Page 43 of Wolf Spell

A stony voice called out, “Stop that.”

A small man with a mirrored mask came into view, almost as if he’d stepped out of the shadows. He was joined by two burly men, their arms like tree trunks. Shifters by the smell of them. They also wore mirrored masks and hoods. One carried what looked like a dart gun.

The man pointed to the gun. “See this? It’s laced with liquid silver, so there will be no pushing out bullets for you. As for you witch, we’ve got a little extra for you.” He nodded to his henchmen. Burly, dressed in combats and t-shirts, each one had guns strapped to their legs. One jangled a set of keys, whilst the other took aim for Lycaon with the dart gun.

Like nails on a chalkboard, the small man demanded, “Lie down. Hands on the floor. One wrong move and you’re dead meat.”

I glanced at Lycaon. We did as ordered as the key rattled in the lock.

As the armed guard stood over Lycaon, I was nudged by a boot to get up. The man pulled out a set of finger cuffs, as Marrock had done.

I wanted to run, to fight as adrenaline pumped through me. Anger and fear swelled in my gut but with the dart gun pointed over him, I couldn’t. Liquid silver… Even with my blood, would he survive that?

The iron burned cold on my flesh, like an ice burn, then Lycaon was nudged and ordered to stand.

Cuffs were placed on Lycaon, his hands behind his back, then with the dart gun between his shoulder blades, we were marched out of the cell and through the cellar. I tried to scan the area, looking for a way out but every time I glanced around, I had a gun shoved in my back.

Small, slippery stone steps led up and into a large chamber. Now my blood ran cold. On the walls hung whips tipped with metal spikes. Hanging from the ceiling, shackles stained with dried blood and on a table rusty surgical equipment. A scattering of bones in a far corner, and an upright bed complete with restraints.

They led us through here and we came out into a vast hallway.

Double front doors let in cold air, guarded by armed soldiers, and squinting up, portraits of nobles, I guessed, hung from walls. Tables along the corridor held ornate vases etched in gold leaf and a crystal candelabra that sent a splattering of glittering orbs around the place. Obviously we were in the main entrance of the manor. Gilt cornices, scarlet wallpaper and huge glass chandeliers sparkled above us. At one end, gleaming silver suits of armour complete with swords lined a wall like knights waiting for instructions. As they marched us forward, I couldn’t help but glance at the armour. Something about it unnerved me. But my nerves were already shot.Still, we hadn’t been held in that torture room.

“What do you want from us?” Lycaon spat.

The smaller man shot a curt nod to the guard who shoved the dart gun into his shoulder blades. “No questions. Any more disruption, you’ll get the silver and she’ll get the fire.”

I couldn’t see Lycaon’s face as we were marched in single file, but I could feel his anger.

Inside the room, its ceiling towering above us, all the masked members lined the edge, standing without speaking.

There was no furniture in here, just the gold wood panelling along the walls, thick scarlet and gilt wallpaper and the varnished floor that smelled of polish.

I searched their masks, looking for her shape. Hoods concealed their hair, their heads, but was Mattie here?It was hard to see the outline of the members as their cloaks concealed their bodies, I guessed that was the point.

But she’d had the invitation, so she had to be here. This whole situation didn’t do much for my trust issues. I’d thought of her as a friend, yet here she was, ready to stab me through the heart. All I could see was myself, reflected back from their masks. They were all shapes and sizes and all wore a strongly scented perfume, no doubt to throw us off.

The small man bowed, then left. His henchmen stood forward, ensuring that we didn’t move. The doors were shut. Then one of the masked members stood forward.

It was male and his perfume masked his species. Taller than the others, slender, his voice boomed. Opening his arms, you could hear his smile in his voice, though with the masks and hoods, his identity was concealed.

“Tomorrow night we will complete our mission. Everything has fallen into place. As I told you,Iwould not fail. On the anniversary of Loren’s sacrifice, we will have complete control of all the packs. Even werewolf lineages that fall under different alphas, why, these all originated from Lycaon. With him gone, they will be at our mercy. Then we will take the vampires. Questions?”

A woman stepped forward. If Mattie was here, she was hiding in plain sight. And vampires, that meant Hakon would be next?

Her voice was shrill as she pointed at me, “Why her? She’s nothing. Though I agree she needs eliminating, sharing her blood with the wolf. And her radical ideas. We should just kill her now, why are you wasting time? Get rid of the problem. Now.”

Others muttered, some nodded glancing to each other, a few hissed. Would Mattie help, or watch me burn? My throat swelled, I felt dizzy, disoriented that I was about to face death. As I tried to breathe, I shivered with fear.

Lycaon growled, springing forwards.

My legs weakened, oh my bloody hell, we were going to face the same fate as Loren and Zale! But something, something snapped inside of me. Glancing at him, my mind shouted no! I clenched my muscles, I would find the resilience. I would rather fight on my feet than live on my knees...

The dart gun was shoved between his shoulder blades. Whoever the tall man was, I knew he was a warlock. A flick of his wrist, an incantation and Lycaon was on his face, writhing in agony. But the warlock had a weakness.

He bent over wheezing.Magic against the father of wolves was no easy thing…The warlock was drained already.

Good to know. That’s the thing with bullies, they get so into their ego, that if you remain quiet, sit back you don’t even need to try. They reveal their weaknesses themselves.

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