Elijah had planned out the whole day for them, he’d even written a list. Before they went swimming they were to use summoning magic and conjure Enerlytes to battle each other. Evan understood why Scribduel was a popular magic game, he loved it. As he scrawled the summoning symbols, he found himself distracted by other Realmers at the beach. He spotted Sintian with several older boys on the pier in the distance, playing arcade games by the look of it. Nearer to their bench was a group surrounding Emi’s sister Lyella. Lyella and her friends were flirting outrageously with two guys who were skimming rocks into the sea. Evan recognised one boy as Eric Adara, the chosen one.
Joelle identified the other boy as, “Bane bloody Madagant.”
“Let’s just play our game and ignore them,” Elijah suggested.
Luckily, summoning the Enerlytes with Krism sticks didn’t take too much sorcery, Evan knew his friends had to be as exhausted as he was. The jump from Apprentice to Mid-Realmer was drastic. Evan’s first two days of training had been more arduous than any other classes he’d had before.
Zeke had been let out of the infirmary yesterday, fully healed. He’d wanted to come with them to the beach, but Xavier had insisted the only strenuous activity Zeke was allowed to do was watching TV in the rec rooms.
As they began their Scribduel game, however, Lyella and her gang approached them.
One of Lyella’s friends pointed at Evan. “Him, he’s the one the demons were after.”
“Ah, Evan is it?” Lyella asked sweetly.
Evan froze, his mouth going dry. He just nodded.
“Hmmm, just what is so special about you?” Adara said, looking Evan up and down critically. “Trying to be the next Eric Adara are we? Fancy yourself a hero?”
“No,” Evan said. It felt like he was speaking unnaturally high. He didn’t like all the eyes staring at him, judging him. “I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”
“Are you even from a proper Venator family?” Bane scoffed. He stood apart from Lyella’s gang, his arms crossed as he looked at Evan like he was a mildly amusing creature.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Joelle said.
Evan disliked the suspicion etched on all of their faces. He felt sick with guilt, like he’d intentionally caused Kurrlan’s army to invade. Maybe you did.
“Hey,” Elijah said, “you’re not at a zoo, and it’s rude to stare.”
“Oh sorry, honey.” Lyella smiled, her eyes dancing with malevolence. “We’re just intrigued by the little boy all the demons want to snack on.”
Lyella’s gang giggled at her words. The dread Evan felt pooling in his stomach increased tenfold as a second group came to stand beside Lyella’s gang. It was Sintian and the older boys.
“What’s going on here?” Sintian asked, gazing at Evan maliciously.
“We were just getting a look at the demon bait boy,” said Bane
“Hey, watch your mouth,” Jed snapped.
“Look,” Evan stood up, pocketing his Krism stick. It appeared they wouldn’t be able to play Scribduel after all. “I’m really sorry about the demon attack, but-”
“You don’t have anything to apologise for mate,” Jed interrupted. “It’s not your fault demons attacked the Fortress, who knows what goes through their head’s.”
He watched Bane nervously. The High-Realmer was staring daggers at him and his whole body was tensed, like a coil ready to spring.
“Don’t lie, Jagger,” said Sintian, “the demon army came especially for Evan. I’ve already told my brother’s friends.” Sintian gestured to the older boys. “When Sypher returns to Veneseron and I tell him about you Umbra, about what you did-”
“I didn’t do anything,” Evan said quickly. He was angry as well as scared now.
“Demons attacked him twice before the invasion, and he’s the only one they took back to their own realm. This Evan kid being here put all our lives in danger,” Bane snarled, rallying the others around him, who muttered their agreement.
“It was a mistake,” Jed said. “The Dread Lord behind it thought Evan was someone else. We should be blaming those moronic monsters, not each other.”
Lyella laughed unpleasantly. “Oh be quiet darling, we aren’t stupid like most of the Venators around here. Vanderain fed the Fortress a pack of lies in the Banquet chamber. This Evan is a danger to us all.”
“Hmm,” Adara strode closer to Evan. “I don’t think so. I can sense evil, being the chosen one and all, and he just looks like an ordinary boy. He’s a little ugly maybe, but not demonic level grotesque.” Adara smiled at Evan, as if he’d done him a favour.
“And where’s Cera Sangel eh?” Bane wouldn’t let up. Evan could tell he was out for blood. This could go very wrong, very quickly.
“It’s a cover up,” said Lyella, “I bet he killed her and Vanderain is lying to all of us.”
Evan went cold. “I didn’t.” He struggled to find words, “Cera… she-”
“Say that again,” Emillia interrupted, squaring up to her sister, surprising everyone. “And I’ll punch you in the mouth.”
“Get in line,” Joelle stepped up beside Emi.
“Oh go away Emi.” Lyella rolled her eyes. “Go in the water and play with the fishes, they’d be better friends than the current idiots you’re hanging out with.”
“It’s a shame you’re hot,” Jed said, “because you get uglier every time you open your mouth.”
Lyella’s followers tittered in outrage, but Lyella went silent.
“Calm down Joelle,” Bane drawled. “I’d hate to see Lyella beat the Ushk out of you. Actually, I’d like to see that. Carry on.”
“I think everyone should just calm down,” Elijah stepped in-between the two groups. “We’re all just on edge, but the attack has been dealt with.”
“How do we know?” A boy with straw-coloured hair shouted over Sintian’s shoulder.
“They could send another army,” Bane agreed. “And we won’t be so lucky next time.”
“So what exactly is your point,” Joelle demanded. She stepped toward Bane, who towered over her.
“My point,” Bane spoke over the raised voices. “Is that the longer this Evan stays in Veneseron, the more we’re in danger. We should remove him, by force if necessary.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Joelle said.
“It’s okay,” Evan told her. “Don’t get in trouble because of me.”
“You won’t be able to stop Bane,” Sintian smirked. “He’s good friends with my brother, he…”
“Why don’t you just marry your brother already?” Jed yelled.
Sintian opened his mouth to reply, but before he could Lyella punched Jed in the face.
“Argh, what the hell?” Jed reeled back.
“Call me ugly again,” Lyella screamed. She pulled back her fist once more, but Emillia intervened, shoving her sister back.
“Oi!” One of Lyella’s friends grabbed Emi by the hair and pulled her away, but let go a second later as Joelle jumped forward and head-butted her.
“Rueda,” Elijah cried in shock. He tried to break up the fight but was seized by Sintian and pulled to the ground.
Evan moved to stop Sintian, but came face to face with Bane. Bane had already summoned a handful of flickering flames. He stood his ground, however, summoning his own fire spell.
“Go on, demon bait,” Bane whispered. “I dare you to fight me.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Jed roared.
Evan turned to see Sintian who’d been circling him from behind.
Sintian gestured violently, preparing to throw an energy bolt at Evan’s face, but Jed tackled him just in time.
Evan ducked as he felt severe heat inches away. As he moved his head a fireball sailed over it, Bane had thrown his fireball when Evan wasn’t looking.
He threw his own fireball instinctively, but it bounced off an air shield Bane weaved and exploded on the beach nearby.
“C’mon!” Bane’s lips skinn
ed back to show a feral grin as he unsheathed his sword.
Evan’s fear had been erased now. His heart thundered in his chest and his skin burned. He was so angry, not just at being attacked, but that everyone hated him. They’d rather he’d been slaughtered by the demons if it kept themselves safe.
He ripped his own sword from his belt and charged, yelling incoherently.
All around him magic filled the air as his friends fought their own battles. But Evan didn’t see them, he was only aware of Bane.
Bane met him head on and their blades clashed together in a deafening display. It took a total of five seconds for Evan to realise Bane was the superior swordsman. He slipped under Evan’s guard and swept his legs from under him. Evan hit the ground with a thud. Before Bane could capitalise further, Joelle leaped on his back out of nowhere. Bane seized her by the hair and threw her off.
“Oi,” Evan bellowed, rapidly getting to his feet and landing a solid punch on Bane’s jaw.
Suddenly Gettelung and Padrake were among the fray, separating the Venators.
“What is this madness?” Gettelung cried. “Scuffling on the beach like loons? Pull yourselves together.”
The Masters had apparently been surfing and were topless, save the brightly coloured beach shorts they both wore. The sight would’ve been hilarious if both Masters weren’t incensed.
Padrake hurled his surfboard between the two groups in his anger. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he shouted.
“All of you get back to the Fortress now,” Gettelung ordered. “You’ll be running laps and scrubbing rooms clean for months for this.”
Evan bowed his head in shame as the Masters continued to shout at them all. He was filled with instant regret. He shouldn’t have bothered to fight back. It seemed a big portion of Veneseron’s Venators would always hate him for Kurrlan’s invasion.
Vanderain had been right in recommending they keep their parentage a secret. If the Fortress ever found out he and Brooke weren’t entirely human, it would get a whole lot worse.
Chapter 21- A Battle Most Beastly
Brooke’s breath spiralled in the air as she exhaled. She gripped the sword at her belt as she surveyed the area.
Arantay stood not far off, stalking the dimly lit streets like a phantom. For the last two nights they hadn’t been able to glimpse the rogue lycan. Tonight they’d already been tracking him for hours, without coming across anything. Brooke was starting to think they might not find Andon at all.
The mist was prevalent once again tonight, and it kissed Brooke’s face with frozen breath as she walked through it. The river Thames churned monstrously below the wall beside her, the fog roiling across its surface like clouds.
There had been no sign of Kane, Quinn or any other shifter or werewolf out for their blood tonight. A part of her hoped there’d be no sign of the rogue either. She wanted to complete her first mission and pass with flying colours, but she was also terrified of battling an out of control werewolf.
But since there’d been no sign of him, maybe she was frightened for nothing.
*
The blood-mad beast pounded down the alley on padded feet, loping on all fours as it looked for prey. Swinging strands of saliva fell from its bloody snout and his eyes swivelled from side to side wildly.
The gargantuan brute abruptly raised himself back onto two legs and lifted his maw into the air, detecting man flesh. His thick red tongue lolled from his mouth as he craned his neck, pupils dilating in crazed abandon. Towering near the impossible height of eight feet, dwarfing all others of its former pack, the barbaric beast was nightmare to behold. It returned to all fours and began the hunt, fresh saliva dripping as his excitement rose.
*
Arantay delved into the necks of alleyways as Brooke strolled beside the stone wall overlooking the famous river Thames. She was momentarily distracted by the billowing mist that streamed across the water. She remembered Master D-7 had mentioned an underwater community who lived deep under the waters of the Thames. No Brooke, focus. She had to stay on high-alert, in case the berserk lycan took her by surprise. Every time she looked down a shadowy space she expected to see the monster emerge out of it.
Arantay had already coated his sword in wolfsbane gel, just in case the beast came out of nowhere. He kept the sword down and against his leg, so it shouldn’t stand out on a dark and misty night to any passerby. Brooke knew that if she were to see a red eyed man wielding a sword she would definitely call the police, before she’d become a Venator of course.
She kept going over the mission objective in her head, like a mantra. Arantay had told her repeatedly as they left the hotel and every half hour since. Urkzal had packed a pouch of Harmona powder in their bag. Harmona powder was a magical dust only the very skilled in alchemy could create. It was designed to treat anyone’s unnatural psychosis once it came into contact with their skin.
Arantay was going to attempt to cure Andon of his insanity first. If the rogue had been magically cursed, or even bitten by a demon or another monster. The powder may turn him back to normal. If there was a powerful spell upon him the powder likely wouldn’t work, however. It definitely wouldn’t work if Andon was either acting of his own will, or had gone insane without magical means. If the powder failed, Tay planned to subdue Andon long enough for Brooke to try her healing magic. She’d have to get up close and personal with the werewolf then. Her goal was to heal Andon’s mind if she could, or at least find out what was the cause of his madness. If both methods failed, they had no choice but to slay the beast.
Arantay allowed Brooke to remain out of the alleys as he searched for signs of the rogue. She was honoured he considered her safety before his own, although part of her also thought it was just because he wouldn’t want a rookie’s death on his mission record. Bad thoughts like that kept creeping into mind, pushing out all the others. What if Andon managed to kill Arantay? What if he killed her too?
She focused on the compass in her hands. That was her job whilst Tay searched the alleys. The Twilight compass Urkzal had given them could detect and point toward a shifter or lycan if one was nearby, but only if they were in their beast form. As Andon was perpetually in his beast form, according to Phosian, they were confident the compass would find him. The Twilight compass resembled any other compass. It was silver with a red arrow and the directions etched onto its face. Wherever she moved it the arrow kept pointing east however, leading them here.
When they first left the hotel they’d headed to Hyde Park, where Phosian said Andon had been spotted, but the compass started flickering East before they got there. Brooke was relieved. She’d expected Kane and others might be waiting for them if they returned to scene of the fight.
It was maybe three in the morning now. Apart from her and Tay, this area of the city was deserted.
Arantay finished checking the side of one building and disappeared down another. As Brooke crossed the road to watch him, a terrible stench assaulted her. It was the reek of blood and death, dirt and rot. The werewolf was near.
She gagged, stuffing the compass into her pocket and hastily ripping out the pistol Urkzal had given her, hoping the silver bullets would slow Andon down. She had some experience with her sword, cutting down demons in the invasion, but she’d only used firearms in target practice, now this was the real thing.
Her breath came out in short, panicked gasps. Fighting her fear, she hurried down the passage after Arantay, she couldn’t leave him to deal with the monster alone.
“Shoot from afar,” Tay whispered urgently. “Don’t approach until I have him subdued. I can’t let him hurt you.”
He delved deeper into the alley, his muscles tightening to cords as he prepared himself for the battle to come.
*
The lycanthrope roved through the urban labyrinth, coming ever closer to the scent he’d picked up. He wasn’t so far gone in his lunacy to know that this victim was one he couldn’t feed on, yet he wasn’t one of them. He sensed th
at this one was different, part vampiric, but not. It didn’t matter, he may not feed be able to feed on it, but he could still rip it limb from limb.
Andon saw them at last.
His victim appeared luminous, for a split second his deranged mind believed it was a ghost, but the thought vanished as the sweet smell of blood and flesh took over. His lip curled up over his canines. He lunged.
*
For what seemed like the longest time, the only thing Brooke heard was her own anxious breathing. Then came the sound of heavy padded feet, so loud that whatever creature making them had to be huge.
It came at Arantay from behind, looming out the shadows like a colossal demon from the blackest of hells. She saw its eyes first, like two fires, flickering and desperate to stay alight.
Arantay stood facing her, giving no sign he knew the monster was right behind him. How could he have no idea, what with his own heightened senses? Brooke was about to scream a warning, but Andon was already lunging forward.
Arantay back-flipped through the air, careening back out of the alley as the monster landed where he’d been moments before, snarling carnivorously.
The werewolf was a giant, with jet black hair all over his apish torso and legs. His snout alone was as big as the jaws of an alligator, the teeth glistening inside it as big as daggers. Its molten gold eyes reflected an unrestrained hatred and the lust to rend and destroy.
She backed into the mouth of the alley, where Arantay had landed. She realised he’d been fully aware of Andon’s approach, but left it to the last second to move to gain the advantage. Andon was sprawled on the ground where he’d tried to pounce on Arantay. Arantay surged in front of the monster, throwing the blue Harmona powder in his face.
Andon shook his head back and forth, snorting and snuffling as the powder melted into his skin.
She gripped the pistol’s trigger tight as she raised it high, gathering a healing spell in her free hand.
Andon mewled like a dog in pain as he crouched against the ground, apparently dazed. Did the powder work? Is it over?
Moonlight War- Act I (The Realmers Book 2) Page 26