by Justin Sloan
She was the first to stand against the wall, but soon other winners were joining her, Triston following a few minutes later with a black eye forming.
“Really?” she said as he took his place.
“Had to sell it,” he whispered, walking past her.
Not a bad idea, she thought, considering how she would approach the next fight, if there had to be one. The room was in chaos, though the soldiers were doing a good job of keeping each fight contained. One man tried to lunge for one of their batons, but his partner caught him by the hair and pulled him back, off his feet, then stomped on him until the two soldiers had to pull him off.
They shoved him over to join Katherine and the others, and she saw he was smiling, blood on his mouth. He even winked as he passed, and Katherine made a note of him as another guy she’d have to smack around later if she got the chance.
Hurting another living person should never be fun.
As she watched the first round of fighting nearing its close, she started to realize there was going to be a lot of people in here who she would have to smack around. On the other side of that thought was the fact that plenty more looked like they would do anything to escape this, so she had hope.
Unfortunately, most of her hope lay in the people who were losing.
Up on the stage, Adrian was talking to a heavily scarred man, his face a mess of claw marks. He was also missing an ear. Then he turned toward her and she pulled back, catching her breath, hoping he hadn’t seen her.
Aaron. The werewolf she had confronted soon after Danny’s funeral, the one she’d let Rumos take care of when they were leaving.
She hadn’t thought about them for some time, but seeing Aaron here got her thinking. Rumos had sworn allegiance to her. If he was here, another werewolf with the ability to change already, then they might not be as bad off as she had thought.
A new group of werewolves entered, forming a line. Rumos was among them, and like the rest of them, his eyes glowed with a purple haze.
She had a sinking feeling then as she realized who the boss Adrian had mentioned likely was.
Grundy.
“Next round!” Adrian said smiling. “Let’s see how you do against one of our kind.”
He motioned, and then the winners were pushed forward, toward the line of werewolves. Okay, new plan. Hold nothing back, but try to get to Rumos to snap him out of this. In the meantime, ensure she and Triston survived this little ordeal without revealing what they were capable of.
As the room filled with howls, the fight began. Now it was more of a free-for-all, with purple-eyed werewolves charging around, flinging bodies, and people screaming. Katherine and Triston would have to step up here, to ensure as little lives were lost as possible.
On stage, Aaron was pointing in her direction, and she knew the gig was up. Adrian sneered her way, and motioned to a couple of his soldiers, who came up alongside him and, after a quick word, transformed.
She had to get to Rumos fast, and since her cover was blown anyway, she figured there was no more reason to hide what she was.
“Triston!” she shouted, running past him and dodging a werewolf’s claws. “It’s go time.”
He looked at her with confusion, but then turned back to the stage and saw what was happening.
Together, they kicked off an attacking werewolf. And then, with growls of pain because it still hurt every damn time, they transformed.
Clothes tore as their muscles and limbs grew, and nearby fighters backed away as her and Triston’s claws extended and eyes turned yellow.
One werewolf lunged at them, trying to get at her mid-transformation, but that was part of the difference between them. Once she had accepted the beast within and learned to control it, her transformations didn’t hit her like they had before, draining her until she was confused and disoriented.
No, now she was all strength, speed, and reflexes.
She flung the attacking werewolf back, knocking over two more, then had to jump over some regular people to get to Rumos. Another werewolf came at her, one without the purple haze, so she flipped it on its head with a snap and left it for dead.
The people were fleeing to the walls now, most of them, but a few had decided which side they would be on and joined in the attack against her and Triston.
She called out for Rumos, but had no idea how to shake him from the spell. Triston fought at her side, and together they were pushing back wave after endless wave of werewolves.
But still Adrian leered at them, pacing the front of the room, so confident that she wasn’t a threat that he didn’t even bother to transform.
She would have to show him how wrong of a thought that was.
Chapter 19
Mauro felt like he had been walking for hours, but hoped it had only been a few minutes. It was impossible to tell in this dark passage that led in a maze, lower and lower within the temple.
Ricky and Destiny stuck close, with Ricky taking up the lead and constantly glancing over his shoulder.
They couldn’t exactly be blamed for being a tad jumpy—considering the fact that they were in a vampire temple, in the dark… without any way of making fire. That had been Mauro’s mistake. Sure, vampires could be killed by decapitation, but Mauro wasn’t really the blood and gore kind of werewolf. He enjoyed spending evenings with his nose in the books, the scent of a candle as it burned to its base, and the warm breeze of Texas, where he had been raised.
All of this dark, dreary, wet temple stuff, he could do without.
“While we’re walking,” Destiny whispered, “let me just get this straight.”
Mauro glanced over, curious, but careful to keep his wits about him.
“Your fear, which you confronted,” she looked at him with skepticism, “earning us access in here, was that you would turn into a werewolf?”
“He was already a werewolf,” Ricky said in a hushed voice. “He was afraid of losing control.”
Mauro nodded at the big man, impressed. “You aren’t just brawn and good looks.”
“I’m mostly those things,” Ricky said with a wink. “The brains are just cherries on the cake.”
“I’m pretty sure you mean frosting,” Destiny said.
Ricky guffawed. “That’s stupid. Cake without frosting is just sugary bread. So no, cake is cake, but if you put cherries on it, voila. Magic.”
“Nobody puts cherries on cakes,” Destiny said, voice rising slightly so that Mauro had to hold his finger to his lips and motion for them to keep their voices down.
She pretended to zip her lips, then tossed the imaginary key to Mauro. He took it and pretended to swallow it, earning him a smile.
When he looked back, he realized the stairs they were descending had brought them to a ledge with a dark drop off. Past the drop off, three paths branched off that curved around behind them.
He paused, closed his eyes, and saw an image of Matthew to his left, so that’s the way they went.
The passage led to more passages, though not at a descent, finally. His werewolf sight got them through, so the others had to stay close, until they arrived at two burning candles on a small table at the end of the passage.
Next to the candles, Mauro found a goblet, empty, but for red stains on it.
“Feel free to fill it yourselves,” a voice said, and they spun. It seemed to have come from all around them. “I figure I’ll drink your blood anyway, but it’s always nice when a guest offers it up themselves.”
Suddenly the doors at the end of the passage flew open to reveal a man standing there in long robes. His eyes shone with a slight purple to them, and he met the description Katherine had given of the one called Grundy.
His lips curled back in what he must have meant to be a smile, though his eyes were full of malice.
“But wait, what’s this?” he said, nose raised. “A werewolf, uninvited?”
“Have you been inviting werewolves?” Mauro asked, and noted the raised eyebrow at that. Interesting. “Had I k
nown, I’m sure I would have found myself an invitation and been the first to accept your offer.”
Grundy’s eyes narrowed and he cocked his head, staring into Mauro’s soul. “Ah, the priest, yes. I’ve heard about you. There seem to be quite a few stories about you and your little friend, what’s her name?”
“Katherine,” Mauro said. “But I think you already knew that.”
Grundy smiled, looking around. “If she’s not here, I can only assume….” He closed his eyes for a moment, purple light surging around him. Images of werewolves fighting jumped from the light. When he opened his eyes, he snarled, the humor gone from his face. “She’s proving to be quite the little problem child.”
“Looks to me like she’s putting you out of business.”
“It’s a mere portion of my recruitment efforts, but yes, I might have to delegate here.” He waved his hand and the purple light surrounded him, and then it was gone and him with it.
The room filled with snarls and red and purple eyes, as werewolves moved in on them. Above was a ledge that went around the room. On it, vampires appeared in bursts of purple flame, each looking down at them, waiting to watch their destruction.
“Ready for a fight?” Mauro asked his two companions.
“Doesn’t look like we have a choice,” Ricky said, pulling out his knife as Destiny did the same beside him. They both dropped their packs and took up defensive stances beside Mauro.
Chapter 20
The werewolves were no match for Triston and Katherine, but when a sudden flash of purple fire appeared beside Adrian, Katherine pulled back sharply.
Grundy.
If he was here, then where was Matthew? Had Mauro failed?
Grundy stepped forward with a sneer, throwing Adrian forward. “Don’t just stand there, kill her!”
Adrian looked affronted that he should have to lower himself to this level, but he transformed, dropping his already tattered clothes as he once again became a humongous werewolf. He let out a vicious snarl, gnashing his teeth, then charged Katherine.
She had been waiting for this moment, but wasn’t prepared for the power of his strike, nor the coordinated manner in which the others attacked. Triston was doing his best to hold the werewolves off her, but two were at her back, clawing as she moved to dodge a strike from Adrian.
The blows stung, but even more so when Adrian faked a movement to his left and came back to the other side with a block of her arm. While she was overextended, he sank his teeth into her furry flesh and she let out a yelp.
Others were moving in again, emboldened by Adrian’s successes, and many of them had purple to their eyes.
“Anyone else want to join the fight?” Grundy said. “Come get your serum. Be the one to take her out, and I will make you one of my generals.”
Most people stayed where they were, though a dozen or so ran up to take him up on his offer.
Triston was attacked by Rumos, but had difficulty fighting back because of his inability to strike those under Grundy’s control. Katherine turned to help him when two soldiers opened fire, bullets tearing into her legs so that she fell on her lover.
“We can’t hold them off forever,” he said.
She growled and then saw the shadow of someone about to attack, so rolled over and swept the feet out from under the two werewolves.
More came, and then she turned, looking at the frightened people staying out of the way in the far corner.
“Is this who you want to serve?” she shouted, pushing herself to her hands and knees, glad to feel the bullet wounds healing. But then a foot caught her in her midsection, sending her sprawling.
Triston cursed and charged the werewolf who had kicked her. The two met in a clutched struggle while more soldiers appeared with rifles, aiming for a clear shot. Several of the werewolves also seemed to want a piece of the action.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be destined for greatness; at least, that’s what Mauro had told her. At the church in Canada, she had faced Aldrick and his soldiers, and it hadn’t been anything like this.
Was she getting sloppy? Too worn out from the training and exercise?
Either way, she knew that Triston was right. This wasn’t working, and they would have to fall back if they hoped to make any sort of progress.
“Go,” she mouthed to Triston, and he nodded.
Together they worked their way back, which was much easier than forward, since most of the werewolves had been blocking their route to Grundy.
Adrian came pounding after them and leaped, nearly taking out Triston, but Katherine spun and hit him with both forearms, so that she sent him flying sideways into a couple of other pursuing werewolves.
The movement set her up in the sights of a soldier who opened fire, but the bullets merely grazed her.
Grundy’s shout of frustration filled the night as they reached the doors, but then they were out of there and dodging past buildings, running all out—or as best they could, given their beat up and exhausted conditions.
“That was a stupid plan!” Triston hissed, glaring at her and then turning to see if they were followed.
Werewolves and soldiers came pouring out into the night, and Katherine grabbed him and pulled him out of sight.
“Where the hell are Danny and Rivera?” she said, leaning forward slightly to see that they weren’t on their rooftop. “Any way to get one of those Uber things?”
He shook his head, also looking.
“They abandoned us?”
“I don’t think it’s that.” She glanced back and then motioned for him to follow. They kept moving out, very careful not to enter areas of light. Soon they came to a fence, which they ducked through at a spot that had been cut. The sound of werewolves came from behind, so they slid down a short decline to safety.
They lay there in silence for a moment, catching their breath, allowing their werewolf bodies to heal. Then they both turned back to their human form, and Katherine stared at Triston, his clothes tattered, blood splattered across him, and now lying here in the dirt. He looked a complete mess, and she imagined she didn’t look much better.
People were shouting, wolves were howling, and a few people screamed as Adrian or Grundy took out their frustration on those standing nearby.
“You’re right,” Katherine said. “I screwed us in there.”
He shrugged. “At least we’re alive, for now.”
“Mauro was supposed to be saving Matthew, right?” she said, voicing a nagging feeling. “And we were pretty sure Grundy had Matthew….”
“So where the hell is Mauro?” Triston filled in for her.
“Did he fail?”
They lay there, watching the stars for a few moments, then Katherine said, “They’re bound to look down here soon. We better get out of here.”
He nodded and let her help him up, just as a light hit them, someone shouted, and a moment later, an explosion went off, throwing them both to the ground. When Katherine was able to open her eyes again, she saw soldiers standing all around them, guns aimed in.
“RUN!” she shouted, and the two took off as bullets tore up the ground where they’d been lying.
Chapter 21
Mauro was surprised at how well Destiny and Ricky could hold their own, leaping and slashing, dodging werewolf attacks and setting up each one for Mauro to deliver the final blow.
When possible, Mauro kept to blows that would knock the werewolves unconscious or otherwise incapacitate them. He knew the vampires’ magic held them, and knew there was a possibility these werewolves could be persuaded to join their side at some point.
The vampires, however, were a different story.
So when they had finished with the last of the werewolves, instead of staying to fight, he said, “RUN!”
And they did.
They sprinted down narrow passages, the vampires coming after them, flying through the darkness in wisps and shooting like dark flames. At one point, Ricky was nearly taken ov
er by one, but Mauro had turned and used his werewolf strength to fight the vampire off.
But fighting the vampire meant the others were catching up now too. Soon Rosita’s laughter echoed in the chamber as broad flames licked the hallway floors.
The passage led out to a descending stairway with more passages off of it, flaming torches along the walls, and a pool of murky water at the bottom.
Cackling sounded all around them as the vampires filled the room, floating above as the trio descended. At the bottom, Ricky cursed.
“There’s no way out!”
Destiny dipped a toe into the water and pulled it back to see smoke, part of her boot melting.
“And that’s not good,” she said.
“You thought you could walk into our home and, what? Just take over? Call the shots?” Rosita came forth, materializing fuller the closer she got. Her red dress was made of red tendrils of light, coursing through her limbs and caressing her body in a way that any man would have been envious of.
But not a priest.
Mauro shut his eyes, calling out to Matthew. He saw him, and heard him, and he knew what they needed to do.
“Jump into the water,” he said.
“But you saw what it did to my shoe!” Destiny protested.
He nodded. “All the more reason it calls for faith. Sacrifice is the only way to beat these creatures.”
Rosita stared at them in anger, then lifted her arms so that the red tendrils flared around her like a wall of flame. She surged forward.
“NOW!” Mauro shouted, and he jumped, hoping the other two were close behind.
The immediate sensation was horrible, burning—pain beyond belief. And then it was over and they were unharmed. All three of them stood in a dark room listening to the screams of frustration that echoed through the temple.
“I’ve missed you,” a voice said from the darkness, and then they saw the glow of eyes.
Destiny and Ricky tensed, blades ready, but Mauro waved them down. He took a step forward, relying on his werewolf sight, and then saw him—Matthew.