Chapter Twenty-Three
Russell watched Marka head out with her Steel Fang pack, following after Ser, who'd left ten minutes before for the nearby Gray Cliffs.After last week's assault, the guardians were playing things conservatively, with just two mixed packs made up of the least injured to handle the anchor.The remaining guardians were split between patrols around the keep, maintaining a small force to guard the Great Hall and the gathered staff, and sending an escort with those staff who would rather make a hasty trip back to Town.
"Come along, son," his da said."Let's keep watch in the sanctum."
"Yes, Da," he said.
They stopped to grab a few tools from his da's room, and several snacks from their kitchen, then headed to the second floor.
In the war room, Yacob and Markos were sitting in front of a laptop, discussing the situation with Lady Usenko over video.
"Roland," Lady Usenko said as she saw them pass by, making a beckoning gesture."Share your thoughts."
Russell's da bit into his beard, making a face."It's hinky, Galina.There's something more than just too many spirit kings, I can feel it in my bones."
"Do I need to return?I can request emergency travel from the mythic council."
"Gods and spirits, I dinnae ken the right way, Lady!If it were a normal incursion, I'd say nay, course ye should be stayin' and preaching to the council.But a second one in as much as a week…"
"My son is leading the packs to the anchor?"
"Aye.He should be inspecting the Umbral realm in perhaps ten minutes."
"My lady," Yacob said, listening through a headset."ETA is eight minutes for the Dawnbringers, perhaps fifteen for Steel Fang.Lord Sergiy has already done a fly by of the anchor and says that the area is active, but no shadowlings in sight.We're maintaining helicopter surveillance as well."
Russell watched his da and Galina stare at each other, then both nodded, coming to an accord.
"The next commercial flight leaves in about seven hours," Lady Usenko said."If I need to make it, you'll need to inform me within three."
"Let's hope the next few hours are uneventful, then," Da said.
Russell and his da made their way past the pack leaders, and he heard them talking about scheduling sleep rotations as they entered the candle room.
The chamber appeared as it had twenty minutes ago, just the one anchor statue casting dark shadows.His da walked around it all the same, even lighting a fresh candle and illuminating it from different angles.
"Aye, then.Let's make sure nothing happens like last time.If there's a second incursion, we don't want to be caught with our ass in the wind.Set my things down, thank you, son.If you'll bring the three witches here?Tell 'em they can bring cushions or pillows or whatnot.We might be here a while.Tell them they don't need to come immediately, but they shouldn't sit on their butts, either."
"Yes, Da," Russell said.
He paused to give his da a fierce hug before he went, surprising him.
"This'll be fine," Da said, patting him on the back."You'll see."
Russell passed back through the war room, then through the castle until he arrived at their hall.All three witches' doors were open, and he knocked on Bruin's first, being closest, then proceeded to the other two.
"What news?" Lux Manus asked, cinching a sash around his waist as he appeared at his door.
"All witches are to meet with Da in the candle room," he said loudly, then relayed the rest of the orders.
Lux nodded, and he heard Rosemary confirm as well.
Leaving those two to their own devices, he went to his boyfriend's room.He listened at the door, sniffed the air, then ventured inside.
He found Bruin sitting on the floor with his back to his bed, turning a glass jar over in his hands.Coming over, Russell sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his bare shoulder.
"Hey, Russell," he said, leaning into him."The candle room, right?"
"Yes."Bruin didn't make a move to get up, though, and his scent was worn down.Russell decided that it would be okay if they were a few minutes behind, so he tapped the glass jar."Bearberry?"
"Yeah, that's right," Bruin said, holding up one of the plants he'd collected during their last anchor hike."Kinnikinick.The leaves, flowers, and berries all have different uses.You remembered."
"Mm.You made a joke about how the fruit is named after me, and said that even if I'm a super cuddly wolf, I'm also a super cuddly bear."
Bruin nodded into his side."I did say that.And I still think you're super cuddly."
Russell kissed the top of his head, and Bruin fell silent, then put the glass on the ground.After a moment, Bruin sighed, and Russell helped him to his feet.
"You should nap."
Bruin bent over to grab the jar, then went to his shelf, loading up his witch's bag with what few dried plants and herbs he had remaining.
"I'll try," he said eventually.
Russell reached out, putting his hands on either side of Bruin's face.After running his thumbs over his tusks, he lifted his chin up, then gave him a gentle kiss.
"You are a strong and wonderful boyfriend.I like you.Please don't get hurt."
"That's the plan," he said lightly."Same goes for you, by the way.Let's not have a repeat of last week."
"Yes."
Gathering a pillow and a blanket for his exhausted boyfriend, Russell followed beside the Green witch, joining the others in their vigil.
◆◆◆
Sergiy flew back to the ground, landing at the Gray Cliff's middle anchor as Marka showed up with her pack, joining his own.
"Nothing on this side of the gate so far," he told them, giving them a chance to compose themselves."But the other side already feels like a battle brewing, so expect to have to hit hard and fast.No heroics!We're down a pack, and at minimum numbers.Guard each other's tails, and don't be afraid to call for a retreat back to this side.Attrition favors us.Final checks, then we head across."
Once all eighteen present guardians proved they were up, Sergiy laid a hand on the anchor.
"In three.Two.One…"
No sooner was he across then he was already having to hold his ground against armored, sword-wielding shadowlings.
"Hedgehog!" he called out, and in response his warband immediately closed ranks, even as they shifted to the Umbral realm.Those with longer reach weapons like himself and Bridget moved to the outside.With his position as alpha, the ones in the middle of the group were able to intuit the full meaning of his command and shifted into their animal forms, condensing their formation further.
He stabbed with his spear at a knight, and its 'armor' proved a scarce deterrent, like it were made of tin.As he held his position and evaluated this particular class of foe, he used his drake senses to find out where the enemy positions were, and where they were strong or weak.
"Prepare for a stinger.Cadmus, charge forward in your direction!"
The werepanther did as ordered, using a glaive to bisect one, then two shadow knights.The rest of the pack followed as a unit, holding their formation together as they moved up a short hill.
"Now!"
Seven inner guardians flowed out the side that Cadmus had just rendered clear, then wrapped around their formation like a risen scorpion's tail, abruptly shifting into their werebeast forms in an established line.They hit the massed shadowlings from the side, bowling them over like someone sweeping dinnerware off of a table.Led by Marka, they felled most of the enemy in the immediate clearing, leaving Sergiy and the others to mop up the rest.
They regrouped and took stock.
A knight that was larger than their own largest guardian strode out from the dark depths of a hill.It raised a hand, and one of the helms from a fallen knight flew into his waiting grasp.
Sergiy pounded the butt of his spear against the ground."Spirit!Do you speak?If you can swear your peace, we can negotiate passage.Else, you will leave here, and take your soldiers with you."
It turned its head in his direction."We bow to none.We swear to none."
Sergiy shook his head.The spoken words rang hollow, and had the ring of rote speech.A recording.Likely, this king had minimal sapience, if any.
"Then we will be pressed to meet violence with violence, and return you to the dark from which you sprang."
The spirit king held out the helm of the fallen soldier.Black dust swirled, and armor grew from that helm.In seconds, a fresh knight stood beside its king, hand on its sword.
"We are everborn," the spirit king said."You cannot best us."
"Maybe not forever, but at least this you won't be around."
In answer, the knight leveled its black-edged blade in his direction.Sergiy took a breath, checked his packmates, then met its challenge.
◆◆◆
Bruin sat on a pillow with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders, going over the herbs he had available.He'd had to make two embarrassing visits back to his room, once to fetch his forgotten mortar and pestle, a second time for a cup of water in case he needed to make a poultice.Trying to tap white light would be chancy in his light-addled state, so it would be best to rely on proven Earth techniques.
Salves and poultices.Or he could just ask his coven for help, as Lux had wisely pointed out earlier.
Roland returned from the war room, leaning down on the upper story banister as he looked down at them.Beside Bruin, Russell lifted his head up to look at his dad.
"One hour in," Roland said."The latest report from the anchor is that they've already encountered a spirit king, possibly Fidelity.Lord Sergiy says the king has tried drawing them deeper into the Umbral realm, but they're sticking close to the anchor for now until they're sure there aren't any other surprises."
"Have there been any?" Lux asked, looking up from where he was reading one of the room's restricted books.
"Nay, lad, nothing," he answered before straightening up.Roland made a face as he put his hands behind his back, stretching, then went down the stairs to the ground floor."We're probably just being overly cautious.Might be worth it to just slay the king, close the anchor, and return.Get back to recovering for next time."
"Is that your suggestion?"
Roland sighed."No, lad.But this isn't terribly rare, either.I've seen back-to-back incursions a few times before, though they've always been in the dead of winter.Did your Augury tell you lot nothing?"
Bruin and Lux both turned their heads to Rosemary, who fingered her chatelaine belt as she pressed her lips into a line.
"It's difficult to say with any certainty.But I think it may have to do with Lord Sergiy."
"Sergiy!What could he possibly have to do with this?"
"I don't know.But I saw visions of a broken-hearted drake."
Roland scoffed, then looked at where Russell and Bruin sat together."Lass, you're going to say that with his mates right here in this room?"
Rosemary put her hands on her hips."He's not hurting now, of course.But it could have been something he did after breaking up with your son, which I understand was because of a stubborn streak, which far too many people in my life seem to have."
"He abandoned my son.I doubt there was any heartbreak involved."
"There was," Russell said quietly, and Bruin immediately reached over to give him a hug."He was hurting."
That gave Roland pause."Ah, son…"
"So, yes?He's in the Umbral realm every month.Maybe he crossed paths with a spirit?Maybe he made a bargain?Maybe he unwittingly made a bargain."
"He's devoted to Bastion, he'd never do anything like that, even if he were grieving.And he's too well-trained not to notice an accident."
"Don't be so sure," a new voice said, a Bruin jerked in alarm."A lost mate can drive even the most noble to perform deplorable acts."
A lot happened at once.
Russell shifted into his wolf form, putting himself between Bruin and what looked like a dark-haired man with indistinct features, stepping out from the shadows cast by the main altar.
Lux grabbed a wand off of his hip, beginning to trace a flaming sigil.
Roland stood beside Lux, with a candle in his hand.
And then Rosemary, nimble as a dancer Rose, stood up in front of the man, barring his way.
This home of mine,
Of stone,
Of noble beast,
I shield with love divine.
Leave!
You rotten vagrant, leave!
Tendrils of moonlight and smoke immediately wrapped around the man, beginning to solidify—
"I refuse."
The man shifted forms, and with a crack of black wings, Rosemary's spell rebounded, hitting her and knocking her forcefully across the room.Those same wings struck Roland aside as he tried to block him from descending into the middle of the sanctum.
"You dare try to forbid me from my own home?" the shadowy weredrake said, hissing as he stared down at the terrain map with the anchors."These lands are mine, and it's about time I took them back."
Struggling with his blanket in an effort to get to his feet, Bruin watched as black mist touched each of the anchors, and with the sound of glass breaking, each of their lights went out.
◆◆◆
"Brother, did you feel that?"
Sergiy twisted his head away from studying the dozen or so remaining knights that were regrouping around their king."The anchor!It's no longer holding the gate open.Guardians, back across!"
Several of the guardians did so, but then the rest of them drew up short, alarmed.They all felt it as the path back home abruptly narrowed by wide margins, the anchor's remaining energy depleting severely with each guardian's passage.
"We won't all make it," Sergiy said, then shook his head."At least not through this one.There are other anchors."
"Are there, brother?" Marka said."If this one went dark…"
"Then the fewer trapped here, the better.One at a time, then, while the gate holds.Bridget, you next.Shift back."
But she didn't.The wolverine shifter just slapped her meteor hammer against her palm, a mirror of the stubbornness that he could feel from the rest of his pack.
He hissed, shaking his head ruefully."Fine!You all make a very good point.It's what I get for calling a retreat.But Cecilia, you will go."
"Fuck you with a rusted rake, my lord!Respectfully."
Several guardians laughed, and he held back his own grin, despite the circumstances.
"You're limping, and right now we have no other way to pass on a message."She was also the youngest of them, barely twenty years old."I need you to tell the others what happened, and tell them that we're going to head to the lowest Gray Cliff anchor.If it's open, we'll use it.If not, it'll at least be closer to the keep, and we won't have have to fight on all these damned cliffs.Now go, before the rift fully closes."
Cecelia paused just a moment longer, then turned to give a quick kiss to Bridget before shifting to the other side.
He studied the spot on this side of the rift where the anchor would be, and the energy remaining.
"It's closed," he said after several seconds. "Even if we had all shifted promptly, I think at least four or five of us would have been left behind."
"Better for a pack to stay together, then, Ser."
Marka readied her broadsword as she, like him, watched several dozen silent men-at-arms reform and get into formation in front of their spirit king.Their armor was brighter, their swords darker.The influence of the king seemed to be growing, and the longer they remained, the worse their odds.
"Stay together," he growled to the other eleven that remained, putting his spear away as he shifted into his dire drake form."They want to block our way?We'll punch through.Forward in three!Two!One—!"
◆◆◆
"Rosemary!" Bruin cried, rushing over to his best friend.
In the meantime, Lux and Roland stepped to the fore, both chanting.Rings made of light and flame encircled the shadow person, holding him in place.
"Rose…"
Bruin reached into his bag and pulled out a container of mint leaves.He made to put a few under her tongue and begin a simple healing charm, light-addled be damned, but she waved him off.
"My own fault," she said, wincing as Bruin felt at the back of her head."I should have realized.Should have Seen it."
"What is he?" Lux managed, seeming to struggle to keep his binding in place.It looked like it was being torn down by darkness almost as fast as he could form it.
"He's a former lord.Or a memory of one.Maybe a simulacrum or doppelganger.Regardless, he has a claim to his own home."Her eyes glittered."But there are ways and ways, and lords have obligations. Shadow Lord! I contest your claim and lay faults at your feet!You may be a lord, but I know you to be failing in your duties.What lord would bring darkness to their own people?"
"You don't know enough of what you speak, witch," the dragon lord said, straining at the light bindings around him.
"Kerry," Bruin said, mostly to himself, then lifted his head."Rosemary, his name is Lord Kerry, um, shit, Kerry Wintersbane."
"Lord Kerry Wintersbane, you have failed in your duties as a lord, bringing strife to this castle."
"How in the heavens do you know that?" Lux asked, as the bindings that he and Roland were creating solidified at her words.
"A half-guess!But there was a drake shifter in one of those dry-ass memoirs you had me read, and I remembered him because he… he had a mate.A promised.But it didn't work out between them, and he was used as an example in another book."
"Stephan was mine!" the former lord raged, flexing his dark wings."He was my mate, my heart, my life.I know he's somewhere in my lands.Where is he?Bring him to me!"
"Bruin, tell me more," Rosemary said."The more specific I can be, the more authority I can assert."
"And so you can make the castle eat him, right."
While Bruin recounted what information he remembered, Roland sent Yacob and Russell at a run to the library.Alerted by the commotion, Markos had leapt off the second story banister, and stood in front of them now in his golden werewolf form, twin swords brandished.
"Any reason I shouldn't slay this shadowling right here and now?" he asked, snarling.
"Do that, and he would just return in a month, or even sooner with as much Umbral energy as I can feel from him," Roland said."Revenants like him won't stay gone long.Then we'd be doing this all over again.At least while he's contained, we know where he is."
"He's a former lord of the castle, he has an implicit invitation," Rosemary added."Markos, you're a lord, too.Can you exile him?"
"Begone from this castle and all its lands!"Markos held his swords out at the bobbing snout of the weredrake."As Lord Markos Usenko, I say that you no longer have a home here."
"I say, I say," Kerry said mockingly, then snapped his teeth and his eyes focused with clarity."I'm the first-born of the first-born, and a bastard whelp who's never sat the throne will command me nothing!"
With a beat of his wings, the shadow drake pushed back the containment rings, stretching them to the point of breaking.
Roland swiftly laid out a wide ring of candles, surrounding the beast and most of the terrain map.After a few whispered words, they lit in a rush.
"Call your mother!" Roland barked to Markos.
"She won't be physically present," Rosemary warned as she finished donning her ring of keys and other accoutrements of her station out of her witch's bag."Old Laws don't play nicely with new inventions, and he has a legitimate claim."
"It's worth trying, lass!Gods, goddesses, and all spirits, if nothing else, her voice might help with these bindings."
Bruin watched as the High Priest and his fellow coven witches did their work.He tried once to call forth white light, but the immediate headache left him retching, and only summoned a handful of energy anyways.What else could he do?Maybe fetch incense and tools from Lux's room?Draw a chalk circle, maybe?
A Warding Eye for protection, yes.Some things held magic in and of themselves, and he got to work scratching chalk lines on the stone ground.
He'd just finished one such glyph and was working on a second at the opposite end of the room when Russell and Yacob returned, putting several books on a table.Bruin grabbed the two that he remembered mentioning Lord Wintersbane, and was desperately flipping through the pages to find the right chapters when Markos came hurrying back.
He whined, phone in one hand and radio in the other, and there must have been something, because the other three werewolves immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at him, waiting for word.
"Trouble at the anchor."
◆◆◆
Sergiy leapt forward, spearing through the shadow-filled faceplate of a knight before it could strike Mary's back.
"Keep moving!" he ordered.Speed, he meant, and most guardians shifted into their animal forms.
Most of the knights had trouble keeping up, but some seemed to have special abilities.A handful were able to meld into shadows, moving tens of feet in a single step, and they were ambushing the warband as they made for the anchor.
"There!" Marka said.
They'd made it to the Umbral side of the lower anchor.However…
"Nothing," Sergiy said."This anchor's dark, too."
"Orders, my lord?" Cadmus said, drawing a canteen from a pack, his eyes still watching the sides.
"Hold here, for now.Assume rescue could take days or months, if at all."
"Months!"
He felt outwards with his senses.There were shadowlings approaching with ill intent, but they had a moment to catch their breath, which he relayed.
"If all the anchors are down, something may have happened to Bastion," he said grimly.
It wasn't something he wanted to even consider, but a warlord had to be pragmatic, however much it hurt.Images of Russ and Bruin speared through with dark blades came unbidden, but he shook his head roughly, concentrating on the present.
"We'll hold here until we deal with this wannabe champion, but we may need to venture deeper into the Umbral realm and out of these shallow waters.Maybe to other spirit realms, if we can find any bridges.Ultimately, we may need to seek out a great spirit to bargain with, for passage back to our world."
"Shit," Marka swore."Those are the kinds of bargains where we end up owing a thousand years of labor when we die."
"Or worse," Bridget said.
"Hence why it's plan C.Await rescue, find our own exit, and then bargaining."He turned around, his ears twitching."Get ready to receive."
His warband lifted their weapons, forming a semi-circle, holding a line as the shadows in glimmering armor expanded out of the trees, surrounding them.
◆◆◆
If Russell had been in his wolf form, his ears would've been flat and his tail tucked between his legs.This felt wrong and scary.
A spirit king was right here!A large black weredrake, larger even than Ser, constantly dripping pools of inky blackness and smelling rabid.He wanted to run away, but that would mean leaving his da and Bruin behind, so he stayed.
Da and the Sun witch were holding the mad dragon at bay with candles and lights and spoken words.They seemed to be holding up okay, but he could smell the sweat of their efforts.
The goth witch was standing boldly before the dragon, listing his offenses.She had a noble appearance herself, and the items on her belt glimmered as she chastised him for forsaking his duties, in between his ranting and raving over his lost mate.Markos was helping her by reading out passages from books, detailing oaths broken and battles lost under his command.
Even Ser's own mom was helping.After failing to banish the beast through the phone, she was feeding Rosemary lines while being driven to a private jet.
He whined, wringing his hands together.Bruin heard, lifting his head, then made one last chalk line before hurrying over.
He heard Yacob snarl."We oughta kill it and be done with it.We've got good guardians trapped in the Umbral!"
His da looked back over his shoulder."Killing it won't fix the broken anchors.Goddesses shield us, but he wiped them all out in seconds!"
"Worth a try," the timberwolf muttered, before listening to patrol updates via radio.
"Russ, hey," Bruin said, putting his hands around him."Sergiy's tough, remember?The guardians stay for days at a time in the Umbral.He's the best fighter in the keep, I'm sure he can take out one spirit king."
Russell shook his head.Days, yes, but that was with two or three packs rotating out, and with food and water supplies.And not all spirit kings were equal.The Deception one from last week had shown that.
Bending down, he looked at the terrain map.Most of it was blocked off, lines of chalk and a circle of candles cordoning off the lord and the dark pool at his feet.But he could see Bastion Keep, and not far away, the towers that represented the Gray Cliff anchors.Reaching out, he ran a hand over one.
"Can we fix it?" he asked.No one answered, so he raised his voice."Da.Can we fix it?"
"Son, they've gone dark, broken.There's nothing—"
"They're not broken," he insisted.He thought of his Ser, the man he'd waited five years for, big and strong and golden, but all alone in the dark."Not all the way.Just broken a little.They just need a little help."
"Hang on," Bruin said, putting a hand on his back.Russell felt a kind of shimmer coming from his boyfriend, paired with the scent of his pain, quickly quashed."So the anchors are still there, they're just empty?Like a battery?We know how to fill batteries, don't we?"
Russell looked up, saw his da gesture to Lux to take over his share of the ward.Bending down, Da reached for one of the stones himself, whispering a prayer.
"It couldn't be that easy, could it?" he muttered to himself, then straightened."Aye.Aye!Good job, son.Yacob, you have eyes on the lowest anchor, right?Tell me it's still intact!"
Yacob barked into a radio, soon receiving a reply."Yes."
"I'll soon fix this," Roland said.He stepped towards the stairs, but as soon as he did so, the circle of candles dimmed and flickered.After a few breaths, he rejoined Lux and renewed his ward, stabilizing the candles.
"Slight change of plan.Son, run to the shed, get one of our lantern staves, bring it back here.Witches!You need to do your coven chant, dig deep if you have to, but one or all of you needs to go yourselves to relight the anchor."
Russell missed whatever else was said, as he was already running through the upstairs war room, shifting into his wolf form for speed as he barrelled through the castle.
◆◆◆
Five minutes later, after a hasty discussion and a ritual, Russell was galloping out the castle gate in his dire wolf form.
Bruin, astride his back, was holding his magic despite the pain, was holding a staff with an iron-wrought lantern, and was holding on to his fur in a white-knuckled grip.
And at his flanks, scarcely able to keep up with his speed as he charged towards his mate, were all the guardians Bastion could spare.
◆◆◆
Sergiy plucked his spear out of the side of a knight, watching as it faded to dust, only to be drawn back up beside the spirit king as their foe created a new shadowling.
It was getting harder.Each time they tried to assault the king, they had to force their way through dozens of shadow knights, and every strike of a sword, or swing of a spear seemed to empower it.Any injuries they'd succeeded in delivering seemed to have long since healed, and the spirit king's spotless armor was now as bright as a torch and harder than steel.
The assaults did fortunately disrupt his creation of legions, which is why there were only twenty knights instead of the hundred or more that there could have been.
But the spirit king, dubbed Orderly Combat from the way he commanded his shadowlings, recovered faster than they did, and most of the pack were sporting hampering injuries.
Marka staggered to his side, one arm hanging heavy."How in the hells are we supposed to beat a foe that gets its strength through fighting?"
"We may need to run," he said."We can outpace all but his shadow-stepping knights."
She growled."I think as a pursuit hunter, a tireless suit of armor might have us beat.And if we're not killing his knights—"
Dancing forth, she intercepted a pair of shadowlings working in unison.As she drove them into each other, Sergiy finished them off with his spear.
"—then he's making more.Even if he has a limit, it could be a hundred, two hundred, more."
Sergiy nodded, then called out."Regroup!You're getting divided."
Most of the other guardians returned immediately, but Cadmus, slinking behind the enemy lines, made an attempt at the king.
"That hot-headed— Forward!"
Another assault.Another twenty shadowlings slain in moments, then an exchange between them and the spirit king before the knights could reform.A spear through its head, a sword through its ribs, but not enough to put it down before they had to back away from its dark blade, lest they lose their own heads.As it was, Cadmus nearly lost a leg to it, and was now hamstrung, needing to be assisted by Bridget.
Sergiy felt out with his senses, feeling for his pack.Some pain, some frustration, but hardly out of the fight, and even Cadmus just needed a few hours to heal enough to walk.This wasn't working, though.They needed time to find new strategies, other ways to take on Orderly Combat that didn't involve actual fighting.Traps, hazards.Lure him to a river, maybe.
He was about to call for a general retreat, when he felt something pulse inside of him.Other guardians?He shouldn't feel anything, not with the anchors down.But he did, and his pack of twelve became a pack of fourteen.Sixteen.Twenty-four. More.
And, nestled in the middle of those guardians that were shifting over into the Umbra, taking point amid glad howls and fresh battle cries…
"Ser!"
His fucking mate, fire in his own chest, mixing with the heartwarming scent of Russ.
He turned, distracted by the presence of his two mates on the battlefield.Bruin, his Green witch, in achingly full color within the light of a brilliant lantern.Russ, dancing on his paws, moving forward towards him before backing away in fear, his eyes white and his ears laid back, but in the end he charged forward until he was beside Sergiy, quivering.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Helping!" Bruin said, his eyes surveying the field."We also need help ourselves.There's a spirit king, or something.A previous lord of Bastion.We need you back at the keep to exile him!"
Sergiy's thoughts spun.He had too many questions.Was Bastion overrun again?A previous lord?What?
But then the feeling of combat drew him back to reality, and he started snapping orders.
"You two, back across, it's not safe here.We'll deal with this spirit king and then join you."They hesitated, and he put his hands on either side of Russ's snout, looking between their two stubborn faces." Please , mates of mine!Let me finish this without worrying about you."
He turned his back to them, focusing on the confrontation, and after a long moment, the monochrome of the Umbra returned with their leaving.
He could still feel his mate, though, just on the other side, and it renewed him.
The reinforcements had made short work of most of the shadow knights.It hadn't been their tactics holding them back, but their numbers, not having enough to divide attention between respawning shadowlings and dealing with the spirit king itself.He was about to leap into the fray, joining those that were sparring with the twelve-foot tall knight, when a thought occurred to him.
What if it had been their tactics?
They weren't facing mere Combat, they were facing Orderly Combat.A spirit king whose minions fought fairly, together, coordinated.
"Dogpile!" he called out."No weapons!Disarm, then hold down!"
Trusting him absolutely, his warband did just that.Some guardians stayed back, like Summer and Mary, taking care of any rising shadowlings, but the rest shifted into their werebeast and animal forms, leaping up on the spirit king's back and arms.
It was large, but they were many, and with several guardians on each limb, there wasn't much it could do.
"Tear it apart," he said, as it fell onto its back.
With claws and teeth, the guardians tore through leather straps and fasteners.A gauntlet was removed, and then carried away.Then a sabaton.Next, a pauldron.
By the time they removed the helmet from the cuirass, the king had fallen still, and Sergiy watched as each piece of armor turned into dust and faded away.
Amid the proud howls, he turned to give a one-armed hug to Marka, then ordered everyone back across the gate.He and his sister were last, ensuring that everyone made it.Then his sister shifted.Then him.
Just another part of doing his duty, which wasn't over yet.
◆◆◆
Sergiy ran after Russ through the castle, up to the war room and into the inner sanctum.He saw Roland, Lux, and Rosemary holding a ward around a shadowed weredrake, who seemed to be seething within his prison.Hurrying down the steps, he approached.
"My lord, it's good to see you back," Roland said, not taking his eyes off of the intruder.
"Where's Bruin?" Rosemary demanded, looking at him with an expression that said she'd be happy to bury him beneath the castle plot.He knew her ire was directed at the intruder, but that could change in a flash.
"He's with the packs, not far behind.I flew to get here faster, with Russ on my back."
"And he doesn't like flying," Rosemary said with a nod, apparently finding that answer acceptable.
Sergiy stepped forward in front of the weredrake, and the dragon's head turned to glance at him, but turned back to rant at Roland, dismissing him.
As Sergiy shifted into his own weredrake form, though, spear held in hand and Bastion's red-and-gold kilt around his waist, the head snapped to his direction.
"I am Lord Sergiy Usenko," he said, not giving Kerry a chance to speak.He pointed his spear at him."You do not belong here."
"This is my home, my castle, and my throne," Lord Kerry said, straightening to his full height and looking down at Sergiy."Is this another whelp, come to force me from my lands?"
"Your lands no longer," Sergiy said.
"You have no right—"
" I have every right! " he shouted back.Snarling, he stepped past the candle barrier despite protests, holding his spear up to the shadow drake's throat."I am the Lord of Bastion!My every day is given to these lands and its people.I have mere minutes ago come from combat in defense of my realm, with bloody wounds still fresh from shadow ilk like what you have become, fallen lord.Had you come in good faith, we could have negotiated, but you came with war and pain and death and to drive a dagger in our back.You have no claim here, and we offer neither succor nor hospitality.Leave, and do not return!"
Sergiy pulled his spear back, turning to leave the circle, but felt the mad lord reach out.His dark claws dug into Sergiy's chest, trying to work their way between his ribs, but didn't get far beyond the surface.Perhaps it was being a lord within his own castle's sanctum, protections from Roland, or even the white light blessing from Rosemary, hastily cast not two hours ago.Either way.
Sergiy's strike was silent, and his shorter height was to his advantage.In a flash of gold and a spray of black dust, he bit into the neck of the mad lord.The scales were tough, but then Sergiy shifted into his larger dire drake form, and with the added size and strength, delivered a mortal wound.Backing up, he spat out gritty flesh, watching the other weredrake fall.
"I will… find my mate," Kerry said, glaring up at him, his fingertips already starting to dissolve from the surrounding bright lights."You can't… stop…"
Sergiy stepped out of the ring, shifting back into his human form as he did so.He considered making a scathing comment, but he had more important considerations than to spend even one second more on this fading bit of nothing.
Grabbing one of the free candles off of the altar, he tossed it upon the body.The drake caught like tinder, and in seconds there wasn't even dust left.
"Prepare the infirmary to receive casualties," he told Markos, who departed with a nod.He put his hand on Russ's cheek, who of course hadn't gone far, then turned around, letting his mate enfold him in his arms from behind.Sergiy gripped those massive hands that were trembling as they wrapped around his bleeding chest.
"I need reports.I'll receive them here in the sanctum, so we can keep a further eye on matters.And someone get my mother back on the line."