Canticle to the Midnight Moon

by Val St. Crowe

  “Yeah,” spoke up one of the vampires. “What good did it do us to get out of that hole if we’re just in a bigger prison?”

  “It’s brighter up here,” said one of the wolves.

  “Oh, that’s a good thing?” The vampire cringed in the sun.

  “Maybe you guys are weakened by the sun,” said Landon. “Maybe I can break the window.”

  “Oh, do your worst,” said Viggo, gesturing to the window. “Have at it.”

  Landon nodded. He took a running start, and he hurled himself at the window, hitting it not once, but twice, once with each fist.

  But he couldn’t break the window either. He landed on the floor with a grunt and stayed there for a minute before getting up. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s a spell, all right.”

  “Yes, thank you,” said Viggo. “Glad you’ve confirmed it.”

  “If we’re spelled inside, how are we getting out?” spoke up one of the bloodhounds.

  “Well,” I said, “we need to break the spell somehow.”

  “And how do we do that?” said one of the vampires.

  “I don’t know,” I said. I chewed on my lip, turning in a circle. “Maybe the spell is tied to something, like Vivia’s spell is tied to my bond to the pack. Maybe if we figure out what the spell is tied to, then we can break that and break the spell.”

  “Oh, great,” said the vampire. “Because that could be anything.”

  “Well, there’s nothing in the room,” said Aston.

  “It wouldn’t necessarily be a physical object,” I said. “Not if Vivia could tie a spell to a bond.”

  “But what else could it be tied to?” said Sinead. “I mean, she couldn’t tie it to herself in any way, or it would be broken.”

  “Could it be tied to us?” I said. “Our fear or something?”

  “That’s a great idea, but if her plan was to kill the prisoners systematically, she’d be killing off her tie to the spells all the time,” said Landon.

  “Maybe she’s storing her power in an object,” said Viggo. “A magical amulet of sorts.”

  “That can be done?” I said.

  “Certainly,” said Viggo. “She has to be storing it somewhere, in fact, because she siphoned off more power from the deaths of all of the prisoners than a person can hold inside. If she had all that magic in her body, she would explode.”

  I considered. “But if she’s got an amulet, it’s probably—”

  “On her body,” said Desta.

  “And we just threw her down into that pit,” said Landon. “Great.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to get her back up again,” said Viggo. He hurried across the room to open the door down into the dungeon. He stood there for a second, peering down. “Hmm.”

  “Hmm?” I said.

  “Slight problem,” said Viggo.

  “What is it?” said Landon, hurrying over next to him.

  “She’s gone,” said Viggo.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Everyone crowded around the door at that news, and we all peered down into the darkness.

  “I knew it was too easy,” said Viggo.

  “We threw her down right there,” said Landon. “She should still be there.”

  “How could she live through that?” I said. “She didn’t have a throat left.”

  “She may have been protected by magic,” said Viggo. “She may have a regenerative spell.”

  “Well, she’s probably down there,” said Landon. “Right?”

  “Unless she, I don’t know, teleported herself out,” said Aston.

  “Can witches do that?” asked Desta.

  “The things that we don’t know about witches would likely fill several volumes,” said Viggo. “Anything’s possible. If she’s alive, and she’s down there, she can hear us.” He shut the door and backed away, gesturing for us all to follow.

  We huddled in a corner.

  “We have to go down there and see,” Viggo whispered. “I volunteer to do it.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “No,” said Landon. “You stay up here. I’ll go.”

  “I already killed her once,” I said.

  “Yes, and now it’s my turn,” said Landon. “The bloods, we’ll all go.”

  “Speak for yourself,” said one of the bloodhounds. “We led the last charge, and now half of us are dead.”

  “The vampires should go,” said Desta. “We’ll be better in the dark.”

  “True,” said Viggo. “But I won’t force anyone to do anything. Volunteers?”

  No one raised a hand besides Desta.

  And then, grudgingly, the vampire who’d been complaining raised his. “Screw it. We’re not going to make it out of here unless we try something.”

  Four other vampires raised their hands as well.

  “Excellent,” said Viggo. “Thank you.” He looked at those of us who remained. “The rest of you to the windows. Get ready to break the glass as soon as you hear word from below, got it?”

  I grabbed Landon’s hand. “Be careful, okay.”

  “Of course,” he said.

  I reached out for Desta. “You too.”

  She nodded.

  I backed up to a window. Sinead and Ewan stood at the one next to me. The other humans, wolves, and bloodhounds all found windows as well.

  Viggo, Landon, and the others went to the door. Viggo opened it, and jumped down. The others followed suit.

  It was quiet.

  I could hear my heart beating. It sounded normal, but then, as every second passed, it sped up. Quicker and quicker. My breath was shallow too. My eyes were glued to the open door, waiting for something to happen.

  And time passed, each moment stretching out too long, and the silence was deafening, and nothing happened.

  Until…

  An agonized cry of pain.

  “What the fang was that?” I couldn’t help but cry out. I rushed forward to peer down into the dungeon.

  All I saw was the mangled body of a vampire, skin splayed away from his rib cage, organs exploding into red energy, one after the other. All the while, the vampire screamed, and then exploded into energy all together.

  “The witch is down there,” I said in a hollow voice. “She’s torturing them before she kills them to make more power.”

  Ewan was next to me. “Make me shift. Let’s go.”

  I hesitated, looking at Sinead.

  “Leave her here,” said Ewan, his voice cracking. “You and me, let’s go, Camber.”

  I shoved him back at Sinead.

  I jumped, shifting in midair. I landed on the ground in the hole.

  It was dark down here. I couldn’t see anything at first, even with my wolf eyes.

  “Camber!” yelled Ewan from above. “Make me shift, or I’m coming down in human form.”

  I ignored him. I was looking for Landon.

  Don’t be dead, Landon, I thought. I should be able to feel him, through our mating bond, like I felt Judah, right? If Landon was dead, I would know. So, he couldn’t be dead. He—

  There.

  Landon and Viggo were on the other side of the room, floating in the air.

  In fact, now I could see that everyone who’d come down here was floating in the air.

  The witch was walking amongst them, her robe parted to show her neck, which was as creamy and perfect as if she’d never been bitten. She had regenerated. What was this woman? When she passed one of the floating bodies, she touched it, making it spin in the air a little.

  She was coming towards me.

  I only had seconds before she’d know I was here. Maybe she already did know, because of Ewan’s big mouth, and maybe she was toying with me.

  Think, think, think, I said. Where’s her amulet?

  She wasn’t wearing anything around her neck, so it couldn’t be there. She didn’t have anything around her wrists.

  The witch turned her glittering eyes on me.

  Her ankle. Something was gleaming there, in the scant lig
ht from above. It was attached to a chain or—

  Suddenly, I was floating in the air too, and I couldn’t move my limbs. The witch gestured with one hand, and I was crushed by pain like I’d never felt before.

  I howled, feeling as though I was being ripped apart. I needed to get free, but I couldn’t. I was frozen, and my paws weren’t even touching the floor anymore. I couldn’t move my legs. I could howl, but that was all.

  The pain whited out any thought for several moments. It was so much that I only could think of wanting it to stop.

  Right then, I think I might have done anything to stop the pain. If I could have found a way to cut my own throat, I might have done it. The pain was so much. Too much. It was beyond imagination.

  The pain was so bad that when it lessened, moments later, I could hardly remember how bad it had been. It was as if my brain was already blotting out that pain and anguish, because it knew that I could not remember it and still function.

  Maybe that was why I was able to have a thought in that brief respite, when the pain was less, and I remembered Ewan.

  I didn’t think of anyone else. Not Landon. Not Desta. Not Sinead.

  No, I only thought of a way to end the pain, and Ewan was that way.

  The pain came back in full force, and I was surprised by how intense it was, because I had already forgotten the force of the agony. I howled again, and my throat was raw from the force of that howl, but the pain of the sound ripping through my vocal cords was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling from the witch.

  But this time, I had a weapon, a way to cut my own throat. I had Ewan. He was my weapon.

  I reached out through the bond we shared in the pack, and I forced the shift over him.

  His mind touched mine, and it was jubilant, ready to fight.

  That jubilation shook something within me. I don’t know what I would have done with him if I hadn’t felt that. Maybe I would have used Ewan to destroy myself, just to stop the pain. But I felt his mind, and that thought was repugnant—both to him and to me.

  So, instead, I send him at the witch to leap onto her and tug that metal chain free from her ankle.

  As soon as he had it between his teeth, the pain cut off, and I went hurtling for the ground. I landed hard, but the pain of landing was nothing because I had been in so much horrible anguish before.

  Everyone else fell to the ground too, and I heard some muffled groans. Whether it was relief or pain, I couldn’t say.

  I got to my feet—all four of them—and I snarled at the witch. I used my bond to guide Ewan back to me, and he trotted over, the chain from the witch’s ankle dangling from his mouth.

  The witch stretched her hands upwards and began to speak rapidly in a foreign language.

  Ewan halted in place.

  Then, slowly, he turned, and I heard all the bones in his body cracking. Through our bond, I felt his pain, his panic.

  I howled.

  Ewan yelped and dropped the anklet to the ground.

  The witch beckoned with one hand and the anklet soared into the air toward her.

  No! I jumped into the air. I was going to catch that amulet before it got to her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Camber, stop!” yelled Landon.

  I didn’t even know where Landon was, not exactly. I had a sense of him through our bond, but I was concentrating on the witch, and I couldn’t be distracted by all of that.

  I was jumping through the air.

  But I fell just short of the anklet.

  The witch snatched it out of the air, and the chain hung down on either side of her fist. She turned her gaze on me, her nostrils flaring.

  I jumped at her.

  She whispered something.

  My body twisted painfully, and I fell, whimpering.

  The witch glared down at me.

  I had to get that anklet back. She was touching it, and she would make us all float again at any moment. Then we would be in that awful pain again, the pain that was so bad that when I tried to remember it, all I remembered was blank nothing. I jumped again.

  The witch must not have been expecting it, because this time, I collided with her. My teeth closed on her wrist.

  Crying out, she opened her fist and the anklet fell out and onto the ground.

  I pressed my advantage, lunging for her throat again.

  She caught me by the muzzle and her hands went into my mouth. She pulled, forcing my jaws apart.

  Fangs, that hurt! I tried to bite down on her fingers. I couldn’t. She was too strong.

  “Camber!” came Landon’s voice.

  And then Landon was on the witch, raking his claws over her face and shoulder.

  The witch hissed, letting go of me, turning her attention to Landon. She grabbed him by the throat.

  Suddenly, blood began to pour out of Landon’s mouth and ears and eyes.

  I shrieked. No, no, no! She was killing him. I tried to jump on her again, but my feet didn’t seem to work. I picked up the anklet with my muzzle, dangling it at her. I started toward her. I’d trade her. If she gave me back Landon, I would give her back her precious amulet.

  “No,” bellowed Viggo. He was next to me in a moment, and he’d ripped the anklet out of my hand.

  I turned on Viggo, leaping into him, raking my claws across his face. He wasn’t the enemy, but I wanted Landon back, and I didn’t know how else to—

  Viggo threw me off.

  I landed on my back and twisted to get up.

  “Don’t hurt her!” cried out Desta, who was next to us now. She turned to the witch. “Don’t hurt him, either!”

  The witch held out her hand for the anklet.

  “Viggo,” said Desta.

  “No,” said Viggo. “If the bloodhound has to die to save you, to save us all—”

  No! I hurled myself at Viggo.

  But he sidestepped.

  “Listen, Desta, there’s nothing I won’t sacrifice for you, and I don’t care anymore if you don’t forgive me. I need you alive, and I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen.” He closed his eyes, tightening his fist around the anklet.

  The witch stepped forward.

  Landon fell to his knees, coughing as blood spilled between his lips. He shook, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

  I howled. I ran for him, and I started to lick him, not that it did any good to lick him, but it was my instinct. It was all my wolf knew to do, and I needed to save him and—

  The witch halted. She rose into the air and she was frozen.

  “Well,” said Viggo, his voice strained. “I guess that’s how you do that.”

  Landon gasped. Blood stopped pouring out of his eyes and mouth and ears. He collapsed sideways, trying to catch his breath.

  I let out another howl, this one of relief.

  “Can you kill her?” said Desta to Viggo.

  He shook his head. “No, it’s all I can do to do this,” he bit out. He threw back his head. “Try the windows!”

  From above, the sound of shattering glass.

  “Go,” grimaced Viggo. “I’ll hold her as long as I can.”

  “No, Viggo, she’ll get the anklet back from you,” said Desta. “And then she’ll kill you and come after us.”

  “She’s right,” groaned Landon, staggering to his feet. “We need to kill her, tear her head off her body.”

  “All right,” said Viggo. “Good thought.”

  Landon tried to stand. Wavered. Fell back to his knees.

  “Desta,” said Viggo. “Can you do it?”

  “Yes,” said Desta. She jumped up and grabbed onto the witch’s body, pulling her down. She put one hand on either side of the witch’s head.

  And then Viggo choked and spasmed.

  And the witch flailed out her arms and legs, moving and free.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I lunged at the witch.

  She gestured and both of my legs broke.

  I let out a keening cry, and I shifted back into human f
orm. Naked, I panted, resting on my arms against the cold concrete.

  Viggo had a hand at his throat. He was making some kind of horrible noise, something that barely sounded human.

  Desta still had hold of the witch.

  Landon was getting to his feet again, his expression fierce.

  The witch pointed at him.

  He fell down.

  The witch shrugged off Desta like an old coat.

  Desta fell to the ground in a heap.

  I tried to shift back into a wolf, but the witch seemed to sense this, and she held up a hand.

  My shift halted.

  I glared at her, clenching my teeth in frustration, trying to force my shift past her power.

  She groaned.

  Yes. She was weakened, and if I forced it, I could get through. I knew that I could. I pushed and pushed and pushed.

  But the witch pushed back too, putting all of her energy into it.

  Now, while she was concentrating on me. Could the others get to her?

  I saw that Desta and Landon were both still down. Both looked as if they were trying very hard to stand up, but they weren’t getting anywhere.

  I tried again to push my shift through, but it was no good.

  Wait!

  Ewan.

  I found him. He was badly, badly injured, a bag of fur and bones on the cold floor. I made him shift back to his human form. I healed him.

  And then he got to his feet and sprinted at the witch and dove into her.

  And for a split second, she lost her hold on all of us.

  I shifted and dove for her.

  Landon stood up and grabbed her arm.

  Desta reached out and got her head.

  We held her down, me on top, Landon with one arm and Ewan with the other.

  Desta twisted the witch’s head. The witch’s skin tore. Blood sprayed out, covering us all in a fine mist of red. Desta kept twisting.

  And the witch’s head came off.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  We slowly backed away from the witch’s body, all gasping for air, all exhausted and frightened.

  Viggo was okay. He stood, clutching the anklet, his eyes wide.

  I looked around the basement. No one else was there. The vampires that had come down with Landon and Viggo had either been killed or they’d run when the witch wasn’t looking. We needed to run too.