Gauntlet Rite of Ascension (40 page)

              Eavan knew this fight was mine and mine alone. If I was going to have a legitimate claim as leader I had to defeat Vicktor by myself, with no outside help.

              “C’mon Susan, let’s get ye out of here.” Eavan said, leading my sister away.

Everyone else cleared out as well, giving us room.

              Vicktor stopped ten feet away from me and started stalking me in a circle. He kept his body facing mine with his axe held out to the side in a ready position.

              I kept the distance between us constant and waited for him to make the first move. It didn’t take long.

              He smiled at me with a devilish gleam and brought his axe up above his head in a wood splitting motion. I didn’t know what he was going to do, at first I thought he was going to throw it, but he had to know I could easily dodge the large weapon and that would leave him powerless.

              The large axe blades let off a slight blue glow as it descended. I realized what was happening at the last second and dove to the side.

              Vicktor had a magically enhanced weapon as well. I wasn’t sure what it did, but I knew I was going to find out.

              As he brought the axe down, I felt an invisible force race across the space that separated us and I was hit with but a fraction of it. Pain screamed from my foot as it was clipped and most of the bones broke instantly from the sheer power of his attack.

              A large section of the wall behind me cracked and crumbled as if someone had driven a car into it.

              I was temporarily hobbled as it took a few seconds for my foot to heal. Vicktor rushed in hoping to monopolize on his opening salvo. I was able to get my good foot under me and as his axe came at me I lifted my gauntleted arm to deflect the blow. I didn’t want to try and stop a full swing so I angled it so that the blade would sheer off the side of my armor and angle it away from me. The ringing of the metal was loud.

              Vicktor hauled the axe back up and with a speed I was unprepared for swept it back, connecting the flat surface to my head.

              I stumbled back, the blow staggering me. I felt a warm wetness flow from the gash on my eyebrow. I wiped the blood out of my eye and scurried away from him, trying to put some distance between us.

              “Ha! Look at you, bleeding so soon, such a weakling!” Vicktor bellowed.

              I heard some of Vicktor’s followers chuckling at his taunts.

              Blood kept flowing from the wound and I knew it would not heal for another few minutes, far too long in a contest like this. I needed to stop the bleeding and figured a heavy coat of fur might help sponge some of it up.

              I willed myself to shift and felt the Beast answer. A newfound confidence filled me as the power of the Beast provided me with a surge of strength.

              Vicktor yelled as he charged me, once again hoping to catch me off guard while I changed. This time I was ready. His movements seemed slower as I realized the Beast had improved my speed and sight.

              I pretended I was still distracted as he brought his axe across his body in a side sweep, hoping to cut me in half. At the last second, I hopped out of reach then lunged forward, stabbing him in the shoulder as his swing carried it to the other side of his body.

              He screamed out in pain and used his momentum to spin away from me. He faced me quickly taking a defensive posture, afraid I would press the attack.

              I saw blood slowly drip off his elbow and narrowed my eyes at him.

              “Bleeding so soon?” I asked sarcastically.

              Anger marred his features as he too shifted forms, intent on matching my increased abilities. His body changed and a huge powerful werewolf with raven hair and long claws came at me with a newfound ferocity and aggression.

He came in and with deft speed launched a long series of swipes and lunges, hoping to hit me with his silver weapon. Abaddon’s training really began paying off as I quickly recognized most of Vicktor’s style. I managed to keep him from hitting me, but found that I had to keep retreating under his strong attacks. Vicktor’s technique was good, his strength was unparalleled, but he moved with a sloppiness that he tried to hide with over eager aggression. Like the way he ran the Pack, he tried to overcompensate for his lack of skill with a disregard for the control needed be a true weapon’s master.

              I saw the flaw in his attack and allowed myself to drift off into the unthinking instinctual mindset needed to take him down. My vision focused solely on Vicktor as I continued to parry his axe. He started throwing elbows and kicks, but I blocked those as well. I could see his anger increasing as his control began to slip. His Beast gained in dominance and his axe fell with more strength with each swing.

              I knew I had to make my move soon or risk one of his hits doing serious damage. He thrust at me with a double handed lunge and I hit the axe on the top making it swing down towards his feet. Just as I hoped, Vicktor used the block to bring the axe up overhead, just like with his first attack. I saw the blades again start to glow blue and before he could unleash the powerful magic I used the power of the Beast, and faster than the eye could see, I spun away from where I was and stood slightly behind and to the side of Vicktor before his axe unleashed its magical attack.

              His expression showed surprise as he could do nothing but watch as I lunged out and stabbed him on one of his hands, once to the ribs and another one on the meat of his leg.

              His hand opened from the reflex of the silver metal and the pain it caused. The axe released its magic and it went spinning away from Vicktor, as he was unable to keep a grip on it with just one hand.

              The released energy impacted the arena wall and Vicktor stumbled and fell to one knee, holding his injured hand with his good one. I stepped up to him and held the tip of my blade at his neck.

              “Now, tell me what has happened to my father or you
will
die.” I said to him through clenched teeth.

              “Go ahead, I fear her more than I would ever fear you!” He screamed.

              “We’ll see.” I willed the blade of my gauntlet to ignite and the strong scent of burnt hair hit me as Vicktor’s fur curled away from the tip of my sword.

              “Now, tell me where my father is and I will just leave you burnt instead of dead.” I ordered.

              Vicktor hissed as the heat began burning the skin on the back of his neck.

              He started laughing and it was then that I sensed the hint of insanity about him.

              “It doesn’t matter, don’t you see?! She will find us all and kill us, the only protection we have is to help her. We are all doomed! It is too late, too late for all of us!” He moaned.

              I began to question him further when I felt the first wave of corruption flow over me. Fear grew like a weed in my stomach as I felt the vampires’ death auras grow as their proximity increased. I looked around and saw Vicktor starting to scramble away. I noticed the rest of the Pack all looking around uncertainly having sensed the oncoming vampires’ essences as well.              

              I started to pin Vicktor down again when the still unearthly form of one of the undead landed in front of me as if it had been dropped from above like a spike of death to the fertile earth.

              Its eyes locked on to me and I found my Beast rise to counter the things stare. It flowed towards me, ignoring Vicktor when I stabbed it in the forehead with my blazing sword. Its head burst into flames and it shrieked, the sound grated at my ears.

              I saw Vicktor rush through one of the doors in the arenas walls and I hurried after him.

              “Eric!” Eavan’s voice stopped me.

              I looked around and saw the arena was filled with almost one hundred vampires, all standing still on the arena floor, evenly spaced around the wall, with ghostly perfection. They faced outward towards the stands and the Pack. Eavan ran over to me with Susan in tow.

              Susan looked at me with respect and awe, having seen me fighting Vicktor. Eavan had her sword drawn and stood at the ready in case the vampires attacked. Susan looked fragile without a weapon and without thinking; I took off one of my gauntlets and placed it on her wrist.

              I felt something click within my own gauntlet and both of the gems blazed with an inner light. Both gauntlets’ armor grew and I watched as they quickly covered our arms to the shoulder and flowed across our chests, just under our necks covering our other arm, ending in a medium sized oval shield situated on our forearms, leaving both hands free.

              “Cool.” Susan said as she admired her new weapon.

              “What tha?” Eavan said.

              Abaddon smiled slightly, impressed at my father’s abilities.

              Susan and I glanced at each other and we knew without talking that this was the way it was meant to be. Our dad hadn’t made me two gauntlets; he had made us each a gauntlet that we were both supposed to wear.

              I didn’t have time to marvel at this discovery when the vampires attacked. I saw out of the corner of my eye as Susan’s gauntlet blazed into life and mine followed suit. We kept in a tight group as the entire place erupted with chaos. The vampires flowed into the stands and started killing anything that stood in their way. I saw most of the O’Sullivan clan had tightened into a large defensive formation and were pretty successful at limiting their casualties. The vampires that got near them were soon reduced to body parts that slowly started to reform only to attack again.

              Others were not so lucky. Many of the Pack had never encountered a vampire and the shock at their appearance caused them to stall, which cost them their lives. Vampires ripped arms from shoulders and heads from necks, within a short span of time the arena floor flowed with the blood of werewolves and the moving black ichor of the vampires.

              Any foolish enough to attack us soon found themselves face to face with Susan’s and my flaming swords, Eavan’s devastating blade, Abaddons death dealing swords, Oengus’ destructive mace or Max’s flamethrower.

              I was proud of my sister. She was clearly untrained, but her ability to adapt to this situation so quickly made my heart swell with admiration.

              “Let’s cook us some vamps!” Max screamed.

              Seven vampires came rushing at us and the night brightened as a steady stream of fire from Max’s flamethrower burnt two vamps to a crisp in an instant. Oengus stepped forward and with a powerful swing sent two vampires over the edge of the arena and out of sight. Abaddon’s blades moved faster than I could follow and the last three were quickly cut into pieces that Max turned to embers with his flames.

A fierce grin split his face as he looked at me and I matched it with one of my own. He wore his visor down and it covered his eyes with a mirror finish, keeping the paralyzing effect of the vampire’s stare at bay.

              “How’d the rescue operation go?” I asked Abaddon over the chaos.

              “It was a mess. The Descended turned under the full moon and by the time we got there the Ascended had overpowered and killed them. It took most of them to do it. They had been poisoned by silver. We got them out and airlifted them to safety.”

              “Where’s Vicktor?” Abaddon asked me.

              He, Oengus and Max had quickly turned our triangle into a hexagon. David had left us before my fight with Vicktor in search of his own family and friends.

              “He ran off that way, when the vamps showed up.” I said, pointing to the open door.

              Abaddon looked at where I pointed and then back to me.

              “We can handle this; you better go make sure he doesn’t get away.” He said.

              A deep fierce pride filled me knowing that Abaddon had faith in me to fulfill this task.

              “Aye, ye better make sure he doesn’t screw it up.” Oengus said to Eavan.

              She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. We both turned and rushed off after Vicktor, intent on making sure he found his just rewards.

Chapter 36

              Eavan and I hurried through the doorway and easily followed Vicktor’s trail. We made a quick series of turns and went down a flight of steps. We soon entered the Hall.