Chapter 87 – Friend or Enemy?
SEBASTIAN.
I couldn’t tell how far my anger mixed with helplessness had gone. I even felt guilty that I wasn’t there next to her to protect her. This damn serum that took us so far.
William and Jacob, Liam, and Erik were already in my office. We intended to attack with all three contingents. Teresa had to be taken out of there.
“Guys, we don’t have a plan for the fortress or the dungeons from under the castle. All I know from my sister is that the castle is on the highest hill and there’s a lot of forest around it. On this map, if we look, I marked that exact place!” I explained, looking at these men who were following me.
“We will have to sneak somewhere under the fortress to get to the dungeons. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go through the castle. Lettice is definitely there and we’re ruining the element of surprise,” Erik added, pointing to a spot somewhere under the fortress on the map.
“That is correct. My contingent and I can stand on guard somewhere a few feet behind you.” William also spoke, showing us the place. “Jacob and his men can follow you, Alpha inside the fortress, along with Liam and Erik. That’s where you need reinforcements. “
“That is correct, too. Now that Lettice has run out of half of her army, she certainly creates a new one as we speak. Other outlaws follow her blindly. But until their transformation is complete, we can attack. Erik and you are coming with me and Liam. William, you and your men kill everything that comes your way!”
Caught in the frenzy of the plans, I heard such a familiar voice at the office door. How did he have the audacity to appear like that, and how did he enter the house?
“Your plans can fail if you don’t have someone who really knows Lettice Duncan!”
The blood was boiling in my veins and in front of my eyes, I could only see the traitor, who had the guts to appear in front of me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked in one breath, rushing to him and grabbing him by the collar, hitting him against the wall behind. He sketched absolutely nothing, but gave in to my anger. “Who gave you the right to appear like that, you wretched traitor?” I shouted once more, pressing him even harder. Erik and Liam jumped to the aid of this worm that must have come to laugh in our faces.
“Alpha, calm down! If he has something to say, let him talk,” Liam intervened, trying to get me off this bastard.
“Bash, please! It is neither the time nor the place for animosities. Reading in his mind, he can really help us!” Erik concluded, staring at him and reaching out to his thoughts.
Everyone, my mother included, urged me to set him free, and after some hesitation, I complied. I took the time to fix his shirt and then backed away two steps.
“This idiot is none other than Lettice’s son and to make everything even more exciting, he knows Teresa. How convenient! Right now, it’s coming from that snake’s nest. “I snapped in rage.
I knew that this news would leave everyone perplexed, but not enough to side with me.
“Even better, Bash. If he comes from there, it means he can take us there, don’t you?” Erik asked, looking at him more menacingly.
“Of course, I can, and I will. I know where Teresa is, and I’ll take you to her. It could not release her because Lettice kept her dizzy with ramsons, a plant from which she made a kind of perfume. I was in the lab, but I couldn’t tell her anything. I wanted to know her plans first and not give up because I had come straight from the dungeons where I freed my sister, whom she also kept locked up there.”
The suffering in his eyes might be genuine, but he did not fool me with his good deeds.
“If you knew she made this serum and the perfume, why didn’t you come and tell me?”
Even though I was aware of his mother's plans, I couldn't bring myself to not hold him accountable for his actions. “I could have at least warned Teresa!” I snorted again and rushed with my hand to his neck.
Like the first time, he didn’t move away. “If you know something, you better start talking! Teresa’s life depends on it!” I loosened my grip and the others slowly walked away.
We made the plans, Noah started talking and so I found out that Lettice had butchered an entire village to complete the army that Vicky destroyed.
She didn’t care that they were women or children or that she instigated men to bite their own children or their wives. This woman was awful!
“It’s time to mobilize ourselves and set off. It will be a long and difficult fight. I propose to go only to side alleys, parks, and forests, so nobody will see us,” Liam explained, gesturing to the door. Before I walked out, a warm hand landed on my shoulder.
“Son, I will ask you from the bottom of my heart to be careful. Your great-grandmother is a dreaded woman. Never underestimate her. And don’t think that I hid her existence from you, only that there was a time when I didn’t think she was even alive, and then…”
“Mother, don’t bother anymore. I have nothing to forgive you for. You did everything you could to protect me and Vicky. I’ll take care of myself, I promise!” I interrupted her slightly and hugged her.
Her warmth and love got into my entire body, exactly what I needed the most. When I broke away from her, she had tears in her eyes. I didn’t stay longer. Her crying was too much for me, so I turned my back on her and left.
In about one hour, my contingents were ready, and so were we. The evening had come, and we decided it was time to leave. We thought it would be better to attack during the night.
We all changed, and in the moon’s light that guided us, we chose the roads that led through the woods to Wales. Panting and shaking the ground beneath our feet, we headed to where we had determined Teresa was.
The forest where Lettice had her nest was the same one where I had almost lost my life. I was so close then and I didn’t know.
We didn’t get very close; we stayed at a considerable distance, watching from afar the fortress that rose high and threatening on the hill.
When we arrived in Northford, the ghost village decimated by Lettice horror images unfolded before our eyes. Clothes everywhere, mud and blood mixed up, houses on the ground, and no sign of life. She had taken most of them.
The contingents followed me closely, passing easily over those who did not have time to transform and died in torment. The view was awful, which you could hardly look at. This woman’s wickedness was incredible.
From a distance, the fortress seemed a horrible sight. Nine massive, round towers piercing the sky. That was the first thing that caught my eye.
The enormous walls rose menacingly as if from the center of hell among the trees, and they ended with those towers. Every once in a while, someone would scream in pain.
Probably Lettice began her experiments on the poor people who had no guilt but stood in her way, in this forgotten village at the foot of the hill.
“Those are the werewolves that my mother turned into demons!” Noah’s low voice came from behind. “I know it looks like a horror movie, but those people had no escape. She executed those who still dared to flee, in the square in the center of the village in front of everyone, serving as an example to others not to try anything like that ever again. “
I listened to Noah, and I found it so hard to believe, but at the same time, he had no reason to lie.
“How do we get into the castle?” I asked angrily, thinking that Teresa might scream the same way.
“In no case on the main gate. Even though your sister killed a lot of demons, the castle is still well guarded. In addition, she already created more so they will outnumber us. The safest way is to go under the dungeons and try to attract as little attention as possible. We take Teresa and leave. If we have bad luck for my mother to come, I am afraid we will have to annihilate her somehow so she cannot call others. These demons are almost invincible,” Noah concluded, looking at the castle.
“Almost invincible! We will find their weak spot. William, you stay here in position with your contingent. Considering that there are no villagers left, kill everything that moves!”
“Understood, Alpha! Let’s go, guys!”
I watched them walk away and scatter through the woods. I turned my gaze back to Noah.
“Now tell me, is there an entrance under the castle where we can’t be seen?”
I couldn’t believe I was collaborating with this traitor, but I had no choice. He was the only one who knew the plan of the castle.
“There is! I’ll take you there and will try to keep my mother busy inside the castle.” I didn’t like to admit it, but I enjoyed his idea.
“Liam, Erik, let’s go! Lettice won’t know what hit her!”