Crimson pact, p.18
Crimson Pact, page 18
Cason, Hadeon, and the full Nine Guard faced off across from the werewolves. Cason and Cassius took center stage in their respective groupings. No one from either side spoke. Distrust was rampant among everyone. Patience wore thin with General Cason. He took one step forward with his hands behind his back. The werewolves raised their guard, ready to leap into battle. Cassius signaled for them to hold. “Do you have them?” Cassius asked.
“As long as you have their families,” Cason said.
Niya held her focused facial expression, but beneath it, she worried for Isabel and her child. Cassius glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Niya. She beelined for the back of the van. Cason raised his hand, then returned it. A member of the Nine Guard opened one of the rear doors. Akram and Shujaa stepped out wearing windbreakers over their armor. Niya aided the Nasreddins and Isabel out of the back of the van. Still bound at the hands and gagged with duct tape, they meandered towards the front of the van. The lycans cleared a path for the humans. Akram and Shujaa arrived at the front of the SUV, past Hadeon and Cason.
Yonas and Marjani laid eyes on who they thought was their daughter. Joy filled their eyes. Mazaa smiled at Shujaa, but Shujaa’s visage gave off an icy feeling as she stared into the lycans lusting for bloodshed. After a few seconds, Marjani and Yonas both felt that something was different about their daughter. The duct tape prevented the married couple from expressing their questions beyond confused eyes and aggressive hums. Mazaa wondered why her parents looked confused.
Akram nudged Shujaa for her to focus on the Nasreddins. And she did. Her gaze softened as she diverted her attention from her adversaries to Zoya’s family. The werewolves expected fiery eyes from the humans. Tears built up in Isabel’s eyes as she looked at the mere image of the father of the seed in her womb. Akram smirked at her lovingly. At first, Akram’s facade blinded her. Then she knew something was off. Cason escorted Akram and Shujaa towards the midpoint between the vehicles. Niya and Sylvius mirrored Cason’s act with Isabel and the Nasreddins.
They all met near the midpoint between the vehicles. Sylvius glared at Akram and Shujaa. His breathing intensified as he salivated over murdering them. Isabel finally noticed that something was different about her Ammar. She lacked the knowledge to pinpoint it, but she knew the individual with her boyfriend’s face was not her boyfriend beneath it. Confusion flashed across her face, and Niya noticed. “Something’s wrong. It’s a....” Niya said before receiving a hook to the face, knocking her backward. Sylvius attempted to impale Shujaa, but Cason blocked with his sword. Shujaa grabbed Marjani and Yonas, then pulled them away from the fray towards the SUV. Akram did the same with Isabel and Mazaa.
The Nine Guard charged in passed the Monarch and the humans toward the werewolves. Cassius howled. Everyone heard the call. The lycans charged toward the vampires. Vampires responded with their own charge. The expected battle ensued inside and outside the castle walls. Vampires murdered werewolves. Werewolves murdered vampires. The sound of clashing metal and growls rang in everyone’s ears.
Hadeon hopped in the front driver's seat of the SUV. Akram and Shujaa cut Isabel and the Nasreddins loose, then attempted to hurry the humans into the vehicle. Shujaa helped Yonas get into the front passenger seat. The rest of the humans tried to enter the backseats. Akram and Shujaa ripped off their windbreakers then extracted their weapons from behind the front seats. Shujaa had her twin swords. Akram had his bow, arrows in a quiver, and sword.
A lycan landed on the roof of the SUV. The thud and bending into the ceiling startled the humans. Hadeon exited the vehicle and pulled out a sword. He leaped, then sliced the werewolf’s leg, causing it to fall to one knee. Akram slashed the wolf in the neck. His sword lodged in its neck. Blood leaked from the neck onto Akram’s face. Some of it entered his mouth. It was the first time that the king had tasted blood in more than a millennium.
Isabel saw Akram’s crimson mask as he extracted the blade from the dead lycan’s neck. He wiped blood from his face, then grinned, showing Isabel and Mazaa his fangs. Seeing fangs and blood for the first time horrified them. Another lycan lunged at Hadeon with its blade leading the way. Hadeon ducked. When the lycan landed on the ground, its blade pierced through the hood down through the engine. The wolf struggled to extract his blade. Hadeon recognized a major potential threat to his new Monarch. “Get them out! Get them out!” Hadeon said to the king and queen. The Monarch heeded his warning. Shujaa pulled Yonas and Marjani from the SUV. As Akram did the same with Isabel and Mazaa, Shujaa escorted Yonas to the other side to meet them.
The lycan yanked his arm from the engine. Friction between the blade and engine parts sparked a minor explosion. It burned half of the werewolf, charring its flesh, and removing half its arm. The lycan fell onto its back. Burns painted its armor. It writhed in pain but eventually rose and resumed combat.
A werewolf charged at Shujaa from behind. She sensed the incoming danger, then shoved Yonas and Marjani aside. Spun around and dodged the attacker. Her swords crossed with its blades. Both Shujaa and her opponent threw and blocked strikes. Yonas and Marjani watched in awe the body of their daughter battle a werewolf. The werewolf sliced her armor with one of its blades. She backpedaled and calmed her breathing. The more she fought, the more she felt like herself, even in a new body. Amid a battle with a lycan, Cason noticed her handling herself well in battle, then smirked. The werewolf thrust its blade towards her chest. The queen parried with one sword and slid to the side. Her sword’s twin found its way through the jaw of the lycan and out of the crown of its skull. And there it was. A sensation she missed for what felt like an eternity: bloodshed.
With some jerking from her handle, she removed her weapon from the werewolf’s head, splitting it wide open. Marjani dug her face into Yonas’ chest, avoiding the sight of blood and bone. The creature collapsed. Blood flowed out of its head as if a dam cracked. Isabel covered Mazaa’s eyes, then pulled her in and held her. Cason saw the carnage as he thrust his sword into an enemy's chest. A sight that charged his resolve to kill as many lycans before the night was over.
Akram slashed a lycan’s armor. He bit and gouged the neck of his lycan adversary. Before falling to its knees, it pressed its hand onto its neck wound to slow the bleeding. With Mazaa and Isabel watching, Akram swung downward with his sword. The werewolf’s skull split. Akram push kicked the lycan in the chest to free his blade. His enemy fell to the ground. Blood spilled. Brains exposed. Shujaa admired the sight. “This way! Cover us, my king!” Shujaa said.
They attempted to head towards the ferries. However, the chaos of the battle spilled just as did the blood of both werewolves and vampires. Shujaa spotted a door halfway across the courtyard. It appeared as if there were parts of the structure to hide the humans, and maybe themselves, if only for a short time.
Hadeon dove deeper into the fray. He hacked and slashed every werewolf he found. Shujaa led the humans towards the door. Mazaa stumbled and fell hard, scuffing her knee. Isabel aided her off the ground, and they continued their path. Akram stuffed his sword in his quiver, then pulled out his bow and an arrow. He backpedaled along the path towards the door with his arrow drawn back, surveying for incoming threats covering the rear.
A werewolf dashed in their direction. The king fired off an arrow into its eye. He pulled out another arrow, then shot it into its other eye, blinding the creature. It whimpered and whined, stumbling throughout the courtyard, back into the chaos. More lycans charged toward the Monarch and the humans as they closed in on the door. Akram let loose more arrows, staggering, if not killing as many as he could.
One lycan blocked their path, but Shujaa quickly hacked and slashed her way past the obstacle. They arrived at the door. It was wooden, accented by iron. Shujaa kicked it open, then the humans entered the castle’s interior with great haste, exiting the bloody chaos. Shujaa followed. Akram fired off a duo of arrows, then entered. The door shut with Yonas, Akram, and Shujaa using a massive lumber piece to barricade the door. They also added pieces of stone to thicken the barrier.
Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. The Monarch’s new bodies showed signs of fatigue, but they gathered a second wind. Shujaa noticed Mazaa limping. She knelt in front of the young human girl. Bruising appeared on her leg. Both Akram and Shujaa saw it. Akram saw bags under the humans’ eyes. Exhaustion was prevalent among them. “Carry her. I still have some arrows left,” Akram said to Shujaa. The queen nodded, then picked up the child. Mazaa winced. Her pain arrived at the forefront of her mind.
A lycan caught the scent of humans from outside. It discovered the door they entered, then banged on it with its fists, rammed its shoulder into it from outside. Rammed its shoulder again. Claws punctured the surface.
Once again, Shujaa led the group. This time it was down a hall carrying Mazaa in her arms. Akram covered the rear, bow, and arrow at the ready. After clawing, ramming, and pounding with a fellow werewolf, they gouged out enough of the door for them to creep inside.
The humans and the Monarch arrived at a set of double doors. Yonas and Marjani opened them. Everyone entered, then closed them, finding themselves in what was the throne room. Dust and debris decorated the once decadent and tiled flooring and the faded painted glass windows with shards missing. Moss and age covered the once opulent throne. Pillars that held up the ceiling had small chunks missing from what one might say were both claw and slash marks.
Shujaa sat Mazaa down on the throne. Mazaa stared into the queen’s eyes, seeking for her big sister. All she found was the stranger in front of her. “Thank you,” Mazaa said. Shujaa nodded and smirked. Akram scoured the room for an additional path of escape. There was a high arched doorway with no door. But heavy stone remains filled it. Akram beelined for the doorway. He pressed against the rubble, using every ounce of his strength, but it did not budge. He posted his forehead on a stone and sighed. The king marched to the middle of the throne room, where Shujaa was with Yonas, Marjani, and Isabel. Akram grimaced and growled as he looked into the eyes of his wife. They connected foreheads, then shut their eyes. The strong bond between the king and queen surprised the humans. Isabel’s heart broke. “Ammar. What’s going on?” Isabel asked.
“My child, Ammar, is merely a vessel. Same for Zoya,” Akram answered.
“You killed them?!”
“Keep your voice down. They are on the Astral Plane. A paradise of our own making.”
Isabel placed her hand on her stomach, and Akram took note. He faced her. Empathy showed in his gaze. He wrapped his arms around her. Then he pulled her in close. She felt his heartbeat through his armor. It differed from Ammar’s but was steady enough to ease some of her concerns. She wrapped her arms around him. Akram released first. He glanced at Shujaa. “We make our stand here,” Akram said. The king and queen kissed. A cocktail of differing emotions sprouted throughout the humans. Discomfort from the sight of the Monarch’s kiss stewed in their guts. Shujaa and Akram heard the werewolves who breached the door approach. Shujaa pointed towards the throne. “Everyone, stay close to the throne. Akram, I will guard the door. You watch the windows, ready to fire,” Shujaa said.
Akram nodded and locked an arrow to his bow’s string but did not draw it. The king and queen placed themselves in their agreed-upon areas in the space. Isabel and the Nasreddins hurried to the royal seat and huddled behind it.
The double doors burst open. A lycan stared into Shujaa. With her swords raised, she waited for her adversary to pounce. It took one step forward. An arrow pierced the werewolf’s front lobe. In less than one second, the creature’s life departed its body. Then the body collapsed to the ground. Shujaa marched over to the corpse. She grabbed the arrow, hoping to extract it with little to no effort. It reached the deep recesses of its skull. She pressed her boot on the lycan’s crown, then yanked it out with more effort. Akram collected the blood-soaked projectile, ready to reuse it.
Both inside the courtyard and outside the castle walls, both werewolf and vampire bodies piled up. Enemies murdered one another while standing on their fallen comrades. Crimson splotches and trails blended with sand. Footing lost stability. Sand stuck to vampire boots and in between werewolf toes. The new surface compromised everyone’s ability to fight. Cason, Hadeon, and the Nine Guard found themselves scattered across the battlefield.
Sylvius clawed at the back of a vampire. Sensation left its body as it fell to its knees. Sylvius’ blade backhand swiped, decapitating his enemy. The head tumbled to the ground. The body collapsed. Another vampire charged with its sword raised, preparing to strike. Sylvius growled with his fangs on full display. As the vampire arrived, it swiped Sylvius. He tried to dodge the sword, but it sliced his arm. Blood descended out of the wound. It annoyed Sylvius more than it hurt him. Another swiping approach from the sword came, and he blocked it with his arm blade. The vampire applied pressure to back Sylvius down.
Sylvius searched for the humans and the Monarch. All he found was bloodshed. Blood, blades, and body parts littered the courtyard. All this suffering for these two humans, he thought. He felt it was time to end this battle by ending who he still thought was Ammar and Zoya. Sylvius spotted an embattled Cassius atop a small hill of corpses. Blood drenched both his arm blades, dripped from his fangs, and stained his armor. Some of it was his own as a trio of vampires ambushed him earlier. The packmaster slashed the throat of a vampire, cutting several layers deep. Blood gushed before it added itself to the hill of corpses.
Sylvius dashed over to him. When he arrived, Hadeon slashed his breastplate straight across his body. The blade missed Sylvius’ flesh. Hadeon proceeded with a downward strike. Sylvius overshot his block with his arm blade. Hadeon's sword landed on Sylvius’ gauntlet, cutting through the metal down the bone. From above, Cassius’ claws punctured Hadeon’s armor down to his shoulder. The Delegate hissed, then push kicked Sylvius in the chest. Sylvius stumbled back into a sharp stone piece. His back landed on a sharp edge. He fell to his knees and arms. His scar reminded him of its presence as if a sword sliced through him again.
Hadeon sliced Cassius’ thigh. The packmaster released his grip and fell to one knee. Blood leaked from Hadeon’s shoulder. Sensation faded from his arm until it was almost numb. With his one good arm, Hadeon raised his sword. Sylvius fought off the pain and rose to his feet, favoring his back. Cassius searched for the humans but did not find them. He descended from his hill with a gimp in his step and faced off with the Delegate. “Where are Ammar and Zoya?” Cassius asked Hadeon.
“Beyond your reach, mongrel,” Hadeon said.
Cason, Orras, and Cila cut their way to Hadeon. Taci saw the ambush towards Cassius and Sylvius, as did the packmaster from Turkey. The two packmasters murdered and maneuvered their way to provide Sylvius’ and Cassius’ aid. They blocked the two delegates and the Nine Guard leaders’ path to Sylvius and Cassius. Taci glanced around for the escaped prisoners. “Find and end the humans. We’ll handle this little quartet,” Taci said. A third lycan closed in from behind the quartet. Now, the trio circled the quartet. Members of the quartet covered one another’s back.
“Let’s go, Sylvius,” Cassius said.
Cassius and Sylvius hunted for the Monarch and the humans. They maneuvered throughout the battlefield, searching for their prey. Cassius led Sylvius to climb what remains a castle wall. They surveyed the battlefield—no humans in sight. Cassius noticed the burned SUV but could not spot a trail leading away from the vehicle. He spotted his kind suffering and dying. A sobering and sorrowful sensation filled him.
Sylvius scoured the terrain. His eyes widened as he still could not find them. He gritted his teeth as his heart raced. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted the busted door. He tapped Cassius on the shoulder. “There,” Sylvius said, pointing to the damaged and opened entrance. The pair ducked and dodged their way to the door. They entered the opening, then sniffed around. Both picked up their scents. They dashed down the hallway, following their noses.
They arrived at the double doors. Paused, then nodded at one another. The door burst open. An arrow zoomed towards Cassius’ head. He swatted the projectile away. Sylvius glared into both Akram and Shujaa, thinking they were Ammar and Zoya. “I will kill you for what you did to my brother,” Sylvius said. Akram smirked as he dropped his bow and pulled out his sword. “Two humans took your brother out. After fifteen hundred years, you mongrels are still the inferior species,” Akram replied. Cassius became curious about who inhabited the Ammar and Zoya’s bodies.
“Who lives behind those eyes?” Cassius asked.
“The Monarch.”
“You had your delegation kidnap two humans because you could not survive a skirmish on a beach.”
Sylvius pounced toward Akram. The king sliced Sylvius’ armor. They sliced and thrust at one another. Their blades clashed and clanged. Cassius attacked Shujaa. She defended herself. They crossed blades. Isabel and the Nasreddins avoided the fighting.
Akram fell back from a kick from Sylvius. With both her swords occupied, Cassius head-butted Shujaa on the nose, breaking it and knocking on her back. A sword fell from one of her hands. Blood ran from her nostrils. Her skull and brain rattled. Blur filtered through her vision. Cassius swung an arm blade downward. Shujaa rolled out of the way towards a pillar. Still dazed, she retreated around the pillar from Cassius, attempting to slice her with his blades.
All Yonas saw was his daughter in danger. He spotted Shujaa’s unattended weapon. The father sprinted towards the sword, with Marjani reaching out to stop him with zero success. He lifted it off the ground. With Cassius’ back turned while engaged with Shujaa, Yonas charged with the sword lifted. Cassius sensed Yonas’ attack. He threw a backhanded strike. Cassius’ arm blade hit the sword, striking Yonas in the face. He flew onto his back. A vertical cut on the side of Yonas’ face opened up. Blood covered his face on that side.
Shujaa punched Cassius on the jaw with her sword in hand. His fangs chipped. Jaw bruised. Cassius thrust his blade deep into Shujaa’s side. She screamed, then punched Cassius again and again. Cassius rotated, then shoved her away, removing the blade from her side. She staggered down to one knee. Her hand caught the blood leaking from her side. She saw a hurt Yonas on the ground with her other sword next to her. Yonas saw Shujaa’s father’s dagger hooked onto her belt. Droplets of his blood landed on the floor. As Shujaa grabbed her sword and attacked, Yonas took her dagger.
