Victor frowned, cocked his head and stared at the ground, as if to make sure that he’d heard them correctly. When the confirmation registered on his face, finally, I saw a look that I hadn’t seen in thirty years: fear.
Victor Kronin was terrified.
The first wolf burst out of the door to the stairwell, teeth bared. It dashed across the roof and pounced on Victor, loosening his electric grip around my neck, while the energy dissipated into the abyss.
I hit the ground and looked up, watching wolf after wolf pour through the door in single file, each one leaping toward their target with their claws extended. My heart jackhammered as I stood to help them, letting the magic of the Elders’ card flow through me, rejuvenating my burned flesh.
By the time my strength returned, Victor had recovered his balance. He raised a hand, letting off a blast that burned a hole through an attacking werewolf, making it slump to the ground with a whine. The first wolf – who I was almost certain was Jason – reacted, clawing at the air as Victor blew him back with a terrifying cloud of purple smoke.
I had to get in there and help.
Without my full powers, I pushed myself to my feet and stormed toward the battle. I lined up my shots with one arm, while the other burned a loop in the air around Victor’s feet, keeping him grounded like a vat of tar. I kept my other arm extended, feeling a sizzling ball of red energy pulsate through my arm with a throbbing sensation. It hit victor directly in the chest, stunning him.
“Keep at it!” Link yelled, swooping around our enemy and wrapping his arms around Victor’s head. It kept him in place while I strategized. “Go for the chest!”
Don’t have to tell me twice. I lunged forward with my scalding hands at the ready.
Another werewolf threatened Victor with ferocious bites, forcing him to keep his guard up. Two others circled him, the moonlight reflected in their eyes even through the large, purple cloud. One of them launched a sneak attack, pinning Victor to the ground. The others rushed to assist, holding down the other arm while Link flew all of his weight into the head.
My arms tingled with the pure energy. Even as Victor flooded Chaos smoke into the werewolves’ faces, they stood their ground to give me those extra seconds, to keep throttling him with my own magic… and I was going to use them.
I didn’t let up. Shot after shot blinded me as they ripped through my palms and struck his chest. The arm I’d been using to pin him could now be used as a second weapon. Victor’s body thrashed around as he took the hits. And I enjoyed it. The souls of the Elders took over, exacting their revenge on their killer. I could feel their wrath, their raw power, as I assaulted my target without relent.
The storm cloud in the sky began to dissipate, wafting into thin smoke and restoring the night to its natural dark color. Victor couldn’t move. His power had been drained. Even in the heat of battle, I grinned as I watched Link slalom around the carnage to remove the Chaos card – and two others – from Victor’s pocket, and bring them to my feet.
There would be no more magic for him. No more murder.
But that didn’t seem to stop me.
The Elders seized control now, firing a barrage of explosions into this defenseless mage’s chest. Even as the wolves howled and Link screamed his disapproval, I couldn’t help but keep at it. I couldn’t stop. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. This was no longer my war.
Pushing forward, I stopped at Victor’s feet, looking down into his sunken blue eyes, and for the first time ever… he looked weak, pathetic. “Choose your last words,” I told him.
The werewolf holding down his right arm made a grumbling noise, and his face began to shrink. Although his body remained that of a werewolf’s, Jason’s face began to emerge above the fur-coated neck. “No, Keira.”
“Shut up,” I said, focusing on my enemy.
“He’s right,” said Link, flying into the air and landing on my shoulder. “You made Lena a promise. Let Victor go. Let the wolves take care of him now.” He reached a hand up and tucked a stray wisp of hair over my ear – an attempt to calm me. A poor one.
“He deserves to die,” I said. My hand came up by itself, the red energy glowing through my skin. “He took innocent lives. He attacked the Vault. Two of the Elders were killed and you still stand there telling me to let him live?”
Silence.
Jason, lessening his grip on Victor, climbed to his feet. As he rose, his body turned back to a human’s. I couldn’t help but notice that – somehow – his pants hadn’t been ripped. Topless, he shivered in the cold as the wind toyed with his black hair.
“Keira,” he whispered as he approached. “Think of all the progress that can come with keeping your promise. Lena is counting on you to deliver. Victor will suffer – you have my word on that – but don’t undo this friendship we’re all building. Just let him go.”
The strength and emotion of his words ripped through my body. His words rang true but could I honor his request? After centuries of mages being at war with the werewolves and vampires, it would be a shame to shatter any chance at restoring faith. This was our opportunity to strike mutual trust between us.
The energy inside me dimmed. My heart rate slowed and the anger eased out of me. I took a step back, letting my hands drop to my sides. But even as Jason smiled, I still felt an ounce of the Elders’ regret remain buried somewhere deep inside. It would be my load to carry as I moved forward.
“You’ve done the right thing,” said Link.
I looked down at Victor Kronin, watching him gasp for breath in between pathetic pleas for forgiveness. A light rain trickled in, landing cool splotches of moisture on my face. I looked up to the sky, amazed to see it revert back to its former glory, as the soft drizzle and the wind worked together to soothe me.
Still, a flood of ill thoughts chased each other through my brain; the things Victor had done, the state of the Vault. I wondered how these events would change things in the years to come, but for now, all I could do was smile and enjoy my sense of accomplishment.
I’d really done it.
The Chaos card was ours again, and the Vault was finally safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Link proved useful, carrying the lighter of the werewolves while I took the bigger ones, so we could evacuate the tower without being seen. We glided in and landed them softly on a small patch of grass two city blocks away. But Victor… well, I “accidentally” let him slip from my hands, just as we were passing a gravel driveway. Too damn bad. I couldn’t think of a more worthy recipient for a little road rash.
In thirty minutes, we reached the sewage plant. The moment we arrived, two teenage boys stood holding the gates open for us. Link waited outside, testing his wings like a child with a brand new toy, while the rest of us went inside in search of Lena.
When we found her, her frown softened.
“You have the mage?” she asked, her face a stubborn mix of eagerness and suspicion.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder, diverting her attention to the guys behind me. They dragged Victor in by his arms, and although he tried to put up a fight, he was no match for the wolves, even in their human forms. He squirmed like a worm on a hook.
“All right,” Lena said, nodding. “You kept your end of the bargain.”
I shrugged. “We’re not as bad as you think we are.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She waved the guys through to the back door, whispering instructions and then sending them on their way. Victor looked over his shoulder at me, pleading forgiveness with his eyes one last time.
He wouldn’t get it from me.
The door shut behind them, and now only Lena, Jason and I remained. A strained silence filled the air with only the sounds of heavy breathing, and sewage flowing through the nearby pipes. It was too quiet.
I looked to Jason, who gazed back at me with deep longing in his eyes. I knew Lena was assessing us, and all I could do was wonder what would happen now. I knew that Jason staying with me would mean exil
e for him – or execution, as he had so bluntly put it. But that didn’t keep me from hoping.
“Nothing’s changed,” Lena finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Wolves are wolves, and mages are mages. Even a Cardkeeper couldn’t be seen with one of us. It would make us look weak.”
A wave of sadness washed over me, clouding my thoughts. My heart began to race and I could feel some moisture brewing at the corner of my eye. But I wouldn’t cry; we had just done something incredible – as a team – and that needed celebration, not misery.
“Lena,” Jason said, turning to his alpha. “I know the rules. I understand that it’s forbidden. But do you think that exceptions could be made? Keira isn’t like the others. I think she’s done everything to prove that tonight, don’t you?”
Lena stared him down, her teeth making that awful grinding sound. It looked as though she was furious at being second-guessed by one of her minions. Presumably, that’s all Jason was to her. “You truly want to be with this mage?”
Jason turned to me. His eyes met mine. “Yes.”
I endured the longest pause of my life. The rest of my life depended on what Lena said next. And although a part of me wanted to rebel like a teenager, chasing after my charming new love, even I didn’t want to go against Chicago’s alpha wolf.
“Okay,” Lena said.
Before I could stop them, the corners of my lips tugged upward in a radiant smile.
“I will spare you the death penalty, but you can no longer be one of us. The curse of the moon will remain yours to bear, but you will do it alone. You will be entirely isolated from the pack. If you seek help, seek it from the mages. But if I hear word of you working with the vampires, we will come back to punish you. Is that understood?”
Jason’s serious brown eyes darkened with a tease of sadness. He tried to hide it along with a deep swallow, but it didn’t get past me. Slowly, he reached out to take my hand in his, and he nodded. “I understand.”
I knew he was making a hell of a sacrifice for me, one I didn’t entirely approve of, but who was I to dispute his choice? It was his life to do with as he pleased. All I could do was bite my tongue as he led me out of the sewage plant, where we stood in the cool midnight air. Link’s wings fluttered in the distance and I knew he was watching, but stayed back to give us some space.
Jason stopped as we reached the gate, and looked back at the building. This had been his home and now he was leaving it for me. Something about that just didn’t seem right. As I looked up at him, he appeared distracted, sad – almost broken.
I couldn’t take it.
“Go,” I said.
He craned his neck, his eyebrows raised. “What?”
That wetness appeared in my eye again. I turned and wiped it on my sleeve, tried to pass it off as a yawn. “I think you need to go. Your place is in there avenging your brother with the rest of your pack.”
“What are you talking about? I want to be with you, Keira. I want to–”
I turned back, reached up and kissed him hard on the lips, cutting him off mid-sentence. Whatever sweet words he had to say to me could remain unspoken. This didn’t need to be any harder, and his endearment would only rip my already battered heart from my chest.
Jason leaned his body against mine, holding me in his firm arms. His heat radiated through him straight into me. We stood like that, leaning into each other, kissing. His coat – my old coat – flapped around in the wind. I would remember and treasure this moment for all eternity. Beat me around and throw me off a roof all you want, but the pain of the body was nothing in comparison to the pain of the heart and soul.
“I guess this is goodbye then,” he said as his lips left mine.
“Only for now.”
One last press of his lips, and Jason turned toward the plant – toward his home. In other circumstances it would have bugged me that he didn’t look back, but I understood why he didn’t; to look back would slice open a wound that hadn’t even begun to heal.
I watched him, stood in the cold with my arms wrapped around my chest, that tear finally streaming from my eye and rolling down my cheek. The finality of the door closing behind him hit me like a punch to the gut, but I continued to look on, a part of me hoping that he might have a change of heart. A young girl’s hopes, really – so terribly naive.
The flickering of faery wings sounded in the distance, growing louder as Link came to settle on my shoulder. The wings lay down flat across his back, tucked away safely and out of sight.
“That was… selfless,” he said.
“It hurt.” It was all I could say without breaking into the ugly cry.
Link sighed. I heard it in my ear. He wanted to say something – I could feel it – but he kept his mouth shut. Whatever it was, I supposed that he’d decided to wait until a better time. Any more bad news would have finished me off right now. I really didn’t need that final nail in my coffin.
“Come on,” I said, taking one last, long look at the door to the sewage plant.
“Where are we going?”
I turned and began walking back to the city. The Chaos card throbbed in my pocket, pulsating. As long as I possessed the Elders’ card too, I’d be mostly safe from its influence, but I didn’t want to keep it there for much longer. “We have one more stop to make.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
It was a strange thing to see Dalton so close to the real world. Although he stood just inside the portal with his hood up and a reddish glow streaming from his pointed fingers, it still felt as though he was a part of Chicago, even if just for a second.
I threw on a robe and told Link to stay put, while I followed Dalton through to the Vault. Amazed, I stood looking up at the tower. Where flames and smashed brick once soiled the walls, the structure slowly repaired itself. A faint light crept up the side of the tower in small, flashing waves. Each time that wave reached the top, it vanished and a new brick appeared in its place, before the light reappeared at the bottom to repeat the process.
“I told you it would be all right, Lady Keira. Now please, follow me.”
Climbing the spiraling, stone stairwell brought back nothing but bad memories for me. Having seen Victor Kronin destroy the Vault, all I could think when I looked at this place was how amazingly disturbed that man had been. I hoped the werewolves were taking care of him, and although he didn’t deserve it, wished they would give him a swift execution.
After a short walk, we arrived in the Dark Room. I wasted no time in handing the Chaos magicard over to Dalton, who took it carefully and slid it into its place in the wall. The bricks opened up, a glyph flashing in a purple ring around it. The bricks consumed it before closing over and, at long last, the card was back in its rightful place.
The two other cards that Victor had used were next. I slid them into the wall without identifying them. If the Vault didn’t consider them to be dangerous, it would transfer them to the downstairs bank, where I could use them as I saw fit. For now, I just wanted to wash my hands of this entire affair and return to my semi-boring life.
“You did well,” Dalton said. He stepped back and took a humble bow. “We have had many guardians of the cards over the centuries, and I hold no bias in saying that you are among the greatest.” He paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and said, “Tell me, have you thought about what happens when that time comes?”
We hadn’t spoken of it until now, and I didn’t really feel like this was the time either. My thirty years of immortality was almost up. I guess I had ignored the small print. Soon, with only two years left on the counter, it would be time to seek my successor. I didn’t want to think about that just yet, though – I simply needed to head home and sleep. “When that time comes, I will be prepared. Believe me.”
Dalton hesitated, and then nodded.
It was a perfect time for me to shift the topic of conversation, and what better way than to return the Elders to their brother? I gently lifted the card from my pocket and slid it into Dalton’s
open palms. I could feel an almost physical weight lift off me.
“Did they serve you well?” he asked.
“They were… powerful.”
“And the effects of the souls?”
I didn’t quite know how to tell him that his brothers had cursed me with unrelenting rage. Doing so would likely hurt him, but he had to know the potential of the Vault’s newest magicard.
“I wouldn’t use it again,” I said, and left it at that.
“Very well.” Dalton led me back to the Grand Hall, and stopped at the gaping fire that burned in the center of the room. For a fleeting moment, the flames licked up and shed light upon his face. “I have a little something for you.”
“Oh?”
He reached inside his robe and produced a scroll. “With Jasper Jones imprisoned, you will need to have your own transportation. Take this, learn the spell and practice your portals, and someday the magic will come naturally.”
My hand shook as I took it. To practice magic without the use of a magicard was no easy task. Unlike the cards, a spell could go either way. I’d heard enough stories of men trying to teleport, only to snap themselves in half. Some who practiced telekinesis had been driven insane. Slow and steady was the key, and I would approach that project with the utmost consideration for my wellbeing.
“Thank you,” I said, and stowed it away.
“It is my pleasure, Lady Keira. Now, let me see you out.”
We didn’t speak another word as he led me back out into the cold, windy mountains and down the dirt path. I thought that he would need the time to mourn his brothers. And me? I would just need to rest and gather my thoughts.
Dalton opened the portal and gave me one more bow before sending me through. The portal closed behind me and I stood inside the antiquated shop once more; coughing on the dust of Jasper’s VHS tapes. I wondered if I would even miss him. I supposed I had the scroll now, so I sure wouldn’t need him. Besides, one less creep off the streets was a good thing.
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