She scrambled to her feet and glanced at her hand, expecting blood. She’d used steel wool scrubbing pads that were softer than the creature’s wiry fur. The hair had caused no cuts. Juliette sprinted to another cottage. She held her hands over her heart, her throat sore from suppressed screams. Deep breaths calmed her. From the corner of her eye, she spotted two of her archers surrounded by three wolves, each of the archers quivers empty.
Juliette yanked out a few arrows and aimed two of them at once. One struck her target in the head, the other in the chest. The third turned toward her and met with a shot to the neck.
The vampires darted to the cottage side.
"We ran out of arrows--" the male began.
"I don't know what to do without--" the female said.
"Here," Juliette told them, interrupting both. She pulled out about half of her remaining supply, dividing them among the two. "Get back to the manor and go upstairs. In the second room to the right is my spare quiver and it's full. Stay up there and shoot from the balcony. Keep an eye on the rooftops and an arrow ready on your bows at all times."
"Thanks, Captain," the younger male said. "We--"
"Go! Now!"
Across the field, Nathaniel raced toward the edge of the village, Tristan the panther not far behind. Not a minute later Nathaniel's head peeked over the windowsill of a small semi-house in a tree. Juliette ignored the stammering thanks of the two vampires and slunk toward another cottage, looking for the quickest way to where her instinct told her she needed to be.
* * *
Tristan, in his human form, followed Nathaniel up the ladder. The wolf at the window didn't hear him approach until a board creaked halfway across the room. Amber eyes turned to meet his.
Nathaniel smiled an odd canine grin. "So the ex-lover approaches."
Tristan raised his fists. "Not ex, you freak. You lost her. You expected us to willingly sacrifice her like a pawn is your sick game." Tristan swung and landed his fist under Nathaniel's jaw.
The unexpected blow knocked the creature onto the weathered floor. He lashed out, the back of his paw slamming across Tristan’s face. Nathaniel's wolf strength bested Tristan's fortitude and sent him flying across the room, his human body slamming against a wall.
"She's dead." Nathaniel picked up a rope next to the window and began twisting it. "Her body's behind that big building."
"No!" Tristan's heart nearly seized.
A grin spread across Nathaniel’s face. "Yes. The little bitch is dead. Remember I told you she’d pay the price if you saw her again."
Tristan rose unsteadily to his feet, a searing pain shooting through his hip when he tried putting pressure on it, and was quickly caught in a lasso. Nathaniel yanked the end, tightening the noose and pulling Tristan to the ground.
"You're making this too easy, Lover-boy!" Nathaniel sneered. "Why are you in this war? Or she? This is not your war!"
Tristan's body curled into a ball, a fist pressed hard into his chest, his other against his dislocated hip. "I am…I am a vampire…a panther…" he volunteered.
"You are one of them?" Nathaniel screamed. "What happened to being an upiór? Have you been thinking in lies?" Nathaniel tied Tristan up tightly. He paced across the floor, kicking the trapped man with each pass. “If you’re a vampire, your whole family probably is too. That’s how you stalked me so long! I didn’t expect her to be here until Calvin told me about her. We were going to start this attack earlier, but you have me another chance to toy with her head. Is she one of you?”
"She's not one of us. How…how did you...?" Tristan croaked. "She didn’t deserve any of this. Please have done it quick. Tell me she didn’t suffer."
"How do you think? Let’s just say it was better for me than it was for her," Nathaniel’s gravelly voice taunted. "You're making this too easy. Where's the fight?" He stepped over the tied body to peer out the window and let out a loud howl.
24. Domination
Nathaniel glared down at the battlefield and howled again.
"Are you ready to fight me?" he roared to his vampire enemy.
Tristan's head snapped up, unshed tears brightening his eyes. "Let me have the chance and I will kill you!"
"Ah, so you want to be feisty." He kicked Tristan’s hip. With a loud snap, it popped back into place as Tristan hissed. Roughly, Nathaniel grabbed the end of the rope and yanked it, loosening the knot. "Let's see what you can do, punk." Nathaniel cracked a laugh like a jackal.
Tristan pulled himself to his feet. He tried twice to transform, failing halfway each time. The love and grief in his heart for Juliette proved greater than his hatred for her killer and drained his resolve.
"Yes, show me how you can't do it. You couldn't protect her, and you're too weak to defend yourself,” the wolf taunted.
"Shut up!" The surge of anger helped, and after his third attempt, a sleek black panther stood in his place, a threatening growl coming from his throat. He crouched down, calculating, waiting. The sudden, uninvited memory of watching Juliette on the grass, asking him for death, as he spied the pool party months before, distracted him, and he stopped growling. Nathaniel took the moment to tackle him in his side, rolling him several times. Quickly Tristan jumped to his paws and crouched again.
"You're making this too easy, pussy cat," Nathaniel teased.
Tristan lunged and missed. He turned to face Nathaniel, pushed hard against the wood floor, and landed right on Nathaniel's chest, knocking him down.
"Is this all you’ve got, Kitty?" Nathaniel folded his legs up and shoved Tristan off, then rolled away, letting Tristan land with a loud smack onto the wood. He kicked out one large foot, catching Tristan in the face. The scent of iron permeated the air, blood concealed by ebony fur.
Tristan gnashed at the wolf and pounced, again landing on the beastly chest, but Nathaniel used his weight and momentum to toss Tristan against the wall.
"Do you want to hear how she sniveled?" Nathaniel sauntered to him. "How it felt to smack her around? She was weak, like you. She put up with what I gave her. She deserved it."
Tristan roared. The walls rattled with the sound.
Nathaniel laughed hard as the panther bared his teeth and tried to bite. Tristan came at him. Nathaniel was too fast and threw Tristan over him. The cat's body smacked into the wall again with a sharp crunch and fell to the floor. Nathaniel rolled his eyes.
Black fur disappeared and reappeared. Tristan used all his power to remain feline, but his will slipped until he remained in his human body. Tristan clenched his jaw and breathed hard, eyes shut tight. "Just do it! Kill me!"
"You're taking the fun out of it, Kitty. Get up and fight like a man!"
"No." Tristan's head spun.
“Don’t tell me you loved her.” Nathaniel chortled. “Oh this is good. She’s dead, so you want to die too. Want to know exactly how she died? She screamed for you." He paced in an arc around Tristan on the floor. "I took my time, taking everything I wanted from her first. She cried, making everything sweeter. Did you ever taste her? Then she started screaming my name."
"Shut up!" Tristan clenched his head.
"I was slow!" Nathaniel shouted. "I savored her screams, savored her blood, made her hurt from the inside out."
"You monster!" Tristan, in his human body, stood up, hands clenched into fists, wanting to kill the one who murdered the woman he loved. He screamed and ran at Nathaniel. His fist made contact with Nathaniel's jaw, his other punching hard into Nathaniel's stomach. The attack took Nathaniel by surprise.
The wolf scrambled back to his feet, settling on all fours, crouching low. Quick as a flash, he jumped at Tristan's left, but Tristan was faster and stepped right with a hurried pivot and uppercutted Nathaniel's stretched abdomen. Nathaniel twisted in mid-air and swiped his claws at Tristan, one sharp claw catching his leg, cutting long and deep through tissue and muscle.
In the distance a woman screamed shrilly, the sound distracting Tristan for just a moment. Nathaniel leapt at Tristan, s
inking his teeth into his shoulder and shaking him. The beast lifted Tristan’s body and slammed him into the ground repeatedly until his prey went limp.
Nathaniel re-tied Tristan and kicked him against the wall. “Snack time later, Kitty.”
* * *
Juliette's heart raced as she stood beside a small hut. The house in the largest tree was as good a place as any for Nathaniel to watch the battle. The intermittent howling still rang out.
Nearby a wolf stalked behind an elderly-looking vampire who, in his human form, battled another of the beasts. She drew two arrows from her quiver and nocked them both. Before she released, arrows flew from opposite directions, one hitting one enemy in the stomach, the other creature getting his in the head. She glanced back up at the treehouse just as a snout disappeared from the window.
Across the small village square, Juliette made out the giant form of William smacking around two wolves. She wanted to help him, but the shot wasn't clear enough. Too many fighters between them might get in the way. Not far away, Ash used his massive antlers magnificently, scooping up a hideous beast to toss in the path of a giant bison. The bison enthusiastically trampled the beast. Juliette smiled grimly. Then, right behind them, a wolf sank its teeth into the singer, Raina.
"No!" She took a deep breath as Raina fell to the ground and didn’t get back up. Dead. She kept her eyes on the demon who had killed her, willing him to come closer. While the shot she had wasn't as clear as she'd like, she released anyway and hit the creature square in the chest.
She turned again toward the high house in the tree, and this time the humanoid face of Nathaniel popped out over the windowsill. His head snapped in her direction, and for a long moment, their stares locked. Her mouth twitched and her hands gripped her bow so hard she thought she'd shatter the wood. Her eyes narrowed. She pointed a shaking finger at him, then herself, and mouthed, "You are mine." Nathaniel laughed at her and backed away from the window.
The tree was near the edge of the little village. She needed to get closer.
The golden eagle circled lower and landed beside her. Within seconds, Emma, in her human form, urgently told her, "Tristan's up in the house with Nathaniel! He’s hurt, Jules!"
Juliette swore. "Help me get over there without being seen. I want to finish that freak Nathaniel off myself, if Tristan doesn't beat me to it."
"Take the long way around. The stupid wolves are mostly keeping the fighting to the square. I think they are all trying to establish dominance or something. We’re making progress."
Juliette nocked an arrow and released at a wolf looking for a new target. The shaft passed through his thigh, an injury, but not a kill shot. "Okay, it figures the short way won't work. Thanks, Em."
Juliette was thankful for an extremely bright full moon shining like the sun, brightening the leafy canopy, though the shadows it cast would have given an enemy a safe place to hide. She checked around her and ducked behind the cottage, nerves overwhelming her. She held her bow and an arrow at the ready as she peeked between two cottages. Satisfied no wolves waited to pose a threat, she snuck toward the front and sought out a beast to take down. Another holler came from the small house. Juliette sprinted around the small buildings, checking each alley before continuing to the next.
Finally nearing the large tree, she encountered her first direct danger. Between two houses stood three wolves about to start devouring the body of another fallen vampire. "Look who we have here," the smaller one groaned.
Juliette exhaled and, in her fear, forgot to inhale. They were mere yards away, and she had one arrow at the ready.
"Isn't she the one he wants?"
Overhead the eagle called out once, twice, thrice.
"Yeah, she's the one." The largest began to advance on her.
A large tiger bounded around the corner, grabbing one of the wolves by the throat and with a quick yank, broke his neck. Juliette shot at one of the remaining beasts. The last one standing looked back and forth and took off at a run.
"Let me, Sunil!" She aimed another arrow but hit the wolf’s leg.
Sunil cocked his head at her.
"All right," she tightly laughed, "go get him!" With a brief purr, the orange cat ran after the wolf, catching up to him in just a few long strides.
The way to the tree was clear, and Juliette glanced around, trying to figure out how to get up. The grass was knee-high except for a flattened path. She quietly ambled over the depressed weeds and came to a stop at the bottom of a very thin ladder hanging down from a cut-out serving as a door.
Bow slung over her shoulder, she took a hesitant step up, unsure if her weight would cause any movement in the house that might alert Nathaniel to her presence. The structure stayed completely still. From several rungs up, she checked on the fight, searching for each of her loved ones. The Iberian lynx was most difficult to find. Gabrielle darted from wolf to wolf, biting lower legs and creating diversions to give their vampire fighting partners a better chance at winning. Emma boldly swooped in front of a beast right before it chomped on another ally.
She turned her attention back to climbing and took another silk rung. When her hands reached the wood platform, she was careful to hold only the top of the ladder, not wanting visible fingers to give Nathaniel the advantage. With her feet on the third rung down, she peeked her head above and fell back down. She contemplated her next move, knowing Nathaniel was at the window on the opposite side of where she was. When she didn't find Tristan in her quick look, she fought panic.
Realizing it would be important to be in the house and standing with an arrow at the ready before he knew she was there, she adjusted her bow. She waited until he let loose a howl, hoping he'd be focused on the call and less likely to hear her and tossed her forearms on the wood to hoist herself onto the broad platform. He didn’t look back. She scrambled to her feet and pulled an arrow out of her quiver.
Nathaniel's furry back to her, he barked orders, directing his wolves. He stood on his hind legs and let out a long, joyful howl. In a corner, hidden by shadow, Tristan lay bleeding and not moving. Resisting the urge to run to her fallen lover, Juliette lifted herself as tall as possible and nocked an arrow on her bow. Drawing it back, she called out.
"Hey, Nathaniel." She struggled to keep her tone light while her heart was breaking.
The creature turned around and his eyes widened. "Juliette,” he snarled in a deep, abrasive voice. He bared his teeth and readied to lunge at her. But the glint of the silver arrowhead startled him. He looked up into her eyes and stopped moving toward her. "You won't shoot me, Juliette. This isn’t the real you. You wouldn't kill."
"Like hell I wouldn't! Look what you're doing, killing people who never harmed you! And Tristan…" She let her voice trail off not to betray a hiccup of aching. "And me, Nathaniel. What you did to me!"
He raised his paws, his elongated, clawed fingers spread wide, swiping the air before him as he lifted his lips in a half snarl, half smile. "I could take you out right now. Kill you. Eat you."
In a swift motion, Juliette aimed at his knee and released.
Nathaniel whined and howled in pain. Huffing, the hair on his body disappeared, and he shrank, his long nose receding back into his face, and his ears returning to their human position and shape. On the floor of the wooden structure, he lay naked with an arrow through his kneecap, incapacitating him.
Juliette pulled another arrow from her quiver and aimed it at him while he pushed the shaft out the back of his knee. Her neck muscles tightened in unwelcome sympathy pain.
"What the hell!" he yelled, throwing the arrow at her. "Hey, you don't mean to do this!" Desperation tainted his voice.
"Yes, Nathaniel, I do. It's the only way to stop all of this. You will never change. You’ll just keep attacking until everyone here is dead."
His eyes widened, the gravity of his situation seeming to sinking in. He tried to stand but collapsed under his destroyed knee. "Juliette, please! Have mercy on me. I'll change. I swear."
<
br /> Screams in the near distance snuffed any sympathy she might have had. “Call them off. End this battle right now.”
Tristan stirred only enough to let them know he was still alive. Nathaniel used his remaining good leg and arms to spring toward Tristan, pulling the vampire's body in front of his own, and yanked Tristan’s head up. "One small twist, and he'll be dead, Juliette. Lower the arrow."
Juliette considered her options. If she gave up to save Tristan, Nathaniel would probably still end his life and continue the assault on the coven. If she shot through Tristan's shoulder, she would hit Nathaniel's heart, killing him, but also lose the one she loved.
"How dare you ask me for mercy when you never showed me any," she taunted, her eyes narrowing.
Nathaniel sneered. "I'm showing you some now. Lower the arrow and I won't kill him."
Without releasing her tension on the string, she lowered the aim a fraction of an inch.
"Lower it!" As he yelled, his body shifted, giving her a clear shot.
Juliette raised her bow and released the arrow into his heart.
"You…" Nathaniel opened his eyes wide and glanced down, dropping Tristan. He ran his fingers through the blood that had started to drip down his chest, his hands shaking. "You shot me," he whispered jerkily, staring up at her, realization of imminent death haunting his face. His body spasmed and folded until he was prone, violently jerking.
Juliette glared at him wordlessly, afraid to take her attention from him. As a precaution, she nocked another arrow.
Suddenly his spine straightened and bent backward. As he did, an invisible force released and blew over her and Tristan, blasting outward as if the walls didn’t exist and washed over the small village. Nathaniel stopped twitching and lay still.
Several pained howls rose out on the battlefield. Juliette ran to the window. The wolves that remained dropped to all fours to run as fast as their legs were capable of moving, racing toward the entrance, the one exit out. Without their alpha, they would not continue their fight. The living vampires were at first confused. Then a young male let out a cheerful whoop. Others joined in a chorus of celebratory screams. One female crawled toward her fallen lover, dampening the happy scene.