“Then we’ll make you,” Markus roared, abruptly falling to all fours and howling in agony.
Markus’s back arched with a snap as his bones elongated. Kane’s bones began to crack too, and fur sprouted over their skin. Both monsters charged Arantay even as they changed into their beast forms.
Arantay ran to meet them, darting down the alley in a pale blur, his sword licking out, spilling blood in a matter of seconds.
Whilst Kane and Markus attacked Arantay, the children came for her. Brooke hesitated. Magic flared in her hand, but she didn’t know if she could hurt twelve-year- old’s.
However, it turned out they weren’t children at all. As the two waifs hurried toward her their own forms changed. Brooke expected them to be werewolves or werepanthers, just smaller versions. She hadn’t prepared for the girl to be what could only be described as a werecat, and the boy a weregoat? Now she knew why Markus had called them strays.
The homeless-looking girl had grown whiskers and paws. Her body had grown fur but still looked human; her face however was identical to that of a tabby cat. It was ludicrous, Brooke almost thought the goat boy especially was comical, if it wasn’t for his square pupils, and the curled rams horns trying to disembowel her.
The weregoat stood upright, only his back legs were hooves, Brooke had to jump quickly aside as the creature tried to gut her. He galloped past her like a wild bull, snorting and bucking. Brooke shot an energy spell at him even as she leaped away. The weregoat fell, but then the werecat was on her. Brooke threw another spell, but the shifter ducked underneath it before tackling her to the ground. Her sword flew out of her hand as she fell.
Brooke had always thought cats were adorable. The hissing, spitting creature on top of her wasn’t cute at all however, especially as her claws were trying to rip Brooke’s face off.
She threw an arm across her face on instinct and felt the cat’s claws ripping her clothes to shreds and scraping the armour beneath.
Brooke used her free hand to seize the cat by its ear and shoot a tiny bolt of electricity inside. The werecat yowled and scurried off her, running headfirst into the nearby wall in her confusion.
Brooke found herself giggling at the situation. Her humour faded quickly as the weregoat ran back, trying to gore her again.
“Screw you,” she yelled, gesturing with both hands and shooting an icebolt at the weregoat’s head. The spell struck the shifter so hard one of his horns snapped in half as he fell to the ground, dazed.
The fight at the other end of the alley was coming to a close too, but it was a far bloodier affair.
Arantay had opened up a litany of cuts on both of his opponents. She saw Kane attempt to claw Tay’s face off, but he was far too quick, hacking into Kane’s calf even as he ducked his strike.
Kane roared and staggered back, blood pumping from his leg like a stuttering fire hose. Markus used the distraction to deal Tay a sickening blow to the head. Arantay’s sword skittered across the ground as he tripped to the floor.
Brooke ran to help, but Arantay was already rolling to his feet and hitting a brutal uppercut as Markus tried to attack again. Tay kicked Markus in the stomach next, then kneed him in the snout, causing an audible crunch. Arantay then seized Markus by either ear and used his astonishing strength to rip the werewolf’s head clean off in a spray of scarlet.
Brooke froze mid-step, gasping in horror as Markus’s torso keeled over against a dustbin.
Arantay threw Markus’s disembodied head at Kane’s feet. “We aren’t leaving,” Arantay rasped. “You should though, or the same will happen to you.”
Kane had morphed back into his human form, his face pale with fear and tight from the pain of his wounded leg.
Brooke let the two children run past her and back to Kane, she couldn’t bring herself to kill them too.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Kane spat. “Your days are numbered now, half-breed. Next time they’ll be more of us, and we’ll maul you to death, Venators. That’s a promise.”
Kane then ran after the two strays and out of the alley, limping and leaving a trail of blood behind him. Arantay looked ready to go after him and finish his kill, his red eyes ablaze and his face a mask of wrath.
Kane had left Quinn lying in the gutter as he retreated. The werepanther hadn’t moved since Kane hit him, but he was coming round now.
Arantay stepped toward Quinn, but she grabbed his arm.
“No! He didn’t want to fight us, let’s just go.”
Tay nodded. “You’re right; he shouldn’t suffer for the actions of his pack. Although he should choose better masters to serve.”
“C’mon,” she led him gently away, looking over her shoulder repeatedly. “Did you have to kill one? Our mission was to deal with the insane lycan. Killing another werewolf could start a war.”
Arantay scowled at her. “It was self-defence. Besides, I’m tired of being the good guy. If any of the other Moonlight Races cross me they’ll suffer the same fate.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Markus had definitely been a rotten creature and she wasn’t sorry to see him go. Especially with what he’d said about attacking humans and the way he’d threatened her.
“We’ll have to return to the hotel now,” Arantay sighed, “and hope we can find Andon tomorrow, without running into any of his pack. Kane will likely lead them out in a search for us tonight, but we’ll be safe back in Seelie Square.”
“How come?”
“Seelie Square is a non-violence zone. Vore’s pack would bring the law down upon him if he violated that treaty. They’ll likely be looking for us tomorrow though, and strike as soon as we leave the square. We’ll just have to make sure no one can track us.”
“I can do that.” she said. “When preparing for this mission I learned the Anatomy spell to rid us of our scent. I was going to use it for when we get near Andon, so we can take him by surprise.”
“Could you keep the spell on us all night tomorrow then? So the pack can’t find us,” Arantay said.
“I think so.” Brooke nodded.
They returned to the hotel swiftly, where Arantay stood guard by their room’s window, making sure lycans didn’t arrive and break the non-violence law anyway.
“This could get very bad,” he said at last. “Veneseron probably hadn’t counted on the pack being so protective over Andon, now that he’s gone rogue. Hopefully we can deal with Andon quickly and portal out of here, before the pack try and exact revenge.”
Brooke lay in her bed, shivering, although it wasn’t cold in their room.
Arantay remained by the window and said that he would keep watch for the remainder of the night. They couldn’t risk being caught unawares, was all he said.
The thought of him standing over her as she slept was incredibly comforting, her own ivory protector.
She fell asleep quickly. Tired from the fight, but also from the range of emotions she’d felt tonight
The last thing she remembered thinking about as she drifted off to sleep was Arantay, but curiously, Lok’s face kept swimming into view too.
Chapter 20- Demon-Bait Boy
Evan awoke in a Fortress chamber he’d never seen before. The walls were carved from blue stone and the high ceiling was supported by blue pillars too. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes were frescoes on the ceiling tiles,
“Aha, you’re awake,” Jed beamed, putting down his comic book. He sat on a chair beside him, looking exhausted but smiling widely. “You’re in the infirmary mate. Don’t worry, you’re fine now.”
Evan’s head was pounding and he felt nauseous. As he sat up he winced, his body felt incredibly heavy and swollen. He was in a large circular bed. The mattress and blanket seemed to be made from an array of leaves. He realised it was an elven bed. The mattress was full of strange soil and herbs which sped up natural healing and staved off the side-effects from great magic use. Evan was grateful the infirmary had these kinds of beds, although it smelled rather earthy.
“Uh- hey,” Evan said through a yawn.
He noticed Veneseron’s blue moon winking at him through the window. He’d been unconscious for hours.
“Last thing I remember was the trial. Wait…” Panic ignited within him. “I got hit by the Hydra, I wasn’t eliminated was I? Did I cost our team the trial?”
Jed hesitated and Evan could tell by his expression it wasn’t good news. His heart plummeted. After all that hard work, after everyone’s efforts, he’d let all of them down.
“I’m afraid,” said Jed, “you only got hit twice, our armour was enchanted to withstand three big hits before breaking. So yes, we passed.” Jed said it all in a rush, breaking out in laughter as Evan hurled a pillow at him.
“Damn it Jed, you had me going then.”
“Sorry buddy, couldn’t resist.”
Evan’s humour melted when he saw Zeke in the nearest bed along. Not only was he still unconscious, but his skin was stained purple. Xavier sat by his bedside, fast asleep.
“Is Zeke okay?”
Jed nodded solemnly. “He got hit bad. But the doctors said he’ll make a full recovery.”
Evan sighed in relief. “Thank Rueda. Did the Hydra breath do that to his skin?”
“Yeah, you got some colour too,” Jed pointed out.
He looked down to both his shoulders were tinted purple, where each Hydra blast had hit.
“Don’t worry, the Doc’s said it’ll fade soon.”
Evan tentatively touched the patch of purple skin and grimaced. It felt like pressing down on a massive splinter.
“Yeah, the doctors also said not to touch it too.” Jed chuckled.
Evan recalled that the infirmary was run by two elderly orc brothers Doctor Zarrig and Doctor Zorrig. They had several nurses in their employ, and Evan noticed one on other side of the room, tending to another patient.
The infirmary was a gigantic chamber but it looked to Evan that three of the beds near the nurse were surrounded in a magical sphere.
“Ah, there’s been a DTD,” Jed noticed Evan’s gaze.
“What?”
“Demonically transmitted disease,” Jed said. “I heard the doctors say. Those Venators over there caught demon scourge whilst on a mission. They ate the wrong type of plant on some realm. Apparently the scourge makes your skin flare up with itchy blue bubbles. It’s highly infectious, so they’re in quarantine for a while. It also makes the infected have tourette’s, where they’re unable to stop swearing in demonic languages.”
“That sounds nasty,” Evan murmured, wincing again as pulled himself up.
“There are worse things to catch,” Jed said. “Like Venator Virus.”
“That’s an urban myth,” Jimmy called over from his bed on the opposite end of the room. “No such virus can make us grow three heads that will all explode.”
“Yeah, well Joelle told me it’s true. So pipe down, Jimmy,” Jed replied. “The infirmary is rather full up at the moment,” he continued. “That guy over there is Kai Zeltine.”
Evan looked and saw a patient covered in bandages, some stained with blood.
“Kai and his group were attacked by Asharon on their mission.”
A thrill of feat shot through him. Evan remembered Gettelung mentioning how dangerous the Asharon were in several lessons.
“He’ll recover, but I heard a nurse say he’ll have permanent scars,” Jed whispered.
Evan was speechless. The image of the other Venator covered head to toe in bandages reminded him that the threat on missions were very real, if the injuries he and the team had sustained on the trial wasn’t enough already.
He’d been so drowsy he only now realized Jed’s uniform had changed from blue to the green of a Mid-Realmer. His jacket was a leaf-green, with gold coloured buttons, sleeves and collar.
Jed reached underneath his chair and picked up a second set of Mid-Realmer clothes.
“These ones are for you.” He chucked them on the bed. “The doc, I couldn’t tell which one, said you’re free to go once you awoke.”
“What about Zeke?”
“He can leave too, but they’ve given him a couple days off training to rest up. Xavier won’t leave his side until he wakes up.”
“He will wake though?” Evan looked at him anxiously.
“Yeah, it took you about five hours and Zeke got hit worse than you. The doc’s said he should be up and about by morning. Elijah, Joelle and Emi were here too, but Elijah ran off when news broke about Arianna and he convinced the girls to help him. Speaking of Joelle, do you reckon she likes me? I think she’s so cute, and she keeps looking at me a certain way you know. I think there’s a connection there-“
“Wait, shut up,” Evan interrupted. “Help Elijah with what? What news?”
“Oh right,” Jed grumbled, looking annoyed that Evan didn’t want to talk about girls. “Well, everyone thought Arianna didn’t show up for the trial because she got cold feet or something, but it turns out she hasn’t been seen since.”
He felt a chill in the room. These disappearances were getting highly suspicious. They couldn’t all be runaways.
“Do you think she ran away like Cece and Cleo?” Evan said. “Surely three Venators wouldn’t all decide they didn’t want to be demon hunters and leave at almost the same time?”
“Exactly right!” Elijah replied as he arrived as he strolled into the infirmary, followed by Emi and Joelle.
“Thank Rueda, you’re up and okay,” Emi hurried over to give him a hug.
“Careful, my shoulders,” Evan winced again.
“Oh, hi Joelle.” Jed waved and grinned.
“Is Zeke okay?” Joelle was busy hurrying to Zeke’s bed. “His condition hasn’t deteriorated or anything?”
“No, he’s fine,” said Jed. “Don’t wake Xavier though. He’s just nodded off.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, Evan,” Elijah said quickly, “but I’m afraid we have a much larger problem to deal with. Today, whilst everyone was busy with the Great Games, Arianna Silcorn was kidnapped.” Elijah paused then, as if expecting everyone to gasp loudly.
“The Silcorn family do seem to think that’s what happened,” Joelle admitted.
“They’re beside themselves,” said Emillia. “Blake and Seth swear Arianna loved it here and would never leave.”
“Exactly,” Elijah continued. “Where would she even go? The Silcorn’s have lived here for centuries. They’ve always trained in Veneseron.”
“Well, Arianna does have an Aunt in America she might’ve gone to stay with,” Joelle countered. “And she was getting bullied by Lyella. Maybe she decided she couldn’t take it anymore and went to stay with her aunt.”
“Rueda,” Emi muttered, “I didn’t know Lyella could be so cruel to someone they’d want to leave here.”
“Arianna was just one of her many victims,” Joelle snarled. “Your sister and I got into a few scraps over it. One time it was Arianna she was tormenting, another time it was Sasha. Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap, it’s not your fault Emi.”
“I’ll talk to her again,” Emillia said, “I’ll make her stop being mean to people.”
“Like she’d listen,” Joelle snorted. “The Masters have caught and punished her several times for it. Hopefully she’ll be exiled soon.”
“Besides, that’s not the reason Arianna left,” Elijah said determinedly. “She was kidnapped I tell you. And guess what, there’s been witnesses who say both Bane and Master Magoris were spotted in the area. Not just when Cleo went missing, but when Arianna did too. One of them could be the kidnapper, or maybe even both working together?”
“Yeah Magoris is a prat,” said Jed, “and this Bane sounds like one too, from what Joelle told me. But I doubt either of them is going around abducting people.”
Elijah moved to the small table in the middle of the infirmary and climbed atop it, after gingerly moving a potted plant out of the way. “Regardless. Enough is enough,” he cried. “I say we stop these kidnappers o
urselves! And quickly, before they strike again.”
“Get off the table Elijah,” Joelle sighed.
“How?” Evan asked. “If Venators are being taken somewhere, wouldn’t the Masters deal with it?”
“They are.” Elijah said proudly. “I’ve been snooping on them. I’ve been hanging around the Instructors rec room in the citadel and heard Elorian and Taretta saying they were looking into it.”
“Yes,” Joelle added, “and you told me Taretta said they hadn’t found any signs of Rakarn or demon activity anywhere.”
“So,” Elijah said sheepishly, “I bet whoever’s behind the kidnappings is hiring someone to get the Venators for them. And I’ve had a tip off which could lead me to finding the culprit.”
“What kind of tip off?” Emi asked.
“Let’s just say I’ve learned of the location where one victim was taken,” Elijah replied mysteriously.
*
The violet water of Veneseron Sea was a sight to behold. Evan stood on the emerald beach, gazing at the sparkling waters.
It had been a few days since their trial now and he was fully healed. Since he’d gotten out of the infirmary he’d been immersed in his new Mid-Realmer training and today was the first time he, Jed, Emi, Joelle and Elijah had got a day off.
“See, I knew all of you would like it,” said Elijah. “I can’t believe you haven’t visited already. Just look at the sea creatures.”
“What creatures? All I see is girls in bikinis,” Jed mused.
Jed was half-right. The beach was full of Venators in swimwear, many of them playing Twinsphere or eating barbeque, whilst the sea brimmed with merlions, naiads and water-lizards, to name a few. Some Realmers were even riding atop the lizards, or swimming with the naiads. Evan spotted several lifeguards watching over it all.
They settled at one of the several tables where Venators were playing Scribduel.
“Get out your Krism sticks then everyone,” said Joelle. “The losers get thrown in the water.”
“Do I get a kiss if I win?” Jed asked.
“In your dreams,” Joelle replied.
Moonlight War- Act I (The Realmers Book 2) Page 25