Wolf Omega: The Lykanos Chronicles 2

Chapter Thirty-One

Another form moved from under the blankets, and I realized the voice came from someone else huddled against Cecco. A woman's head emerged, and she tossed the covers aside in confusion to look back at why he was jerking so.

Blood sprayed out at her as Cecco choked, covering the woman's white face in splotches that looked like black ink in the dim light of the room. She whimpered involuntarily as her hands struggled to wipe the blood from her eyes. When she cleared them enough, the woman looked up at my figure beside the bed with confusion.

In the dark, I saw Apollonia's terrified face recoil. She screamed in horror, and I reached forward to grab her from the bed. I pivoted to slam her against the wall behind me, holding her by her throat.

I would have her see me in all my glory. I insisted she feel my hot breath long enough to know the same dread I suffered when she betrayed me. From her mind, I tasted a delicious and paralyzing fear. I wanted Apollonia to witness my malevolent eyes and know that I was no man come to rape her in the night. I would have her see a black demon, glistening in vivid clarity, come here to drag her treacherous soul to Hell.

I felt more alive now than ever, and I allowed the moment to draw out, delighting in her strangled screams. My face closed in upon her, smelling the fresh blood smeared across her face, and I licked her in heavenly abandon, tasting its rich pungency.

My mind raced through all the ways I might end this sublime moment. I could rip open Apollonia's chest, or I could slice her stomach to spill her intestines to the floor. More than anything, I wanted to rip her throat out with my teeth and delight in the taste of her fresh blood. All my ideas seemed too good an end for the miserable traitor.

Then something pulled at my mind. I sensed it coming from her, thinking it was perhaps the smell of her breath. She bore an incredible shine over her agitation or discomfort. Small, unexpected emotions lurked behind the roar of her terror.

Looking down in search of something I couldn't yet grasp, I realized that Apollonia was with child. Her stomach hung heavily under her nightgown, and I saw she wasn't more than a month from giving birth. The discomfort I sensed came from her unborn child. His small, unfocused mind flashed with distress.

The iron of my grip vanished, and Apollonia fell to the floor before me. I stumbled away, backing out from the room as she whimpered on the ground.

I was stunned. For the first time in my werewolf form, I felt unsure of myself.

Turning to run away, I found Duccio standing in the hallway, blocking my path. I advanced to move around him, but he wouldn't permit it.

I must go, I said to him in a confused panic.

Instead of stepping aside, Duccio extended his mind to Apollonia. At once, she stopped her terrified whimpering and became catatonic. She stared forward with an utterly relaxed countenance as if none of it had happened. It seemed she could no longer see us.

Though I had witnessed Duccio accomplish this trick before with Father Piero and the sailors on his barge, I thought I finally understood what he had done. Somehow, he had pulled the fear away from her mind—silenced it all together. Then, Duccio installed other memories in place of those Apollonia had made while witnessing my actions.

A quiet landscape filled her mind; the images from her eyes no longer taking root in her consciousness. As a result, her body relaxed.

Help her to the bed, Duccio commanded me.

I resisted at first, but he repeated himself in no uncertain terms, so I turned back to do as he said.

Approaching her, I kneeled down to lift Apollonia's arm. She moved pliantly and followed my silent direction. She stood up and allowed me to walk her back to the far side of the bed. Finally, she laid down beside Cecco's corpse, and her eyes closed.