Chapter 36
MORRIGAN
My heart thundered hard in my chest, causing the tiny strands of hair on my arms to stand straight.
There were so many of them. I counted at least ten that were visible, but I wasn’t a fool. Hundreds had been created during the war, and every single one of them were placed here. They could be anywhere…
If Malakai helps me, he’d have to let go of Azrael…
As the gnawing anxiety dug a hole into my stomach, I backed up just enough for Malakai to hear me. “Take him back,” I whispered.
It was all that I could do. If I stayed here and distracted them just enough, perhaps Malakai would be able to get away with Azrael. He just needed to make it to the castle.
Instead of following my command, Malakai released a chuff that sounded an awful lot like, “Not going to happen.”
“Malakai,” I hissed quietly. “We are outnumbered. Azrael can’t—”
“I can help!” he insisted behind me. The sound of his voice caused one of the creatures to twitch a little.
They’re going to attack at any moment. I have to get him out of here.
“Azrael,” I whispered over my shoulder, careful not to move my head too much. “If you stay here, I won’t be able to focus. I’ll be too distracted; I need you to—”
“I’m not leaving you!”
That stubborn little…
Malakai let out a strong puff of air as if in agreement, and I wanted to stab him with one of his own blades. How had I been outnumbered by a mutated wolf and a child? Before I could attempt to argue further, one of the vampyres let out another screech and suddenly began to charge at us.
I wasn’t sure what overcame me, but I swiped one of the blades from its holster and threw it toward the creature.
When it pierced between its eyes, I almost staggered a step in surprise.
The next one ran at us, and I grabbed at the blade sheathed on my chest, fumbling with the harness.
But I pulled it out just in time, throwing it at the vampyre only twenty feet away.
Oh, gods… There’s no way we can make it back like this…
I had six small blades now, and one dagger strapped at my side. The moment I pulled another one out, ready to throw, I heard a quick rush of wind behind me, before Mal yelled, “Cover me!”
I threw three more blades toward the approaching vampyres, and Azrael yelped with each strike. Their movements were sporadic, like they knew they would eventually get to us, but chose to sacrifice one after the other. It was a game to them.
It only took Malakai a couple of seconds to dress himself in the pants he had stuffed into the bag, and then he pulled out a few more blades for himself. “Into the trees, little wolf,” he ordered Azrael. “Just like I’ve taught you. Climb high, and stay there.”
The boy ran off, and I heard a small crack from Malakai’s neck as he cocked it to the side, loosening his muscles as an entirely new expression crossed over his face.
His grey eyes were sharp and focused now, and his jaw was set in a way that appeared…
animalistic. Gone was the playful, manic Malakai.
This was the beast.
I prayed to the gods that Azrael could climb high enough before shifting my eyes across the vampyres. “What’s the plan, then, Malakai?” I asked him, staring at the creatures who watched us like we were mice.
“You mean besides you trying to kill yourself?” he growled back at me.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, and saw the slight quirk of his lips in a sinister smirk that sent chills down my spine.
“You seem to forget that we aren’t alone here, princess.
” He turned his head, piercing me with his grey eyes that were set with determination.
“Do you remember what I’ve taught you?” he asked. “They’ll be too quick for your fire.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t as confident as I probably should have been. I knew that they would pounce at any minute, and I didn’t have nearly as much control over my power as Tristan did. If he was here… But he wasn’t.
“Good. It will take them a bit to get here. And once I call for them, the vampyres will charge.”
I tilted my head. “Call for who—”
He quickly interrupted my question with a loud, wolfish howl that punctured my ears enough to make them ring.
It only lasted a couple of seconds, but the moment he stopped, every single vampyre began to run.
I grabbed the last three of my blades, throwing them at the nearest vamps, and immediately grabbed my dagger.
“Head or heart!” Mal yelled. He had already passed me, running toward them with one of his blades, then digging it into a vampyre’s skull. Black liquid poured from the wound like thick ink in place of blood.
Don’t puke. Don’t puke. Don’t puke.
Head or heart.
A vampyre appeared beside me, and I yelped as I scrambled back, just evading its outstretched arms as it took a swing at me.
I had to think fast. I waited for it to swing again, then ducked to the left before bringing my right arm up and thrusting the dagger into its chest. Thank you, Harley, for the anatomy lessons.
When I ripped out the blade, the vamp fell to the ground, and I had mere seconds before another one came up on my other side.
After two or three of them, it almost became a dance of sorts.
Malakai tore into the creatures like it was sport for him, and I managed to dodge just enough to gain the upper hand.
Dodge. Stab. Dodge. Stab.
But Malakai attacked them like he bore absolutely no fear. He moved so naturally that I found it nearly impossible not to stare as I fought with every ounce of strength that I had.
“How many have you got, spitfire?!” Malakai yelled from the center of the clearing, swarmed with bloodthirsty bodies.
I quickly shoved off one of the vamps, shivering at the feel of their hot, sticky blood on my arms. “S-Six!” I answered him.
He then began to laugh. Laugh. “I’m up to twelve! You’ll need to do better than that, sweetheart!”
I couldn’t stop the breathless chuckle that escaped my lips. He was absolutely insane, but something in the way he flicked his head back, moving his white, blood-stained locks out of his face, looked so… free.
I hadn’t been paying enough attention and felt something slam into my side, knocking me to the ground. When I looked up, a large vampyre with grey-tinted skin—close to the size of Cassius—stood over me. Its long mouth screeched above me, spewing the foulest odor I had ever smelled.
“Princess?” Malakai’s voice rang out, a slight twinge of concern peeking through the adrenaline.
The vamp’s mouth peeled open, stretching and closing like it wanted to bite me.
I remembered what I had read about them, how—when fed—they could appear just as any other mortal.
But this creature pinning me down looked like no more than a rabid animal, salivating as it played with its prey.
Perhaps so many years in the Netherworld had changed them.
There was nothing mortal about the vampyres now.
“Get… off!” I grunted, sliding my hands beneath its grasp and reaching for the dagger at my hip.
Just as the sound of its screech escaped again, I stabbed the dagger into the center of its forehead.
It lurched a little, spitting out black blood from its mouth, and I was finally able to shove it off.
With a gag that I tried to stifle on the back of my hand, I dug my foot into the vamp’s chest and reached down, ripping the dagger free from its skull.
“I’m fine,” I replied, but when Malakai didn’t answer, I turned to find him.
He had moved closer now, only a few feet in front of me, but what I saw beyond made my blood freeze—stiffening every one of my limbs. The clearing was no longer filled with straggling vampyres attacking one by one. No… They surrounded us now. There had to be at least one hundred of them.
I peeked behind us at the trees. We can’t run in there. If we do, they might find Azrael.
“Malakai,” I whispered, approaching him slowly as I gripped the hilt of the dagger so tight that I could feel the tension under my knuckles.
“They’ll come,” he answered under his breath.
The vampyres stilled, watching us for a moment. They knew this was it. They knew that the second they charged, we were dead. “Malakai, there’s too many of them.” It was nearly impossible to hide the emotion in my voice.
“They’re coming!” Malakai sneered, but in his voice I could hear the slight hesitation.
“Who’s coming?!”
If we can keep them busy just long enough for Tristan’s energy to return, he might at least make it in time to find Az. The thought alone brought me enough solace to accept my fate.
If I had to die, it would be on my terms—defending those that I love.
After having made my decision, I straightened my back with newfound resolve and took a single… step… forward. But it was all that I could take. Seconds later, loud cries rang out from the crowd of vamps, and the wall of bodies they had created broke apart—torn up by… lycan.
There were so many of them.
The vampyres tried to run back to the trees, but the hounds were faster. They ripped into their heads, tearing them clean off, and I watched as each of their decapitated bodies slowly melted into molten ash.
I turned to Malakai, who bore a proud smile stained with the blood of the vampyres on his lips. “Alpha, sweetheart,” he reminded me, flashing his pearly whites that showed a hint of his sharpened canines.
I finally returned my gaze to the brutal massacre being carried out throughout the clearing. And when there was nothing left but a sea of bodies, one of the lycan bounded toward us, stopping just in front of Malakai. With a dip of its head, the creature nudged its nose toward him.
He reached out a hand to it, caressing its head slowly. “Thank you for the help, Naomi,” he whispered. “You got the pack here fast.”
I turned to the trees. “Azrael!” I yelled.
Within seconds, the small boy came running from the tree line and straight into my arms. “I’m sorry,” he cried.
As I picked him up and comforted him, Malakai whispered something to Naomi, and she began to approach the two of us.
“Naomi is another one of the alphas. She will take him back to the castle,” he assured me. Then, I watched him shift on his feet, staring into the clearing. He seemed to drift into his own mind for a moment.
“Malakai?” I asked.
He shook his head and dropped his hands from his hips. “Tristan’s going to fucking kill me.” When he turned back to me, his gaze had hardened, taking on a new, angry form that seemed to run deep. “You want the truth?”
“What truth?”
“Come with me.