House of Wrath: The Vampire Project Book 5

by Yanez, Jonathan

  Horses attached to wagons followed on the right side of the army. They carried munitions, as well as a substantial supply of blood. More than a few throats of those who had protested Leah’s actions had been sliced in the last few days,. and it would have been a shame to waste all of the perfectly good blood.

  “You like looking at your little toy soldiers, do you?”

  Leah didn’t bother glancing to her right. She had heard Dominic Drencher walk up the steps to the battlements moment before.

  “I like looking at a world on the brink of my rule,” Leah agreed. “I take it your employers weren’t interested in taking my side.”

  “Like I said, they have bigger problems of their own, dealing with Nephilim and such. But if you’re still willing to have a king by your side, I’m still willing to help.”

  Leah finally turned to look at Dominic. She had suspected this would be his request all along, but it was something else to actually hear it come from his mouth. The gall he had was beyond her. Still, if she secured his help, it would be worth it.

  “I’m not looking for a king to rule beside me.” Leah looked at his perfectly combed black hair, his flawless skin and fine suit. “You don’t look like you need money. What about status, power?”

  “I’m listening.” Dominic picked off a bit of lint from his blue suit. “Go on.”

  “I’ll give you the largest piece of land inside New Hope, or wherever in the Outland you would like. You can do with it what you will. How does Duke or Count sound?”

  “Hmm … I do like the sound of Count Dominic.”

  “Does that mean I can count on you when the fighting starts?”

  “I’ll travel with you.” Dominic stared down toward the mage engine with glee. “Let’s go in your fancy new ride. It looks like fun.”

  “That can be arranged,” Leah said with a smile. She didn’t move from her spot when Dominic turned to go. “But first, I’d like a little more of a guarantee of your loyalty.”

  “Well, loyalty is a strong word. I’m just a hired gun at this point.”

  “Still, I’d like your word, and I’d like you to swear to me in the presence of a spell.”

  Dominic let a sly smile spread over his lips. He grinned deeper and deeper as thoughts flashed across his eyes. “Really? My word isn’t good enough for you?”

  “Not exactly.” Leah reached for her wand. “Do I have your permission?”

  “Do what you must, witch.” Dominic shrugged. “It must wear on you to be so distrusting of your comrades.”

  “It’s a trait that’s kept me alive for this long.” Leah traced a spell in the air in between them. The faint lines of purple magic held in the air as she outlined the points of a six-sided star. “Now repeat after me.”

  “And this spell will what?” Dominic leaned in to stare at Leah through her spell. “Kill me if I don’t follow through on what I promised?”

  “That’s the general idea.” Leah grinned, finishing her hex. “Now repeat after me.”

  Leah ignored his echo as she worded the spell as airtight as she could make it. “I, Dominic Drencher, servant of the Fallen, do swear that I will not in any way harm Queen Leah Eckert, nor do anything to lessen her chances of victory. I swear I will do all that is within my power to see her side be victorious during the coming battle with Azra.”

  Leah thought for a moment, about to finish the hex, then added one last line. “And I swear to do all I can to kill those named Charlotte Sloan, Aareth Emerson, and Jack Walker.”

  When Dominic finished repeating her words, Leah allowed the purple spell lines in front of them to dissipate.

  “All right.” Dominic let out an overly dramatic sigh. “Are you happy now? Can we get on the mage engine and go kill people already?”

  Chapter 11

  Jack

  “You really need to think this out.” Aareth looked over at a fidgeting Jack as the last rays of the sun died away. “You’re doing the right thing in resting. Taking the day off was smart. You couldn’t have pushed yourself all night, all day, and all night again. I know you want to see if this white werewolf is your father, but you’re not going to do anyone any good if you run yourself into the ground.”

  Jack knew Aareth was right. They had made the decision to rest once they picked up the large werewolf tracks that led toward Term. The group had found a outcropping and a copse in the otherwise rolling grassy hills of this section of the Outland.

  Between Jack and Kimberly’s extensive knowledge of the area, they were able to pick the quickest route to Term. The female gargoyle was snoring in the shade of a particularly large tree with massive branches that hung low to the ground. She sounded like a giant bear with a nasal infection.

  “I know you’re right.” Jack opened his canteen and took a long draught. “It just doesn’t make me feel any better about waiting when we have the trail. Who knows if he stopped in the wooded area around Term, of if he kept going. He could be halfway to Burrow Den by now, or one of the other dozen cities in the Outland.”

  “But say he is in Term.” Aareth got to his feet and removed his long black jacket. “Say we get there in the early hours of the morning after running all night again, and he is there. You’ll need your strength to track him, and if he’s unwilling to listen to reason, we may have to be a bit more persuasive.”

  “I’m not going to hurt him.”

  “I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that if he hasn’t changed back to his human form yet, he’s still struggling to control the animal inside himself. He may not be in full control of what he does.” Aareth took off his boots and socks. “I’m not saying we hurt him, but we may have to restrain him, at the very least, to defend ourselves. I’m not letting anything happen to you, Jack.”

  Jack only nodded. He understood Aareth was right, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to the big man, either.

  With a groan, Jack got to his feet and began stretching sore leg muscles. His quads and glutes were past the burning stage now; there was a deep ache so painful it made him want to laugh as he began to loosen worn muscles.

  “Baring your shame again, I see.” Kimberly rolled to a sitting position. She yawned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. “Do you have no decency, beast man?”

  “I’ve never been accused of being indecent before. Come on, let’s go. We have a long night ahead of us.” Aareth finished removing his clothing and turned into the large werewolf better suited for running.

  “I suspect you’d like me to carry your clothing once more?” Kimberly opened her satchel to place inside her own long, white robe she wore to protect her from the sun. “Come on then, put them inside.”

  Aareth grabbed his clothes in his maw and took them to Kimberly. He dropped them inside, but instead of leaving her to carry the pack, he grabbed the thick leather strap with his teeth and began to maneuver it around his own head.

  “Well, that’s nice a change.” Kimberly smiled at Aareth, then she scrunched her grey brow as if she were remembering some long-past thought. “You know, that reminds me of an ancient tradition that my people practice—”

  “So, same plan as last night?” Jack interrupted. Part of him felt bad for interrupting the gargoyle, but the other part understood that if he didn’t, they would be there for a very long while. In the short period of time Jack had known Kimberly, he could already tell she was a great friend and an honest ally, but she did love to inform others about her race. “You take to the air and tell us what you see. Aareth and I will run below.”

  “Agreed.” Kimberly opened her massive wings and began to stretch.

  Jack drew the wand from the belt at his side and summoned the same spell to its tip. Just like the previous day, a green glow encompassed the underside of his boots.

  With a rush of wings and a gallop of paws, the trio was off.

  As the hours passed, the tracking became harder. Jack would lose the trail as the terrain changed from grass or soft dirt to rock. It was harder while traveling
at this speed, as well. Jack and Aareth were flying across the landscape at mind-numbing speed. Every so often, Jack would have to slow down or stop completely to make sure he was still going the right way.

  The stars and the moon gave enough light, and the dull green glow at the bottom of his boots helped. Minutes passed into hours as they ran. Every time Jack felt a need to stop to take a break, every time his muscles screamed to him in pain, he thought of his father.

  He knew without a shadow of a doubt his father would do the same thing for him if the tables were turned. Jack knew the others still debated whether Elizabeth was telling the truth and whether or not the white wolf was his father, but to Jack, it wasn’t a question anymore.

  Whether this truth was something he needed to know or he wanted to accept still remained a mystery. Somehow, Jack knew his father was out there waiting for him. As the run lengthened, all Jack could think about was putting one foot in front of the other and not losing sight of the tracks underfoot.

  Caught in the fog of weariness while trying to stay focused, Jack slammed into Kimberly. When she had landed or how far in advance she had given him to stop was lost on Jack.

  Running full-out one moment and then colliding with something that may as well have been a boulder took the wind out of Jack. He bounced backwards, slamming into the hard ground. Shock lanced through his body as he stared up into the night sky. It was beautiful, so many stars twinkling away, so many planets and galaxies out there to explore.

  “Jack, are you all right?” Kimberly knelt beside him on his left. Aareth’s massive lupine head appeared on his right. “I thought you saw me. I landed in front of you and started to talk, but you slammed right into me.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that.” Jack grimaced as he moved to a sitting position. Nothing felt broken, but his legs screamed at him once more. They felt like they were on fire. “I was so lost in tracking, I didn’t look up. What did you find?”

  Kimberly helped Jack rise to his feet. She pointed with an outstretched arm to a line of blackness on the horizon. Jack had to blink a few times to realize it was the outline of the forest, the Mirage Forest that surrounded Term. Its dense foliage and the way the trees played with the shadows had given it its name over the years.

  “We’re here already?” Jack rubbed at his eyes. He tried to take a few steps forward to get a better look, but his actions resulted in him limping forward rather than actually walking. “What time is it? It has to be nearly daybreak.”

  “It is.” Kimberly looked to the east where the sky had not changed from its dark, blackish grey to hazy orange, but soon would. “Another hour or so will see the sun in the sky.”

  A deep rumbling growl reached Jack. Aareth stood stock still, the hair on his back rigid. He squinted into the forest’s depth.

  “That’s the second thing I wanted to tell you.” Kimberly nodded toward the forest. “I think we’ve found your father. I saw motion, a lot of motion, from my vantage point.”

  Jack craned his neck forward, willing his eyes to see what he knew was there. There it was, so quick, he wasn’t sure if he had seen anything at all. Something large moving across the tree line. Whatever it was, it wasn’t his father.

  Chapter 12

  Jack

  Aareth was moving forward slowly. The muscles under his ebony coat twitched with anticipation.

  “Remember, we don’t want to hurt him.” Jack moved forward on his cramping legs. “Let me try to talk to him first. I think I can get him to—”

  The air around the group was filled with a solitary howl. The noise was so deep, so mournful, it saddened Jack to such an extent, he was surprised by himself. He had heard numerous animals while acting as a tracker in the Outland, wolves included, and this was no ordinary creature. The cry it made was so human, it almost sounded like someone mourning in great torment.

  Jack and Kimberly continued to move forward. Aareth did the same, getting lower and lower to the ground as they approached the tree line.

  Chills raced up and down Jack’s spine. He reached for his wand, already summoning the magical ability within himself. The tip of his wand glowed a dull green as the instrument held and channeled the power.

  Soon, the single howl was joined by another, and another, and another. There were too many now to tell exactly how many werewolves lifted their throats to the sky. One thing was for certain: they weren’t just tracking Jack’s father; they had been tracking an entire pack.

  “How could this be?” Kimberly didn’t take her eyes off the tree in front of them. “You didn’t mention seeing more than a single pair of tracks.”

  “I didn’t, there weren’t.” Jack swallowed hard as realization hit. “They met here somehow, all coming from different directions. He must of called them, or they knew to meet him here.”

  Aareth’s growling was low and deep compared to the army of howls that still lifted into the air. The trinity of trackers were now only a few hundred yards from the forest’s edge. More and more shapes were becoming visible through the dense foliage of the trees, shapes close enough to make out their colors: brown and grey werewolves loped here and there, all still lifting mournful cries into the sky.

  “Perhaps we should rethink our strategy,” Kimberly cautioned. “If things go bad, I can lift you into the air and escape, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to lift the beast man in his current form. Too much can go wrong here.”

  “I know. And you can turn back, I don’t blame you.” Jack bottled his fear, urging himself to take Kimberly’s advice, but for his father’s sake, he couldn’t. “I have to try.”

  It seemed Aareth had already made up his mind. His eyes still not leaving the tree line, he continued forward.

  Kimberly didn’t say a word, but she continued to keep pace with Jack. The wizard, the werewolf, and the gargoyle reached the tree line now. Jack tapped the button on his wand that extended it into a staff. Green light blazed across the instrument’s surface.

  Jack went first, raising the weapon high into the air to cast as much illumination as possible into the forest’s interior.

  At once, the howls of the werewolves in the forest stopped, as if someone or something had given the order to cease their manic bellows.

  The entire time the wolves had blared their howls into the air, Jack wanted nothing more for them but to end. Now that they had stopped and only silence filled the air, Jack was rethinking his wishes.

  “Caution,” Kimberly warned as they entered the forest. She leaned down to pick up a thick, fallen tree limb from the ground. “It’s only a matter of time before they strike.”

  Jack’s heart was beating out of his chest. The flow of adrenaline made his hands quake with anticipation. His senses were on overdrive. It was difficult to see much through the thick trees, but Jack could hear the heavy panting of those watching him.

  “I’ve come for my father,” Jack said to the nothing out in front of him. “I know you’re here. I know you’re fighting this new part of you you’re just beginning to understand. Fight, Dad, I’m here with you. Come back to me—fight!”

  Through the dark trees and silver light coming down from the sky, two yellow orbs peered out at Jack.

  Jack felt a rush of joy that gave strength to his weakened state, but the joy was short-lived. The beast that stalked forward was not the white wolf, but rather a slightly smaller brown wolf.

  A fresh cut reddened its muzzle. It opened its massive maw and barked. Saliva flew from its mouth as it eyed Jack, coming ever closer.

  Before Jack could decide what to do, Aareth moved in front of him. He was larger than the brown werewolf, and the way he bristled his hair and arched his back made him look even bigger.

  Aareth’s show of force may have been enough to make the initial werewolf rethink her actions, but she wasn’t alone. Barks and yips filled the air once more as the entire pack materialized on all sides from the forest. Various shades of brown and grey wolves hedged them in.

  “I should have
stayed in Azra,” Kimberly said out loud. She placed her back to Jack’s to shield him from any attack to his rear. “What was I thinking?”

  For the first moment since the party left Azra, Jack allowed himself to consider that he had been wrong, that Elizabeth had been lying to him the entire time, and that his father was still dead. He had been holding on to the wish of a stupid little boy, a childlike faith that told him there was still hope. Well, there was no hope now, and Jack had not only led himself into this mess, but he had also brought along Aareth and Kimberly.

  “I’m sorry,” Jack whispered. Even as the words left his lips, anger replaced his sadness. “I’m sorry I dragged you two into this.”

  Aareth didn’t turn around.

  “If the monster that we call Aareth still had his tongue, he would tell you to shut up.” Kimberly pressed her back harder against Jack’s. “He’d tell you to shut up and fight.”

  As if on cue, the werewolves circling them attacked. Jack witnessed Aareth and the brown wolf in front of him collide in a thrashing mess of claws and teeth. He couldn’t see Kimberly, but he heard a roar behind him and a echoing whack from her club.

  Jack didn’t have time to process any more as a grey wolf leapt at him from his right. The creature was horrifying in the daylight, and given the dark atmosphere, it was something out of a nightmare. Jack struck out with the magical power shimmering around his staff. The steel pole caught the werewolf in the chest. The combined effort of the actual blow as well as the magic slammed into the beast and knocked it backwards.

  CRACK! CRACK!

  Jack kept his staff charged with magic as he swirled it around and threw himself into the fight. Every time his weapon came in contact with a werewolf, it sent a blast of magical energy through their bodies, sending them flying back in a spasm of pain or rendering them useless for a few moments.