Chapter 24 24

Chapter 24 24

Oberon's POV

I saw the warriors’ eyes going black, and knew we were too late.

Esmeralda had only brought traitors. She had brought infected wolves. Ruminant infected. Like the prisoners we'd saved.

What had she been doing? Could she have known what the Ruminants had been? Or had they played her, exploited her anger and envy to satisfy their needs?

But, either way, it did not matter now. We were trapped in a tower with some of the badly infected wolves. And he had programmed them all to be a robots.

Capture Eudora.

There was little to be done for an infected wolf that could not be achieved short of killing. They felt no pain. No fear. And then they tried to win in a way their bodies simply would not let them. And they’d been calibrated to bring back Eudora at any cost — even that of their own lives.
I was between them and my mate, a barrier of flesh.

"Eudora, take Marjah and go!" I shouted, never looking away from the changing warriors. "Find Yamal. Make your way to the safe room located in the lower levels. The one behind the armory. Code word is nightingale."

“I’m not going to leave you here to fight this by yourself,” Eudora said, stubbornly.

Her stubbornness would have been kind of cute if we weren't trying to flee for our lives. Endearing even. Now it was just terrifying.

"Please." The word felt strange in my mouth. I never begged. Never showed vulnerability or weakness. Except for her, I would do anything. "Please, Eudora. Say, I can't fight as well With you to protect. You being here, it doesn’t make me stronger; if anything it makes me weaker.”

I watched as she got it. Watched her face crumple for an instant before she shook it. "Be careful," she whispered.

She pushed her cousin’s arm over her shoulders and walked to Marjah. Marjah groaned but staggered back to her feet, leaning heavily on Eudora.

"Go," I urged. "Now."

The infected wolves pounced as Eudora guided Marjah down the steps.
I received them with my entire strength of a Lycan. My talons ripped flesh from the bone. I snapped jaws, broke necks and tore arteries to get what I wanted. Blood sprayed across stone walls.

But they kept coming. Feeling no pain. Argued to be caused by the Ruminant nature in their blood.

I got glimpses of Eudora running home and Marjah trying to make her way down the stairs. Saw them making slow progress. Too slow.

Esmeralda was gone amid the confusion. The coward. Running, while his warriors fought and died for her sick revenge.

I had one the infected slip through a hole I couldn't cover and bust into my lines. It scurried after Eudora, with that unnatural quickness of its.

I howled, pouncing on it from the rear. We rolled down the stairs a tangle of fur and claws and snapping teeth. There were shrill cracks as I broke ribs. Tasted blood in my mouth. But I did not let go.

When we landed I at last seined it by the throat. I heard the door and winced but kept chewing — crunching bones. Feeling life drain away.

The jaws of the wolf dropped lifeless from my hands. The black died with its eyes, the Ruminant nature letting go in death.

It was only a boy, in death. Maybe twenty years old. Someone who had been employed and then cast away like a tool.

Rage for the waste burned through Oberon. At the loss of life for no reason.

I glanced up to see that Eudora and Marjah had made it down to the next level. But my relief was short-lived.

Other infected wolves were streaming up from below. Donning the stairs with that jerky, inhuman gait. Attracted to Eudora as moths drawn to the flame.

They were caught between two factions. Above and below.

Eudora locked eyes with me across the room. I saw her make a decision. Her jaw tightened with resolution.

She put Marjah down against the wall. Preparing to fight.

"No!" I screamed, pushing my way down the stairs. "Eudora, no. Run!"

But she was not listening. Again her hands started to glow purple. It flickered, the light less bright than before. But present.

I struggled toward her with all my might. Slaughter the infected wolves without mercy. But there were too many. They kept coming in waves.

I observed as she hurled one transfixing bolt of purple after the other. Weaker and weaker as her untrained power slipped slipping to drain out. Each strike less accurate.

She was magnificent. My warrior queen. Holding flash even though she had never been trained. Despite being exhausted and terrified.

But she was also wearing herself out. She was burning through reserves she didn’t even possess. I could see her swaying. Could see her legs trembling.

At last I fought my way to the side of the last wolf, and sent it flying also. She fell into me then, her energy gone. Her body was shivering, even though she was cold from the work.

"I have you," I whispered, supporting her. Supporting her weight. "I have always got you."

Marjah was conscious by then, slumped against the wall. Her hair was clotted with blood, and her clothing also lay stained. “We’ve got to get out,” she panted, her voice hoarse. "More are coming. I can hear them. Smell them."
I lifted Eudora into my arms, ignoring her feeble protest. "Can you walk?" I asked Marjah.

She nodded, hoisting herself up with an effort. Her warrior training engaged, despite her wounds.

We finally went back down the tower, and walked over dead bodies of infected wolves on the way. The palace outside was all confusion. Fighting everywhere. Screams and roars that echoed down cool stone corridors.

But I heard Yamal’s order above the din. My warriors were holding. The key defenses had not fallen.

We were there almost at the safe room when Eudora began to stir in my arms. Her hand rose and cupped my cheek; her fingers shook.

"Oberon," she whispered. "I've got something to tell you."

“Let me know when it’s safe,” I instructed, walking faster. The safe room was just ahead. Twenty more feet.
"No, I do not mean now," she declared more firmly. She looked me in the purples and asked with serious fear. "When I used the magic. When I threw that energy. I felt something."

I switched to slow and fear rushed through me. "What did you feel?"

Eudora’s hand touched my face, and her fingers quivered on my cheek. "A connection. To something old and strong, and waiting. Something that was waiting for me my whole life.”
Her voice trailed to a whisper. My father's journal had mentioned a contingency. Something in my blood. I believe I know what it is now. I understand what he did."

She took a shuddering breath. "Deals and magic have more to do with it than that, Oberon. I'm also affiliated with the Ruminants. Whenever my father did anything he made me feel obligated to him. That is why they want me. Their ability to follow me wherever I go.”

Her eyes filled with tears and welled up. “I am not merely a vessel, or a key. I am a bridge. A connection between worlds. And when I use magic, every time, I make that bridge more solid. I call to them."

Before I could even register her words, before I could tell her we would figure it out together the walls around us blew in.

None from the diseased wolves or Esmeralda's warriors. From something much, much worse.

Low among the debris a true Ruminant waded through. Ancient and massive. At least nine feet tall. Its body was made of insubstantial blackness, constantly changing and reconstituting. It had eyes that glowed like red coals in the dark of its face.

Those eyes, staring at Eudora with lust and recognition. With terrible purpose.

“At last,” it grated, as though its voice were made of grinding stone. Like mountains collapsing. "The vessel awakens. After all these years. After all this waiting."

It was approaching, and with every step the floor vibrated. "Come, child. Return to the authentic mission of your life. Now, honor the fate your father planned for you.”