Gauntlet Rite of Ascension (25 page)

              He leaned forward just a little too eagerly and I instantly and without thought moved in to take advantage.

              I stepped inside his attack and with a quick series of slashes and stabs had him back peddling away from my offense. I didn’t rush it or over reach. A deep and powerful feeling of success began to build within me as I saw how this would end.

              The sound of metal ringing off metal almost sounded like one continuous sound as our swords clashed.

              Fighting with one sword is about positioning and accuracy. Fighting with two swords is about both of those as well, only twice as hard.

              I couldn’t tell you exactly what I did to get the opening I needed or the precise swing that did it, but my Beast rose within me when I realized I had out parried him, forcing his blades both out and away from his body, leaving his neck exposed for the kill.

              As I moved in time seemed to slow. The energy my Beast provided me made my movements seem sluggish, but in reality I was moving so fast that my mind had a hard time keeping up. I knew I had beaten him. I knew that with one swipe of my blades his head would come free from his neck and my Beast screamed at me to finish it.

              My animal instincts were so close to dominance that I felt like it was all there was to me as I began swinging both my blades at Abaddons throat.

              This bastard had hurt me and cut me more times than I could count. He had taken me from my home and thrust me into this crazy life. He had kept secrets from me and played with my emotions. All of these things were reasons to end his life.

              The biggest one that came to my mind was the simplest and most powerful. He was prey and had let his guard down, earning him the greatest mercy I could bestow, a quick death.

              This flooded my mind as my blades descended.

              I don’t know how I did it, but an inch from ending Abaddon’s life, I stopped. My blades halted in mid-swing as I willed myself to halt.

              “No.” I said, and with that the Beast retreated a bit and my more complicated and human thoughts flooded back.

              We stood facing each other, both of us were panting. The light was gone as the fight took us well into the evening.

              I stood with both arms out, my blades on either side of Abaddon’s neck, his swords down to his sides. I slowly removed the silver metal from his throat and again said, “No. I am in control, not the other way around.”

              “How?” I head Abaddon say.

              I looked up at him, ready to answer his question. I thought he wanted to know how I had beaten him, but as I met his gaze what I saw there frightened me.

              He wasn’t asking me how I had beaten him; he knew the answer to that. I was better than him today. Today I came with more will and determination to win than he did. That scared me.

              Realizing he wasn’t asking me how I beat him, my mind raced to figure out what he really was asking when it dawned on me.

              He was asking me the same question he had before our fight really got going.

              How? How did we get into the Pack without them thinking we were up to something? I knew the answer had to do with what just happened when I made the connection.

              Abaddon hadn’t just randomly started a fight with me today, he hadn’t just on the fly made it so intense that I had to either step up or be killed. No, he always had a purpose for his actions and I knew what he had meant to do here today.

              He knew there was one way to get us in to the Pack, one way that had already been there, the Rite of Ascension.

              I wasn’t supposed to undergo that for another six months. I was supposed to be training to be ready for the Rite, knowing that Vicktor would make it hard for me to succeed.

              Abaddon wouldn’t just send me to the Pack to attempt the Rite only to have me fail. He knew I had to be ready. Today he had shown me I was. I had been pushed to the brink of my limits of control and had prevailed.

              I looked at him, both of us unflinching.

              “The Rite of Ascension.” I answered.

              My fear at beating Abaddon slowly evaporated only to be replaced by pride at seeing a large smile grow on his face.

              “Exactly.” He said.

Chapter 25

              I stood in front of the large map of Maryland Max had hung on the wall. It had many multiple colored tacks on it. The pattern was a well spread out circle around a central area of deep woods.

              “Staring at it won’t give you any answers.” Max said as he scanned through websites, hoping to find a snippet or story that had a semblance of fact.

When he found one he’d investigate further and if it had some of the variables needed to show it might be an actual vampire attack he’d put a tack on the map.

              “I know, I just wish I knew what Vicktor was doing with that vampire bitch.” I said.

              “The answers have to be found, sometimes.” Abaddon said.

              He came into the large living area of the cabin carrying a duffel bag. It was the last thing he needed to put in the S.U.V. before we left for the Pack.

              “I can’t say I’m very upset about not going with you.” Max said.

              “I thought you were all gung ho about being in the action?” I asked, looking at him.

              “Yeah, well, sometimes you need to know where your limits are and where you’ll be most needed.” He answered.

              “Don’t kid yourself, Max. Your job is very important.” Abaddon added.

              “I know, you guys would be up shit creek without me.” He said with a smirk.

              I smiled to myself. It was good to hear him get cocky again. I had been worried about him since the vampire encounter. Seeing him engage in casual banter was a very good sign.

              “It’s good to see we have a proportionate sense of our self-worth.” I said to Max.

              “You guys just hold up your end and I’ll get what we need.” He said.

              Abaddon came up to Max and me. He stood staring at the map.

              “Let’s go over the plan one more time.” He said.

              I knew getting upset about having to run through the plan again was useless. Abaddon was intent on making sure every player knew their role and since most of the plan was my idea, I really couldn’t get mad at him for wanting to make sure it was understood. Besides, he wouldn’t care one bit if it was annoying, he was Abaddon.

              “When we arrive at the Den, you are to declare my status as an Ascended who wishes to undergo the Rite of Ascension. We then are required to stay on the Den’s premises until the full moon. While we are at the Den, until the Rite, I am given guest status, which essentially means I am a comfortable prisoner.”

              “I’ll be free to move about and talk to other Pack members, but any physical violence is prohibited by myself or others against me.”

              “Hopefully, my arrival months ahead of schedule will fluster Vicktor and force him to do something stupid, where we can find out what he’s up to.”

              “Exactly, this whole plan is going to be tricky.” Abaddon said.

              “We have to try and use the time until the Rite to gather supporters, try and convince your father’s allies that you are trustworthy, while at the same time not alerting Vicktor to our plans.” He added.

              “All in a day’s work.” I said.

              “Let’s get going. We have a long drive ahead of us.” Abaddon said.

              Max turned from his computer and looked at me without any of the previous bluster.

              “Be careful. I’d hate to have to find a new werewolf best friend, you guys are hard to come by.”

              I looked at him for a moment, and nodded. I left and went to the S.U.V. Abaddon started it up and we drove off, heading north.

              The drive was relatively quite. Abaddon wasn’t a big talker and I really didn’t have anything to say either. We drove for hours and eventually pulled over to get some gas and food. Abaddon pulled out his wallet to pay and I saw him look at the same crumpled picture I first saw when I found my gauntlets.

A look of loss and regret swept over him before he quickly closed it shut.

We got back on the road and after a few minutes of silence I said, “What’s his name?”

Abaddon turned from the road, looking at me, “What?”

“The picture in your wallet, I accidentally saw it when I found my gauntlets, he’s a good looking kid, looks a lot like you.” I tried.

Abaddon turned back, his face hardened into its normal impenetrable shield, showing no emotion. After a few minutes of silence I gave up, figuring he wasn’t going to say anything.

“Don. His name was Don.” Abaddon said, quietly.

His voice surprised me; I didn’t think I was going to get anything from him. This was one of the only times he and I had been able talk about something other than the Pack or my training. Abaddon was a good man, but I wanted to know more about him, since he was practically family.

“Don? Is that short for something?” I asked.

“Abaddon, like his father.” He said, deep emotions filled his words, love and pride mixed with loss and guilt.

“He’s your son?” I was stunned, I had no idea Abaddon had any kids.

“Was, he was my son. He’s dead.”

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” I said.

“Of course not, how would you?” He started talking, urgency filled his voice, like a dam had been broken and he had to let the words come or else they threatened to break down the wall.

“He died twenty-five years ago, seems like only yesterday I was sparing with him in his diapers. He used to hit me in the knees with his bamboo sword.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“He was my life, you know. Ascended do not have very many children; we do not have large litters like wolves. We have very long lifespans and tend to have many partners over that time. Sometimes human, other times Ascended. No matter how many mates we have, there only seems to be one that can produce young and then only one or two at the most. I guess the Powers don’t want us overpopulating the earth.”

“That child is precious, and a gift to be nurtured and protected. You can see why your father left the Pack. Having twins was almost unheard of and he saw it as a sign to try and give you the best, safest childhoods.”

“When he was born it was the happiest day of my life, from that moment on I spent every day with him, changing diapers and feeding him at first, then as he got older I began to prepare him for his Ascension. We trained and he was a master swordsman, by the time he was old enough to be tested by the Beast he could beat me. I was so proud.”

“I don’t know what happened, maybe I was too soft on him, maybe I took it easy because he was my son, but I failed him. The first full moon after being bitten brought about his challenge with his Beast. He succumbed to its power, unable to accept his true nature, he Descended.”

I looked on in horror, knowing what had to be done next, not wanting to listen but unable to stop.

“His mom and I had taken him out into the woods; we wanted the moment to be ours to savor. When he turned we were unprepared for his failure, never believing it possible, not from Don, not my boy.”

“He took his own mother down before I could stop him and ripped her throat out. She was human and died instantly.” He paused, his eyes glazed over as he focused on the road, afraid to look anywhere else.

“So I killed him. I had no choice; I could not let him harm anyone else. I buried him next to his mother and left a part of me in the ground as well.” He finished and a lone tear broke free and raced down his jaw.

He said no more about it and I left it alone. I think I knew why he was so hard on me, why he took my training so serious. I could hardly blame him.

We soon reached the border between Canada and America. We went through customs and after a brief delay continued our journey.

              I wasn’t sure how Abaddon hid his weapons, but mine looked like silver bracelets. Pretty handy for a world that wouldn’t let you bring a box cutter onto an airplane.