by Fay Walsh
“Fuck, I knew I screwed up,” she said.
She couldn't believe that she had been so weak, that she was at the mercy of whomever it was that had brainwashed her. She remembered trying to fight it, her own consciousness working overtime in order to beat it, but it still wasn’t enough. She was still far too weak for everything.
She sighed, realizing her own weakness was going to be the death of her. She felt foolish like she would never make it to the same level as Sven and the others. She felt like she was holding him back, but she didn’t know for sure if that was the case, or if it was her own personal doubt hanging over her like that. She wondered many things, but the biggest thing she needed to do right now was to find Sven.
She saw a note there, in his writing nonetheless, and when she picked it up her eyes widened, a frown ghosting her face.
“I am going to take care of things. Don’t follow me. It’s dangerous,” she read.
Bullshit. She wasn't going to just sit there and hold onto these feelings of doubt. She was just happy that she wasn't brainwashed by whomever it was that she was brainwashed by. She tried to get up, feeling the effects of her experience, and when she tried to raise her body up once more, she cried out in pain.
“Fuck, what did she do to me?” she said to herself.
She looked around for anything that might help her. She tried to move once again, but her body was too weak, from her exertions, and she fell down once again, crying out in pain.
She didn’t want to be useless. She felt like she already was pretty useless in the grand scheme of things, and she felt like if she continued to feel this way, it would only get worse. She needed to get out of this funk, to figure it out for herself, and to get out of this hellish environment.
She thought about what she needed to do in order to get to Sven. She tried to picture where he was. That was probably how he found her, right? When he focused on Sven, she saw a vision of him, and then she saw that he was fighting in the inner part of this forest. She immediately gasped, realizing that she could see where he was. Was this some sort of weird shifter power that she picked up? Or maybe, maybe it was because they were mates?
A blush crept up on her face as she realized that might be the case. She wondered what it might mean for them if they were indeed mates. Would they have to have children? Would she be tied down, or anything? She would follow her heart no matter what, as there was a connection there between Sven and her.
She decided to follow him. She tried to stand up, struggling for a second, but then, after she suffered from another onslaught of vertigo, she managed to finally get up. Her head was spinning, but at least she wasn’t possessed by any sick bastards anymore. She looked about, sighing in frustration at her own weakness, unsure of what to make of anything, and then she realized that she couldn't fight in this state.
She could barely keep herself upright. It was so weird, but then, she looked over at the corner, noticing in the ground were two things: her locket and a small knife that she didn’t remember using before, but had a strange pull to it. She looked at it, feeling the slightly foreboding nature of it as it touched her hands. She then got another flashback, when she held the knife and had almost stabbed Sven with it.
“Oh my God!” she cried out.
She didn’t mean to do… that. She didn't want to kill him, but she knew that she was under a spell, which prevented her from thinking rationally. She grasped the knife, a tear falling down her face.
“I'm so… so sorry, Sven. I'm sorry I attacked you like that. I'm just… so sorry,” she said.
She cried tears, letting them fall onto the knife. She hoped that maybe it would cleanse the object of all of her sin. She then looked at the knife, realizing that it changed colors. Instead of having a dark, evil hue, it radiated a light color that was different from the contrasting darkness it used to have to it. It was a warm red, and it also had white undertones. She held it in her hands, but instead of feeling regret, she felt… power.
Power was so different from what she was expecting, and in truth, she wondered if this was the beginning of something else, something that… even she didn’t understand. She wondered if she could take on Laphy, and when she looked at the knife, while it wasn’t that strong, she could see that there was a potential for power from it.
When she held it in the correct fashion she was supposed to hold it, instead of feeling fear, she felt the power. It was a nice feeling, a different one from what she expected to feel, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see a rat here. She didn't know if it had anything to do with Laphy and the fight, but she definitely wasn't going to let this feeling go away.
She decided to see how powerful this was. After all, it was given to her for a good reason, right? She then held it, moving forward, and almost as if on instinct, she stabbed the creature directly in the chest. It cried out once before it perished, and she gasped.
“So this knife can… it can take down anything basically,” she said.
She didn’t have combat powers, but for some reason, as Vicky held the knife in her hands, she felt like it was telling her to use it, to go in the direction of where Sven went, and to defend him. Vicky always wanted to fight, but she didn’t know how to. However, this knife was teaching her something, whatever it might be, and she realized that this would be the answer she was looking for. She moved forward, seeing something small at the doorway.
It was a guardian wolf, one that probably belonged to Laphy’s coalition. She moved towards the side, and the guard wolf looked at her.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“Oh, I just… I noticed something over there,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, my eye just caught something. You should go over there to take a look at it,” she said with a soft voice.
The wolf looked at her as if she had three heads, but then, he started to turn around, heading in the direction of the imaginary object that she made up. This was her chance.
With one movement, she pulled the knife out, stabbing the wolf in the back. He cried out once before falling to the ground. Vicky looked at the dead wolf, immediately realizing that she had the power to kill strong wolf shifters. This knife wasn’t just any old knife, but it was probably one that was meant to kill shifters.
And she almost killed Sven with it.
She shuddered, trying to get her head out of that place. She didn’t need to worry about that right now. She wanted to save Sven, and she now had a means to.
She looked at the dead guard, seeing a pair of bloodied keys nearby. She took them, realizing they might be useful later on. She also noticed there was a small trap over in front of him, and when she used his body to activate it, she jumped back, the explosion echoing through the forest.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of howls. She knew that was probably not the best decision, because it attracted every guard in the area, but Vicky had an idea.
She would sneak around. She held the knife in her hands, moving behind the trees, watching as the other wolves came from here.
“What was that?’
“I don’t know, but Clayton is dead and the girl is gone,” the other wolf said.
“Shit. Laphy is going to be pissed. Don’t let her go to the northern part of the forest by the pond, that’s where Laphy’s fighting that damn bear, and she has the upper hand, even if things aren’t going smoothly,” the other wolf said.
Shit, not Sven! She immediately tensed up, knowing that she needed to find him immediately, but she didn’t know where the hell he was. But, the only clue that she had was the northern pond.
If she went to the north, she would make it. She looked up at the sky, noticing the darkness, but also the North Star. She saw it after a moment and figured out where north was, traversing that way. She kept her head level, hoping that Sven would be safe.
She came across two shifters hanging out over near one of the clearings. She needed to be careful, and quiet.
She moved towards the one on the left, letting her knife move straight to the shifter’s throat, slitting it. He fell instantly, and when the other turned to his fallen friend, he immediately gasped.
“What the-”
It was too late for him too. She slit his throat as well, the sound of the shifter gasping for air echoing through the forest for but a moment before he fell down, dead in front of her.
“Well there’s two of them,” she said to herself.
She kept her head level, trying her hardest to figure out what to do. She looked about, trying to avoid any gazes from shifters. She needed to make it to where Laphy was, and this would be the only way to do it.
Vicky slithered about, moving from the one cluster of trees she was behind to the next cluster of trees. She looked around, trying to spot any of the shifters. But then, she spotted one right in front of her. It locked eyes with her for but a moment, racing over to where she was, and immediately Vicky took this as an opportunity to try out a new move.
It raced towards her, but as it did, the knife collided with his chest, causing him to gasp, cry out, and make a little howling noise before it fell to the ground.
She took her knife out again, the bloodied tool becoming stained with red. She knew what she was doing, and she would stop at nothing to save Sven. She knew she was getting close, since the guards were more prevalent, but then she noticed that in the corner was a small outline of blue water. She knew that had something to do with them, and as she moved closer, she then heard the sound of a man’s voice.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” the shifter said.
She whipped her head around, and soon, two shifters transformed right before her eyes, two wolves. She knew they were the bad guys, because they had an aura of bloodlust, and they both looked at her like she was their next meal, and that they would take pride in ripping her apart.
“Get out of my way. I don’t have time for you,” she said.
“That’s what you think. You think you can win, human?” one of them said.
“Yes. I do believe so,” she said.
The two wolves laughed, each of them rushing over to attack her. She wasted no time getting out of the way, whipping to the side as they tried to hit her once again. She then moved towards one of the trees, hiding her body so that the shadow of it helped obscure her a little bit. The two shifters looked around for her.
“Where did that little bitch go?”
“Right here,” she said with a smile on her face.
She held the knife up, stabbing both of them, one by one until their bodies fell down to the ground. She looked at them, knowing that they were dead, and she listened for more sounds of others.
She wondered for a moment whether it had anything to do with the new-found powers that she had, but she felt stronger like she was able to do so much more than she thought possible. While Vicky didn’t want to get involved in fighting, and she didn’t want to hurt others, these people were out for blood, and they had probably been given the okay to kill her, so it was only fair. She then noticed Laphy out of the corner of her eye and there were sounds of struggle nearby. She knew where they were, but she stood behind the trees, waiting for the moment to strike.
“You’re Vicky, aren’t you?” a voice said.
She turned around, holding the knife, and then the person put their hands up.
“Don’t stab me. I'm not here to kill you, I'm with Sven. We’re part of the group. You should wait a bit for your moment to shine. Right now, let Sven fight his battle, and we'll take care of the rest. Help him when you need to,” the voice said.
She nodded, listening to the strange man’s words. She trusted him, even though she didn’t have a damn clue who this guy was. She had a feeling this was the alpha, but she couldn't make him out. But, she knew to listen to this man.
“I will. I'll wait,” she said.
”Smart. I'm glad that you know when to wait,” he said.
She did trust Sven, and she would help him no matter what. There was a chance that she could get to the enemy, and beat her. Laphy was strong, yes, but she would fight for everyone and help Sven in any way she could.
But, why did she have this bad feeling in her bones? Why did this whole mess bother her so much? She didn’t know for sure, but for now, she just needed to wait and see.
Chapter 17
Sven went over to the pond, ignoring the worry that he felt. He had communicated to Vicky that, whenever she came to her senses, she should find him. He didn’t want to endanger her, but he knew that the knife that she had could kill shifters, and as long as she was logical in her judgment, everything would be fine. For now, he had his own things to deal with.
“Alright, so you’re ready to go, right? I made accommodations to fight you here on your own request,” she said.
“You have guards around, don’t you?” he said.
“Of course. Why would I leave this place unguarded?” she said with a sneer.
“I expected as much. Well, I guess here goes nothing,” he said.
He shifted, looking at Laphy, and she shifted as well, into a beautiful werelion form. She growled, and Sven let out a noise too. He would kill her, no matter what the odds may be for him.
At the moment, he didn't have to worry about Vicky getting in the way and he was thankful for that. He loved Vicky, and they could discuss those feelings when the time was right, but for now, he needed to focus on whatever was about to happen between them.
“Come get some,” she said.
“I will,” he said.
He immediately lunged forward, swiping at the lion, and she smiled, falling back and looking at him.
“You know what? I won’t even fight you with my other power. I'll kill you in this form, and I'll make sure to bring your dead carcass to your little shifter friends, and I'm sure that your alpha will love that,” she said.
He grimaced, knowing that Travis wouldn’t have any of this. He looked at her with a glare before speaking.
“That’s what you think,” he said.
He immediately attacked her once again, and soon it was a fight of varying blows, each of them being dealt with by a force that shocked him. Sven didn't realize Laphy was so strong. He knew that she had powers, but not like this. Every single blow she landed rattled his teeth, making him shudder in pain. He didn’t want to die, but her actions were making it hard to get a clear advantage.
She then pushed down on his throat, swiping at it and a trail of red immediately followed. He howled, falling back and clutching his throat. It was red with blood.
“You… bitch,” he said.
“Come on, you really think I'm going to hold back. Come on, you pathetic bear,” she stated.
He could feel the anger in his body, and his form shifted once again. He grew bigger, and his silvery-white fur glowed in the night sky.
“I can't wait to kill the legendary silver bear. I didn't get a chance to do so ten years back, but I finally will now,” Laphy said.
“I'm not… going to let you win,” he said, his throat red with blood.
He wouldn't let her win. He would give it his everything.
He raced at her, his body acting on autopilot, stabbing and slashing at the other lion. She took a couple of mean hits, including one deep cut across her chest, but she also got a couple of similar blows to him as well. She looked at him with a smile, and Sven knew that he was struggling. He knew that if she continued this, he would die anyway because the loss of blood was far too much.
“I'm not… letting you win,” he said, spitting out the blood.
He closed his eyes, remembering the conversation he heard from Billy and Darren. It was a shifter power that he heard about that he knew he had within him, the one that he heard both Billy and Darren tapped into. Suddenly, a horde of strength hit his body, and his fur became whiter than before. While it was stained with red, he was ready to deliver the final blow, or at least what he thought would be.
He raced at her, pinn
ing her down. Soon, both of them were jabbing at one another, their powers growing with every passing moment. Sven wasn’t going to let her win. He would fight until the end, even if it meant death for him.
He managed to finally bite into her neck, a deep wound that was enough to make the lion cry out, throwing him back with a force that was greater than anything he imagined.
He fell to the ground, shuddering as he tried to get up. He wondered if she was as beaten as he was.
But then, he saw her get up, a sneer on her face.
“You really think this is the end, Sven? That’s cute. I'm not going to let you win though. I'm going to kill you, and it’s going to be so much fun seeing your dead body there. Oh, how I've waited for this day. Me and my shifters will kill you. We’ll make sure that this is a sign to others that we are a force not to be reckoned with. You’re going to pay with your life for what you did to Emilia, for the fact that you killed our leader. You think killing her would’ve been the end, but it wasn’t. I'm so much worse,” she said.