Descendant (26 page)

Valkos didn’t seem too concerned, though, even when Kael started toward us. Maybe because he didn’t have any reason to be concerned. Because almost as if the gunshot had cued them, there were now several dozen beasts on either side of us, making their way down the hall to where we stood. A handful of them sprinted ahead of the rest of the pack and surrounded Kael before he could reach us.

“What are they doing here?” I demanded as the sound of low growls started fil ing the hall .

“Just a precaution, my dear Alexandra. They’l be escorting them out.”

“I want to see them to the door,” I said, drawing back as a grey werewolf approached us and crouched submissively by Valkos’ side. The creature’s yell ow eyes were watching me. Its teeth were bared, and a thin layer of drool hung from them.

Valkos gave a single, slow nod, and placed a hand on the werewolf’s head to calm it. “Of course. We’ll lead the way,”

he said. Then he turned to the two who had been holding Kael back. “Grab him,” he called. “And try to hold on to him this time,” he added crossly. The two obeyed, somewhat timidly. I’m not sure what they were worried about—considering they now had the back up of no less than six snarling, snapping lycans who formed an almost complete circle around them, effectively blocking any escape route Kael might’ve had.

We were an odd procession, me and Valkos and the grey We were an odd procession, me and Valkos and the grey werewolf leading the way to the front door. We didn’t have far to go, which was a good thing—because I was having a hard time walking straight and not running into things. My head was swimming. This was all real y happening. I had to keep telling myself that so I could keep moving forward. We reached the door, which Valkos opened for me. I stepped outside. The grey werewolf followed closely at my heels, a constant growl rumbling from its throat.

The burst of cool mountain air was refreshing, and the sounds of life coming from the forest—the birds cal ing, the wind blowing through the rocks—lifted my spirits for a fraction of a second. But then Kael walked by me. He may have been walking toward his freedom, but he looked like he was headed for the gal ows. Our eyes met in passing.

He shook his head angrily and turned away.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Valkos said. I cringed as he placed a hand on my shoulder, but I didn’t dare shrug it off.

Kael and Lora were almost safe. I just needed to keep cooperating for a little bit longer.

Directly in front of us was a steep hill , and I watched as both Kael and Lora were marched toward it. They were only about ten feet away, though, when Kael suddenly stopped.

The lycans around him erupted into a chorus of threatening growls, but Kael seemed indifferent as he struggled with his restrainers until he was able get himself turned to where he could look back toward us.

“Do I at least get to say goodbye?” he called.

Valkos’ grip on my shoulder tightened. I could hardly even breathe as I glared at Kael. What the heck did he think he was doing? Why was he screwing this up?

“Just because you didn’t get to,” Kael continued in an even voice. “Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t.”

My gaze fell back to Valkos then, and the look on his face made it pretty obvious that something painfull was going through his mind. I have no idea what it might’ve been, but the next thing I knew his grip on my shoulder relaxed, and then he pulled his hand away completely.

“Stay close to him,” Valkos said. At his words the lycans surrounding Kael stepped far enough aside to open a path back towards me. When he started to walk, though, their fangs were never far from his heels.

It was mostly anger that carried me forward. By the time I reached Kael, I was still torn between a strong desire to slap him and to throw my arms around him; I ended up doing the later—God only knows why. When I started to pul away after a minute though, all sure as hel wasn’t forgiven.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I whispered angrily.

He didn’t say anything, he just stared into my eyes for a second and then wrapped his arms more tightly around me.

It was kind of weird.

“Now’s real y not a good time to be getting all sentimental on me,” I said, resting my head against his chest. “You need to take Lora and get away from here,” I said. There was a funny feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. I tried to pul away again, before it could get any stronger, but Kael’s embrace was unyielding.

“I’m not leaving you,” he said quietly.

“Kael, you don’t—”

He was unbelievably quick. Before I could even gasp, both of my arms were twisted and pinned behind my back, held in place by one of his own. The gun I’d almost forgot I was holding was suddenly wrenched from my hand, and a second later I felt the cold metal press against the side of my head.

“What are you doing?” Valkos’ voice was quiet, deadly.

“Let her sister go first,” Kael demanded. “Then we’ll talk.”

“Let her sister go first,” Kael demanded. “Then we’ll talk.”

“I’m not sure what you think you’re accomplishing…I was planning on letting her go,” Valkos said, taking a step towards us. “But now I have to ask: why should I? The deal was that Alexandra stays with me, and her sister walks.”

“Forget that. You’re dealing with me now,” Kael said. “And we both know this girl’s no good to you dead.”

“That’s true. And I’d be worried… if I thought you actual y had the nerve to pul the trigger.”

Kael’s grip on my arms suddenly tightened. “Well then I guess it’s a good thing you know absolutely nothing about me,” he said.

A wall of sweat had formed on my forehead. The droplets trickled down and stung my eyes. I heard the click of the gun’s safety being released, and for the first time Valkos looked uncomfortable. He took another step forward, his eyes narrowing.

“Impertinent child… I’ve let you live this long as a favor to your mother, God rest her soul. But you’ve defied me one too many times. If you value your pathetic excuse for a life, you’ll get away from her. Now.”

“If you kill me, I’m taking her with me.”

“Pull the trigger then.”

I shut my eyes tightly, partly because they were burning from the sweat, but mostly because I was beginning to think Kael might actual y shoot me. I kept seeing Markus. The gunshot.

His lifeless body slumping to the floor. The more times the scene played itself over in my head, the more vivid it got, so I was glad when a familiar voice suddenly distracted me.

“He was willing to kill her before, and my guess is that he’s willing to kill her now.” Sera was standing in the doorway, holding something in her hand; I couldn’t tell what from this angle. She crossed the yard to Valkos’ side and bowed her head respectfully. She kept her back to me, so that even when she offered Valkos whatever it was in her hand, I still couldn’t see it.

“Sir, I think you should see this,” she said. “I don’t know that you needed more evidence of it, but your son is every bit the traitor you thought him to be.”

“Son…?” I repeated in a whisper.

“Not my choice,” Kael said softly.

“His intention has always been to kill the descendant,” Sera continued, glancing back over her shoulder. Her eyes met mine, and a triumphant smile crossed her face before she turned back to Valkos. “Sir, he meant to stop you, by whatever means necessary. He still means to.”

I felt lightheaded. What had Sera shown him? No…it didn’t matter. Because it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. If Kael real y wanted to kill me, he would’ve done it a long time ago, right? Right.

Except Kael didn’t bother to cal Sera out on her lie, and the look on Valkos’ face told me he didn’t think Sera was lying at all .

“Let her sister go,” Valkos commanded.

I breathed for the first time in almost a minute. At least Lora was going to get away, at least she—“Alex!” The sound of footsteps to my left. I cast my gaze sideways as best I could without turning my head. Lora was half-running, half-tripping her way towards me. Dammit.

What was wrong with these people? Why couldn’t they just run away when they were told?

“Lora!” I snapped in the most commanding, big-sisterly voice I could manage at the moment. “Get away from me!

Go home!”

Go home!”

“Alex, I—”

“I’m serious! Go!”

She stumbled to a stop a few feet away, tears glistening in her big brown eyes.

“Lora,” I said. “You have to go.”

She didn’t budge.

“Vanessa’s waiting for her,” Kael interjected quietly. He turned, pul ing me with him, so that we could see the white wolf now perched on top of the hill . The sight of Vanessa was almost calming, and I tried to force a reassuring smile as I turned back to Lora.

“That’s my friend Vanessa,” I said. “I real y, real y need you to go with her.” I swallowed, trying to combat the dryness in my throat. “We’ll catch up with you guys soon.”

Lora wasn’t stupid. She had to have known that last part was a lie. For a minute she just stood, shaking her head in silence. Then she stepped forward, closing the distance between us, leaned in and pressed her forehead against mine. She was wearing my silver necklace again, the one with the tear-drop shaped diamond. The faint humming it was giving off didn’t real y bother me anymore. The scent of honeysuckles clung to her, and I couldn’t help but smile.

She might’ve spent the last few days a hostage, but she still smelled nice, and every hair was still in place. Still my Lora.

“Promise I’ll see you again?” she whispered.

“I’d pinky-promise and everything, but my hands are a little tied up at the moment,” I said.

She pulled away and I gave her a meek smile, which she didn’t return. For a minute I still didn’t think she was going to leave my side. It made me angry, but I tried to hold it in. I couldn’t yell at her anymore. So I was enormously relieved when a look of understanding final y crossed her face, and she nodded and started to back slowly away from me and Kael. Her eyes still didn’t leave me as she walked, and it took every bit of strength I had to keep that smile on my face, to keep the tears from fil ing my eyes, to keep nodding her forward, away from all this. Away from me.

Maybe for the last time.

As I watched Vanessa disappear with my little sister, I couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Not just by Kael, but by all of them. I couldn’t help but think: had this been their plan all along? It made sense, now that I thought about it.

When I’d suggested severing the pact, hadn’t they all gotten upset? Worried? Maybe they’d seen me as the threat that needed eliminating? And maybe, this whole time, they’d been planning to sacrifice me right in front of Valkos’ face, in some crazy anti-war demonstration. And now that my sister was out of the way, Kael could pul the trigger.

He could’ve. But he didn’t. Not just yet, anyway.

“What are you going to do now, boy?” Valkos asked.

I wanted to hear the answer to that question myself. I tried to look up, tried to look into Kael’s eyes hoping they would give me some sort of clue as to what the hel was going through his head right now. But his head was turned, away from me, away from Valkos; I twisted my own head as far as I could, trying to see what he was looking at.

Vanessa was gone, but out of the corner of my eye I could see another lycan standing on the hill . He stood completely still , but after a second he lifted his head and gave a single, low howl.

“It’s about damn time,” Kael said under his breath.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“It’s Shane.” Kael’s grip on my arms started to relax a little.

“Sera.” Valkos’ sudden, stern voice made me jump. I turned back and saw Sera hurry to his side again. “Take care of him,” Valkos told her.

Sera nodded, and lifted a hand. At least a dozen of the lycans standing behind Valkos rushed to her side, and after Sera’s own quick, effortless transformation, the group of them shot off toward the hill . There was no hesitation in their charge. Valkos’ voice had been confident. The lycans closest to me and Kael gave a few anxious whines, but other than that, Shane’s appearance real y didn’t make me feel that much better about the situation I was facing.

As it turned out, though, he wasn’t alone.

Sera and her group had gotten about twenty feet from Shane when for some reason they started to slow down.

They were almost completely stopped when the first lycan came barreling over the hill top, followed by no less than ten more in the span of about five seconds. And they just kept coming.

“He just had to make a dramatic entrance, didn’t he?” Kael muttered. I smiled at the comment, but honestly—Shane could be as dramatic as he wanted to, for all I cared. I was just glad he was here. It was starting to look like we might walk away from this after all .

“It’s not over yet,” Kael said, effectively bursting the hopefull bubble that had started to inflate in my chest. He let go of my arms and shoved the gun into my hand. I saw a flash of metal as he pulled what must’ve been another gun from somewhere, just as Valkos’ voice rang out over the snarls and yelps of the commencing battle.

“I want the girl alive,” he said. “But be sure you kill him.”

Kael spun around and pressed his back against mine. A second later two shots rang out, followed by two high-pitched whines and the thud of bodies dropping to the ground. I tried to lift and aim my own gun, but my hands were trembling too badly.

“Alex! Either start shooting or give me that gun!”

I was about to yell back at him, to tell him to stop being so damn pushy, but at that moment the lycan closest to me crouched and sprang. Another shot rang out, and if the gun hadn’t kicked back so hard I probably wouldn’t have even realized it was mine. My hurt wrist was throbbing from the pain of being jerked back, but I tried to ignore it, just like I tried to ignore the still body of the lycan whose life I’d just ended. I lifted the gun and fired again. Another body fell .

Another shot. Another body. I didn’t know the person pul ing the trigger. But I wanted them to stop. Three bullets later and they did.

I had to stop—I was out of bul ets. I threw the gun aside.

Even if I had more bul ets, I don’t think I would’ve reloaded it. Because of me and Kael there were six bodies. Some of them were completely still , some of them still twitched a little as they took their last, desperate gasps of air.

More were closing in on us, but they were met by who must’ve been members of Shane’s pack; I couldn’t tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys anymore, and I don’t know how they could tell each other apart, either. But they all seemed to know their target somehow. I’m glad somebody knew what was going on.

“Come on,” Kael said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from the chaos. I followed, my legs getting a little number with every step.

We were almost to the base of the hill when I saw him: about fifteen feet away stood a white beast. I actual y froze in place when I saw him, because he was huge—even for a lycan. He didn’t move with the same grace as Vanessa and the others did; his footsteps were heavy and his shoulders squared with every step. For a minute his head stayed low to the ground as he walked, but then he lifted his nose to the air and opened his mouth a little. After a few seconds of this he dropped his head and turned his one good eye on us. His lips pulled back, but not as if in a snarl. It was more like a smile. Then he turned and bolted off into the woods.

“Where the hel is he going?” I was already sprinting up the hill , the numbness in my legs suddenly disappearing.

Valkos had taken the exact same path into the woods that Vanessa and Lora had.

“I don’t know,” Kael said as he ran up beside me. “But what do you think you’re going to do about it?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand reach for me, but I managed to dodge it. I sped up enough so that I was just out of his reach.

“This is crazy, Alex,” he called angrily. “You can’t fight him like this. And besides, Lora has Vanessa, and Will — plenty of protection. She doesn’t need you to die for her!”

“Valkos can’t kill me!” I yelled back. “He needs me.”

Kael dove at me then and managed to catch me. His momentum sent us both stumbling

“Get off of me!” I struggled, but Kael’s grip on my arms was relentless.

“Even if he can’t kill you,” he said. “There are worse things than death, trust me. And he knows all about them.” He final y relaxed his grip and I jerked my arms away.

I glared at him for a minute. Then I nodded slowly.

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’m glad you—”

“Yeah, you’re right: I can’t fight him like this.”

“Alex? What the hel do you think you’re doing?”

Kael might’ve been right beside me, but his voice was little more than background noise. The same was suddenly true for everything surrounding me. The sounds of the forest, the battle in the distance—soon all those noises became nothing but static. Then, final y, there was complete silence, and I had the brief, eerie sensation that I was living in a silent film. Individual sounds came back to me first—my breathing, the snarls and yelps in the distance, Kael’s cursing at me—with a degree of clarity unlike anything I’d ever heard.

My balance suddenly seemed off. Worried I might fall , I started to kneel forward, and to my surprise found I didn’t have to go far before my hands hit the ground. A second later the familiar tingling erupted over my entire body. I didn’t open my eyes, because I was afraid that actual y watching what was happening might make harder to remain calm. I could still feel it though. And it felt weird.

I remained crouched on hands and knees. My arms lengthened first, and I felt myself grow taller, as though the ground below me had suddenly decided to give a violent upheaval. My back legs formed more quickly, bending and lifting me off of my knees, onto my feet and into a four-legged position that felt surprisingly natural. In fact, it all seemed natural now. Why couldn’t I do this sooner?

Suddenly everything made sense again. The world around me started to slow, even as my mind raced with euphoric energy. My fear was gone. Sights, sounds, colors—everything seemed so different, so strange and exciting.

And enticing. Part of me would’ve given anything to have had the chance to just walk around and take in this new world. But my human mind was still with me, and a quiet voice surfaced in my mind, reminding me that I had things to take care of.

And then I was running. As a human I thought I’d been fast.

But compared to now? It was like I’d been standing still my whole life. I ran, and I didn’t even have to think about where I was going. Somehow I just knew. Somehow I knew where not to step, somehow I knew every path through the trees.

And somehow I knew where Valkos had gone.

He turned around just in time to see me launch myself at He turned around just in time to see me launch myself at him—but not in time to dodge. I managed to sink my teeth into the ruff of fur surrounding his neck. My grip wasn’t strong enough, though, and with a toss of his head he sent me flying into a nearby tree. I stumbled to my feet, disoriented, and looked up to see Valkos stepping toward me.

(You are persistent—I wil grant you that. To the point that it’s gotten a bit annoying.)

I only snarled in response, and suddenly cold laughter filled my head.

(I am glad to see you’ve abandoned your human form—at least maybe you’ll be able to put up a little bit of a fight now.

Should make things more interesting.) I was amazed at how quickly, how fluidly, I was able to move my new body—and of how easily I’d adjusted to the fact that it was mine. If I’d had time to think about it, I guess it would’ve seemed real y bizarre. Luckily though, I didn’t have time. So I didn’t think about how strange it was to have four legs instead of two. I just appreciated how fast they could throw me at Valkos.

It was almost scary how satisfying it was to sink my teeth into him. Not that it lasted long. The second after my teeth brushed his skin, he shook me loose and countered with an attack of his own, raking his claws across my side and turning streaks of my fur a darker shade of red. An intense, burning pain followed, and a particularly sharp pang caused me to stumble just as I lunged toward him again. He dodged, and I landed clumsily.

My balance left me completely for a moment, and Valkos wasted no time in taking advantage of my vulnerable state.

Even if I had been on steady legs, he was still faster than me—it didn’t take me long to realize that. I barely had time to even think about evading him before he was on me again. I managed to roll out of the way, but my escape was so close that I’m pretty sure Valkos pulled away with a clump of my fur between his teeth.

The longer we fought, the more I began to think that first attack I’d managed to land had just been a stroke of beginner’s luck. Now I was forced to concentrate all of my energy on just avoiding him, and it wasn’t long before that grew frustrating. There was little else I could do about it, though, so I kept dodging, waiting for a chance to attack. It didn’t take much of that before I started to get tired, and the close-cal s grew closer and more frequent. My exhaustion must’ve been more obvious than I would’ve liked to admit, too, because after a few minutes I heard Valkos’ amused voice:

(I wonder how much longer you’ll be able to keep this up?

You know, you’re only postponing the inevitable.) (I could keep this up all day,) I snapped back, hoping my voice didn’t reflect how tired I actual y felt.

His hollow laughter filled my head again. (Well I’m getting kind of bored myself. How about we go ahead and end this?)

I didn’t have time to reply one way or the other before he slammed into my side and sent me skidding wildly across the forest floor. Before I’d even rolled to a complete stop he was on top of me, his jaws opened wide.

His fangs came down on my neck. The pain was unbearable—like a hundred bee stings for each of the fangs that sank into my flesh. I tried to jerk away, but that only made the pain a mil ion times worse. I lay still after one attempt at that, and was silent save for the occasional involuntary whimper.

Death would’ve been okay now. Anything to make the pain stop. Maybe death was the best thing now, anyway. I’d done all I could. At least I’d slowed him down—hopefully long enough to be sure that Lora got to safety. What was left to do? It was over. I could accept that, right?

But it was far from over. His fangs withdrew from my neck and settled between my shoulder blades instead, and I felt my self being lifted—smoothly, effortlessly—and the next thing I knew I was hurtling through the air. I collied with a nearby tree. I slid down, my back breaking my fall against the base, and pain shot through my spine. For a long time I lay there, staring up at the sky and trying to get a decent breath

(Not quite the fight I was hoping for.) His voice sounded airy, like I was in some kind of daydream. (You do show some potential though. Once this pact business is all settled, I may be able to find a place for you in my ranks.) A low growl rumbled in my throat.

(I wil never fight for you.) With tremendous effort I managed to roll myself over to face him. I tried to climb to my feet, but my legs shook violently, and before I could even straighten to half of my full height they crumpled beneath me. The vibrant shades that had colored my world were dul ing, and bouts of pain throbbed between my eyes. I started to shut them. Everything around me was starting to blur.

A silver creature stepped between Valkos and me. I stared at it for what seemed like a long time, trying to make sense of it. I thought I was hall ucinating. Valkos must’ve seen it too, though, because he lifted his head and took two steps back, and a second later I heard his voice in my head.