“I’m not a werewolf,” I said, grabbing the stone out of his hand. “Added insurance though, just in case.”
“Please don’t go.” His almost trance-like tone cracked into a high-pitched whine as he held onto my right arm, his grip so tight it hurt.
“Roscoe, calm down.” The world around me faded to silver as the glow of my eyes reflected in his. The vironoct wasn’t as effective on Roscoe for some reason, but it would last long enough for him to do this one task. “Run to town and get Willa. She’ll know what to do.”
His irises looked like two morning glories, blue around a yellow center. He fought it for almost a full minute before both eyes turned solid. Roscoe nodded and bolted toward town, faster than I’d ever seen him run.
“Cody…”
A young woman’s voice whispered in my ears, but it didn’t come from any one direction. I held my breath and stepped into the blackness of the forest’s edge, my bare feet stumbling over gnarled roots. I was still mostly naked, save for the leather belt and hilted fake sword swinging from my hip and the golden rope dangling from the other.
“Okay, I was a lot braver a few minutes ago,” I whispered to myself before turning toward the light of town, but there was nothing but trees. I had only just entered the woods, but now I was in the middle of a forest, the clearing up ahead illuminated by the moon. The world around me transformed into a labyrinth of shadow, and there was no way to find my way back.
If only I had been the real Theseus.
“Lunam matris potestate…”
The whispers echoed as I pushed my way through the trees, the suffocating stale air overwhelming me. It was like running through a basement as a child, trying to get to the light before the monsters got me—only there was no light, and the monsters were everywhere.
“Austin? Adam?” I called out, but the only answer I received was more incoherent chanting, a little louder than before. The singsong feminine voice transitioned to a demonic timbre.
“Odiosa diaboli amplexus…”
“Where are you guys?” I shouted, but it was hard to hear my own voice over the flood of hissing, haggard screams stabbing at my mind.
“Lupus venit ut impleatur!”
I stumbled backward when flames burst from the ground all around me, culminating to the center of the clearing before giving form to a crooked wooden cross jammed into the ground. Austin’s body was sprawled along its planks, tied with thick rope by the wrists and ankles, his weepy blue eyes following me as I stumbled closer.
How were his eyes blue? The vironoct had worn off before he left.
Another werewolf stood in front of him, holding Austin’s dogtags in the air like a trophy. The werewolf was short and slender, his fur lighter black like fresh coffee grounds with a wiry mane that had grown out considerably. The Anubian-looking creature turned to face me, his eyes blood-red as he grinned.
“Adam?” I called out while inching closer.
“Vasa nostra esurientes,”he said, but that wasn’t Adam’s voice. The voice was a multitude of otherworldly tones. “Join the feast.”
Chapter 28
Halloween — Part Three
“What did you do?”
Those words barely slipped out before every primal instinct bubbling just below my consciousness pulled at me to run, just as Mosavi had warned. It didn’t matter where, but running was all I could think about as the terrible aura smothered me from all directions.
“You came. It’s my big night,” he said, his voice now normal again, though much deeper. “I can do what you do now, but I can do it better.” He turned to Austin, gently raking his claws down the werewolf’s chest. “Tell me what I want to hear.”
Instead of glowing silver, his eyes turned solid white. Austin cried out in pain. He tried to speak but only managed a whine.
“Oh well. I guess he doesn’t need to talk anymore.”
“You’re hurting him!” I shouted, stepping closer.
“What are you talking about? I’m making him happy. This is what he wanted you to do to him. Remember?”
“Not like this. Have you lost you’re fucking mind?” I pointed to the huge werewolf, now hanging sprawled on the cross. “Get him down from there!”
“He likes the pain.” He looked up at Austin. “Don’t you?”
