Unnaturals (50 page)

Ralph writhed beside Mason, taking his Wolf and howling in rage at the massed Twisted wolves of Bemeon's world.

`Wait,' Mason said, touching Ralph's hot pelt. `Control it. Stay here.' Ralph shook in rage beside him and Mason understood. Bemeon's wolves were everything Ralph wasn't, but they shared the same shape.

`Impressive,' Bemeon said. `The Wolf listens to you still, even though you are already dead. Sad, really. He could be my alpha.'

Ralph spun around, fangs bared, snarling as he moved towards Bemeon. Mason took a handful of his pelt and held on tight, holding the Wolf back. Renee moved to touch Ralph as well.

`So touching. All trying to stop each other from dying.' Bemeon moved sideways, away from Ralph's jaws. `The only reason you're still alive is so I can watch you die, knowing what is going to happen to those left behind.'

He vanished and Mason spun around, seeking Bemeon out.

`Now this is the part I really wanted you to see,' Bemeon said, standing at the altar, his hand between Ruth's legs.

Mason broke away from Renee and raced to the altar, grabbing Bemeon's hand. `Leave her alone!'

Bemeon's fingers had been deep inside Ruth's sex and when he ripped the hand out, blood followed.

`Too late,' Bemeon grinned, tasting the blood on his fingers as Mason stared in horror at the blood. Ruth's blood. Their child's. `She will live but the child—'

He stopped to put his hand on Ruth's abdomen. `Seems she is in trouble.'

Shock fled as Mason found his rage. His hands found Bemeon's neck, his fingers dug into soft flesh.

White hot pain tore through his chest as Bemeon grinned back at him with black rank teeth.

`Mason. No.'

Renee sounded so far away. He staggered, letting Bemeon go. Weak. He felt so weak. Looking down, he understood. Hunter's own killing spike was buried deep in his chest, Bemeon's fist pressed against his skin.

`I love these,' Bemeon drawled, snapping the spike off and displaying his hands to Mason. `Nasty hidden surprise, aren't they? No one sees them coming. And even better, they grow back.'

Mason's vision blurred as he watched the spike reforming. He reached out for Ruth but his legs failed. Incredible weight pushed down on his chest, the spike in him tearing at heart and flesh.

`Just so you know, while you lie here, dying like a human,' Bemeon whispered in his ear, grinding the spike deeper. `I will break your Huntress, take her as my whore, then give her to my wolves. Of course, her alpha will die trying to save her. Pity. And, oh yes,' Bemeon's lips pressed against his ear, `I will fuck your wife for decades and she will give me powerful children, all thanks to that dirt whore Gaia. Fancy that — the Hunter's human wife being my favourite breeder.'

Mason lashed out but only air greeted his hands. Blood filled his mouth as he struggled to move, the weight on his chest crushing. He thrashed about, trying to get a hold on the spike buried in his chest.

Strength fled his arms as he struggled to breathe and keep his eyes open. A darkness unlike any he had felt before filled his vision. A final darkness. Death's touch was upon him. Here in a world where he was powerless, Mason howled at the wall of weight bearing him down.

Renee's cry of agony, blended with Ralph's savage snarl, was the last sound he heard.

 

Eleanor snarled in her fury as the portal stood defying her efforts.

`Bemeon!' she howled, unleashing her killing gift at the portal. `Show yourself.'

The portal stood unmarked, mocking her. A Wolf moved beside her; its bulk and unflinching stance told her it was Ricco. His low rumble made her blink and she looked directly at him.

Ricco's tail twitched low as he snarled at the portal. Eleanor reined in her fury, aware that the beach behind her heaved with Wolf and Darkells alike, ready for war.

`No,' she said clenching her hands. `I too ache for blood but to enter the portal means death. We have no power there.'

Two more Wolves flanked her, both bigger than the others. Their bodies twitched, paws raked at the sand and Eleanor stood tall. Never had she ever imagined having Wolves standing with her, ready to fight to protect all she had built here.

Wolf twisted beside her and Ricco stood on two legs, both Wolf and man. `So we just stand here, then,' he rumbled, bones creaking, muscle rippling up his arms as he faced her. `They are in there. We have to help them.'

She felt the sand vibrate as hundreds of Wolves rumbled their agreement behind her, stomping their paws in unison. They were blooded, ready to fight. She had to be strong before them, otherwise all would be lost. `We help them by staying here, ready to kill anything Bemeon sends through!'

White energy crackled though the massed Wolves where Darkells stood shoulder to shoulder with them. Her kin voiced their agreement with her.

`This is maddening,' Ricco growled, `I—'

Eleanor froze with him. Behind them, murmurs of fear rippled through the army. The haunting sound of ancient bagpipes drifted over the beach. Silence settled eerily over the sand, broken only by the sound of many men marching to war, accompanied by the haunting battle harmonies of the pipes. She swallowed hard. She turned slowly, Ricco with her.

He went still. `What are they?'

Fear seeped out from those around her. She gripped her hand, trying to stop it from shaking. She had often heard these bagpipes over the centuries, leading men into battle and keening the death songs. Faces, some familiar, formed to match the march of feet.

`Souls,' she whispered, stepping aside as the faces became a river of white energy, pouring into the portal. `Living energy of the Douglas clan's long dead, marching to war.'

`How?' Ricco shook himself, moving back.

`No idea,' she whispered. `Some things are just so.' The souls began to thin out and her heart began to pound. Would
he
be there? Could he? She stared, as the face that had saved her life a thousand years before hovered close.

And was gone. A faint scent teased her. One she loved. `My Hael.'

`You knew him?' Ricco asked, his voice low.

`Aye, boy,' she drawled using her thick native dialect. Seeing Hael had invoked powerful memories. Her heart pounded loudly in the quiet. `A long time ago he saved my life.'

The souls of the Douglas clan had been torn free of their earthly home and yet Hael had stopped to see her, one last time. A last goodbye. She felt tears.

 

A child cried.

Many voices called out his name.

Images flashed past him. Ruth on the beach the day they met. Wilson as a child.

A door. Solid and unmoving as a kaleidoscope of images flowed past it. He needed to open it.

More voices called his name, growing louder.

The child wailed, drowning out the voices. The door shimmered.

`Father! Help me!'

He struggled to understand. He'd never had a daughter.

`Father, listen to me. You have to get up. Now!'

Light flickered behind the door and he drew closer. He had to go there.

`No. Remember who you are.'

`Remember?'

`Yes. Touch your chest and see.'

Without thought he did. His chest hurt, a lot.

`It hurts.'

`Good, you feel pain. Pull it out and remember.'

Pain pricked his hand. Something sharp lodged in his chest. Digging fingers gripped a foreign object. It wouldn't move. The door moved closer again. What was on the other side?

`Get up, son.'

`Dad?'

`We're all here, son. Get up and fight.'

`Fight?'

`We can't do it. You must. Our gift to you is memories. And the strength to be the Douglas.'

`Memories?'
What had he forgotten? Why was everyone yelling at him? A hand pressed down on his forehead, strong and familiar.

`Remember.'

 

Eleanor touched her throat, rolling the simple leather necklace in her fingers, a gift from Hael when she had been a child. It had never left her, preserved until it was like a living part of her.

Ricco touched her arm. `Eleanor? Do you hear me? What's happening?'

Her focus snapped back. The forest of her childhood faded and the delicate fragrances of trees in bloom were replaced by the sharp tang of Wolf.

`They've left this world to help Mason.' She turned and faced Ricco. `Split the army into three. You here with me. Justin and Jon to take another third each. One to the northern end and the other to the southern end.'

The two Wolves nodded and moved off.

`Is this wise, dividing us?' Ricco asked, watching the mass of Wolves split into thirds. She turned her back on the portal just as Wilson's huge ATV roared into the car park.

`We'll need room to manoeuvre,' she said, signalling to Tashia to follow the Wolves' lead. Darkells spilt away from the pack in the centre of the beach. It had been centuries since she had stood on the battlefield, but her skills had not dulled. `They will come in a wave of force and energy.'

`You've fought the god before?' Ricco moved foot to foot beside her, watching the portal as the ATV slid to a halt behind them.

`His creatures. A very long time ago.'

Eleanor watched Nikki climb out of the ATV and she clenched her hands, controlling her immediate fear for her. Everyone would be needed to fight. That her eldest was a powerful Magi made no difference to Eleanor. Nikki was her child. And Renee had already vanished into the portal. She pushed that thought aside.

`You want Wolves back with them?'

Wilson and the two girls climbed out of the vehicle.

Eleanor waited a second, watching Wilson move, in control, his gift of fire shimmering under the skin.

`No,' she said, recognising the command Wilson held in the way Lilly and Nikki flanked him as they spread out on the seawall. `They will hold their own, but warn the Wolves not to get close to Wilson. His gift is explosive.'

`Done,' Ricco said, tone still low. `Scarla comes.'

She spotted the shadow racing towards her and felt Ricco's distrust. `Watch her.' He sniffed as Scarla appeared before them.

`Priestess, the big, bald man has something Hunter will need. He must give it to him,' Scarla said.

Eleanor didn't need to be gifted to see how distressed she was. Ralph had gone into the portal. She had become very attached to the alpha in a very short time. That was dangerous in time of war.

`Bring him. But Scarla,' Eleanor took hold of a thin scaled arm, making sure the girl looked at her. `Rein in your fear. All will feel it.'

`Sorry,' the girl whispered and a blanket seemed to smother her aura. `I will not let you down.' She disappeared.

Ricco snorted and pawed at the sand. `She's unsettling. Can she be trusted?'

`You tell me. Your Wolf scent spiked when she showed up.' She turned to the big Wolf, aware of how scent was his first language. `I need you thinking with your head, not your dick, Ricco. Filter out her pheromones, Wolf. They're part of her defence. It keeps red-blooded males unbalanced.'

He grunted and looked away, still tense.

A big man was being led towards her, that dagger of his still strapped to his arm. It was an unknown. She could feel its hunger. Scarla was right. It could tip the balance either way.

And if Mason fell, she would have to try to use it. If she could.

 

Bagpipes sang Mason's ancestral anthem as hundreds of voices roared his name.

Many hands touched him, pushing.

Blood pounded. Cold fled his body. Fire raged through his veins.

He remembered.

Mason opened his eyes. The bagpipes fell silent.

Coarse sand crunched underfoot. His legs felt strong. Feeling rushed back into his arms and hands. Renee fell on the sand before him, bloodied, broken and screaming in agony. Bemeon stood triumphant, eyes fixed on her; red with lust.

Pain flared. The spike.

He ripped the spike free of his body, letting the pain sweeten the strength flooding him as his wounds healed. Even as he dropped the spike he realised Bemeon had not seen him. Renee took all his focus.

Mason felt time slow down, and knew he was in control here. Hunter's gift still lived in him. Bemeon had lied.

He stole time to look towards Ruth, unmoving, on the altar. Michelle stood beside her, watching. Her eyes weren't on her god. She stared instead at Mason.

Energy rippled behind him — reaching in. The portal. His shoulder was gripped. A cold, lethal energy, hungry to kill, pressed into his hand.

`A gift from Scarla. Crazy bitch,' Pete whispered. `For fuck's sake use it.'

Time shuddered, began to move. `Run,' Mason whispered. `And don't look back.'

He felt the portal eject the big man, shattering the last seconds of quiet. He kept the dagger hidden behind his back as movement resumed.

Clarity filled Mason. He was no longer a slave to his rage. Bemeon moved first, still unaware of him, slobbering in delight as Renee tried to crawl away from him on broken legs.

`Party's over, Bemeon.' Mason said quietly, his words cutting through the noise around him.

`What?' The god stopped. His form flickered. `You still live.'

Mason didn't reply, just lunged towards the god.

Bemeon's eyes widened, then he roared and rushed forward to meet Mason. `This time you will die!'

He gave Bemeon his throat, enjoying the god's steely grip.

`Surprise!' he said, and drove the dagger deep into Bemeon's exposed side, snapping the hilt off. The god roared, trying to get away, but Mason wrapped his arms around the god.

Bemeon gurgled blood, the blade deep in his lungs. He thrashed about, trying to pull the blade free. Mason ignored the stench and writhing flesh against his chest. He had seconds only before the god got over his surprise and broke free.

`Time to meet the rest of my family, Bemeon,' he whispered close to Bemeon's ear.

`No!' Bemeon shrieked, trying to shake Mason off. Mason grimaced, holding on tight. He threw himself backwards, pulling Bemeon with him through the portal.

Sand hummed under her feet. From deep inside the portal, a distorted howl escaped.