“Please, Wren. We need to know what happened.”
Before I lost my nerve, I grabbed Crullfed’s legs and pulled, ignoring a pained gasp from the not-so-dead figure. With a yell Thad dropped the pillar, sending dust and ash flying. He gripped Crullfed by his collar and touched my shoulder. We disappeared and reappeared in the relative safety of the meadow. Thad threw him roughly to the ground.
Crullfed’s skin was completely translucent, his veins empty and eyes red with starvation. As I stared down at him, a myriad of emotions flooded me. This was the man who caused me nothing but pain and suffering for twenty-two years...longer, since I had allegedly lived multiple lifetimes under his roof. And yet...this man had also found a way to free me; to manipulate events so that Benedict took me that night, a night which wasn’t that long ago but seemed worlds away compared to the person that I was now.
“What happened?”
I focused on Thad; on the coldness of his voice as he put one foot on Crullfed’s chest, not a drop of mercy in his gaze.
Crullfed’s eyes rolled his head, his hands weakly clawing at empty air.
“Stop...I don’t—”
Crullfed moaned as Thad pressed down harder on his chest. Part of me wanted him to stop, but the other part was vengeful, and wanted Crullfed to suffer.
“I saved her!” Crullfed rasped. “You think I didn’t know what she was? My daughter told me the day she brought the girl here, still covered in Rhyfel’s blood!”
Thad had no idea what he was talking about, but I froze, inhaling a sharp breath. Thad eased his foot slightly and Crullfed panted heavily, trying to take in as much air as possible during the brief reprieve.
“No one knew…”
I shook his head. “Why then? Why did you wait so long?”
Crullfed coughed, foamed flecked with blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
“It is time for the drakens to rise again.”
Thad grabbed Crullfed’s collar, hauling the dying vampyre up so that they were eye-level.
“You beat me,” I whispered. “You manipulated the draken king.” Crullfed’s head lolled to the side.
“The Overlord manipulates all of us. What he is doing under the mountain is wrong, unnatural. Stop it and figure out how we can all live together. The Overlord has no need for us any longer—the vampyres will die out.”
Thad snorted. “And that’s a bad thing?”
Crullfed ignored him, his eyes on me.
“I forged you through fire. Your pain is your strength. Find what is being created under the mountain and stop it before it is too late. The balance needs restored. The hordes have no balance; only white...that is why they cannot survive long. The darkness must survive, or we will be lost to the light.”
He went limp, and Thad shook him hard.
“Crullfed! What do you mean?”
It was no use—he was dead. I stood, pacing frantically in the meadow.
“If rebels didn’t do this, who did?”
I was asking myself mostly, jerking when Thad responded. I’d nearly forgotten his presence.
“The explosion feels magickal. That is all I can tell.”
I sank down to the ground, my head in my hands.
“I hope the women are alright. I wouldn’t call them friends, but they were all I had.”
Thad sank down next to me, empathy in his dark eyes.
“I had no family growing up either. I understand what it’s like to cling to those you do have.”
My hands balled into fists, my rage needing an immediate outlet. Now I know how Benedict felt.
“Let’s go kick some ass.”
“It’s Davos! The poison wasn’t strong enough! It just made them sick and pissed!”
Spike was taking cover behind an upturned banquet table, a wound on his cheek dribbling blood.
“We have the advantage of numbers for some reason, and that draken of yours is something else with his magicks!”
The sound of squealing demons split the air before going silent, until new ones took their place.
“He’s going to burn himself out. The magick is limited.”
I rolled from the protection of the table, slashing a demon across the throat as I went. His black blood spilled across the floor. Thad cursed, and scrambled after me. Humans fought demon hordes, and it was clear to see who had the advantage. The lesser demons were cannon fodder, easily cut down by a human who could wield a weapon with skill. The higher demons and vampyres were massacring, their superior strength and agility no match at all despite the rebels’ superior numbers.
“Plug your ears, I’m going to try something.”
Spike gave a sharp whistle, and every human hit the deck with no hesitation.
I sang.
My voice soared high, piercing the air as I stretched my range to reach as many demon ears as I could. The clatter of metal dropping to the floor almost startled me enough to stop, but I kept pushing. Rebels were stuffing clothes in their ears, and taking advantage of the stunned vampyres, hacking them down while they stood motionless, transfixed with gazes swung in my direction. Something hit me hard, knocking me to the ground and ending my song.
The lykos turned and growled, his one golden eye flashing with a feral rage. The silver one stared upwards, unseeing from the scar across it. His fur rippled across his muscles, saliva dripping from his teeth. A golden earring flashed from his left ear
“I thought I smelled wet dog,” I hissed, drawing my sword. Then I opened my mouth, and he pounced. I couldn’t sing while dodging for my life, and the lykos knew it. Thad lunged, distracting the lykos long enough for me to get under his guard. His yowl echoed off the stone walls as I drew a red line across his side, blood quickly matting his
