Shouts came from a distance and the body I was in ignored them. I payed no attention to the wolves fighting meters away but just kept running.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky. I reached the castle and circled it until I arrived at a small door hidden behind many vines. I heard myself mutter a few words (not exactly myself but the body I was in). The door came open and I went through it. I followed the dark, unsettling corridors, unaffected by the ripe stench of rotting carcasses. I made way up a flight of stairs, moving closer to the loud growls resonating from the upper floors.
Panting, I stopped my steps at a broken door and peeked through the hole. It was a hall. Two men stood inside, talking. I could not hear their words behind all the noise coming from the other parts of the building.
A door across the room suddenly slammed open, banging against the stone wall.
My body shivered. Had I been in control of the form I was in, my breath would have caught in that very moment.
He walked like a man rising from amongst the ashes.
Even from a distance I saw him clear as day. I could never forget or mistake him. The man was tall like god, his body red with the blood of his kills, his hair dark and wet with sweat.
Vasiliek , the man that I now realized was Augustus said. He did not move even as the man he had been conversing with ran.
Ivan neared him until they were within arms length of each other. His eyes moved across the room until they rested on me. Hed seen me.
"Your little witch will not protect you," Ivan spat.
Augustus turned to him, looking him in the eyes, "the heavens will not spare you."
In unison, both men grew their claws. I watched, through Zoladies eyes as their human forms fell away, as if by magic and they began creatures made for hunting and death.
Ivans form left me in awe. He was not like the king; he was tall and stood comfortably on two feet instead of four. His body was generously covered in dark fur that appeared soft to the touch, tough the creatures claws and fangs appeared anything but.
Thunderous roars reverberated through the castle making it shake. In the background, the cries of lightning boomed, highlighting the action.
Augustus delivered a hard punch onto Ivans head, causing him to fall back. But he recovered quickly, launching himself into his foe at an impeccable velocity.
Vasiliek flew for a moment before his claws landed right on Augustus side, tearing into him. The king struggled to regain his strength, howling in agony as his opponent tore at his side.
The king lay weakly on the ground, at the mercy of his adversary. A last howl broke through the atmosphere as his challenger took a harsh bite at his neck. His fell limp and weak.
It was clear to me. He was dead.
"The gods will not spare you, Ivan and neither will I."
***
My eyes opened to my world. I was back in my body. Zoladie stared down at the wooden table, eerily quiet. Her silence triggered a fear in me.
My mind pieced the story together and I had all the answers. I recognized the look on her face. Revenge. Thats why you are doing this?
"Augustus did not deserve such the mental torture, the erosion it caused to his health..."
A lone tear rolled down her cheek. For a moment, the hatred I felt so deeply for her faded and I began to sympathize with her. Augustus had been more than a king to her
"You loved him," I said conclusively.
She sneered at me," what Augustus and I had was more than that chemical lie! I was neither his queen nor his mate. Our feelings towards each other were, explosive, our relationship lit the world around us like a supernova and in the end, it burned him."
She continued, "when we met, I knew it was dangerous ..., but I became like a child who sees fire for the first time. I could not resist the temptation."
I lost my breath. Seeing Zoladie in a new light was overwhelming. I had to fight the urge to comfort her.
"When I lost him, I knew I would not allow myself to die until I avenged his death. And when Ivan was denied a beloved for years, I told myself to be patientnever to give up or let go even as my own life began to fade."
She heaved again and again. Her hand pressed against her chest, now hyperventilating.
She was dying. She had been dying from the second we met.
"It looks like I must speed things...up now,"she forced out, her other hand searching the folds of her skirt. She stood. I did the same.
Her hand shook exceedingly as it appeared with her dagger her pocket. I became instantly aware of what she wanted to do. A second did not end before the blade was flying at me.
Reflexes kicking in, my hand grabbed her wrist.
"It is either I kill you or you die here, you will not survive, Cara," she gasped.
Her body pounced on mine. I landed on the ground with a harsh thud, the witch falling right on top of me.
Zoladies weakness was clear as we fought. She struggled against me, fighting for the dagger that was now in my hands. I took her lethargy to my advantage, taking control now. I rolled us. Zoladie was now on her back and me right above her.
Her dagger was right in my hand, raised up above my target.
"Do it. I will die any second now, spare me the wait. I will die now, knowing that you will never find him. You will die here! Now do it!" She shouted, not even an ounce of fear in her voice.
I looked at her, reminding myself of all the pain she had caused me.
I screamed, taking all my pain out on her as I drove the blade through her chest.
I watched her die, crying.
"I hope you meet Augustus again..."
*Late 14th Century**The Western territory*IVANTHUNDER STRUCK across the darkening sky.The moon hid behind the clouds, dimly lighting the kingdom. Many below the sky believed that it was a sign of The Goddess' watchful eyes on her creation. Perhaps this was just another story told to children who refused early bedtimes.There were no visible stars tonight. This was never a good sign. But I saw it as only superstition, superstition believed by the land's people. And what was believed was valued. Some would not sleep well tonight.Creatures of the night were coming out to play, seeming to steer clear of the places where boundary lines had once stood. All were free to mix with other kinds but none wanted to take that chance. Old habits die hard.I stood on the balcony, staring out into the kingdom that was now mine. A smile tugged at my lips, a feeling of pride creeping into my chest but this was not how I had imagined it would be. Maybe it was guilt fin
CaraTHE MOON was bright and beautiful in the dark cloudy sky. I could stare at it for hours and hours. I probably had since I had been stuck in the car since early in the morning. To make matters worse, my battery had died now I was bored and had nothing else to do."We're here."My dad said and not too soon because I was this close to jumping out of the moving vehicle. More than sixteen hours on the road can make someone suicidal."Finally!"I exclaimed in celebration throwing my hands up in the air and accidentally hitting the car roof.It was nearly midnight we had just arrived at our new house. I was a bit surprised that we were there considering how far Carlifornia is from New York.Since I was seven we hadn't lived anywhere for more than a year, rarely more than six months.I grabbed my bag and got out of the car to take a look at our new house. Pushing open the small metal gate, I went into the compound.The yard had one sad lemon tree with a few lemons on it, surrounded by fres
CaraTHE WEEKEND practically flew away for me. It seriously felt like I blinked on Friday and on opening my eyes it was Sunday evening, the next day being school.I was dreading going to school especially since I was the new girl for the umpteenth time and I was now in my senior year. Who in hell starts at a new school in their senior year? Me.I counter checked my bag for all the requirements for the thousandth time. I didn't want to forget anything then have to ask a borrow a complete stranger. Plus this was California and as I'd heard , the kids here weren't exactly welcoming."Here is your lunch money," said Dad handing me fifteen dollars."Thanks,""If anything bad happens call me...immediately and I'll come...OK sweetie." I hugged him tightly.We left the house, not forgetting to lock it.I got into my car. I loved my car. It had been a birthday present from my dad.The car was a convertible red Audi TT. It was a two seater and dad had told me that part of the reason he got it f
Cara DAD CAME INTO the home office, a yellow file in his hand. The broad smile on his face fell when he saw me and what I was holding. His body instantly tensed visibly. The file in his hand fell to the floor. The tears I'd been holding in came down. "What's this?" I asked. He approached me, reaching out for me but I moved back before he touched me. "I can explain..." I saw something in his eyes, something like fear but payed no mind to it. "Then by all means please explain...e-explain why yo-you never told me about this?" I stuttered out, demanding an explanation as to why he'd kept something like this from me. As the letter stated, he had been keeping me away from my mother, denying me the choice of whether or not I wanted to see her. I was angry at him. Furious even. For a very long time I thought that she abandoned me and never wanted to see me but according to the letter that I now held tightly onto, she did want to see me. We agreed when I left that I was not to even co
Jasper I had told those idiots to stop but I may have been too late. Messing with humans was something young werewolves enjoyed doing but many times the end result was not good. I was the first to spot her and I thought I could just scare her away a little but they took it too far. This was a result of their stupidity and ignorance. Could they not have just left her alone? The girl now lay on the ground unconscious and her head bleeding. Ivan was going to be furious. He had told us to stay away from the humans. Then again, in our defence, the human was on private property. I wasn't even sure she was alive and frankly, I did not want to check. But I had to before calling Ivan. He was the only one who would know what to do and it was his name on the title deed. Plus he hated it when anybody kept anything from me him. The few who had...well, they weren't killed, death was too easy and what good would it do? We had all shifted back. I knelt down close to the girl's limp form but
Cara I LET OUT A LOW GROAN of discomfort as I tried to get up. On opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was a wide grey ceiling with an eye-catching crystal chandelier in the middle of it. My first thought was; when did we put in a chandelier? Then realization hit me like a bus going at a hundred miles an hour. This wasn't my room. This was not even my house. 'Oh God, what have I done? ' was my next thought. Using my hands I lifted myself to sit up. The bed was large and the bedding were soft. Had I not been in such a panic, I would have stayed inside a little bit. The room I was in was absolutely spectacular, items of luxury filling. This was definitely not my room. Perhaps if I go back to sleep, when I open my eyes I will be back at home. I did just that. It did not work. Then all the memories of the previous night came flooding back. From the letter to the woods to the wolves, all of it was pouring back. I tried to remember all the details of what happened before I woke u
Cara WANTING TO TAKE AS LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE, I hurried up in the shower. The hot water hit my back, soothing and cleansing my skin. I felt refreshed as the water ran down my locks bring out their brown colour. When I was done I wrapped the large white towel around my body. I found some clothes on the bed. A navy blue dress, a black bra and black panties. The panty and bra stilled had the tag on so I knew they were unworn. I didn't dwell on the fact that they were my exact size. I dressed quickly hoping Merideth would give me directions home or at least tell me where I was, in more details than ' Vasiliev Property '. Taking one last look in the mirror, I made sure I looked fine before going to search for Merideth. The dress was beautiful and fit my body well but it did not do anything to raise my spirits. I could not wait to get back home. Sure I would have to have a difficult conversation with dad once I did, but that little fact did not matter at the moment. All I wanted wa
Cara "I won't get lost, Ivan." "I'll take you and that's that." His voice was deeply and rougher than usual. I almost squealed at the sound. It told me to do as he said, nothing more, nothing less. "Fine....thank you." "It's my pleasure. Let me just get something." He made off upstairs. I was left to admire the place in the meantime, not straying far from the dining room. I took myself on a little tour sure that Ivan would not mind me looking around. Unless he was hiding something but what were the chances of that? It was taking him longer than I expected so I went further and further into the house. The walls were tall and decorated with all kinds of paintings. Most of them were historical paintings like from famous battles all around the world. They could have been as old as the battles themselves. They were in good condition, probably due to being well maintained. One caught my eye. It took the centre position between all the other paintings and was larger in size. I ran my