Chapter 39 MARVIN'S HUNTERS
CHAPTER 39: MARVIN'S HUNTERS
THE NEXT DAY;
Zev hasn't spoken since he collapse last night. He sits by the dead fire, staring at nothing while Cassian checks his pulse every few minutes.
"He's still in there," Cassian mutters. "Just locked inside his own head."
"Can you pull him out?" I ask.
"I'm a phoenix not a therapist."
Sofia hands me a piece of dried meat that tastes like cardboard. I force it down anyway.
Luna and Kieran are already packed, their bodies tense and ready to move. Morgana keeps glancing at the treeline like something's about to jump out.
"We need to go," Luna says. "Now."
"Zev can't walk," Alaric argues.
"Then carry him."
Kieran moves to lift Zev but before he can, Zev's eyes snap open.
"Don't," he rasps.
"You're back," I breathe.
"Not really." His voice sounds hollow. "He's still in my head. Watching through my eyes."
My stomach drops. "What?"
"I can feel him. Like a parasite." Zev's hands shake as he stands. "We need to keep moving before he figures out how to take full control."
"That's not comforting," Sofia whispers.
"It's not meant to be."
We pack up fast and move faster. The forest around us feels different and hostile now. Every shadow could be hiding something.
Kieran and Luna lead with Alaric and me in the middle. Cassian helps Zev while Morgana and Sofia bring up the rear.
We've been walking for maybe two hours when Kieran stops dead.
"What is it?" Luna asks.
He doesn't answer, he just points ahead.
Through the trees I can see shapes moving. A lot of shapes.
"Wolves," Luna breathes. "At least twenty."
"Pack?" I ask hopefully.
She shakes her head. "They have the wrong scent and something feels off."
The wolves step into view and my blood runs cold.
They are twisted. Their fur is matted with dried blood and their eyes glow an unnatural red. Some have exposed bone showing through rotten flesh. Others have mouths that open too wide, full of too many teeth.
"What did he do to them?" Sofia's voice cracks.
"Dark magic," Morgana says, her face pale. "Blood corruption. He's puppeting their bodies."
The largest wolf steps forward. When it opens its mouth, Marvin's voice comes out.
"Hello little travelers. Welcome to my territory."
Kieran shifts instantly. His wolf form is massive and golden but even he looks small compared to the corrupted pack.
"Get behind me," Alaric orders, his fangs extending.
The corrupted wolves attack.
Kieran meets the first three head on, his jaws closing around ones throat. The wolf doesn't even flinch. It claws at his side, drawing blood from his body.
Cassian's flames explode around us. Two wolves catch fire but they keep coming, burning and snarling.
"They're not stopping," Cassian shouts.
"Their pain receptors are dead," Morgana yells back. She raises her hands and shadows burst from the ground, creating a barrier between us and the advancing pack.
But there's too many. They swarm from all sides.
Luna shifts mid-run, her silver wolf form smaller than Kieran's but faster. She goes for legs and throats, tearing through corrupted flesh with savage efficiency.
Alaric moves like lightning, ripping through wolves with vampire strength. But every one he takes down is replaced by two more.
I try to freeze time but my power flickers. The dark magic coating the wolves resists me.
"I can't hold them," I gasp.
Zev stumbles forward, his eyes glowing. "Let me try."
He reaches into their minds and screams.
"There's nothing there," he chokes out. "No thoughts. No souls. They are just empty."
A wolf lunges at Sofia. She throws up a protection charm but it shatters on impact. The wolf's claws rake across her arm and she goes down hard.
"Sofia!" Morgana sends a wave of shadow magic that slams the wolf into a tree. Its spine cracks but it still tries to crawl forward.
I finally manage to freeze a group of five wolves. Kieran tears through them while they're still.
But more keep coming.
Cassian grabs a wolf by the throat and burns it from the inside out. The smell of the burn is horrific.
"We need to retreat," Alaric shouts, blood dripping from a gash on his cheek.
"Where?" Luna snarls, her wolf form circling protectively around Sofia. "They're everywhere."
A massive wolf crashes into Kieran, sending them both tumbling. Kieran pins it down and for a second he hesitates.
"It's just a pup," he says, his voice breaking. "She's barely two years old."
The corrupted pup snaps at his throat.
"Kieran do it," Luna screams.
He closes his eyes and breaks her neck.
The sound makes me want to vomit.
"I'm sorry," Kieran whispers to the dead pup. "I'm so sorry."
More wolves pour out through the trees. We're losing.
I reach for my power again, pulling harder this time. The world stutters and stops.
Fifteen wolves freeze mid-attack.
"Now," I scream.
Everyone moves at once. It's brutal and fast and absolutely vicious.
By the time I release the time freeze, half the pack is dead. The rest retreat into the shadows, dragging their broken bodies with them.
We stand in the clearing, covered in blood and panting. The ground is littered with twisted werewolf corpses.
Kieran shifts back to human form. There are tears streaming down his face.
"They were pack," he says, his voice hollow. "Before he corrupted them they were innocent. They had families."
I move to him and wrap my arms around his shaking body. He buries his face in my neck and sobs.
"You gave them mercy," I whisper. "That's all we could do."
"It doesn't feel like mercy."
Luna shifts back too. She's covered in blood but I can't tell how much is hers. She walks to one of the dead wolves and kneels beside it.
"I knew her," Luna says softly. "Her name was Maple. She had three pups last spring."
My throat closes up.
Cassian is the first to notice the collars. "Look at this."
Around each wolf's neck is a thin metal band covered in runes.
Zev crouches down to examine one. His hands hover over the symbols without touching.
"Tracking magic," he says. "And something else. Recording magic."
"What does that mean?" Sofia asks, holding her injured arm.
"It means he's been watching through their eyes. He saw everything."
"He knew we were coming," Alaric says slowly. "He's known our exact location since we left the academy."
"That's impossible," Morgana argues. "We took precautions. We—"
A low whine cuts her off.
One of the wolves is still alive.
It's small, missing a back leg and bleeding out fast. But its red eyes are fixed on me.
When it speaks, it's with Marvin's voice again.
"Hello little phoenixes. Did you enjoy my welcome party?"
Kieran moves toward it but I grab his arm.
"Don't," I whisper.
The dying wolf's mouth twists into something like a smile.
"I wanted you to understand what you're walking into. I wanted you to see what I can do."
"You're a coward," Luna spits. "Hiding behind corrupted animals."
"I'm practical. Why risk myself when I have so many tools?" The wolf coughs, blood bubbling from its mouth. "But don't worry. I have so much more planned."
"We're going to stop you," I say, my voice steadier than I feel.
"Are you? Because from where I'm standing you can barely handle twenty wolves. What will you do when you face two hundred? Three hundred?"
"You're lying," Cassian says.
"Am I? The weapon grows stronger with every death. Every she-wolf I take adds to my power. By the time you reach me I'll be unstoppable."
"What weapon?" Alaric demands.
The wolf's red eyes start to fade.
"Tick tock little phoenixes. Tick tock. One more she-wolf dies tonight. Can you hear her screaming?"
And then in the distance, so faint I almost miss it, I hear a girl screaming.
The wolf's eyes go dark and it stops breathing.
"No," Luna whispers. "No no no that's coming from the pack territory."
"How far?" Kieran asks.
"Six hours at our current pace."
"Then we run," he says.
"We're injured," Sofia argues. "We need to rest."
"We rest when she's safe," Luna snaps.
Another scream echoes through the forest.
My hands curl into fists. "We run."
We take off through the trees, leaving the dead bodies behind.
But I can't shake the feeling that we're already too late.