The Keeper of Wolves

Chapter 15

"They refused. Time to move."

Their target was a hospital, which set them up perfectly for disaster. Kosazana couldn't help but think back to the scene from The Dark Knight in which The Joker had blown up an entire hospital to kidnap Harvey Dent and sway him to his cause. Were they The Joker here? Were they Harvey? Were they Batman, rushing in to save everyone just a minute too late? Kosazana's head hurt with the moral quandary. How much good would they be doing punching their way through here, trying to access the falsely-named Biohazard Wing that required three different checkpoints to key into? How many people would get hurt in the crossfire? How many could they evacuate before their opposition started firing-?

"Relax." It was Voldsa next to her, smooth, silky voice rolling like peals of thunder in the distance. "Trust Soren. He'll have those doors blocked so no one else can get in. Everyone in there already knows what's going on and is complicit. It's not going to be the large-scale massacre you're afraid of."

"They call us monsters," Kosazana whispered, shifting from foot to foot as they crouched in the bushes, peering through the leaves at the dim outlines of windows shining through the night. "I don't want to be one."

"You can't help what other people call you," Voldsa sighed. "But I understand not wanting to give them a reason."

Kosazana resumed chewing her lower lip instead of responding. She was regretting, now more than ever, sending Soren and Solvecde in to breach the defenses of the hospital, gain access to the restricted wing, and simultaneously seal it off from any outside interference while still giving them an access point to get in, get their friends, and get out. At the time, Soren had swayed her with convincing arguments, concocting an admittedly excellent plan and selling it to her flawlessly. But now that she was sitting here, in a bush, with five wolves, staring at a window waiting for it to blow, she was having second thoughts. Solvecde was already earning himself a spot as poster child for anti-immortal propaganda, due to his messy kills and lack of hesitancy to strike. And Soren was hardly any better, spitting nails and magic alike whenever anyone-

An enormous crack like splintering china was the only warning she got for the massive boom that split the air. A shockwave pulsed outwards from the window, breaking twigs and leaves off of the bushes they were hiding in, tearing at their hair, and throwing rocks and dirt up at them. Squeaking, Kosazana hastily covered her face as the maelstrom swept through, and felt the sting of tiny debris hitting her arms. When the tornado seemed to have settled, she lowered her arms and stood up, blinking away the spots dancing in her vision.

True to their word, Soren and Solvecde had blown open the window at the end of the hall, and had opened as many doors as they could to allow captive immortals to escape. Some of them vaulted over the ruined window, hit the ground running, and never looked back. Others climbed out slowly, carefully, gingerly. A few lingered, supporting comrades who appeared injured or drugged. And a handful dove beyond the bushes and began ferreting around, apparently searching for someone or something.

"You're Kosazana?"

She had been so focused on the busted window spitting a steady stream of people that she nearly missed the slim ravenette vampire lightly skimming across the grass to her exact spot. He'd already chucked the hospital scrubs that he'd been forced to wear in captivity, opting to ignore the cooler night air and run around shirtless and barefoot. His entire body was covered in tattoos, from his throat to his knuckles to his hips. There was a delicacy to his features that the hardness in his eyes betrayed. "Ivan," he offered simply, shaking Kosazana's hand even as she struggled to register something besides "stunned." "Tyr is a friend," he explained, jerking his head back towards the building just in time for an almighty roar to echo from the inside just as Tyr himself burst through a wall. Bricks and glass and insulation exploded everywhere, and Tyr tackled a screaming mortal man to the ground, demanding, "talk or die!"