Page 24 of The Dark War

Wolves, vampires, and witches were now fighting against my mate and the rest of our team. Blood scattered the floor. No shifter was healing, and these rogue beings were winning. The fae still fought, the fog in their eyes worked with the rogues, but once the pain shattered through their bodies, they lay helpless on the floor.

Kane’s side was torn, blood pooling beneath his thigh. I barked, leaping before thinking. My paws slipped into the blood but quickly gained my composure enough to land my small mouth on the underside of the rogue’s throat.

Kane growled, looking down at me, seeing I was covered in the blood of his attacker. Head cocking to the side as to why I would do such a thing. I pawed the rogue wolf’s eyes. Nothing was clouded. Kane shook his head, not understanding, and it was too dangerous to shift into human form.

Shifters behind me watched the scene unfold. They took the hint that both their alpha and comrades could not understand that these animals were not under a spell and needed to be taken care of. My team charged the room in at full force, now doubling and tripling the numbers fighting against the enemy. They still fought on, bolts of lightning coming from witches and warlocks who filtered into the middle of the room.

Cheetahs snarled, gripping opposing shifters that fought back. There weren’t many rogues, and the smell that lingered on their dirtied bodies had us gagging. Pulling a half-alive witch before me from the corner of the room, I pushed her eyes to Kane. She shook in fear, trying to bring up her fingers to set another spell before us. Hissing in her ear, she screamed, letting go of whatever beacon she was creating. Kane’s head shook. He howled as his claws raked at his ears. Silencing the witch with one swipe to her chest, I pushed the limp body.

Kane’s eyes blinked, watching the chaos surrounding him. Our pack all shook their heads, now darting their heads back to the opposing enemy. Their eyes widened, realizing who they were fighting. They were no longer trying to maim these rogues, thinking they were just under a spell. They were now ready for the blood of those with unfogged eyes.

The hair stood up on Marcus’s back, deep golden fur spiking from all sides of his spine. Grinding his teeth into the gums of his mouth, he lashed out at the witch coming toward me. My body sprang into action, taking the attacker of a bear coming for Marcus. Kane roared; his mind-link was now wide open as the witch beacon’s lifeless body was now being trampled by the stampede of shifters.

“Get the rogues, protect the fallen!” Torin’s voice echoed through the magnificent entrance of the palace. Shifter after shifter tried to attack the witches and warlocks coming down the stairs.

Skin tearing, blood spilling, my razor-sharp fangs finally ripped the throat of the opposing rogue bear, causing it to fall on top of me. Not being the strongest, it took several moments for me to wiggle free until my mate pulled up the dead beast from my back.

“Stay close.” Torin’s voice was ragged as he continued to bleed from his side. Another witch or warlock was keeping us from healing. One by one, I watched our numbers dwindle. The felines that were not used to fighting in packs were collapsing, not able to understand our formations of protecting each other’s backs.

Naheim was struggling in the corner, the large lion trying to take on two bears. Roaring at the swipe the one bear made across his hind leg, the other stomped on his mane, unable to lift his head. Kane came running behind me, seeing my bodyguard gasping for breath.

The bear stepping on his mane came to swipe his throat dramatically. I swear I saw the evil grin his animal made. Taking the time to strike, I rounded him, jumping high enough to catch him in the weakest point, the throat. He wasn’t the biggest bear I had ever seen, but he still fell with a large slam to the ground while Kane ripped the head off another.

Kane was still not healing. I growled to figure out another point of attack until Skye whistled for me through her fingers. She stood at the base of the stairs, her sword pointing to the top. Two figures, one in a black cloak and the other a pasty vampire, grinning ear to ear.

Not looking back to get Kane’s attention, I bolted for Skye as she ran up the stairs. I barked at her, trying to gain her recognition, but her sword held out in front of her. She was on a mission of her own. Hearing Kane’s mighty roar below the steps, he took a step forward, letting the meat of his wound dangle from his body as he watched me top the stairs.

A deep chuckle came from a darkened figure in the cloak, possibly male. The loud noises kept our pounding feet and paws to a minimum. It was then the vampire snickered and pointed to Skye, running toward them both. Swinging her sword, she slit right through the blackened cape, hearing a rip not even touching the magical figure before her. Before I could pull her away, the vampire pulled out an iron dagger, lunged forward, and struck it straight through Skye’s heart.

An evil chortle came from his throat. His darkened hair and the tattoos that peeked out from underneath his black dress shirt held nothing but skulls and blood. The silver rings on his fingers, filled with jewels, glistened in the light that was trying to evade the sky. His fanged smile showed no remorse while he twisted it in her chest.

I howled a cry, Kane grabbing me as I slowed down as I watched Skye’s body drop to the floor. It was straight through her heart. The small glow in her chest that was made for the light source rays to help heal her dimmed. Her body turned to an ashen color in an instant.

Howling again, Torin held onto Giana and my body tightly, his blood staining our fur. Skye was too good for this. What was she trying to prove? She should have waited; she should have stopped to let me help her! I wasn’t fast enough. I didn’t catch her in time. I was supposed to be a leader. I was supposed to keep as many people from leaving the soil as I could.

“Let me save her!” I cried to Kane. Torin’s body wrestled with us.

“She’s gone, baby, she’s gone.” I knew I could save her. I had to save her. “If you try to save her, it will kill you. She is dead!” Torin’s deep voice snapped.

The cloaked figure waved their hand across the battle below. The room stilled, causing not just our own shifters and fae but the rogue’s to freeze in place. The foyer, once bustling with noise, was now silent, all frozen in time. My mate and I stood in awe of how defeating the silence was. It hovered over us like black clouds while the cloaked figure turned to us. Were we next? The deep vibrations from their chest had Torin grip hold of us tightly, backing away from the evil magic that oozed from their body.

It was thick, hard to breathe at the magnitude of this power. The vampire, who only gave a leer in return, licked the blade and then his black fingernails that had grazed Skye’s chest. Whimpering for justice, I squirmed, wanting to rip the throat out of this beast, this monster that took away my new friend that had given me enough courage to carry on. I had to do it for her, in remembrance of her.

Fingers letting go of a white cloud of dust brushed forward and seeped within the room. Covering our eyes, we coughed violently. Torin only held me tighter as the still room now slowly came back into motion. Blinking several times, we looked in front of us, only to see nothing was before us. Torin’s grip loosened, having my four paws reach the ground.

Why were we up here? Padding across the floor, I sniffed the pool of blood. It smelled of fae, a familiar smell that I could not place.

“What happened?” I linked Kane, who stood over me with his broad shadow.

“I don’t know.” He ran his claws through the top of his hair. Rubbing his leg absentmindedly, blood coated his fur heavily, but there was no cut, no wound.

“When did I even get here?” I muttered to him. “Last thing I remember was being at the camp. Why am I here in the foyer of the Golden Light palace?” Taking my paws and putting them on the railing, looking below, large pools of blood lay on the floor. Shifters and fae walked about the room in confusion, looking to us for answers. I had none to give. I don’t even remember why I was here.

My mind returned to the large pool of blood on the floor. It smelled so familiar to me, yet not. It was a horrible feeling I had, something that I should have remembered. Giana whimpered inside me, our heads ticking in confusion.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Torin’s enormous body hovered over me as I stared into the pool of blood to see my reflection.

“Everything,” I replied. “Everything.”

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