94. Sloan
NINETY-FOUR
SLOAN
Sloan sprinted down the hall toward the howls and the whimpering.
Since the second battle with the vampires began, the noise had been in the background.
Aareth was being held somewhere close. Sloan’s speed was astonishing.
Even more amazing, her body had accepted her new ability with ease.
Sloan rushed past servants and guards in a blur.
She couldn’t blame them for jumping or gawking.
Not only was she moving at superhuman speed, she was also a sight to behold.
The sheath to her sword was long lost. She held the weapon in her right fist, the blade still humming and glowing a faint red.
Her clothes were a mess of her own blood and that of the slaughtered vampires.
The white undershirt was stained crimson. A huge slit was cut on the right side where Scar had nearly killed her. Her hair was a disaster, and she suspected her face still had caked-on blood from the wounds she had received prior to becoming whatever she was now.
Sloan pounded down the halls toward the sound of yelps and cries. The noise was coming from the general direction of the front courtyard. It made sense; Sloan hadn’t seen Aareth during her journey from the back gate, through the garden, and to the palace.
Sloan barreled into a side door leading out into the courtyard harder than she had meant to.
The door blew off its hinges, exploding in a shower of wood splinters.
Sloan came face to face with a dozen armed soldiers standing around a massive iron cage.
Aareth was bound, still in his wolf form.
His howls were so loud this close, they made her insides vibrate.
No one made a move. The soldiers all stared at her, trying to make sense of the seemingly self-imploding door and her ragged, bloodied state.
Sloan searched the soldiers for a familiar face. She caught the eye of Lieutenant Baker. His expression was worth a thousand words as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
“I need you and your soldiers to stand down, Lieutenant.” Sloan switched off her mage sword and lowered her weapon. “I’m taking the wolf.”
Lieutenant Baker didn’t speak. Instead, he looked back and forth from Sloan to the cage, still trying to decide what to do. His breath made steaming puffs in the cold night air. The torches and flaming braziers stationed around the courtyard played with the shadows in sinister fashion.
“Yes, of course.” The lieutenant moved to the side. “Captain, are you injured? What happened to you?”
Sloan forced herself into a fast walk instead of a run to the cage. If she could get away with this without violence, it would be the best option for everyone involved. These soldiers were only following orders. They had no idea of the plans the Queen had at play.
“I’m fine.” Sloan approached the cage. It was at least ten feet tall, with thick, black reinforced iron bars. “Do you have the key?”
“Here.” Lieutenant Baker handed her the cold, steel instrument. “Captain, are you sure you don’t need medical attention? You’re bleeding.”
The lieutenant wasn’t the only one to catch on that something wasn’t right. All around Sloan, soldiers were whispering to one another.
Easy, just breathe, Sloan told herself as she inserted the key and unlocked the cage. You’re their superior. They don’t know what’s going on. All you have to do is free Aareth and escape the city.
Sloan ignored the lieutenant as she stepped inside the cage. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, not from the cold, but from the monstrosity Aareth had turned into.
Heavy panting came from the wolf beast. Calling it a true wolf wasn’t exactly accurate. Now that Sloan had a chance to see what Aareth had become and not worry about super soldier vampires trying to kill her, she was taken aback by his transformation.
His body was covered in thick, black fur that did nothing to hide the musculature of his frame.
Wounds from the fight with the vampires still crisscrossed his skin.
His hind feet were that of a wolf’s, but his torso looked more like a man’s, with arms, hands, and fingers.
His head was all canine, from sharp, pointed ears, to his muzzle, which steamed with hot, panicked breaths.
He stopped howling once Sloan entered the courtyard, but low, almost inaudible cries still escaped his lungs.
The only thing that truly remained of Aareth was the intensity in his eyes.
The same eyes that had joked and laughed with her before studied her now.
It was impossible for Sloan to tell if he recognized her or not, but the fact that he wasn’t straining against his bonds to attack her was a good sign.
“I don’t know how much of you is left in there,” Sloan whispered to Aareth. “But your wife is alive. I’ve spoken with her. If you want to see her and get out of this cage, you have to listen to me.”
Aareth stopped whining. Besides the heavy lift of his chest when he breathed, he lay still.
Sloan examined his bonds. He was lying on his left side with a pair of steel braces connecting his hind paws to one another and anchoring them to the ground.
He had another pair around his wrists. Finally, a steel collar fit tightly around his neck. It was also chained to the ground.
“Easy, I’m going to get you out of here.” Sloan’s heart raced. Every beat became too loud as she heard it in her head and ears. “If you bite me, I’m going to be so pissed.”
Sloan was aware of soldiers on all sides of the cage murmuring to one another and retreating to what they deemed a safe distance.
“Captain, Captain Sloan.” Lieutenant Baker was the only one brave enough to question her now. “Are you sure you should be doing this?”
Like before, Sloan ignored him. She was too busy praying that the same key that unlocked the cage would also release Aareth from his bonds.
Hindquarters first, Sloan inserted the key. With a loud click, the bonds fell away.
Sloan let out a huge breath she didn’t know she was holding. Aareth still didn’t move, besides his rising and lowering chest.
Sloan moved to the second set of restraints on his front paws. The key did its magic. Once again, the shackles opened and released Aareth from their grasp.
“This is going to work,” Sloan whispered to him as she gathered her courage to release the collar from his neck. “We’re going to be okay.”
Alarms signaling a complete palace and city lockdown split the night air in a cacophony so loud, it could have woken the dead. Aareth jolted in surprise. On instinct, his jaws opened, and he bit into Sloan’s right arm.