That’s when I see it. Or rather,him.
Jack, in his monster form.
The pumpkin he has as a head is ablaze with fire. His limbs take the werewolves by surprise as he swings them into their chests. The remaining werewolves are caught in a tangle of his vines that he wraps around their ankles and wrists, squeezing until they’re strung up.
It takes Talon mere seconds to show up. His bat form careens into the center, flanking me before he transforms into his vampire self.
“I thought you would have learned your lesson the last time we ran you and your pack out of here, Wolfgang,” he seethes.
One thing that Talon doesn’t play about, is the safety of our sanctuary, and here we’ve had two life endangering events in one day. Something foul was afoot. I could scent it in the air. Like rot and mildew.
The area is saturated with monsters now. The whole lot of us circling the subdued werewolves and ready to attack if needed.
My body aches from being slashed open, especially since injuries sustained from a werewolf take far longer to heal than a normal scrape. Even with my advanced healing abilities, not to mention I’m still not at a hundred percent capacity after battling that fire earlier today.
“Fuck you, Talon.” Wolfgang answers. The vines still squeezing around his limbs.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Talon asks.
The werewolf just raises his chin, and Talon cracks the knuckles on his hands.
“You know, I’ve been too lenient on you. Hoping that you’ll one day come to your senses and join us here. But you’re so intent on fighting us that I can’t sit by and hope anymore.” There’s a deadly flash in Talon’s eyes that I know all too well. The kind that only happens once I know he’s made his mind up and there’s no going back.
“Kill them,” he instructs. “Kill them all.”
Monsters of all forms move the moment those words leave his mouth. Machetes, knives, fire, and pure brawn all converge at once in a bloody pile of mayhem.
There’s screams and whimpers, a lone howl, and then after a long fight, nothing. Just silence as we stare down at their bodies.
I’m used to death. It’s been centuries of seeing it firsthand that you’d think I’d be numb to it by now. But I’m not.
“Clean this up and get some fucking rest. I don’t want another thing to go wrong, you hear me?” Talon snarls, shifting back into his bat form and flying off into the night.
We do as he says, but I can’t shake this nagging feeling that this isn’t the last of our problems. In fact, looking around at the monsters helping out, I notice one glaring fact. Through all the zombies, vampires, and phantoms present, there aren’t anywitches. Not one. And for some reason, that turns my suspicions up a notch higher.
Where the fuck are they, and are they causing all this to happen?
I tuck away my hunch, and head back to Hendricks and Lydia, feeling furious at the amount of time that’s been stolen from me. We have less than a week to convince Lydia that she should stay with us. And we’re already down two nights. The sun will be out shortly, and I already know I’ll have to rest once again to get my strength back up. The wound in my side hasn’t stopped bleeding and the effects are starting to set in. I can feel it in my limbs as I try to walk. They feel heavy and sluggish. Like trying to wade through a vat of oil.
As I walk, my head swims, but I swear I hear a cackle in the wind and feel a whoosh of air next to my face. When I look up, there’s a lone silhouette flying against the dark sky attached to a broom.
Chapter 16
Lydia
Hendricks sets me down and locks both the front and back doors, leaving us completely alone as chaos rages outside. I feel rattled and disoriented. The alcohol is swimming about in my head and my legs feel wobbly.
“What’s happening?” I ask, not knowing what to do or even where my friends could be.
Didn’t they say something about going to the guy’s cabin from earlier? Hopefully, they’re staying put and not out there with whatever is prowling around out there. The closest I’ve ever come to a wild animal is a stray raccoon that visits my garbage can every once in a while. A wolf? Or rather, a pack of wolves? Forget it. I’d become minced meat.
Hendricks doesn’t answer me and is instead looking out the window, concern clearly etched on his face.
“Do you need to go back out there?” I ask, and this time he turns his attention onto me.
“No. I don’t need to be anywhere but right here. Are you alright?”
Another set of howls reaches my ears and goosebumps erupt on my skin.
