Chapter 34

Davik

I walked over and knelt before her, I could feel her terror and fear that she might be stuck this way forever.

//That fear, that terror, that will create the spark you need. I feared for Liza the first time I did it and the second time I feared for you, even though I did not know it was you at the time. When I woke up after the fight with Ruben, I heard screaming from the back garden which caused me to rush to try and help whoever sounded in trouble. Janet was feeling my pain and was scared that something was happening to someone she cared for as she came out of it. I know you do not just fear you will be unable to change back, but that you will be unable to save us because of it. Reach inside and find that spark deep in your belly, feed it your fears and pain to make it grow, then latch onto it. Draw that flame into every fiber of your being and allow it to transform you.\\

I watched as she closed her eyes, as she searched within and I hoped that it would work. Soon her body began to ripple, and I was elated that she had found it and would soon be turned back. Instead, she began to grow, until she had grown to match Brenson’s wolf-size, then she shocked us as she grew some more. She opened her eyes and looked down, hoping to have changed back and I could feel her panic as she realized it had worked very differently.

<<What in the seven hells! I did not change back, I grew even bigger and though I do feel different, I do not want to be stuck in this form.>>

//I know you do not, Lillian\\ I said as reassuringly as I could. //I promise that we will figure this out, but first we need to get out of this place and deal with Brenson.\\

She chuffed in irritation, but she knew I was right. We went out to the hallway and I guided them into the cells. As I guided them to where Ivy was hiding, I knew they were looking around the room, noticing the blood on the floor. I could feel the sadness radiating from Janet and Lillian, but I did not let it deter me from my goal. I walked up to the door and rapped on it lightly.

“Ivy, it is me, Davik. My friends are here, and one will guide you out of this place through a tunnel that leads back to an inn.”

“Okay, but what is to stop the master from chasing us through the tunnels and hurting us all?”

“The pulley system which unlocks and opens the path will be destroyed once you go through, making it unable to open again. Do understand that it will be you and someone I trust going through the tunnel, as the rest of us will be staying to end this nightmare once and for all.”

“But if you do not come with me, how will I see you again? Who will make sure I will be okay like you promised?”

I smiled at her questions and said, “I will make sure that Faye is told what to do if we do not come back. I also have friends named Liza, Jerreth, Ruben and Revar at the inn who will help protect you.”

I waited, and a moment later a key was pushed through the bars dropping onto the floor in front of me. I picked it up and opened the door to find a very nervous Ivy. She paled when she saw Lillian and I had not realized that she would have reacted so negatively.

“Ivy, it is okay,” I said softly, hoping to calm her down. “This is my friend, Lillian, she is different - like me - but in a special way. I am sure you have heard Brenson talking about her, she can change without a blood moon, although she is having trouble today.”

Ivy nodded without saying anything, her eyes locked on Lillian, not sure what to do. Lillian plopped down on her stomach and rolled onto her back, wagging her tail as if she were a common house dog. Ivy giggled at the silly display and walked over to her slowly, running her hand along Lillian’s belly.

“She likes that very much and is happy that you are okay, but there is something that will need to happen that will hurt a bit and make you feel a little sick for a bit.”

Ivy glanced back at me with a confused look on her face, “What are you talking about, Davik?”

I sighed and answered, “We will need to give you a tiny cut, to make sure you are not Voguel. Every one of the weapons these girls have, is coated with a cure for the Voguel curse. This is just a precaution, as Brenson could have turned you without you knowing.”

Ivy seemed to mull it over, while she gently rubbed her hands along Lillian’s belly before nodding. I walked over and took her hand, allowing Lillian to get up and move out of the way so we could leave the room. Janet guided us back to where I found Faye and Kayla waiting for us. They both smiled when they saw me, no doubt happy I was okay, then looked quizzically at the young girl that was with us.

“Ladies, this is Ivy. She is going to need to be escorted back to the inn, which I believe Faye will be doing. Once you go through that opening, we will close it from this side, and I want you to disable it so that no one can use it to follow you. We will leave by other means and meet you at the inn. Now, I would like someone to give me their cure-coated knife, please.”

Janet pulled the knife out of her belt and handed it to me, a soft smile on her face. She knew that I did not want to have to do this, but that I did not want anyone else performing this task but me. I knelt and gently grasped Ivy’s left hand, turning it upwards. In a flash I poked the tip of the blade into her index finger, drawing a little blood.

“There you go, if there is any curse in you, it will remove it from you. If not, then you will probably feel a little ill for a while, but you will be fine later.”

“Are you sure that I will be okay?” Ivy asked, her voice going soft. “I am afraid it will make me sick and I will not get better.”

“Do not worry, little one,” Janet said, trying to reassure the girl. “We tested it on Violet before she escaped, to return her, and she was perfectly fine.”

I nodded and added, “Now, I need you to be brave and go with Faye, here. She will make sure nothing happens to you and I will see you as soon as I finish up here.”

Ivy nodded and took Faye’s outstretched hand, before entering the doorway. We all looked for the catch that would be moved to activate the doorway as it closed shut. A small, metal hook shifted into a new position, signaling that it was the latch to open the door. I counted to ten and pulled the latch, happy when nothing occurred, and I moved it back into place. I did not want Brenson realizing this escape route would not work until it was far too late.

With that taken care of, Janet gave me the sword and belt that Lillian had been wearing; thankfully it fit. Once I was armed, we moved down the hallway and started making our way into the deeper parts of the building.

“Okay, this building is far too large for us to travel in one group so this is what we will be doing. Two of you will travel with Janet, two will travel with and protect Lillian, the last will cover me as we search for Brenson. Thanks to our connection, I will know how things are going, though Lillian will be unable to relay my orders directly. Trust her senses and reactions, as she has spent years being in her wolf form and is well practiced. I do not care who is the one to come with me, that you will choose amongst yourselves.”

Our party stopped as the ladies discussed the plan, with Janet relaying Lillian’s thoughts. After a few minutes, it was decided that Ingrid would come with me, Cherish and Kayla would go with Janet, leaving Elsie and Irenia to go with Lillian.

We came to a set of stairs going up a few meters into the building. Given that most of these structures had two floors and an underground level, Lillian opted to search this level, as the rest of us headed upstairs. At the top of the stairs, we saw another staircase heading up and I decided to go that way, while Janet would remain on the current floor.

With that discussion completed, I reminded the girls to make sure to update me as we went along. I continued along, extending my senses to listen for possible enemies crossing our path.

After ten minutes of searching through the facility, I came across my first soldier. He had turned into the hallway and my reflexes kicked in, allowing me to launch myself at him and punch him in the face before he could call out. The resulting impact snapped his neck and Ingrid pulled the body into an empty room nearby. We stopped to quietly check the rooms as we went, in case there were soldiers sleeping, but every room was empty. We continued along and I got reports from Janet and Lillian that they had engaged enemies of their own.

Janet’s group had found the main sleeping area for Brenson’s troops, though not all of them were present. The ones that were in their rooms were asleep, allowing Janet’s people to dispatch them quietly. They slit the soldiers’ throats indiscriminately, covering their mouths so that no noise left the rooms. By the time they were done, Janet and the other two ladies had killed fifteen soldiers, though there were as many rooms empty.

Lillian and the others had made their way along the lowest level, finding that they were holding areas for those who were being turned. Many were filled with corpses in various states of decomposition, five had people who were in the middle of the change and they received cuts to help cure them. Given how weak they were, it was more likely that they would not survive, but we did not want to leave them cursed, either. They also came across three slaves, but they had to be eliminated as they attempted to notify the guards while attacking our group. Even Lillian’s presence did not stop them, as they seemed to instinctively know it was not their master.

As Ingrid and I made our way deeper into the building, we ran into three more guards, two we were able to kill without worry or fuss. However, the last gave us a bit of a problem as he saw us before we saw him. He had no idea who I was but yelled out when he saw me racing down the hall at him. I stabbed him in the heart and carried him through a nearby doorway, Ingrid following as closely as she could. Once inside, we closed and locked the door, stashing the body as we hid, hoping that we would not be discovered. I began listening for signs of movement outside the door, when an idea hit me, and I unlocked the door. I knew that the sound would bring someone to investigate and a few moments later, the door opened. Two guards entered the dark room. Seeing the body of their comrade on the floor, they hurried over to check them. They did not even notice our presence until our blades had slit their throats. By then, it was too late, and they joined him on the floor.

We left the room and began heading further down when my ears picked up voices and I began to move towards the sound. After navigating the corridors, I came upon a balcony that overlooked a large room below. I got into a prone position, which Ingrid copied, and we slowly made our way to the edge to look below. I was not at all surprised when I saw Brenson, sitting on a large, intricate throne with Violet standing a few feet in front of him. I could tell by how she was standing, that she was not at all impressed and waited to hear what would happen next.