He swipes at me and pain slashes over my chest. His claws are sharper than they should be and leave deep wounds. I can feel my fur growing wet with blood. Not sogood.
My brother comes at him from the side, biting into Arcas’s flank. Torben has shifted and stands on his hind legs, ready to engage Arcas from behind. Finn is next to him, trying to injure the bear’slegs.
There’s four of us and only one of him. Yes, he’s bigger but surely we canwin?
That’s when he does something unexpected. He dominatesus.
A sticky, slimy power takes hold of my mind and tells me to stop moving. I fight it, I try and get rid of it, but it’s too strong. I feel my body come to a halt without me giving it the commandto.
It’s the same thing Torben can do as the leader of our sleuth, but he’s only ever used it in jest or for minor disagreements, to establish his dominance. This is different. The whole feel of it is wrong.Evil.
It’s a violation of my free will and I’m struggling against it. Can he really hold all four of us in place? Then I think back to the Canadian compound and am sure that he can. There were at least a hundred shifters there and he had them all undercontrol.
With a smirk, Arcas looks at us. He must be pleased withhimself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Atropos kneeling by the old man’s side. What is she doing? Why aren’t the Fates helpingus?
* * *
Alis
I’ve never felt this ill. Not that I’ve been ill since I died, but I remember thefeeling.
I know what happened. Arcas surprised me and took Isla for himself. I didn’t even know that was possible, but the very fact that I’m now trapped inside this shell of a man is proof that itis.
I’m worried for Isla. He’s not going to treat her well. I need to help her,fast.
Oh my Arcas. He’s changed. He’s become twisted and nothing like the boy he once was. Even as King he was never this hungry for power. He always treated his subjects well – he’d never have done what he just did to men and Isla. I know that I will need some time to grieve, but it’s notnow.
“Alis, you need to make a decision,” a female voice whispers from far away. I can’t use the old man to answer, but at least I can hear her. I think it’s one of theFates.
“You will be able to save only one. Who is it going to be? Arcas orIsla?”
What a bitch. She’s asking me to decide between my son and my… friend? No, Isla is more than a friend. She’s almost like a daughter to me. A sister. In this very moment, I know her better than my son. In my memories, he’s so different from the man I just met. I almost wish I hadn’t seen him at all. That we hadn’t travelled through the Portals. Then I could have kept that image of him in my mind and not have to have it conflict with the actualperson.
How could I not have expected him to be so changed? He was a prisoner of that human for too long. It’s twisted him, turned him into something new. But is it too late for him? Can he still be saved? If I choose him, will he be able to become my Arcas, the son I remember, again? Or would I waste Isla’s life and be stuck with a son who wants to rule overhumanity?
“Isla or Arcas?” sherepeats.
Isla has so much potential. And she has a family. Her four men. Two friends on the island who are almost like uncles to her. Not like the uncle she grew up with, who abused her. No, like friendly relatives who look out for you and help wherever theycan.
“Arcas orIsla?”
He’s my son. I bore him, I birthed him, I watched him grow up. But then he died. Is it time for him to staydead?
“Isla orArcas?”
Isla doesn’t deserve to die. Her life has only justbegun.
I make my choice. If I could, I’dcry.
* * *
Ràn/Orson
All four of us are on the ground with various wounds. My brother is moaning softly; he must be injured badly. We couldn’t even defend ourselves, Arcas had us frozen in place. Not even Torben managed to escape the bear’scontrol.
This is the end. I don’t know why we’re even still alive. It’s as if he wants us to be at his feet, helpless,dying.