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If he gains his freedom, I’m his first target. I’ll be a zombie, too, within a few moments of his escape. The virus works quickly and is irreversible by magical or scientific means.
You don’t come back from the dead.
Death comes to haunt the living wearing your old body.
“Step away from my brother and let us finish this,” I continue, raising my voice to be heard over Bane’s snarls and grunts.
The woman’s tear-filled eyes narrow. “It’s too late. The ritual is complete. Kelley is bound to the sword and will rise to rule.”
“She’s also trapped in the Parallel and the portals between our worlds will soon be impassable,” I say, knowing I can trust Willow’s gift. “If Kelley rises to rule, she’ll be doing it in another dimension. It’s over, Elsbeth. Your side lost. Surrender, and you’ll be treated with fairness and respect.”
Her lips twitch into a trembling smile. “As if you understand the meaning of the words. Thorn men are all the same. You take and you control and eventually, you destroy. You’ll ruin this world, the same as your brother would have. You’re no better than he is. Willow is a fool to give you her trust. You certainly haven’t earned it.”
“But I will earn it,” I say, taking a slow step closer, wanting to make sure the key dangling from a ribbon at her left wrist doesn’t get any closer to my brother’s chains. “And I’ll earn yours, too.” I motion to the men and women behind me, some of them wolves, some now in their human form. “These people don’t follow me because I’m my father’s son. They follow me because they trust me to put our pack and our people first and do my very best by them. I truly want them to flourish, and they know that. I’m not always a good man, Elsbeth. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not.”
I take another slow step closer, encouraged by the uncertainty creeping in to tighten her features. “But I am devoted to my people and determined to be worthy of my wife. Bane was neither of those things. You know that.”
Another step, and now I’m nearly close enough to reach out and grab her arm. “I’m not the same as my brother. And if I promise you mercy and fairness, that’s what you’ll receive. But only if you get out of the way and let us do what needs to be done.”
She shakes her head, clutching the key to her chest with both hands. “No, you can’t kill him. Kelley needs him alive to grow strong. Just let me go. Let me take him to her in the Parallel and I swear you’ll never see either of us again.”
“I told you, there is no more Parallel, at least not as far as we’re concerned,” I say sternly, subtly motioning for Liam to circle around to Bane’s other side and prepare to take his shot. Liam is one of our sharpshooters. During battle, they wear leather tethers around their necks equipped with a holster for a small gun, enabling them to transport their weapon as they shift back and forth.
I planned to decapitate Bane with one of Gray’s larger torture devices—still proudly displayed on the far wall—but a few bullets through the brain will get the job done, too.
“Please,” Elsbeth begs, taking a step back toward the still snarling Bane. “He’s harmless. He’s been spelled so he can’t spread the virus. See? He can’t bite me, even if he wanted to.” She thrusts her hand toward Bane’s mouth.
He groans—a tortured sound that makes his cloudy eyes bulge in his face—and strains toward her flesh. But when he gets close enough to take a bite his sewn mouth remains motionless as his drool flows to puddle at the ground by his bare feet.
“See?” Elsbeth shoots a victorious glance my way.
I’m about to tell her that it’s not his mouth, but his fingernails, that we have to worry about when Bane’s groan becomes a howl of rage and his straining muscles bulge beneath his skin. A second later, he rips the chain attached to his left manacle from the wall.
Time slows to a crawl as I watch him reach for the old woman’s arm. I try to grab her, to push her out of the way, but by the time I get close enough it’s too late.
I shove Elsbeth to the right, but Bane has already clawed several holes in her thin skin. I see that she’s bleeding, have a split second to debate my options, and then she’s back on her feet, keening in agony as the virus rips through her cells like a fire through bone dry forest.
I lunge across the room, grabbing the machete from the wall. I’m moving fast, but as I spin, slicing the weapon through the air at what I think is the general height of the old woman’s head, she’s already nearly on top of me. The blade connects with her neck, meets resistance, and slows, but then slices through to the other side.
She collapses to the floor, her body twitching as I toss her head to the far side of the room. Zombies will keep biting for several seconds after decapitation and I don’t want her getting a mouthful of someone’s leg.
“Were you bitten or scratched?” Liam shouts from my left.
I look up to see his weapon trained on my forehead and freeze, my heart pounding in my ears as I hold out my arms and look down, scanning the mercifully unmarked flesh.
My breath rushes out, “No, I’m good. I’m fine. Let’s finish this. Take him out before—”
My words are muted by a blast of blue fairy fire from the door.
I drop to my stomach just as the fire shoots over my head and look up in time to see it vaporize Liam. One moment he’s there. The next, he’s a silhouette made of ash. And then…
He’s gone.
The remains of my friend and fellow soldier hit the ground, and I jump back to my feet. I aim my body like a missile at the door behind me, knowing I only have a few seconds to act before the fairy gathers enough magic to fire again.
I ram the top of my head into Gray’s stomach, only realizing it’s him when we tumble back through the door into the hall and I land on top of hm, my fingers going around his throat. A second later, two of my wolves are beside me, ripping his hands off with their teeth.
He lets out a single, strangled scream and then loses consciousness. Not a surprise, really, considering so much of a Fey’s lifeforce lives in their hands.
