unison—the earth quaked, slabs of earth tearing up from the earth. Water shot up in streams from the ground, hunters shifting the magic and letting it freeze. Frozen arches glistened in the sky, creating a magical glow to illuminate what little moonlight we had. Balls of fire soared like comets over an inky backdrop. There one moment, gone the next. Some of the more powerful hunters charged their elements, releasing bursts of flame that exploded like fireworks. Spirals of air swirled upward, swinging up dust from the ground and sucking it into the sky. Twinkles of gray and brown sand rained past the frozen arches like confetti, and a blast of magic exploded in the sky.
The air vibrated with power, urging my own magic to be released. Tiki had shifted, his full demon released, and I couldn’t contain it anymore. All the power inside me had bubbled over, threatening to tear me apart. I didn’t hold it back and I didn’t try to control it. I let go more completely than ever before, and my hands exploded with blinding light.
Thunderous sounds crackled from my fingers and I felt on fire. The red hue that had taken over my eyes time and time again returned, illuminating the world in a shade of red. Like night vision, everything became crisp and clear, each face, each characteristic of the world around me becoming more defined. My eyes glowed with fire, a power so intense I thought at one point my retinas would forever burn.
Throwing both arms up, the white energy in my hands merged together, building up and becoming a larger version of itself. As I pulled my hands apart, a stream of magic assembled in front of me, growing wider and faster than I could manage. I pushed it outward, the power surging between my fingertips, and a massive ball of light blasted into the sky. Visible for only a moment, it moved with unmatched speed, disappearing into the clouds. All the creatures went silent and, after a few moments of staring up at the night, an explosion ricocheted around us. Streaks of white rained down, the tail of a hundred comets falling toward the earth. As they neared, each hair on my body rose. Lightning crackled and tore open the sky like it was broad daylight. Thunder followed, crashing over us like a symphony of cannons. A moment of silence came and drifted around us, followed by an explosion of magic.
The earth quaked and a static charge detonated in the air. Crackles of white rippled through the sky, cyclones of air tore across the yard, and a wave of fire scorched the parking lot in a wave of heat, forcing everyone to drop to the ground. Columns of earth rattled from the ground, their peaks alight in flame.
My breaths were ragged and sharp, and I drew the magic back into my soul. The white glow of energy crawled up my arms, and flickers of flame wavered over the ground. I stood in front of the warehouse and I should’ve felt strange and awkward. I wondered what the hell had just happened, but I didn’t care. With the godly power rolling through my veins and pulsing on the air, I felt invincible and I knew now more than ever what needed to be done.
Filled with a confidence I had never known, and unexplored magic arcing up and down my arms, I stepped forward. Flames flared in my eyes and everyone focused on me. I basked in the silence, letting it wrap around me, and then I looked out over the crowd.
Chapter 35
We were a stampede of warriors tearing through Stonewall’s southern forest. I didn’t duck from the wooden limbs that tried to tear their bark-covered claws into me, I moved with speed and grace so fluent I became untouchable. We trampled through the woods like a rolling thunder. Twigs and leaves were kicked into the air, branches were snapped, decaying trees were leapt over with ease, and weapons were drawn. I didn’t hold my power deep in my soul, it bubbled at the surface, ready to be unleashed with the snap of my fingers. My eyes had stopped burning, but I’d adjusted to the power. Like a blood-tinted night vision, darkness couldn’t slow me down.
From the north end of the clearing, branches snapped and shattered as the Dunopai followed Tiki and I into the forest. Tiki had kept his demon out, and for something so large and muscular, he moved with poise and speed. His claws shattered obstacles, his body breaking through any remaining debris. He became a machine, unstoppable even by Mother Nature. He was a true warrior.
Marcus took the hunters and witches around to the other side, planning to enter the clearing from the south. The vampires took the east, and the shifters covered the west. We would surround the clearing and I hoped our allies from the other dimensions would enter right through the middle.
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