We press further into the building. The stench of Juni’s sickly sweet sweat fills my nostrils. I hope she’s sweating with fear, that she’s trapped, nowhere to run, dreading our confrontation. If she’s not afraid now, I’ll show her fear before I kill her. I don’t want her to die without knowing what it’s like to tremble in the clutches of one more twisted and vicious than yourself.
As I’m closing on her location, I feel a sweep of something like air gushing through the compound. It’s warm and tingling. It seeps into my pores, filling me with power.
Magic.
I should be grateful for the extra strength, but I’m not. The wash of magic through the building can only mean one thing—a window has been opened. I’m not afraid of what might come through—I’d fight any number of demons—but I don’t want Juni skipping ahead of me to safety in the foul universe she’s chosen to call home.
“Quick!” I roar, darting ahead of the others, shouldering a door aside, rushing down a corridor, homing in on the scent of Juni Swan.
“Grubbs!” shouts Meera. “Wait. Don’t go in there alone.”
But nothing can stop me. A couple of seconds later, wild at the thought that I might miss my chance for revenge, I break through another doorway and into the room where we discovered Prae Athim bound and gagged.
The window hovers near the back of the room, a jagged red panel of light. I dart towards it, meaning to follow Juni, even though I know it’s suicide. Then a bolt of energy knocks me sideways. Searing pain eats into my flesh, forcing a scream from my lips.
I stagger and realise I’ve been tricked. Juni’s still here. She was standing to the left of the door. Easy to spot if I’d been paying attention, but I lost my wits for a few vital seconds. Now she has the upper hand.
As I lurch towards her, she mutters a spell and the floor at my feet explodes. Splinters shoot into my stomach, chest and face. I instinctively jerk my head back.
Roaring, I raise a hand to protect my eyes. Ignoring the stinging pain of the splinters buried in my flesh, I set my sights on the pustulant, bloodstained, flesh-dripping Juni Swan. She’s smiling insanely. Beyond her, in the doorway, I see Meera and the others, separated from us by an invisible barrier. The werewolves of my retinue are digging at the barrier with their claws, but it will take more than brute force to penetrate Juni’s magic shield.
“Did you think I’d leave without saying goodbye?” Juni giggles.
“I’ll kill you!” I roar. “I’ll rip your head from your neck and—”
“Please don’t finish,” Juni interrupts. “I detest vulgarity.” She waves a hand at me and the splinters expand and burrow deeper into my skin. I gasp and collapse to my knees. Another couple of seconds and they’ll pierce my heart and brain.
Using the newly developed muscles in my legs, I spring across the room and bowl Juni over. I slam her to the floor and drive a claw into the putrid, oozing flesh of her stomach. She moans, eyes shooting wide, baring her teeth, trembling with agony. I make a fist, grab some of her inner organs and jerk hard. My hand shlups out, trailing guts. Blood splatters the floor. I gurgle with delight.
Juni screams, then covers the hole in her stomach with a hand. Magic flares and the flesh around the hole heals. I don’t care. While she’s repairing herself, I latch on to her head, jam my fangs into the bone behind her right ear, and start chewing my way through to her brain.
Juni’s fresh screams fill me with delight. I almost pull away to enjoy her expression. But I know how dangerous she is. I can’t give her any freedom. Best to chew quickly and disable her.
Heat flares in my fangs. I try desperately to bite down. I’m almost through the hard covering of the skull. So close to her brain. But the heat’s too much to bear. With a cry of pain and rage, I break free.
Juni’s at my throat with incredible speed. Newly grown fingernails dig into the flesh beneath my chin, while the fingers of her other hand tighten around my neck. I sense the fingers stretching, looping, meeting at the back and melting into each other, tightening into a noose. I try to roar but my vocal cords are squeezed shut.
I slam an elbow into Juni’s ribs. Several crack. She grunts, but doesn’t release me. She’s cackling. Pokes her face up close to mine. Her left eye was punctured, but it grows back as she taunts me.
“Thought you could kill sweet Juni?” she screeches. “Thought a pup like you could overcome a full-grown mistress of dark magic?” Her fingers tighten another notch. “What do you think now,
I wheeze at her, then manage to get hold of the hand around my throat. Filling my fingers with magic, I sever through the flesh and bones of the noose, then yank myself clear. Panting, I make a fist and smash it into her face. Her nose shatters, splattering me with blood, pus and slimy snot.
“You look like hell,” I snarl.
“You can talk,” she sneers, running a scornful eye over my deformed features.
For a moment we grin at each other and get our breath back.
“It’s not too late,” Juni purrs. “Join us. I sensed you killing those pitiful humans. You’ve found your true self. Come with me. Put the last vestiges of your useless human morals behind you. With us, you can kill forever. There’s a whole world of humans to torment and butcher. You can be a glorious, wolfen god.”
“I bet I could have you too,” I chuckle darkly.
“Maybe,” she smiles. “Lord Loss is my master, but you could be my mate. I can change out of this grotesque form, be any woman you wish. In the new world, anything will be possible.”
“There’s just one problem,” I sigh.
“What?” Juni frowns.
“I hate your guts,” I hiss and spring on her.
I drive my fist towards the hole where Juni’s nose used to be. My plan is to jam a few fingers in the gap, widen it, then claw out her brain, scoop by gloopy scoop. But Juni’s faster. She ducks, then lashes at my stomach with a leg. I wasn’t expecting a bloody kung fu move! I’m sent hurtling backwards and slam hard into the wall. My head cracks and my neck almost snaps.
She’s on me before I hit the floor, hands a blur, jabbing incessantly. I try to roar, but all that comes out is a startled croak. I get a glimpse of her throat and lunge for it. Juni shimmies and rams a forearm into my mouth, gagging me. As I choke, she sends what feels like a million volts of magic sizzling through my body. I scream mutedly and go limp. Juni hits me with another burst of energy. Another.
Blood’s pumping from my nose, mouth and ears. Even from my eyes. I’m seeing events through a red mist. I reach deep within myself, looking for the power to strike back, but I’m in disarray.
Forgetting about magic, I lash out at Juni. She laughs, removes the arm from my mouth and wraps it around me. Squeezes tight, like a boa constrictor.
“Poor Grubbs,” she coos, wiping blood from my eyes. “You don’t have the hang of magic, do you? You’re strong, but experience is everything. My master told me to be wary, but I knew I had the beating of you. When the soldiers and werewolves failed, I decided to finish you off myself.”
I spit blood at her. She stops it mid-air, letting the pearly drops float in front of my eyes. Then she leans forward, extends her tongue and delicately slurps the red pearls from the air, as though tasting an exquisite wine.
“Now it’s time to die,” she says. Her face is blank. The madness and hatred in her eyes have been replaced by a cold business-like look.
I struggle feebly. This can’t be happening. I’m the pack leader, a magician, part of the Kah-Gash. I’ve fought and defeated stronger demons than this servant of Lord Loss. I should be dancing on her corpse, not fighting for breath, locked within her suffocating embrace.
“A kiss,” Juni hums, pressing her face to mine. “I’ll suck your last breath from your body along with your part of the Kah-Gash. I’ll take everything and own you completely. You might think it’s the end, but your agonies are just beginning. I have the power of death. I’ll pluck at the strings of your soul until the end of time, and every strum will draw a thousand screams.”
She covers my mouth and inhales, drawing the last of my oxygen from my lungs. I go limp, senses crumpling. It’s like she’s sucking me down a tunnel into herself. I can’t fight. I’m helpless. I’m doomed.
Then, for no apparent reason, she breaks the contact and blinks, staring at me as if stabbed in the back. My
