about you, Olivia; he's going to want you to witness your destruction from where you find the most safety. He'll be there, I guarantee it.'
'Why can't we all go in after we get the security cut?' Sky asked.
'Two things,' I said. 'One-the second the security is disabled he's going to notice something weird is happening when everyone attacks his citadel at once. And two — he's not about to let a necromancer stop him, and he actually wants Olivia to see Tommy and Kasey die in front of her, so the second he sees either of you, they're dead. He thinks of me as a mild annoyance, at best.'
'You killed one of his ghouls,' Sky pointed out. 'That's gonna piss him off.'
'Yeah, but I'm no threat to him. Even if I can do necromancy, I don't know how, and I doubt even if I did I'd be able to stop him. But I can buy you time, hopefully keep him occupied and try and get Kasey and Tommy away from being in danger.'
'So what do we do?' Matthew asked.
'There's going to be several hundred barren inside that building and a few ghouls. We want them outside so we can work unhindered. That's where you and your wolves come in. You're there to get them to come outside and fight you, and then kill as many of them as possible.'
'Now that we can do,' Matthew said. 'How long do you need?'
'Be ready to go in an hour. And make sure they know no biting. Barren and ghouls have poisoned blood; it'll paralyse anyone who ingests it.'
'We'll be ready,' Matthew said and he left the room with Gordon.
'Your plan stinks,' Olivia said. 'But you're right; if he sees me he'll think Christmas came early for him. You have to be careful though.'
'I will,' I said and watched Olivia leave the room.
'You are a pain in my ass,' Sky said. 'You're going to fight that lich and if you do that, you're going to die. You understand that, yes?'
'I'm not going to fight, but I do need to keep him busy… so, any chance of a few lessons?'
Sky's mouth dropped open in shock. 'Learning how to use necromancy takes years, Nate. I can't show you how to use it in an hour. And even if I could, we don't know what type of necromancy you can use.'
'That's fair, but when I fought with Randal in that pit I felt some sort of coldness over me, somehow I absorbed a spirit. I just need to know what I did, just in case.'
Sky sighed. 'I can show you some techniques with how to search out for a spirit, but there's no guarantee they'll even work.'
'It's better than nothing.'
'Nate, the better plan would be to get Kasey and Tommy out of there and then run like hell. Once that security is broken, I'll be with you as fast as I can, but until then you'll be basically human.'
'Thanks for reminding me,' I said with a smile.
'Don't, Nate. Don't make this out to be nothing. Until that security is cracked, you will have nothing to throw back at someone who would tear a werewolf apart with his bare hands.'
'And once that security is down, I still won't have anything. That's why I'm asking for you to show me something that might save my life.'
'Then let's get started.'
Forty-five minutes later and I was no closer to actually reaching out to a spirit. I thought I'd managed it at one point. A coldness had settled inside me like before, but it vanished before I could use the technique that Sky had taught me, to use the energy of the spirit for my own needs.
A quarter of an hour after that, and I was watching fifty-six werewolves pile into five M35 cargo trucks. I didn't know where Matthew had appropriated them from, and quite frankly I probably didn't want to know, but they were probably slightly less inconspicuous for transporting large numbers of werewolves than having to use a fleet of cars. Only slightly though.
Of all the werewolves who turned up, maybe half of them had experience fighting outside of a pack environment, but all of them wanted to help rescue Tommy and Kasey. Besides, a werewolf with no battle training is still a giant killing machine, so I figured so long as they took care they should make it through whatever was going to happen with few casualties.
The massive engines of the trucks roared to life, and we were soon driving along the moonlight lit roads heading toward… hell, I didn't have a clue. War, probably. I sat in the back with Sky, Olivia, Gordon, Matthew and a couple more werewolves who were all, I hoped, prepared for whatever was going to happen.
In my experience, there are two ways that most people on their way to a conflict prepare. Firstly, there are the talkers; they joke and laugh and chat about anything and everything to keep their minds off whatever is going to happen. The second group are the quiet ones; they tend to find a comfortable spot in the transport, and read or sleep, or anything else that allows them to remain calm. I belong to the second group. I like to find a quiet corner and rest my eyes. I learnt a long time ago that if you have time in war to get some sleep, use it. The same goes with food and water. You never know when you're going to go a lengthy time without them, so I get them while I can.
I wasn't entirely asleep, though. It's hard to actually fall fully asleep while there are people around you making a lot of noise. Besides the last thing you want is to be in a deep sleep when someone attacks the transport, so I opened my eyes the moment someone tapped on my leg.
'Hello, Matthew,' I said as the werewolf alpha sat opposite me.
'I have something for you.'
He passed me a large bundle of cloth, which I unravelled and then stared at the contents. A sword that was roughly the length of my old Chinese Jian and a much smaller dagger that was about the size and shape of a Tanto, about a third the size of the longer sword. Both had black hilts with rope wrapped around them, in the style of a samurai sword. They were a combination of two different types of blade put together to create a very dangerous weapon.
'Where did you find these?' I asked.
'They were Elijah's,' Matthew told me. 'I appropriated them from his collection. They're made of carbon-steel, but they have silver in them, too. '
I unsheathed the smaller blade and noticed the small trace of blood on the edge of it.
'Let's just say that Elijah has been dealt with,' Matthew said when he saw me glance at the blood. 'Will they help tonight?'
I tested both in my hand, unsheathing them to get used to the excellent weight distribution, before tucking the dagger into the belt of my jeans and placing the sword across my lap.
'Thanks,' I said. 'Those are definitely going to come in handy.'
'Just get Tommy and Kasey out of there safely,' he said, then stood as the truck came to a halt. 'And get yourself back in one piece, too. I'd hate to have to deal with a pissed off Sky.'
I glanced over at Sky who smiled.
'You and me both,' I said as I smiled back.
One of Matthew's wolves poked his head through the rear of the truck. 'We're here,' he said. 'But this doesn't look good.'
We all scrambled out of the truck as quickly as possible to witness the utter devastation of what used to be two thick, iron gates that barred the entry to the LOA compound beyond. The gates had been torn from their moorings, and the four guards who had been stationed in the two huts to either side of the entrance had been torn to pieces, their weapons still holstered.
'Ghouls did this,' Sky said, as she glanced into one of the huts. 'I'm sorry, Olivia.'
'They were good men,' Olivia said, her voice hard as steel.
I stepped over the ruined gates and stared up the driveway, which I knew ended at the LOA building. The open field behind the destroyed main gate was completely empty, both of the sniper huts had been destroyed, their remains scattered across the ground beneath where they'd once stood. Several large spotlights were lit up, illuminating everything in front of the massive LOA headquarters building.
'I don't see anything unusually suspicious,' I said, and checked the time. 'We've still got an hour before Reid is due to call.'
