by Fay Walsh
Sven could feel his body tiring, and in the corner of his eye, he saw a bunch of wolves and lions, along with other cats. Shit, she actually brought her whole clan here, or at least the suckers who believed the words. He realized that if she finished him off, his body would be left for them, and they would stop at nothing to get to Travis and the others.
He needed to hold off Vicky for as long as possible, and when he realized this, he definitely had a bad feeling about this.
But then, he heard roars. They were roars that were all too familiar, and he realized that, in front of him and all over the boundaries of the trees, were his own brothers, his own clan, and he also felt her presence. Vicky was here, and he knew that she had that knife.
“That's where you're wrong, Laphy. You think you’re going to win, but I have this in the bag. My brothers and I will defeat you,” he said.
“That’s quite a positive mindset. I knew that you were pretty stupid, but I didn’t expect this,” she said.
Sven closed his eyes, realizing that Travis and the others were nearby. When he opened them, his shifters all came forward, attacking hers. Laphy’s eyes widened at the sight of this.
“No… no way,” she said to him.
“Yes, we’ll win. And we’ll make sure that you are left to rot, just like Emilia. Don't underestimate us,’ he said with a smile.
Laphy moved back, raising her paw and looking at the other shifters on her side. A group of different cats and some wolves were still there. But, Sven had a feeling that they were no match for his team.
“Get them!” she said.
Sven then turned to the other bears, knowing that his comrades would hear him. He knew that he could count on them.
“You know what to do!” he cried out.
Suddenly, he saw the shifters come together, fighting and striking the entire battlefield. Sven knew what he needed to do, and that was to defeat Laphy. He trusted in his bothers to handle the rest of the carnage.
But, where was Vicky? He had no idea where she had run off to, or even if she was safe, which worried him, but then, he heard the sound of crying, and then a stabbing motion. He then turned to her, noticing the blood on her hands.
“Vicky,” he said.
“Hey. I wanted to help. I know this knife kills shifters. I'm… sorry for what happened. But thank you for saving me, before I made things worse,” she said.
“You’re welcome. Let’s attack them, though. We have not a moment to lose,” he said.
“Right. Got it,” she said, grasping her knife.
Sven looked at Laphy, who had eyes red with anger.
“You’re telling me you’re alive?” she spat.
“Yes. She’s stronger than you think, Laphy,” Sven said.
“Hmm, I guess I have to hand it to you. You might be a stupid little worm, but you know something,” she said.
“Yes, and this worm is about to defeat you,” Vicky said, holding the knife and racing towards Laphy.
“No, let me take her out first. You deal the final blow,” he said.
“No, Sven. I have an idea. I think I know what I need to do,” she said.
He looked into her eyes. As much as he hated this, he had to trust her. He did love Vicky, and he knew that, even with everything that was about to happen, he did trust her.
“Fine. I trust you,” he said.
“Good, I'm glad that you do, because I'm about to make our lives even easier,” she said.
She moved forward, with Sven right behind her. Laphy looked at Vicky with a chuckle.
“This is so cute. You’re standing up for your big shifter boy. What, you think this will be enough to defeat me?” she snapped.
“Yes. I know your secret, Laphy. You gave me this knife with the intent to kill, and I know that this has one secret to it that you made sure to keep from me, but I figured it out,” she said.
Sven looked at Vicky, unsure of what she meant by this, but he had to trust her.
Vicky then pushed a button, making the knife appear.
“I know what I need to do. I can use a little bit of my life force to make sure that this blow lands. At this point, I need you to help me out, Sven. I trust that you know how to do that,” she said.
“But Vicky, that’s dangerous,” he cried out.
He didn’t want to see her die. He knew that if she stayed in this form for too long with the blade, she would end up perishing, but then, Vicky shook her head.
“I know it’s dangerous. But trust me on this,” she said to him.
“Okay,” he replied.
She then held the blade up, pushing the button, and she soon cried out as the force that was being utilized with this started to suck out a little bit of her energy.
“Hah, you think you can wield that, but I can see right now that you’re weak. You’re a pathetic fool who thinks she knows what’s good for her,” Laphy said.
“I know what’s good for me, but I'm not a fool about it,” Vicky said.
Suddenly, Sven watched as her eyes changed color, and she soon started to move. Her speed was on par with that of Laphy, moving out of the way every time Laphy would reach forward to deal a blow. Sven couldn't believe it. What was in that knife? He wondered what might happen next, or even what would start to come about.
But, Vicky was relentless in her motions. She managed to step forward, throwing the knife towards Laphy, and although Laphy was able to parry the blow a few times, that didn’t mean it wasn't working. It sure was, and Sven simply watched with shocked eyes as she managed to beat every single blow that came with this. Laphy looked at her with desperation in her eyes, her pupils becoming blank. Her body was struggling however, trying to maintain composure, but she could barely stand up.
“But… how?’ she said.
“This knife has connections to shifters, and I know it can kill them. I planned to use it on you, to get rid of you and save everyone. I have the power to kill you, I don’t know why, but I do,” Vicky said.
Laphy continued to dodge the blows, but it was proving to be much harder for her than what she was letting on.
“You little...bitch,” she said.
“I know that I am. You’re not going to win though. I know my power, and I just need the right moment,” Vicky said.
Laphy continued to go on the defense, but what Sven saw next was too amazing to behold. He saw Vicky start to move slightly, grasping the knife, and in two movements, it was almost all over.
She stabbed Vicky in the side, moving her body slightly, pirouetting out of the way. Immediately, Laphy tried to lunge to attack, biting Vicky in the shoulder. She cried out, but then she stabbed Laphy in the eye, causing the shifter to fall back, howling in pain.
“How is she not dead?” Vicky asked.
“I think Laphy is only partially shifter, and she merged her body with another magical being’s power,’ Sven said.
“Correct. I merged my body with a necromancer, so even your knife won’t kill me,” she said.
“It may not kill you, but I can,” Sven said.
“What are you-”
Before she could attack, Sven moved towards her, his hands on her chest. He looked at her, seeing the half-opened eye that Vicky injured, and a look of pure, utter shock in her eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Doing what I should've done in the first place. Kill your ass,’ he said.
He closed his eyes, imagining the power of the shifter. When he did this, just like how Travis imagined it, he also thought about Vicky, how she saved him in the nick of time, how she became powerful through the use of this attack, and how the powers haven’t completely overtaken her. He then moved forward, pushing his hands towards her neck, and with closed eyes, he delivered four swipes to her body, each of them cutting deep, and stabbing her completely in the heart.
He watched as her eyes widened once more from the shock of the blow, and when he punched her through her heart, pressing against her and pulling up, he could feel the b
eat of it as he ripped it out, tossing it to the side. He finished up, the vision that he had before going from white to normal, and when he looked at everyone, his vision came back, and he saw that her form was now there, dead on the ground.
Sven felt partially guilty for doing this. On the one hand, he knew that she was an enemy, and needed to be disposed of, but seeing the body there, it made him shudder with worry.
“You okay?” Vicky asked.
He turned around, seeing the knife in her pocket, worry present in her eyes.
“Yeah. I'm good. I'm just shocked that this all happened in this way, that, well… we won,” he said.
“Yeah. I honestly didn’t know this knife was so powerful. But she looks dead. I think we won,” she said.
“I think it’s not a toy that should've been given to you, but I'm not going to complain. I think the purpose of it was originally to dispose of shifters, but I guess it can work to get rid of the bad guys, right?” he said.
“Yeah. Right,” she replied.
“Anyways. It may be best if we leave that somewhere. Are the other shifters around gone?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“We captured two because they said they would tell us everything, and begged for their lives, but I do say we should probably bury the bad ones too,” a man said.
Sven turned around, and there was Travis. He had dirt on his arms and legs, but he had a small smile.
“Well, I guess it’s time for you to meet everyone, Vicky,” Sven said.
“You mean like… the shifters?” she asked.
“Correct,” he said.
“You must be Vicky, right?” Travis said.
“Yeah. Who are you?”
“Travis. I'll explain everything in a much better place. For now, let’s clean up our mess. Sven, you know how to bury shifters, right?”
“Yeah. You bury them deep in the ground, and cover it with natural dirt, and also put something on top so that they can’t be resurrected,” he said.
“Good. We’ll take care of the rest. You should also bury that knife too,” Travis said, pointing to the knife in Vicky’s hands.
“W-why?” she asked.
“Because that knife is incredibly dangerous to have out in the open. Bury it about six feet deep, and make sure that not a trace of it is left for anyone to find,” he said.
He walked away, and Sven looked over at Vicky for a moment.
“You want answers, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Who was that? He seemed smart but also very… unapproachable,” she admitted.
“That’s the alpha. Travis. He’s always like that. We don't normally get along, but I think it’s safe to say that he likes you, at least in a sense,” he said.
“Really? He kind of acted as he hated me,” she pointed out.
“Nah, that's how he is. Travis is a bit rough around the edges, but don’t mind him. He is just trying to do what's best for the group,” he said.
“Right. Anyways, what should we do with her?” she asked.
“We need to bury her,” Sven said, his voice hollow as he uttered those words.
“You mean like… move her and stuff?” she asked.
“Yes. I'll show you how to do it. I might need your help, I might not. For now, though, trust me on this,” he said.
“Right. I will,” she replied.
He dug a hole in the ground as deep as Travis said to make it. He thought about the shifter he killed, the one who was trying to continue the legacy that Emilia left. Why did he feel like this wasn’t the ending though like it was the beginning of something more, something bigger, and something that he didn’t want to think about? He wondered if it was just his gut feeling acting up or something, because there was something almost wrong about all of this, and he couldn't figure out why. When he looked down, Laphy’s body seemed to be there, but there was something about that which bothered him. However, he shook his head again, trying to shake the bad feeling.
“I must be dreaming things,” he said to himself.
She was stronger than the other mates the guys had, so why was that? What did she have that they didn’t have? He wondered this, and he was quite curious as well.
Chapter 18
Vicky held the knife in her hands while he buried the body, realizing she had powers that weren’t like other humans, and she began to think about why that was. She hadn’t ever taken a martial arts class in her life, and it was beginning to bother her.
After Sven finished burying the body, he looked at the knife.
“I can bury it if you want me to,” he said.
“Sure, but are you sure? I don’t think you should touch it,” she said.
“Good point. I know how powerful that knife is. I'm still curious about it, and would almost consider letting you take it because it may help us later on, but I don’t want to go against the wishes of the leader,” he said.
“I get that. Maybe I should know where it is, so that in the future if someone needs it, I can grab it. I think I might be the only one who can wield it, though,” she said.
“True. Do that. It’s probably for the best,” he said.
She put the knife in the hole that Sven created, taking a small twig and putting it there. She then grabbed one of her rings, putting it onto there, and then laying it there.
“It isn’t much, but I'll remember where it goes with this,” she said.
“Good. But, do you think anyone else will find it?”
“Nope. They can't see it. I can make out this ring immediately, so if someone does mess with it, I will know,” she replied.
“Fair enough.”
After finishing the burial, there was one extra issue on Vicky’s mind, and when she looked at Sven, she spoke.
“Say, Sven, do you think that… that Laphy will stay dead?” she asked.
“What do you mean? I ripped her heart out,” he said.
“I mean like in general. I feel like there is so much that I don't understand, and a lot less than I do, and I feel like maybe she might come back to life. Since she was a necromancer.”
“Doubt it. You worry far too much. But, I am a bit worried about what this might mean for us as shifters. I did get the vision of her, but I haven't gotten any as of yet since we defeated Laphy,” he said.
“I see. I guess it’s my imagination then. We should probably head back to go see the alpha. Travis, right?”
“Yeah. Travis. He does want to meet you,” Sven said.
“I want to meet him as well. He intrigues me,” she replied.
He nodded, taking a moment to process everything that happened. He knew that she had an impact on his life, in ways that even he didn’t quite understand. When they finally finished up here, they went out of the forest, and Vicky looked back. So much was out there, so much had happened, and Vicky still wondered about the true powers.
When they got to the place where Sven lived, he looked at her.
“Well, this is where I live. This is where the shifters are. They want to meet you, and I think it is also a meeting to discuss just who you are,” he said.
“Right. Why I have all these powers. Why the knife reacted to me,” she said.
“Good. Let's head in,” he said.
She followed him, closing the door behind her. When she got there, four guys and three girls were there, all of them sitting around the table.
“There she is. Our lovely savior,” Billy said.
“Yep. Billy, this is Vicky. Vicky, that’s Billy, the friendly one. The one who is quiet over there is Darren, the one you met earlier is Travis, and the one who is trying to balance a form on his nose is Benjamin. He’s the newest one,” Sven explained.
“Hello there. I'm Vicky. It’s really nice to meet you. I've heard a bit about you all, but I never thought that I would get a chance to meet you,” she admitted.
“The feeling is mutual. I'm Travis, the alpha. If you have any questions about anything, you’re welcome to ask,” he sai
d.