“What words?”
The tugging grew more insistent, and rainbow light shimmered around her father’s increasingly transparent silhouette as he whispered the words into her ear, then pushed out of her arms.
“Don’t leave!” she shouted.
“I love you, Mireille. I’ve always loved you.”
“Wait!” She dropped to her knees, clinging to the grass as the force in her chest tried to pull her away. “What’s your name?”
Her father dissolved into glimmering mist, his broad smile, so full of love and affection and pride, the last thing to fade.
Tears flowed anew as Mireille watched the little girl and her father.
“Remember your mantra,” the man said.
The girl lifted her dagger, the portrait of youthful determination. “Blade up, fear down.”
Mireille said the words her father had spoken to her, then let the tugging sweep her away as his voice rang out in her mind.
“Gareth,” he said.
“My name is Gareth Fortin.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Ronin wavered in and out of consciousness, unaware of anything except the scaled, muscular body wrapped around him.
I’m sorry, buddy, he said to his wolf.
I am not,his wolf answered.I am thankful I got to feel the wind through my fur one last time. To fight for you and our female.
She is our female, isn’t she?
Only took her being eaten by a giant snake for you to finally admit it. I’d say I’m proud of you, but I think I’d rather scold you for all that wasted time.
We will find her again, Ronin whispered.In this world, or the next.
He unhooked his fangs from Nyctima’s scales, his paws and legs going limp, and released a mournful howl.
He closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, when the vise-tight hold slackened ever so slightly. Cool scales grew warm against his fur as Nyctima unraveled herself.
Rising to unsteady paws, Ronin readied for another attack.
He didn’t get the chance.
The snake thrashed violently, thumping the ground and throwing stones and puffs of snow, her stomach pulsating.
Ronin shifted back into his humanoid form, sprawled out on the gravel and clutched his aching, re-broken ribs, struggling to breathe.
A clawed paw, covered in fire, burst through the black scales, ripping through flesh and splattering goopy, iridescent liquid. Another flaming paw joined the first.
Nyctima tried, in vain, to sink her fangs into the thing gouging through her insides.
The serpent exploded into two halves, the stench of cooked meat filling the air as her tail slid into the fountain and her head crashed against the fence with a thunderous clang.
Then Ronin lost his breath entirely as he saw what had burst from the creature.
A wolf, covered head to toe in crackling fire, stood tall and proud, fangs bared. She tipped her head to the sky, releasing a victorious howl, and her flames glowed brighter.
