“What do you mean by ‘all’?” Sarah asks, sheathing her sword and stepping forward. Aliya looks satisfied, “I mean this necromancer was linked to all of the others. He was in the middle of some spell when he stumbled on to you and decided to attack you. Killing him, killed all those who were linked to him.”“That means all the bodies they controlled have also decreased,” I murmur, realizing the significance of this victory. “Exactly,” Aliya nods. “We’ve instantly decreased their numbers which is going to go a long way in helping us.”Even as I agree with him, something strikes me, “Why was he here though?”Nobody has an answer to that. After a moment, Sarah reaches into her pocket and brings out a smaller version of the map her grandfather gave us. After studying it for a few minutes, she points at something, “There’s a human village here.”Her face is grim, “What are the chances that the village has been wiped out?”I look over her shoulder and point at anot
My jaw goes slack at his bitter declaration, “What? True mate?”“Yes,” Damon sounds almost defeated. I look in the direction of where Aliya escaped and I hesitate, “How is that possible? She’s a witch-““And I’m a shifter,” Damon snaps, sinking on top of a log and glowering at the ground. “I’m well aware that we are different species, Lucas. I’m not blind.”“But it can’t be possible-““And yet it is!” He looks at me, both defeated and angry at the same time. “It is possible because it’s happening.”I don’t really know how to react right now, “Has it - Has something like this ever happened before?”“We’re looking for answers. We’ve not - The bond hasn’t set in place. We’ve held it off but it’s getting harder and harder to do.”The despair in Damon’s voice is hard to ignore and I study him in silence, trying to rack my own brain, “There must be some precedent.”“We haven’t found any-““But records have been lost and destroyed by the Order,” I insist. “You c
There are shocked faces when eyes turn towards us but before anyone can say anything, I step up, “We were sent by Fred to protect the archives room and join the battle.”There are wary glances towards us till one of them steps forward, “Identify yourself.”All of them look battle hardened and it takes a few minutes of explanations for the suspicion to disappear from their eyes.A few men and women approach the front of the group. Their first question on their lips is for Fred.“I’m sorry,” My voice is heavy. “He didn’t make it.”Their faces fall and the grief in their eyes is a terrible sight to see. “He saved us,” One of the older women says, sadly. “He sacrificed his life for us.”Sarah looks at me before turning her attention towards the woman, “We are very sorry for your loss. But we also need to know all the details. Fred mentioned some prophecy. He told us that you have been gathering an army and that’s the archives room needs protection.”My lips cur
My memory of Samantha is hazy. My interactions with her had taken place when I had been under Carmine’s control. But from the way she looks at me, I know that she doesn’t have a very good impression of me.However, she smiles broadly at Sarah, “It’s been a while.”And to my shock, Sarah runs towards her, throwing her arms around the older woman in a tight hug, “How have you been?!”“Busy,” Samantha hugs her back before letting her go and looking around. “It’s been a hell of a year. And what about you?”She holds Sarah away from her, studying her, and then frowning, “You’ve lost considerable weight.”Sarah’s smile slips and she changes the subject, “When did you get here?”“I’ve been in contact with the Records Keepers Clan ever since I left. I’ve been gathering allies. I have some people planted within the Order and have been receiving information. An army is marching here. They’ll be here in a few more days.Aliya tells Samantha about the prophecy we know.“It’
“That’s more than an army,” I hiss to myself.Sarah makes a sound agreement, “We don’t have enough people.”Her voice makes me go cold and I turn around and take her hand, desperately, “Please go! Take your wolves and go! Go back to the pack or to your grandfather!”I can see the worry in her eyes but she shakes her head, “Lucas, it’s –““Sarah,” I cut her off, frightened for what might happen to her. “Look at them. We have no chance. We don’t have enough fighters. They clearly came here well prepared. And if they already know about this prophecy, they know it’s talking about you. They’ve unconverted enough information about your life to know. Sarah, run!”Her hand tightens around mine, “I’m not leaving you here. Or Kayla. I can summon the wolves. That will give us an edge.”“Not at the cost of your life,” Fear is gripping my throat. “Why are you being so stubborn?! Why can’t you just listen to this once?!”“This once?!” She glares at me. “You want me to leave you
The silver wolf comes flying towards us, slicing through the vampires with incredible strength. Her teeth sink into the one who has me and he screams as she rips him apart.I take advantage of the momentary distraction and jump right into the foray, pushing the vampires back.An arrow flies towards us, embedding itself into the neck of one of the vampires and as he gasps, I crush him quickly and effortlessly. Once we’ve essentially pushed them back and have a moment to ourselves, Sarah stops and looks at me. I pad over to her, sniffing her, as if to reassure myself that it’s really her. She lets me sniff her and then moves away, uncertainly in her eyes. Lately, the rift between has been growing smaller and smaller but I can understand her wariness. She takes a few steps back before rushing into the battle, leaving me behind.I transform back, trying to a get a hold of my senses as I stare at her.A year of thinking her wolf was dead when that was never the case.
Kayla’s face grows tense and she takes a step back, “That’s not normal. I don’t even think that’s entirely Other. I’ve never seen something like it.”The creature has a human face but completely expressionless. However, there is a vicious greed in its eyes as it looks at Kayla, whose flames begin to spread down her arms.“Sarah,” I say in warning. “This isn’t good.”“I know,” She replies, her face pale. “Kayla-““He wants me,” The Phoenix says, harshly. “Don’t get in our way. That one is powerful-““We’re not leaving you by yourself!” I hiss and Sarah nods in angry agreement. The frustration in Kayla’s voice is sharp, “He’ll kill you!”Sarah pulls out her swords once again, “We’ll take our chances! You stay behind us!”The enemy seems to have given a wide berth to us, no one wanting to interfere in this new fight.At first there is silence and then the demonic looking creature makes a beeline for Kayla. Kayla lets outs a stream of fire that stops the creatur
A hush falls over the battlefield as everyone turns to look at the ball of flames that has enveloped Kayla.Sarah is holding on to me, gasping Kayla’s name, as I hold her back from running straight into the fire ball which is expanding inch by inch.Aliya, who is badly wounded, hobbles over to us, “It shouldn’t hurt her. It can’t. She’s the Phoenix. Fire is her element.”But she sounds shaky as well, uncertain.“Aliya,” I give her a pleading look as Sarah’s blood begins to pool around her, her face going pale. “Help her!”Aliya crouches next to Sarah, placing her hands on her body, trying to transfer some healing power into her.However, it doesn’t seem to be working.Her face is white as a sheet as she tries again before letting out a gasping breath, “I can’t. I can’t heal her. It’s like something is blocking me!”My hands shake as I see Sarah’s eyes grow dimmer by the minute.I shake my head, desperately, my eyes burning with unshed tears, “Not like this! Y