The Rise of Ancient Fury Page 14

  “My Riley,” she said. “You’ve been more than a companion. You’ve been a true friend. You’re wise, full of insight, and the kindest soul I’ve ever met.”

  Riley chuffed. “And you’re a fabulous liar.”

  Lilly chuckled, but her face took on a solemn expression. “I mean it, Riley. I can’t do this without you. I need you to survive.”

  “I’ll try.” Riley caught Axel staring at him. “Got something to say?”

  Axel shook his head. “Don’t get killed. I’m not adopting your pups if you die.”

  Riley smirked. “They wouldn’t have you anyway.”

  “Done yet?” Rhaza snapped. “I long to sate my claws’ thirst for your blood.”

  Riley rolled his eyes. “You always were melodramatic.”

  “And you always were a coward,” Rhaza cut back.

  The jab stung, but Riley ignored it. Without so much as another word, he descended into the pit.

  At the bottom of the stairs, a large emerald glowed with a faint yellow light atop a pillar of blue crystal, partially shattered. When Riley had ventured down there before, he realized that Magnus must’ve extracted the sword from inside the pillar, and now shards of the brittle blue crystal lay scattered around the base of the pillar.

  But Riley didn’t have time to examine his surroundings again. He darted into one of the shadows and melded with it in perfect stillness. He fixed his eyes on the staircase, watching and waiting for Rhaza, even though he might not be able to see him enter the room.

  Riley’s vision in the darkness surpassed that of his traveling companions, but Rhaza was the only Shadow Wolf Riley knew to exist, and Shadow Wolves could haunt the darkness like specters, invisible even to the most trained eyes.

  Including Riley’s.

  And as well as Riley’s eyes saw in the darkness, Rhaza’s saw better.

  A familiar smell wafted into the room, a mix of desert sand, agave nectar, unique canine pheromones, and a tinge of feces. A precise combination of normal smells that indicated only one thing: Rhaza loomed nearby.

  Riley’s gaze darted around the room, but his eyes identified nothing.

  The light from the emerald quickly faded to a dull green glow, a passive and incredibly useful effect of Rhaza’s nature as a Shadow Wolf. He alone could dampen, dim, or even extinguish many sources of light simply by drawing nearer to them.

  The fading light of the emerald reminded Riley of his group’s encounter with the Gronyxes in the tunnels under Trader’s Pass, but the foe he faced now was no Gronyx. Rhaza was far more dangerous—faster, stronger, quieter, and more vicious than Riley.

  “You shouldn’t have come back, Riley,” Rhaza said from within the darkness.

  Riley’s head jerked to his left, toward the direction of Rhaza’s voice, but he saw nothing.

  “After what happened, I’m surprised you ventured back here.”

  The voice came from Riley’s right that time. Again he looked, and again he saw nothing.

  “She was obviously not worth sticking around for,” Rhaza taunted. “Is this Lumen nonsense really so important that you decided to return, only to face your death?”

  Rhaza’s words came from beyond the pillar, straight ahead of Riley that time. Either he could move so fluidly in darkness that Riley couldn’t see him, or he was throwing his voice. Riley didn’t know the full extent of a Shadow Wolf’s capabilities, but either seemed just as likely.

  “Meliamora? That was her name, wasn’t it?” Rhaza’s voice came from one spot in the room then jumped to another. “But you called her ‘Melly.’ Yes, I remember her. Beautiful black fur, cunning blue eyes…”

  Riley bristled at Rhaza’s mention of Melly, and rage filled his gut. Of course Rhaza would bring her up—Riley had expected it, but hearing her name after so long still hit him hard.

  Wolf society functioned as a hierarchy. Those near the top subjugated those at the bottom and took what they wanted. When a lower-ranking Wolf had something of worth, a higher-ranking Wolf could take it. The lower-ranking Wolf could fight back if he wanted, but if he failed to overcome the higher-ranking Wolf, it meant his death.

  And when Riley had left the desert, he’d ranked the lowest in the tribe.

  “You never should’ve left, Riley. She needed you, and you fled with your tail literally between your legs. You vanished into the night at the hour of her greatest need—” Rhaza paused for a long moment, and then hissed, “—and she suffered for it.”

  His words echoed throughout the room and reverberated in Riley’s chest. He clenched his teeth and restrained the growl rising from his throat. This was exactly what Rhaza wanted; if he could unsettle Riley before the fight even began or stir his emotions to the point of blind rage, Rhaza would win even more easily.

  But Riley couldn’t let that happen. Too much was at stake. And if he could just stick to his plan—

  “And then she died for it.” Rhaza’s voice came from near the stairs this time.

  Grief cascaded into Riley’s heart and drowned his anger. He’d never known for sure what had happened to Melly after he left, but now he did.

  He’d failed her. It should’ve been him facing Rhaza’s wrath, but he’d run away, like a coward, like he always did, and he’d left her alone.

  But this time, Riley hadn’t run. He wasn’t a coward anymore. Now as a Werewolf, he’d risked his life countless times for his friends.

  Riley resisted the urge to give in to his emotions. The best way to honor her memory was to do what needed to be done and defeat Rhaza.

  “And you’re next.” Rhaza’s voice sounded directly behind him.

  Riley whirled and lashed his claws at the darkness, but something solid blocked his swipe. Pain lit up the left side of his snout then slashed across the right side of his chest.

  He flailed his left arm at Rhaza but hit nothing. From behind, claws raked down the back of Riley’s shoulder to the middle of his spine, and he yelped.

  Instead of fighting back, he dove toward the pillar and rolled up to his feet. Atop it, the emerald now barely cast any light into the space. He scanned the room for any signs of movement but saw none.

  His face, chest, and back tingled with pain, but he was alive. No thanks to himself, but alive nonetheless. Had Rhaza wanted to kill him, he could have. Instead, Rhaza meant to make Riley suffer as Melly had.

  That was a mistake on Rhaza’s part, and Riley intended to exploit every second Rhaza was foolish enough to let him keep breathing.

  Seconds later, the waning light from the emerald extinguished altogether. Now the real fight would begin.

  Riley could see inside the room just fine without the light, but he couldn’t see Rhaza anywhere. Rhaza’s black fur and its light-defying properties gave him the utmost advantage in total darkness.

  However, Riley could see other things—specifically the emerald, the pillar, and the shards of blue crystal at his feet.

  Magnus’s words echoed in Riley’s memory. He may be quicker than you and even more adept at hiding in shadows, but you are smarter. He only knows how Wolves fight. You have been with us long enough to have learned many tactics. Wield the ones that will bring you victory, and I will see you ascend from that pit victorious.

  Riley could see the shattered crystals, some of them reduced to glittering blue dust. They were the whole reason he’d wanted to bring the fight down here in the first place. It might give him just the edge he needed to pull through.

  He crouched down near the shards and the crystalline dust, placed his left hand on top of them, and waited.

  Knives dug into his right shoulder. Riley howled and flung the crystal shards where he thought Rhaza would be, then another blow leveled him to the ground.

  Frantic, Riley rolled away and scrambled up to all fours, his eyes searching for any sign of movement, any indication of Rhaza’s whereabouts in the room.

  Laughter echoed all around him.

  “You’re just as pitiful as always. Being a Werewolf now ma
kes no difference. You’re still a disgrace, a cancer to our kind.” Rhaza’s voice sounded in multiple places this time. “It would’ve been better if you’d never been born.”

  Something blue glimmered in the periphery of Riley’s vision. He turned his head, but it vanished. It appeared again to his right, closer this time, then it moved again.

  A third time it appeared right in front of him about twenty feet away, and he recognized a left shoulder, most of an arm, part of a chest, and the upper half of a thigh all outlined with blue dust and crystal fragments.

  Rhaza.

  Riley stifled a grin and waited.

  Rhaza stalked toward him, and Riley pretended to swivel his head and to look around. In total silence, Rhaza drew nearer, then he launched forward.

  Riley caught him by his wrists. “I can see you.”

  Rhaza’s black-and-silver eyes widened.

  Riley jerked the Shadow Wolf to his right and hurled him into what remained of the crystal pillar. It shattered under Rhaza’s weight and coated him with even more of the crystal dust. Rhaza sprang to his feet and snarled.

  He could snarl at Riley all he wanted. The crystals had neutralized Rhaza’s primary advantage, and now even more of his body, including both arms and half of his face, showed up in Riley’s vision.

  Had they fought on the surface instead, the crystals wouldn’t have been a factor. Rhaza could’ve rolled around in the dirt all he wanted, but it wouldn’t have made him show up any more clearly in Riley’s vision.

  But those crystals—something about them popped out at Riley, even in total darkness. As soon as he’d realized it during his first visit to this room, he knew he had to make use of it somehow to battle Rhaza.

  Even so, Rhaza was plenty formidable even if Riley could see him.

  Rhaza charged forward and lashed out, but Riley dodged the attack and counter-swiped at Rhaza’s midsection. His claws ripped into Rhaza’s torso, and hot blood oozed onto Riley’s fingers.

  In a whirl of dark fury, Rhaza backhanded Riley’s snout with a blow that sent him spinning to the ground, stunned. Then Rhaza straddled Riley and slashed him with his talons again and again.

  Pain seared Riley’s face and neck, then it spread to his forearms as he raised them to defend against Rhaza’s vicious attacks. He writhed as Rhaza’s jaws snapped at his neck, and he felt something jagged pressing against his back.

  Riley waited for an opening in Rhaza’s barrage, then he shoved Rhaza up, repositioned his feet, and kicked Rhaza’s chest, sending him skidding across the floor. In that fleeting moment of reprieve, Riley twisted his arm to grab the object under him, and his hand found a long pointed shard of crystal.

  Rhaza launched toward him again, and Riley raised the shard.

  A pitiful howl bellowed from within the pit, and it sent tremors through Calum’s bones. Riley and Rhaza had been down there for ten grueling minutes.

  He glanced at Lilly. She stood in the center of her usual entourage, only the phalanx around her had tightened so much that Calum could only pick her out due to her blonde hair. She didn’t look back at him. Instead, she focused on the opening of the pit.

  Her eyes widened.

  A hulking form, black, covered in fur, and with black talons, teeth, and eyes, stepped out of the pit.

  Calum’s heart hammered.

  A Shadow Wolf.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Calum blinked. The Shadow Wolf’s black eyes had vivid blue irises, and a bit of brown-gray fur tipped its ears and its tail. Blood dripped from its hands, and red claw marks on its chest, arms, and face sealed up before Calum’s eyes. It heaved heavy, labored breaths, but they grew calmer the longer it stood there.

  Calum dared to ask, “Riley?”

  The Shadow Wolf nodded, and in a darker version of his usual voice, Riley replied, “Yeah. It’s me.”

  Lilly shot toward him and threw her arms around him in an embrace. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”

  Riley returned her hug, which made Calum a little jealous, if he were being honest.

  Magnus approached next and gave Riley a nod. “Well done.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

  Riley howled, and the Wolves surrounding their camp, all of whom had been pacing back and forth and snarling, stopped. They sat on their hind legs, and the Werewolves straightened their posture. All of them stared at Riley in total silence and total submission.

  “They’ll follow me from here on out.” Riley walked over to Calum, and the rest of the group encircled them. “Lumen’s army has just increased by thousands of Wolves.”

  Calum beamed. He turned to Axel. “We have the Windgales and the Wolves. This is beginning to look like destiny, don’t you think?”

  Axel nodded, and a smirk played at the corners of his mouth. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. At this rate, we may even have a chance with the Saurians.”

  Magnus grinned. “We will have more than a chance once I avenge my father.”

  Lilly smiled. “Then what are we waiting for? Dawn will break soon. Let’s head to Reptilius.”

  Almost a half hour after Riley and the humans accompanying him left, a dark, bloody form crawled out of the pit. With trembling limbs and a quaking body, Rhaza stood upright.

  Wheezing, he pulled a long shard of blue crystal from his side and dropped it to the dirt, then he turned and shambled the opposite direction, deeper into the desert, wounded, losing blood, and weak.

  But he was still alive.

  Early into the journey to Reptilius, Axel got the surprise of his life when Magnus extended his Blood Ore broadsword toward him, pommel first, as they walked.

  “Take this,” he said. “Riley does not use weapons, and you are the only other person among us strong enough to wield it.”

  Axel marveled at the weapon. He’d seen Magnus fell monstrous foes with it, and now Magnus meant to pass it to him?

  In all their time as traveling companions, Magnus and Axel had grated against each other more often than not. Though Axel respected Magnus, he still didn’t like the Saurian much, and he was certain that Magnus felt the same toward him.

  For Magnus to offer Axel the Blood Ore sword now meant a lot. It was one of Magnus’s most treasured possessions, one of the few that he still retained from his escape from Reptilius.

  Axel looked up at Magnus, dumbfounded. “I—I don’t know if I can—”

  “Of course you can.” Magnus snorted. “You are far stronger than you were when you left your farm so long ago.”

  “It’s not that,” Axel said. “This sword—it’s one of the only things you have left to remind you of your father. That and your armor.”

  “It is special to me, and that is what makes it such an exquisite gift.” Magnus gave him a modest grin. “You would be hard-pressed to find a finer blade anywhere in Kanarah, especially for free.”

  Axel hesitated. “I can’t take it.”

  “You can, and you will. We are heading to Reptilius. With this sword, you will have no trouble piercing even the toughest Sobek hides. I hope the only bloodshed will be between Vandorian, my uncle, and me, but if not, I need you equipped to properly defend yourself and anyone else who may need your help.”

  Axel exhaled a long breath, and a wave of acceptance flowed through his body. “I’m honored.”

  “Do not get the wrong idea, Axel.” Magnus smirked. “I still do not like you.”

  Axel raised an eyebrow, and his spirit dampened.

  “But I respect you enough to entrust this sword to you. Take it and use it in a way that will make me proud.” Magnus shifted his grip on the blade and extended the hilt toward Axel even more. “Take it.”

  Axel clenched his teeth, but he took the sword in his hands and held it up as he walked. The light-blue blade reflected his stern bearded face, and he smirked. “I will. Thank you.”

  Magnus handed him the sword’s sheath next. “You will need this too.”

  “Again
, thank you. I won’t let you down, whether in Reptilius or anywhere else.”

  “I know.” Magnus patted Axel’s shoulder and pointed ahead of them. “If you squint, you can just barely see the Blood Mountains. We are getting closer.”

  Axel did squint, but he couldn’t make anything out on the horizon. “Your Saurian vision’s better than mine. I’m gonna have to take your word for it.”

  Magnus grinned again, still staring into the distance. “I am almost home.”

  “Yeah. And we’re almost about to get killed by a Dragon.”

  “I would not count on that.” Magnus tapped the Dragon’s Breath, which hung from his back by a repurposed leather strap. “We have an edge that they will not be expecting. I will avenge my father, and I will take the throne in Kahn’s place.”

  Axel raised his eyebrow again. “I hope so.”

  Lilly hovered next to Condor while surrounded by her Windgale escort. Below them, Riley led his Wolves, and Magnus led everyone else.

  Thus far, she felt like she’d taken to commanding her people fairly well. Condor had proven loyal and quick to act, and to her surprise, so had General Tolomus—mostly. At first, he’d hesitated at some of her commands, but as of late he’d fallen in line.

  She turned to Condor. “I’m surprised we haven’t seen any Wargs yet. Riley made them sound as if they were everywhere.”

  Condor shrugged, his eyes still fixed on the horizon. “I’d count that a blessing.”

  “It probably doesn’t hurt that we have a few thousand Wolves and a few dozen Werewolves following us now.”

  “There’s a certain safety in numbers, to be sure, but from what I experienced in the Blood Chasm, the Wargs didn’t seem to care all that much. Perhaps we’ve avoided them so far because of the route we’re taking.”

  “If we do encounter them, we’ll deal with them. Though I can’t imagine we’ll personally have to face many of them, if any at all, because of our canine buffer.” Lilly glanced down at Riley, now far more fearsome than she’d ever seen him, but also far more confident and proud. She smiled. “I don’t think even you could fell him now, Condor.”