Chapter 58
FIFTY-EIGHT
LEAH
“Again.” Leah leaned against the inside of the cell, looking down at her nails. She brushed them on her black cloak as another wet punch echoed in the room.
Commander Steel and his two human soldiers handpicked for the occasion had been at the torture of Marcus Walker for a full half hour. To his credit, Marcus had not turned into the monster that lived inside of him. He was tougher than Leah had expected, but everyone had their breaking point.
The human soldiers Commander Steel had selected to undergo the transformation were both officers in the queen’s army, highly decorated and trustworthy without a shadow of doubt.
One was male and the other female. The man was short with a hooked nose and an evil grin that spread over his lips every time he struck Marcus.
The woman was tall and slender, serious, cold blue eyes that didn’t give any of her emotion away as she beat up her subject.
“I don’t think this is going to work.” Commander Steel raised a hand for his subordinates to stop the interrogation. “Why is he bleeding so much? The other one’s hide is as strong as steel.”
“He hasn’t undergone his first change yet.
” Leah racked her mind for a way to coax the monster out of Marcus.
He had to be feeling it already. Whether he admitted it or not, Marcus felt the animal inside.
What had been different about the night Aareth Emerson changed?
He had been outside when the initial transformation had taken place.
Could it be that simple? Some animalistic call to the outside world? Leah recalled a spell that would open a small window into a memory. One was not able to travel into the past, but viewing that someone’s past memory was possible if the caster was strong enough.
“Stand aside.” Leah waved Commander Steel and his soldiers away from Marcus.
Marcus was a bloody mess. Multiple cuts had been opened on his face. A broken tooth hung loose from the front of his mouth. His eyes were practically swollen shut.
Leah motioned with her hands, bringing to life purple lines into the air that floated with ethereal light. She ignored the others’ looks of wonder in the room and stayed focused on her work. It was a complicated spell that would take more energy than she would like. Still, it was worth a try.
A moment later, a circular image swam to life in front of the group. It was a window into the past, no more than three feet in diameter. Leah motioned with her hands to link the memory to Commander Steel. Besides Aareth and Sloan, he was the only one still living who’d been there that night.
“You may feel a bit of a headache.” Leah didn’t even bother to make eye contact with the commander. Her hands maneuvered through the air, turning the window this way, and thought to see what was unfolding in front of them. “Try to remember the events of the night Aareth transformed into the beast.”
Leah reached out and touched the commander’s psyche.
Even for a sorceress as powerful as she was, the spell she held was draining her at an alarming rate.
Leah watched along with the others as figures fought in an alleyway.
The familiar forms of Charlotte Sloan and Commander Steel when he was still known as The Scar swam in front of their eyes.
The little man Commander Steel had brought in to interrogate Marcus gasped as their view rested on a creature out of a nightmare. The beast was covered in black hair, one part wolf, one part human. There was no sound from the past memory, only sights to take in.
Leah spun the view, looking around for anything that would mark what had triggered the transformation. Her view moved from the alley floor to the brick walls that covered each side, to the sky. A brilliant full moon exploded into view.
“Ahhhhhhhh!” Marcus didn’t scream; he roared into the room. The sounds reverberated off the stonewalls and penetrated into Leah’s very bones.
Leah held the view, looking over at Marcus who continued to rage in pain.
“I think we’ve found the key.” Commander Steel took a step closer to the struggling prisoner. “Are you sure your chains are going to hold him?”
“I can’t be sure of anything.” Leah’s hands began to shake as she still held on to the vision of the past. “You know the plan—be ready when he’s turned.”
Commander Steel nodded, unwilling to take his eyes off the beast in front of him.
Marcus’s roars had been animalistic yet still discernible as human when he had started.
Now, his bellows sounded like a wolf snarling and howling his anger.
At once, Marcus’ features began to change.
A ripple of grey fur spread over his body.
His muscles elongated and burst through his clothing.
His face sprouted a muzzle, and his brown eyes disappeared to be replaced by yellow orbs.
Saliva fell from the razor-sharp teeth that lined his lower and upper jaws. The beast strained against the chains holding it to the ground. His roars were so loud in the room, Leah winced.
The transformation complete, Leah released her hold on the spell. The vision into the past collapsed in a wisp of purple smoke.
With a herculean effort, Marcus ripped his right arm free. The chain still clung to his wrist but the anchor that had been placed into the ground tore up from its hold.
“Here we go.” Commander Steel grinned at the two human soldiers next to him. “For queen and country.”
Without delay, he grabbed each of them around the collar and flung them at the monstrosity Marcus had become.
Marcus tore his legs free of the chains just in time to turn his anger on the two soldiers being sacrificed to him.
Neither of them had a chance. Leah watched in fascination as Marcus tore through the first man with a single swipe of his left claw.
Bloody ribbons of flesh flew through the room as the man’s life was snuffed out in a single instant.
The female soldier faired better. Marcus caught her in his jaws. Her torso disappeared in his maw as he shook her from side to side before throwing her against the wall.
“Okay, wolf-beast!” Commander Steel grinned through a mouth of pointed teeth of his own. “Let’s see what you got.”
Leah took the time to gather herself. If things went badly, she would need as much energy as possible to control Marcus. She watched, wide-eyed, as the vampire and beast clashed.
Marcus used blind rage, his size, and his teeth to do most of the work.
Commander Steel, on the other hand, used his speed, claw-like hands, and teeth to counter.
The two creatures of the paranormal tore into one another, each inflicting serious blows.
Marcus’ hide deflected most of the strikes, while Commander Steel accepted the punishment, understanding that his body would heal moments later.
Leah sidestepped around the fight and hastened to the fallen soldiers.
Her interest wasn’t in their well-being, but in the condition of their usefulness.
She knelt beside the male soldier. His heart had not only stopped, but he had been useless from the start, having been killed by a swipe of Marcus’ claw and not a bite. The man couldn’t even die right.
Leah ignored the mutilation going on around her and next went to the woman. Luckily for her, the female soldier had been caught in Marcus’ mouth, guaranteeing a bite. Now she only had to remain alive to make the transition.
The woman’s uniform was soaked with her own blood. Leah leaned down, her ear only inches from the woman’s mouth. An ever so faint breath tickled Leah’s ear. The woman was alive. Barely, but she would make it. They had their beast.
Leah placed a hand on the woman’s wound, using her magic to heal her.
She looked over at the two combatants as she did.
The warriors had taken their fight into the corridor outside the cell.
They circled one another like two heavyweight boxers.
Both were bloodied, both unwilling to give in to the other.
More and more energy was being poured into the wounded soldier. As soon as Leah was content the woman was stabilized, she stood from her crouched position. A wave of fatigue blurred her vision. The spells Leah had conjured were ones that drained her more than she liked.
As the fight continued, vampire guards from various parts of the palace’s underbelly ran to see what the commotion was. Soon, Marcus was hedged in by ten vampire soldiers.
Marcus fell to all fours, snarling his hate.
They had him cornered, though; there was nowhere for him to flee. The beast was four times larger then even the biggest vampire soldier but he was greatly outnumbered. For a moment the monster and the soldiers found themselves at a stalemate.
A light bulb went off in Leah’s mind. Why were they trying so hard to reason with a human who was capable of turning into a raving beast, when the beast was all they needed? Why deal with the human side at all?
“Do not allow him to escape.” Leah slumped on the floor exhausted. “We need him alive!”
“Chains and mage lances!” Commander Steel yelled right after Leah gave her orders. “We’ll bring this monster down yet.”
Leah took a long, cleansing breath. Her new plan was going to work, without a shadow of a doubt. She had all she needed now: an army of vampire soldiers, a loyal apprentice who would kill her sister, and not one but two of the monsters. It was time for her to make her move.