Page 56 of Wolf Trap

Lucius pinnedme with his eyes. “How good are you at shooting? We have other bullets, the standard laced with silver and spells, but can you hit a moving target?” His gaze darted to Lycaon, “And you?”

My mouth dried. “I’ve never used a gun.”

Lycaon rolled his shoulders. “Shotguns mainly. I’m not a pro.”

Lucius nodded and grinned at Nathaniel. “Alright then. You’re with us, and Elsa?”

“Yes?”

“If you go into Adara’s compound, you won’t make it out alive.”

Lycaon clenched his jaw. Lucius was unperturbed, a small chuckle as he rolled his eyes at my wolfman. Then smiling at me he said, “So, we’ve thought of something that will give you, let’s say, an extra kick.” He pulled himself up, staring at Lycaon. “And your wolfman is the key. Anthony?”

Lucius flashed a grin to Anthony, who nodded. “Put that drink on hold.”

“Am I invited?” Hakon almost barked.

Raising his brows, Lucius muttered, “Most definitely. Ready?”

Oh, here we go again.

Lucius stepped forward and took my arm as he smiled at me. “It’s ok, I’ll be gentle.”

17

MILITIA

Ashimmer of glittering black, I wavered as I felt weightless. There was no ground beneath my feet, but something from this mage sent a calming force through my body. Lycaon on the other hand, cussed. I had to shut my eyes, but as soon as I felt all these sensations, I was flooded with fresh air and gunpowder.

Blinking, I looked around. We were in a large warehouse, which contained a shooting range.

Behind me an armoury lined the back wall. There were several doors in the warehouse. Lucius grimaced at Lycaon’s green face.

Striding over to Lycaon, he said, “There’s a restroom through there. You can get a cup of tea, or make fresh coffee. There’s also some sandwiches and biscuits. Why not take ten minutes, I’ll call you in a bit.”

Lycaon checked himself, nodding whilst Anthony exclaimed, “Bloody hell, Lucius, this is incredible!”

“Ah well, it’s mainly thanks to Nathaniel here. But we like it, yes. Elsa, ready for your first lesson? I’m going to show you the ropes, so to speak.”

But Anthony interrupted, grabbing Nathaniel’s arm. “You did all this? It’s incredible. You never said a word.”

“You’re never home, and I, we figured if we’re going to get dragged, kicking and screaming into every immortal war, then, well, we needed somewhere to practise.” He nodded at me. “I’m interested to see how you get on, being a beginner.”

Guiding me through the warehouse, Lucius pointed out, “These are obviously the firing lanes. Behind us is the control booth, and at the far end of the lanes, the bullet trap. For the love of all that’s holy, if you go into the bullet trap, you will die. I know you think you know this, but, under no circumstances, enter that. We’ve got robots to gather the bullets, so no one ever needs to enter that. Now then,” he glanced around and pointed. “Yes, where Lycaon went, a restroom and toilets, sink, etcetera... coffee, tea. There’s a few sofas, and there, too, you can watch from our small gallery.” Laughing, he winked. “We’ve made this like a club, oh, over there a sparring ring, pads, more weapons.”

Sighing, Nathaniel glided over, looking to the sparring area. “You can never have enough swords. So, are you ready Elsa? Put on the ear mufflers. You’ll still hear us, but the blast is pretty loud.”

Lucius grinned at Nathaniel. “The vests, we can’t forget the vests.”

Nathaniel eyed me. “Yes, you can’t go dressed like that. No disrespect, I mean you wouldn’t know. But we’re going to teach you some basic fighting techniques. You can thank Anthony and Hakon, they’re looking out for you. Let’s see how you go now.”

“So, what, you can turn me into a death dealer, do I get to wear latex like they do in Underworld?”

“Ha! No. And in real life, moving around in latex would be, well, tricky not to mention sweaty. But you will need a bulletproof vest.” Nathaniel held his hands up, “Yes, I know, youcan use magic, but why bother when a vest will save you time, energy and most importantly, your life?”

“Got it.” I put on the ear mufflers and stood inside the shooting booth.

Lucius nodded to Nathaniel and both stood on either side of me.

---