"YES!" He yelled. Then he turned one of his Nightwalkers to see what distracted his enemy. There was his sister, walking towards the mall. Her eyes closed tight and a ring of werewolves kept the Nightwalkers at bay. "What the hell does she think she is doing now? This war is over, her champion has fallen." Donovan laughed and laughed. "Come to me to die sister. I have a small gift for you before you do."
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Dawn walked with her eyes closed. She couldn't stand the sight of the broken and bleeding bodies all around her. She could see everything around her in her mind's eye. She would have to trust they could keep her safe until she got close enough. She was so close now it was almost time to try. Dawn knew she would only get one chance so she couldn't rush it. Dawn passed the line the General had been holding for so long. She heard him cry out to her as she walked past him. Dawn wanted to stop, to explain what she was doing but she knew she couldn't. In her mind's eye, the General's light went out. Dawn fell to her knees.
"Get up! You have to keep moving!" One of her guards grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her feet. "If we stop here we all die!"
Dawn took a step forward, then another. She knew he was right. This was the last chance for everyone. Dawn got closer and held the stone tight in her fist, Shade's moonstone. With all the power she had in her, coupled with all the power in the stone she sent her mind out searching for her brother. It was time for her to take the fight to him.
He was right where she had left him. Either he didn't see her coming or he wasn't afraid of her. Either way Dawn didn't care. It was time for him to pay for his actions. Dawn sent her mind into the mind of her brother. "Hello Donovan. It has been a while, hasn't it."
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Donovan almost dropped the stone when he heard his sister's voice inside his head. "What the hell! Get the fuck out of my head you bitch!" Donovan pulled some of the power back from his Nightwalkers to push his sister out of his mind. He could feel her moving around, searching and learning. Every time he tried to use his own power to force her out she slipped out of his grasp.
"What the hell are you doing? I am going to kill you this time." Donovan released all his Nightwalkers and tore through his mind trying to get at his sister.
"I'm learning, brother. It's surprising how much you hide and how little you try to defend your own mind. You taught me how to do this after all, when you tried to make me like them. Don't you remember?" Dawn sent a lance of pain through Donovan's mind making him call out. She was close enough she could hear it as well as feel the effects from him.
Donovan began to panic. He was winning...this war was over! The werewolves lay ruined before him. The one he thought was their leader was laying dead on the ground and now his sister was killing him from inside his own mind. "NO!" Donovan screamed as he reached out and tore into his sister’s mind. He didn't know how to do it, but if she could then so could he.
Dawn felt the pressure once again on her mind. It was the same as long before. She would never forget again how it felt with him tearing into herself like that. With a little pressure, she clamped down on Donovan's mind and he in turn did the same to her. They locked together. Neither able to defeat the other without hurting themselves. It was a stalemate.
"So you can learn new tricks." Dawn spoke as she tried to find a way around this new problem. She had hoped Donovan wouldn't think to try the exact same thing she was doing. At least she had learned how he controlled the Nightwalkers. It was almost like the link she had with the werewolves as their leader.
"I am not finished yet, you little bitch." Donovan too was wriggling around inside her mind, trying to find another way to escape the deadlock. "I have another surprise for you."
Donovan was using all the power he could to fend off his sister. His reserves were still there, but it was taking all he had to keep his sister out of his mind. One slip and she wouldn't wait for him to fix it. He was losing the battle in his own head. Donovan broke out in sweat with the effort and pulled a fraction of his power away to use his secret weapon. He didn't think he was going to need them before with the battle being all but won. Now it was his only hope. With as much care as he could spare he pulled the two Nightwalkers he had kept in reserve and sent them out to meet his enemy. "Why don't you say hello. I'm sure you missed them."
Dawn still had her eyes closed as she wrestled with her brother. Her power was dimming though; she could feel it fading as her reserves started to give out. It was obvious that Donovan didn't see it. She had so little time left. Slowly she opened her eyes and was face to face with her parents.
Donovan had cleaned them up, healed all their wounds and found them new cloths. They looked just like they had before everything had changed, with the exception of their eyes. They were still big, black and empty. Dawn felt sadness for them but she knew they were not there anymore. It was just their bodies.
"If you let me go I will release them to you." Donovan spoke in her mind once again. "You can try to heal them if you promise to leave me be."
Dawn hesitated a moment as she watched her parents. "I know as well as you do that you can't heal Nightwalkers. We both tried repeatedly. It never worked."
"That’s not true. Not anymore, I have healed one. I will show you." Donovan turned to Sylvia. She was still standing behind him her hands folded behind her back. She had no idea what was happening. She didn't hear the conversation going on inside Donovan's head. All she would have seen was him getting more and more tense. "Sylvia, I need you. I need you to go outside and find my sister. Show her you are healed!"
Sylvia looked down at herself, the blood on her front, the fresh bruises from his commands earlier, and her naked body that he abused so many times. "Command me." She whispered.
Donovan's eyes went wide with shock as Sylvia pulled a knife from behind her back. He had no idea when she had gotten it. His concentration centered on the fight outside. Sylvia leapt at him like a lion, her fingers in one hand like a claw and her other plunging down with the knife. Donovan tried to pull more power to command her to stop, but he had stretched himself too thin. He released his parents and again focused on Sylvia as the knife sank into the back of his neck. Blood sprayed all over Sylvia as Donovan's heart pumped out his life in ever weakening beats. In her eyes, in her hair in her face and mouth, Sylvia drank in her revenge as her captor fell forward over his precious moonstone, his eyes freezing in disbelief. The world exploded as a bright light flashed in front of Sylvia. Her whole body felt on fire as she fell backwards from her torturer. Darkness again clouded her vision and she crumpled to the ground.
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Dawn's power trickled out as she stood looking at her parents. The connection with her brother faded and she waited for the killing blow to come. She sank to her knees again, but this time there was no one around to pull her back up. Dawn looked around her in confusion. Everywhere around her, the remaining werewolves stood and watched. The Nightwalkers stopped their fighting and just stood still as though frozen. Time slowed. As the confusion built, a few of the remaining werewolves began working their way towards Dawn, always keeping one eye on the Nightwalkers. A few wolves took advantage and began taking the Nightwalkers heads off as fast as they could. When they didn't respond, or fight back, Dawn told them to stop. Reluctantly they did as commanded, and everyone moved closer to Dawn.
"What happened?" They asked, as they got closer.
"I don't know, but we need to find out. I need someone to go inside and find my brother. Be careful. This might be another trick."
A wolf quickly shifted and sprinted inside the mall. In moments, he was back again. "I think you need to see this."
A wolf helped Dawn to her feet again and she staggered inside the mall. Outside, all the Nightwalkers began a shambling pace again, randomly walking around as though lost. No direction to their movements they wondered aimlessly.
Dawn stepped into the darkness to a scene out of a horror story. Her brother lay in a pool of his own blood. His arms wrapped around a moonst
one that was huge compared to the one that lay drained in her hand. Its power still glowed from underneath the corpse that hugged it. The light of it was more than enough to show the lights inside Donovan's eyes were no more. A knife was in the back of Donovan's neck, sunk deep inside him, the blood around it already drying. Behind him, lay a woman covered in blood as well. Dawn reached down carefully and touched the moonstone. All the while keeping her eyes on Donovan's for any sign of a trick. She pulled power from the stone and marvelled at how much remained. Color blasted her as she looked around with refreshed eyes. Dawn didn't need to touch either body to know the life inside was gone. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she was glad that it was over, even if her brother had died in the end. Dawn touched her fingertips to her brother’s eyes and closed them. Already he was growing cold in the dark. A werewolf that had been her guard broke the silence.
"Dawn, leader, there are many wounded outside, could this stone help them?"
Realization struck and Dawn pulled the blood-covered stone from her brother’s grasp. Rushing back outside with stone held in her arms she surveyed the battlefield. One or two Nightwalkers still shuffled around in the dark but most had walked back into the darkness of the ruined mall. "Spread out, if anyone lives bring them to me as fast as you can."
The remaining werewolves took off in a flash. In a matter of minutes, they began bringing in the wounded. More werewolves had survived then Dawn had thought. The power inside the moonstone seemed inexhaustible. The trickle of wounded slowed until no more came. Dawn searched the dead looking for the one body she knew she would find. The sun began to come back up over the ridge when she finally found what she was looking for in the middle of a huge pile of Nightwalkers.
The General lay on his back, his eyes staring up at the fading night. The front of his chest torn up and the blood no longer flowed. Dawn placed her hand over his eyes and began to cry. "Thank you. You found me when I was lost. You gave me a place to live when I was alone and taught me how to live again when I had forgotten everything. You were a father to me in more ways then I may ever know. I'm glad you chose to help me with this fight even though we both knew it might have been a lost cause. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to your wife."
The werewolves left Dawn to grieve, as the sun's rays once again fell around her feet. They busied themselves digging graves for the unfortunate ones that hadn't lived through the night. Dawn rose after a while and did her best to help them. It took most of the day to dig the graves but not a single clan member would stop until done.
Bonetwister came to Dawn when they were lowering the General's body into the grave. In his hand was a cross he had made out of some pieces of wood he had scavenged from inside the ruined mall. "It's the best I can do. I'm sorry it's not as nice as he deserves. He saved many of our lives today."
Dawn looked at the makeshift cross and tears began to flow again down her face. Across the front the words "Friend, Husband, Leader" had been carefully cut into the wood. "Thank you. It will do just fine." Dawn put her arms around Bonetwister and held him tight. Bonetwister let out a big sigh and held her back until her tears dried up.
The trip back to the cabin took longer with the wounded. Dawn was in no hurry to tell the Oracle she had failed in her promise. When the cabin once again came into view, she saw the Oracle standing outside waiting. Kai was at her side holding her hand. Dawn smiled to see that they were safe but when she got closer, she couldn't hold in her tears any more. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't keep my promise to you. Your husband died in the battle."
The Oracle stood still a moment then reached out and pulled Dawn in a hug. Both women were unable to hold back the tears as they tried to comfort each other.
"I know Dawn. He fought very well though didn't he?"
Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes and for the first time noticed the wear in the Oracles face. She had known he was dead already. "He saved countless lives. More than we can ever know. He was a hero in every sense of the word."
"What do I do now? I can't live here without him."
"You will live with us, with me and Kai, with the whole clan. I know you would be welcome there and it would be a safe place. We have much work to do in rebuilding our lives. Your help would be most welcome."
It didn't take long for the Oracle to agree. The survivors camped the night to rest and rebuild their energies then took off in the morning. The Oracle took one last look around the valley that had been her home since the event with eyes that saw more than most.
"Somehow, I don't I think I will be back."
Chapter 24
Life resumed its pace quickly. The winged beasts left the clan alone as long as they stayed out of the fire wastes. Dawn kept the patrols going just on the off chance that one would get brave, but it never happened. She often would wonder what else had changed since the event. The world they were in now reduced from the one she had grown up. Dawn had asked once if the Oracle would like to take a visit back to the place they had buried her husband but she had simply replied. "I have already seen it. Thank you."
Dawn didn't offer again. The Oracle knew if she wanted to go there, all she had to do was ask. The one thing the Oracle did do was visit the grave of Shade. The Oracle looked worried as she sat next to the grave. Dawn asked her what was wrong, but she said she didn't know. She couldn't see anything strange it was just an uneasy feeling she had. The grave was an unadorned site and Dawn felt guilt that they hadn't had a chance to mark it properly. Bonetwister swore to correct that wrong as soon as possible. Dawn smiled at him as he said it. She knew he would keep his word. He always did now. With loving care, Dawn dug a small hole and placed Shade's moonstone into it. Charged full from the sun. "You saved my life with this. I used it to save others. It is time you had it back."
The children took an instant liking to the Oracle. Since they weren't fully werewolves yet, she could tell things about their futures. She kept out most of the important or scary details unless they were very important for their safety. The amount of accidents reduced drastically with her there. In time she began to be just another of the clan and the mess Donovan had made began to fade away.
Dawn sent regular patrols to check up on the Nightwalkers but it seemed they had all disappeared. Her brother’s body was still there as well as all the dead Nightwalkers, the mystery women's body had disappeared. There was no trace of it. In the end, she had them all buried in a mass grave. She buried her brother separately, and left it unmarked.
Dawn too settled into her new role of leader to the werewolf clan with remarkable ease. The clan was greatly reduced so there were many jobs to do and not many to do them. This kept everyone busy so rarely did she ever have to settle disputes. Dawn had finally found her home.
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Sylvia woke in darkness, pain and hunger. She blinked a few times until her vision cleared. Hunger? She hadn't felt that in so long. How could she be hungry? The body of Donovan lay in front of her, where she had killed him. His body was long cold and the smell of it revolted her. She sniffed the air. She could smell the blood everywhere. It was all stale and rank. Sylvia crept out into the night air to escape the rotting flesh. There was no wind, but something caught her attention. Sylvia crept out into the night air and cast about for whatever it was that she sensed, as well as smelled. Past the bodies, past the bonfires long burned out she kept walking. Eventually she was back in the residential part of town. Old houses long neglected lined a street that was growing over with grasses and shrubs. A flicker of movement caught her eye. With lighting fast reflexes, Sylvia snatched her hand out and caught the rabbit as it tried to run past her. Without hesitating she plunged her fangs into its neck and drank deep of its blood, a little of the hunger gone now Sylvia looked for the next meal...blood, she wanted more.
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