Under A Blue Moon | #ONC2022

Chapter 20

Sammy had filled a few of the other wolves in on our plan, including Ethan whose job was to gain the monster's full attention. In typical Ethan fashion, he charged headfirst at the creature latching onto its muscled arm. He thrashed in the air and the creature's arm started separating at the stitching.

A couple of other wolves took it as the perfect opportunity and latched onto its legs. It howled in pain and lashed out with its one free arm. Kicking its misshapen leg, it dislodged one of the wolves sending them crashing into surrounding headstones. But it didn't matter because Sammy snuck up behind it and leapt wrapping his jaw around the back of its head. The added weight threw the monster off balance and all of them went crashing down. Ethan's hind leg snapped under the monster's body and he howled in pain.

Gripping the dagger, I ran to them and jumped aiming for its heart. But it saw me, or maybe it saw the glint of steel because its multi-coloured eyes met mine mid-jump. It snapped its hand up and its fist met my tender cheek. I was thrown backwards. My back hit the corner of a headstone and I cried out as white-hot pain exploded through my whole back.

My vision blurred and black spots danced in my peripheral. I whimpered as I dragged myself to the dagger. I tried taking a deep breath to centre myself, but the pain was making it difficult. There was no doubt about it. I may not have broken my spine, but I definitely broke a couple of ribs. You would think that with the amount of pain I've been through in the last twenty-four hours I wouldn't feel anything.

After a struggle, I pulled myself up, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. Ahead of me, Sammy was once again on the monster's back sawing back and forth dislodging skin from its shoulder. What was surprising though was the large black wolf weaving between its legs giving a bite here and there. When the creature finally dislodged Sammy, Ryker pounced going for the front of its neck sending it falling back into the destroyed lawn again.

As though they shared one mind, both men attacked simultaneously. Ryker took one arm and Sammy the other. They pulled in opposite directions and like in a movie, the light from the moon shined down illuminating my one opportunity.

Adrenaline roared through my body. Ignoring the excruciating pain, I sprinted to the creature. Sensing its impending doom, it thrashed against Sammy and Ryker, tearing its own arms from its body just as I lifted the dagger over my head and thrust down. With my entire body weight thrown behind the downward force, the sharp steel pierced through the mottled skin like butter.

The red veins in the dagger's hilt lit up and spread across the monster's chest snaking up its neck. Its eyes widened and it opened its mouth as though to scream, but only the sound of gurgling came out.

A puff of foul air and the flash of red from the ruby at the end of the hilt were all the warnings I received before the monster melted. Yeah, that's right. It melted. One second it was a squishy but solid form, the next a pile of brown sludge under my body.

That was the last straw for me. I threw myself to the side and hurled. The fluid, pinkish in colour as it mixed with my blood. When I no longer had anything left in my stomach, I dry heaved for a good minute.

Finally done, I sat on my heels and watched the fighting still happening around me. I wasn't sure where the guys had gone, probably puking themselves. While killing the monster was a win, it was a small one. All around the dead still attacked. Wolves fought in both their human and animal forms. But it was the human bodies scattered on the ground with horrific wounds that tore at my heart.

Just ahead of me a young girl lay in the grass. If you looked from the back, she appeared to be asleep. But the front told a different story. Her face was scarred by deep bite wounds and her arms bent in unnatural ways. Her brown eyes, vacant of any form of life.

Guilt threatened to choke me as it all hit me. I did this. I caused all this pain. It was because of me that families would be mourning their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends. I was the reason the pack was attacked. I was the reason they were all here at the cemetery dying.

Me.

Me.

It was all my fault.

Nero landed in front of me and squawked drawing me out of my torrent of guilt. He tipped his head and through his beady eyes I could see the blood smeared across my face mixing with tears. He cocked his head as though to ask me what was wrong, even though it was pretty clear. I was what was wrong. Me.

He chirped, hopping toward the ruby dagger. I knew what he was saying or trying to say. This was over just yet. I still had a job to finish. But I couldn't do it.

"I'm tired" I whispered. I was in pain. So. Much. Pain. My body ached and my heart felt like it was bleeding out. I couldn't do it. I couldn't finish it. "I'm sorry," I wept.

He hopped up onto my knees rubbing his beak on the back of my hand. "Let me guess, you don't want me to give up," I sniffled. He gave me a soft squawk. "How, Nero? I don't have anything left." He turned his head, and I followed his line of sight to where Addie was taking on three undead with a grace I never had.

My eyes fluttered shut as I remembered why I was doing this in the first place. Why I was even here. It was to save them, my family. I came here because she attacked us, killed our pack members and stripped half of us of our identity.

But it wouldn't have happened if you didn't attract the magic, a little voice in my head whispered. Yes, it was true, I attracted her magic, but she killed us.

Anger sparked and I grabbed a hold of it, feeding it every face I could see in the dirt, every howl of pain that sounded through the night, every scream that filled my ears and every memory of who I was before she came and tore that away.

Fire burned in my belly and rage coursed through my veins drowning out the pain. No. The necromancer wasn't winning. I came here to kill her and get revenge for all those that couldn't, and I'd be damned if I didn't.

I took the dagger in my scarred hand, wiped off the goo and stalked for the church. I wasn't coming back out unless the necromancer was dead. Come hell or high water that witch was dying today.