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The growl increased, and Patel’s men started hitting their spears on the floor, causing a thud that reverberated through the crowd and soon inspired the others to start growling.
“You are fighting so your children can grow to have a purpose and not become pawns for the Tarloux!”
It was louder now, and I was sure the Tarloux, who were just about two hundred feet from us, could hear it, and it was enough to instill fear in them. We sounded like a million men had gathered and were ready to fight. I walked down the pedestal and joined them, walking through the army and could feel the hunger burning in them. They all held a vial from Bonne’s stash, and just about when the battle was to start, they would all consume it. It would greatly enhance their ability.
“You are fighting so your children won’t have to fight!” I said and hit some of them on the shoulder, causing them to growl louder. Now that I was in their midst, they felt even more invincible.
“When you get out there, remember, you are fighting to prepare a way for them! A better future. One where they assume autonomy and make a decision for themselves!”
The last growl went on and on, and it sounded like it wasn’t going to come to an end, then, slowly, it died down, and they all looked at me, waiting for the next command.
I let them marinate the hunger growing within them. I let myself feel it too, and I could almost touch it. I wanted to kill, and I have never wanted to kill so badly in my life. I looked up at them, and it was time.
“Now,” I told them, raised my hand up, and they went quiet. Not a single sound invaded the silence that filled the night. “Go out there and conquer!” I dropped my hand, and at that cue, they all ran past me, running towards the Tarloux camp, growling, howling, and yelling.
The war had started.
Hayley walked down and joined me as the men ran on, and soon the smell of blood filled the air. The Tarloux have come out to attack back. We had taken them by surprise, giving them very little time to prepare themselves. That will give us an edge, but not one that would last.
Timothy joined Hayley and me, and we watched the fight go on for a while as we walked toward it. There was no way to know who was winning.
“Stone bearers,” Timothy said and looked at Hayley and me. “No matter how this ends, it was a pleasure knowing you,” he said with a bow and charged forward with the army. I looked at Hayley and then back at the camp and wondered how Bonne was doing with the men he had led through the tunnel. I hoped they were doing well.
We charged on too, and joined the fight, throwing ourselves into the thick of it. The first wolf that attacked me had golden eyes, just like Jade, and I pictured the boy as I snatched the wolf from the air as he was charging at me. I was doing this for him and the thousand other children out there who would become Tarloux henchmen if they weren’t stopped now.
I grabbed him by the neck and hit him on the ground. He spun back up almost immediately and came for me, but I was ready. I moved out of the way, making him expose himself, and got him in the neck with my claws. He screamed, but it was caught halfway before he fell to the ground.
One down, thousands left to go.
This was why Bonne’s idea was ingenious. We can’t fight them forever, they were more numerous than us, so it was better to take the fight to where it mattered the most to The Twins.
I looked at Hayley, who already had blood on her claws, and pulled her to me.
“Come on,” I told her. “Let’s get to The Twins.”
But we weren’t going to have it easy. Just as we moved, three werewolves stepped in front of us, and I couldn’t tell if they recognized us or were just hungry for a brawl. To my left, I watched as a Gork fought with one of the soldiers and kept punching him in the head until he broke under the force. Then he moved on to the next. Just as he turned around to fight the next werewolf, someone got him in the throat. A quick slice of the throat, and he was dead. To my right, a Kael fell down dead, and the reality of war hit me.
Men will die, a lot of them. I had thought of it earlier on, but it had been close to impossible to conceive just how much of them would. Now, I could see it, and it disturbed me. Weighing that fact distracted me for a while, and I didn’t see the first werewolf attack. Out of my periphery, I saw a blob come at me, and I moved out of the way before he could hit me. I looked down at the werewolf, who was up already and coming for me again. The other two went for Hayley. I stepped closer to the first one that came for me, and my sudden aggression caught him by surprise. He tried to charge back, but it was too late for him. I held him by the neck and snapped it, dropping him to the floor before moving on to the next one, pulling one of the ones fighting Hayley away so he faced me, and I clawed at his face, mauling him over and over until he fell to the ground.
I looked at Hayley, who was finally free and then looked around us. We had gotten into this fight on the edge of it, but somehow we were now smack in the middle.
The goal remained the same. To find The Twins.
We pushed through the thick ground, looking for a way out. It was hard because, at every angle, there was a werewolf fighting or reaching to fight us. This was a mess.
“We can’t get through,” Hayley said, and another Tarloux werewolf came for us again. Their red and black garments made them easy to point out even in the dark. I moved out of the way and left him for Hayley to handle, but there was another just to my left, and he was growling, his glowing red eyes burning with hate. I watched as he charged at me, but he never got to me. A Patel soldier knocked him out, nodded at me, and then turned around to keep fighting.
I moved away and saw if I could force a way out of there, but there was no way. We were stuck right in the middle of the battle itself, and we needed to be in front. That was Bonne’s plan. The Twins will see us better that way. Another attack was coming from my left, and I moved to evade that, but another came from the right, and I felt a claw reach into my gut. I growled in pain as I pushed the claw out, grabbed the werewolf that did it, and turned him around, hitting him on the first werewolf that came for me. I pushed them both to the ground and fell right with them. I bit the first one with my fangs right at the carotid and stuck my claws into the second’s eyes, blinding him before I stabbed him multiple times in the stomach. I stood up, the pain in my side burning. I growled and touched it. I was bleeding.
I would need to take Bonne’s concoction soon enough.
“We need a way out of here, Luke!” Hayley said as she struggled to keep up with the sludge of fighters keeping her busy. I needed to think of something fast. We couldn’t spend more time in here, or there goes Bonne’s plan. I looked at the werewolves around me. There were all different kinds. The Kael, the Gork, the Patels, even the Tarloux. Different werewolves, but they all had something in common. We have different cultures, and we fought for different reasons, but there wasn’t much difference between us. We have more in common than we have differences.
And there was one thing we had more in common. Our origin. We all came from wolves, and all wolves will always respond to one thing. They can’t help it.
“Luke!” Hayley yelled at me as somebody else came for her. Just as she fought that out of the way, another Tarloux soldier came for me too. They were everywhere. He swiped at me, but I got out of the way and tried to retaliate, but he was fast and duckedmy attack with ease. He had a sleek smile on his face. I knew then that he was different from the others that had attacked me earlier today.
“It’s you,” he said, still smiling, and I wanted to wipe that grin off his face. “I would take your head to The Twins. A souvenir.”
