I rolled my shoulders back. My upper lip curled. “If you’re going to be a two-faced bat boy, make sure at least one of them is pretty.”

  Fabion smiled demurely, going into one of his deep bows. “As you wish, dear.”

  I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I glanced down at my hands, shaking them out from the nerves that now began attacking my body from what had just transpired. My mind raced, going to the baby in my stomach. I wondered if that wrestling move did any harm. I didn’t think so, but it worried me nonetheless. I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly out of my nose. My jitters calmed slightly. I wiped a hand over my face, feeling the coagulated blood from Diomedes come off in my hands

  “What would you like the colony to do?” Fabion asked.

  I turned toward him, perking a calculating brow. I didn’t trust Fabion at all. He gave me the creeps. But as Evander once said - it’s easier to keep an eye on someone when they are in a position of power. Fabion wasn’t in power, but he was wanting to be and desiring to be useful to me. I could have him do something that got him away from me yet helped me to see if he would cooperate.

  I fought a cringe and stared at him blankly. “I want you to help kill what Diomedes has created.”

  Fabion perked a dark eyebrow over his black eyes. “Dear, why don’t you use those creatures to-” he began.

  I cut him off. “Don’t dear me,” I seethed. “You can either join the other paranormals and cleanse Quivleren of the darkness that was Diomedes, or I can cleanse you, starting with my foot up your ass.”

  Fabion crossed his arms over his dark green suit. “Dear,”

  “Careful with your next words.”

  The vampire clenched and released his fists. A light blush hue mottled his cheeks giving him some color. Now he looked more like a rotting pasty bagel than a vampire.

  “The colony will happily rid Quivleren of what Diomedes created in exchange for the Utah Mountains,” Fabion seethed.

  I stormed up to the vampire leader, magic pooling in my hands and feeling like I was holding a giant hammer ready to swing. I glanced down at my hands, seeing the blue magic swirl and crackle, waiting to be released on this idiot.

  I opened my mouth, but it was quickly closed by Fabion. With a finger under my chin, he lifted me off the ground easily. Fabion’s soulless black eyes stared into mine. It unsettled me that I couldn’t determine any expression.

  The vampire spoke softly, “Listen, dear… Now that the evil as you call it, has been destroyed, Quivleren will more than likely be sectioned off to those who want a claim for themselves. I want what is good for my colony, same as what you want for your pack. The colony will help you, but we want those mountains.”

  “Why those particular mountains?” I asked.

  I was genuinely curious, though my mind made me wonder if the vampires wanted the Utah Mountains because it harbored something special to bring Diomedes back. I need to light Diomedes on fire before I leave, I thought to myself and made a mental checklist. Just in case he can be brought back. From what I could surmise of Fabion’s facial expression and vocal tone, or what a pasty bagel could have for facial expressions, he did not want the Utah mountains for ill purposes. Though I could only wait to see what he wanted it for.

  “They are far away from the underground city we were forced to live in by the dragons,” he seethed, spitting out the last word like it was a curse. “We want to live in the northernmost mountains, far from others, far from dragons, to live in a new light.”

  I perked a brow at the light analogy, wondering if they all wanted to voluntarily commit suicide. Still, giving them the Utah Mountains without consulting the rest of the paranormal beings didn’t sit well with me. Granted, Fabion was most likely correct that Quivleren would be sectioned off to other paranormals, but it didn’t have to be that way.

  “We can discuss it together, as a whole community, after Quivleren is cleared of demons,” I reasoned. “I understand you want what is best for your colony. I’m not faulting you for that. But it needs to be discussed diplomatically with the other leaders in Quivleren. I kindly ask that you allow diplomacy to take place.”

  Fabion sneered, curling his upper lip. He brought his other hand around my neck, throwing me across the room. My back smashed into the double oak doors I walked through hours ago when I began battling Diomedes. I moaned, getting to my feet. Fabion was on me in a flash, picking me up by my throat and pinned me against the door. He opened his mouth, revealing long fangs on his eye teeth.

  Summoning magic to my hands, I blasted him with a giant ball of light. Fabion rocketed back, flying across the room and skidding on the stone floor. His green suit steamed from the magical blast as he rose to his feet rigid as a board like he was doing something out of a dracula movie. I rolled my eyes at the dramatic flare.

  Fabion charged at me with lightning speed. I barely had time to throw up a shield in defense before he struck me and pinned me against the door. I latched my hand around his right forearm that had me pinned. My magic zipped out of me and into his hand in a bright, blinding light as I willed the magic to melt his hand. Fabion pulled back, screaming at the top of his lungs. His right forearm was singed, crumbling to ashes and dust up to the nub of his elbow.

  “You’re not leaving here alive, dear,” Fabion seethed.

  I cracked my neck. “Remember when I said if you’re gonna be two-faced, to at least make one side pretty? Well both sides are fucking ugly,” I replied, blasting him again with a white hot ball of magic.

  EVANDER

  I watched Zuri leave, teleporting herself in an invisible blink of an eye with a deep pang in my chest. I turned back around to battle a wendigo that had charged for where she happened to be a moment before. I lunged at its body, my teeth enclosing around the dead leathered skin on it’s upper arm. Another wolf grabbed hold of the wendigo’s other arm and together we brought it to the ground where Bertok bit into its chest, tearing the heart from the body. The wendigo burst into flames.

  “They keep coming,” the large gray wolf who helped bring down the wendigo said.

  I nodded. Enemies came pouring from behind houses, from down the roads. There were never ending masses of kludde, gogmagog, and wendigo. The nasty faeries and goblins were a swarm further west down the highway where the centaurs, witches, and minotaurs were in a group, slaughtering them easily.

  I dared a peek at the skies, trying to find signs of the dragons who promised to help, but there were none to be seen. Wendigo and kludde came down the highway from the east.

  “And we’ll keep fighting, Dridan,” Bertok replied to the wolf, charging toward a kludde.

  I howled victoriously, taking off behind Bertok to bring down the kludde. Other wolves answered my call. Wolves, bears, and lions came charging toward the enemies. I grinned, feeling the surge of my rallying call pulse through my veins. Bertok bit into the kludde’s leg while I leaped up onto the enemy’s body and bit into its neck, ripping half of the esophagus out. Together with Bertok and Dridan, we continued to bring down enemies, pushing ever slowly and painstakingly toward the department of paranormal justice.

  I dodged to the right, my teeth clenching tightly around the arm of a wendigo while Dridan bit into its chest. The wendigo swiped it’s head to the side, catching Dridan in the chest and puncturing him. Dridan whimpered, rolling to the side. I wrenched the creature down, biting into the monster and ending its life.

  I glanced around trying to locate a tiny sprite. The small silver creature was already to Dridan before I could locate it. Bertok, Dridan and myself, turned toward where the other allies were. I howled, signaling for the others to come to me and together make our way toward the minotaurs, witches and centaurs. Somehow in all the fighting we became disbanded and a deep warning in my gut told me something wicked was coming.

  “Look at the sky,” Dridan said, his voice taking on a wondrous tone.

  I glowered. The goring from the wendigo and the rapid healing from the sprite wasn’t enough to end Dridan’s life. I kept loping toward the allies.

  “Seriously,” he encouraged. “What do you think is going on over there?”

  We were still ten miles out from where Zuri was. The sky swirled darkly with smoky gray streaked with light blue. It was strange. My chest constricted, wondering how she was doing, wanting to be there by her side yet I was so far away. I could run the ten miles to her, yet I feared I wouldn't make it there in time to help her. I pushed the negativity from my mind.

  She’s fine, I encouraged myself. She’s just fine. She’s strong. I refused to allow myself another peek at the sky and instead focused on almost being to where the allies were. The ground was littered with ash piles of dead wendigo mixed in with the blood of dead kludde, gogmagog and fae. Dead allies lined the streets, eyes open and glossed over. The breath in my throat hitched at how many had perished in this war for Quivleren.

  “My mate is kicking ass,” I finally answered, glancing around for more enemies, but it seemed like the wave of demons had dwindled for a moment.

  A wave of enemies surged from the south where it all began. Banshees swarmed in the sky while more wendigo easily scaled over houses and fences. I howled, rallying all the wolves to me as we loped toward the other allies. Whatever was coming, I did not wish to be separated from the protectiveness the large group offered.

  From the west, gogmagogs came sprinting down the road. I dared a glance behind me, feeling my heart sink to my paws. Kludde and goblins brought up the rear. They were closing in around us, pushing us together to overwhelm us with numbers.

  Banshees swopped in, picking up allies in their long gnarled green claws, dropping them from enormous heights. Gogmagogs fought to get in the middle where we were, swinging their club to beat us down.

  “Evander,” Tordis called, frantically.

  I shifted, raising my hand in the air for her to see me. Wolves, bears, and lions moved around me as I tried to locate Tordis in the mass of allies gathering. I spied Orlin with a sprite hanging on the back of his neck. A light touch brushed against my left shoulder.

  “Evander,” Tordis huffed, her eyes wide and shaking her head like what she was about to say was too much.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Zuri,” she stammered.

  My heart stopped. Everything around me stopped. I had no idea what I was going to do. I saw faces I recognized, looking to me to lead but it was like I could see through them all. What about my mate? What happened to my Zuri? I lost all breath in me, forgetting how to take another breath and fill my lungs. I couldn’t do it.

  Orlin came in front of me, shaking me. I felt a slap to the face and it brought me back to the chaos suddenly like I was now able to see and hear again. I sucked in a lungful of air, nearly choking on it.

  “Hey, bud,” Orlin’s deep voice began. “We gotta get outta here. We’re surrounded and we need a direct path to get out. What’s your idea?”

  I didn’t have one. I stared at him blankly. Everything we planned on, rode on Zuri being able to defeat the God of Darkness and as it stood right now, it wasn’t looking like my mate could do this. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  Orlin put both hands on my shoulders and I glanced up at my best friend. “She could still be ok. You’d feel it if it were different.”

  “Zuri hasn’t killed Diomedes. This is lost,” Tordis added.

  “Now isn’t the time, Supreme,” Orlin growled at her.

  I nodded, unable to formulate any thought process. I was useless. We were surrounded, cut off from any exit as demons and everything evil forced us into a tight circle. We needed the dragons. We needed more, yet those who were too scared to fight went into hiding to save themselves. I couldn't fault them for it. Fighting in this war was a lot to ask of anyone.

  I ran a hand over my face and saw red. Everything in me saw blood red. I battled to regain my composure, certain that if Zuri was dead, I would know like Orlin said I would. I stared down at my feet until my vision cleared and I was able to look around without going into a downward spiral of emotions.

  All around us allies stood shoulder to shoulder while we were being forced closer together by the enemy. We were utterly surrounded. For every one ally, there were six or more demonic assholes. The sky became a smoky dark gray, blocking out any hint of the blue sky that was there before. I glanced around, seeing bears, wolves and lions shift back into animal form, looking at each other and for any alpha to give them direction.

  I shifted back into my wolf form and howled, putting as much anger and force behind the call as I could. I wasn’t going to give up and quit, not when I knew Zuri wouldn't have done so. She was still fighting. And so would I. This fight wasn’t lost or over. Not as long as I stood breathing.

  Bodies of wolves, lions and bears, pressed up against me, looking at me. I shoved my way through the throng to the front of the fighting. I would fight to the end, my end, if it came to it. I wasn’t going to relent. I would make Quivleren safe for the next generation whether it involved me or not; at least Zuri and our child would live peacefully.

  I howled, charging ahead to attack a kludde. I leaped at it, knocking it to the ground as my teeth ripped a hole in the base of its throat. A wendigo’s horns gored me on the left side. My breath caught in my throat and I whimpered, falling to my side. Another wolf took my place, finishing the creature.

  Rising to my paws, I began attacking another wendigo, ignoring the pain in my side. Others behind me began attacking, making a trail out from being circled in. Up in the sky, black flecks of something were flying right toward us. I held in a groan, as I ripped the heart from the chest of my enemy.

  I fought, tearing into fae, wendigo and kludde. Each enemy I destroyed, several more took their place. I didn’t care. My jaw and body ached from fighting, from tearing flesh from bone. I wouldn’t stop.

  Bertok and Dridan came up beside me and together we brought down kludde and trolls. Faint flashes of suburban homes and pavement rewarded our vision of almost being clear of the entrapment. Bertok took down a wendigo. I leaped over my friend, getting another wendigo behind the fallen one before it could get Bertok.

  “Dragons!” a witch shrieked triumphantly, throwing a potion bottle at a gogmagog. The potion exploded, releasing orange goop at the base of the troll to hold it still.

  Bertok downed the stuck troll, coming to my side after. His grim and set face with a curling upper lip gave way to exactly how I felt. We had been battling these damn demons for hours and no dragons cared to show up. I nodded to him, agreeing silently with him that the dragons were fuckers.

  Ten dragons banked left in the sky, blasting fire down on enemies still trying to encircle us. Screams of the demons engorged in flames pierced the air shrilly, causing glass on houses and cars to burst. I ignored the dragon's help, fighting to push through and break free of the entrapment they had us in.

  I took down another wendigo, but it was quickly replaced by more. It seemed that no matter what I killed, right after, several more took its place. A female fae hovered in, gnashing sharp pointed teeth together and grinning. I lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. I flipped her over with a quick swipe of my paw and ripped her wings from her back and flung her to the side.

  I could finally see the road ahead. I felt relieved and elated at the sight. Once free, all I wanted to do was get to Zuri, but I couldn't leave to get her. I was needed here and it was killing me inside not being able to see her; to ascertain for myself if she was alright.

  The dragons landed on top of houses, crumbling the roofs slightly from their bulk. Each took a different position around the encircled allies and began blasting enemies with fire in long, steady streams. I took a fleeting second to admire their form with large scales in various neutral shades; horns lining their jaws and on top of their heads, going all the way down to their tails. Their large, slanted vermillion eyes appeared menacing through the smoky haze of their fire. Screams of enemies dying pierced the air. It brought a grin to my face.

  I howled, long and victoriously, rallying all who could hear my call. Bertok appeared on my right with Orlin beside him. Dridan came to my left. Together, standing four wolves wide, we fought and pushed our way out of the circle and free into the open streets. Allies came barreling out behind me, turning to take on the remaining enemies.

  I charged ahead, grabbing a kludde by the foot as it tried to fly. I brought it back to the ground, ripping it’s foot from its body. The creature howled in pain. I leaped on it’s chest, ripping the kludde’s throat from its body.

  A blast came from the north east. I glanced in the direction where Zuri was in a battle with the God of Darkness. The swirling vortex of clouds that once covered the sky in that area dissipated to clear blue skies.

  “Zuri did it!” Tordis shouted over the din.

  Cheers went up, followed by the minotaur Nadja bellowing to kill them all. Cries of triumph drowned out the enemies as allies began hacking away at all of Diomedes spawn. Enemies were falling rapidly. The dragons launched themselves from the houses, raining fire down on the enemies that attempted to flee.

  A female sprite landed on the bridge of my nose, straddling it. She leaned forward, her hands going up the fur on my nose. My left side tingled, making me shake from the feel of it. The sprite dipped her head to me and flitted off, going to the next ally.

  The ground beneath my paws shook. Cracks in the pavement appeared. Two hundred feet ahead, the ground caved open, swallowing an entire house and the enemies standing on the property. All around us, the enemies disappeared, either in thin air, or being sucked into the ground where the earth immediately merged back together after swallowing enemies so easily.

  I glanced around, trying to see the cause of it all, if it happened to be Zuri. I couldn’t see her anywhere. The ground shook violently, rumbling low like a deadly wolf ready to pounce and kill. Then as quickly as the noise and clashing began, it stilled.

  The suburbs remained eerily quiet. The smoky haze from the dragon's fire cleared without even a breeze to whisk it away. Enemies that once surrounded us so overwhelmingly were gone. Every last demonic asshole was gone like it was never there. The streets ran with blood of the fallen, mixing in with ash piles of dead demons.