She walked to the mural, placed a hand on it. She traced a line of flowers that were running out from the king and queen. A physical carving that had been built out of the stonework. She counted the petals down from the eighth flower. Took a deep breath, then broke it off.
The mural split! A great crack divided the center, separating the king and queen.
The screeching began.
Roman and I shifted immediately as Feyra ran back towards us. She climbed onto the altar and we protected her. Where normal eyes had been before, Roman’s wolf eyes werenow two glowing orbs of fire. He looked like a hound from the death realm. His power had increased too, greater than mine.
We roared together as the mural continued to break, then shattered into dust as four merls exploded out. Their screeching echoed around the room and hideous men-like creatures began flooding into the temple.
I batted away the nearest merl, breaking its neck. Roman ripped the throat out of another one and turned to kill one of the men-like creatures. I’d never seen them before, but knew Lady Skol was behind it.
So this is where they went,Roman said via his wolf sense to me.
I agreed.
Feyra stood atop the altar, screaming in anger as she stabbed down at men with her spear. She was red with rage and the hate pouring forth from her body was rolling over me. Energizing me and making me want to kill as many as these devil spawn as possible.
The men-like creatures screeched among themselves in the old tongue. As the bodies of the dead climbed, the wordsMakroon-Darrepeated in my ears.The Red Death.They were afraid of Roman, terrified. But something else also willed them forward.
Feyra’s letter had been a lie then. Who had sent it? Had Lady Skol been behind everything? But more than that, how had she known to break the stone petal?
I didn’t have time to think any further as men and more merls continued to come. The merls descended from the skies, perching on the walls and swooping down on us. Feyra’s spear continued to blur among us, stabbing men as they came.
As strong we were though, we couldn’t do this forever.
We need to escape,I said to Roman.
Good plan.
Can we make the entrance?
The sheer number of men pouring in answered that. The only way out was the mountain of rubble near the fallen corner, but neither of us would be able to jump out without a boost.
The wall,Roman said.We can jump out there.
But we’ll need the help of the other?
Then help is what you’ll have.Roman nudged Feyra and pointed at the wall. She nodded.
NO!I barked.We need an escape for all of us. We need–
It is the only way.Roman took down four men in one swipe with his paw. His eyes had begun to glow brighter. His size increased before my eyes.It has been fated,he said.
I’m sick of fate and prophecies. I’m sick of sacrificing constantly,I yelled.
It is the only way.Roman leaped at a swooping merl, catching it in midair. He ripped its throat out and then let it fall, dead. He landed in a throng of men and began killing anything unlucky to be close enough to him.
He is right, Dion.
I turned, surprised at Feyra.There is no other way,she said.
How can you talk?I was shocked. A man’s spear caught my side. I roared and took it out with my jaws, broke it in half, and then snapped his neck.
I may not be able to shift, but my body is a wolf at this moment.
I shivered. I couldn’t believe it.
Roman was making his way to the mound through the many bodies flooding in. Soon he would be able to scale it, and from there, he could launch us.
