Oathbreaker (32 page)

Odin pointed toward Pan and the unassuming god spread his hands as wide as his smile. A ripple flowed out from him, riding the air like the surface of a pond and hitting with the force of Godzilla. The remaining vamps hissed and spun, searching for possible attacks from every side, panic causing them to lose all reason. The gods withstood it better but the effect was still seen in their shaking limbs and worried glances.

Pan sent out another wave and Anubis suddenly had his hands full, calming his little doggies. The pitiful howling hurt my sensitive ears but stopped quickly when Anubis went out amongst the throng. The jackals instantly quieted under their god’s hands. He looked up then, a dangerously handsome man with sleek, blue-black hair that hung in a harsh line to his shoulders and dark, deadly eyes.

He stared at us sharply and then with a motion of his hand, he set his pack upon us.

“Vervain! Fenrir!” Odin waved us forward and I roared in delight as I led my men into battle for the very first time.

They cried triumphantly behind me, mixing with the Froekn who surged with us in half form. Trevor raced forward at my side and when I felt the first throat give way beneath my jaws, I knew the joy of the hunt. Magic warred with magic above me, great bursts coloring the sky and making day out of night, but all I cared about was the battle on the ground.

I flung body after body away but still they seemed to keep coming. It took a little longer for my battle-crazed kitty brain to realize why. The bodies of the jackals rose after only a few moments of death, no matter how torn apart their forms had been. Chills crawled down my spine on little insect legs as I watched the jackal I’d just disemboweled, pull himself together… literally.

His intestines started moving first, shrinking back into his stomach like the strings of a jellyfish. Then the skin flapped over it all and knitted up as if he’d been made with a zipper for just such an occasion. The body twitched, as animals sometimes do when they’re asleep and dreaming of the hunt, then the elegant head lifted and focused its eyes on me.

It took me only a moment to knock it back down but it was obvious it wouldn’t stay that way. I growled low and scented the air. Magic was thick about me but the smell of it was moldy, the decaying scent that lies low in the forest primeval, the scent of death. The Guardian of the Veil was using his influence to bring back his warriors and there was only one way I could think of to stop it… I had to kill the source.

I surged forward, leaving my mate behind in my mad dash through the jackals. I heard Trevor call out but I ignored the wolf inside me wanting to answer him. I didn’t have time to try to explain what needed to be done, either he’d follow me or I’d take Anubis down alone. Jaws snapped and claws struck out at me, tearing my hide in long thin gashes but I pressed on, pushing their smaller bodies aside like tall grass in a field.

Before I could reach the Dark God, one of the Froekn attacked him with an impressive jump and swipe maneuver. I felt my heart pound faster and I quickened my pace but I knew I’d never make it in time. The press of jackals thickened around their god, slowing me down even further, and making me take precious moments to dispatch his most diligent dogs.

When I was able to see clearly again, Anubis was lying beneath the Froekn, taking the vicious claws across his body calmly. His chest had been bare to begin with, magnificently muscled and dark bronze in color, so there was nothing to stop the wolf from doing his worst.

Anubis’ chest was in ribbons and the Froekn was leaning in for the death kill to the throat, overconfident after his minor victory. I knew he wouldn’t deliver it, it was too easy, and Anubis was just too calm. Sure enough, Anubis looked up as I neared and smiled at me.

I roared in protest but there was nothing I could do as Anubis drove his hand into the Froekn’s chest and pulled his heart out. The poor wolf stared at his prey in shock for a moment before rolling off to twitch through the last moments of his life. Anubis stood calmly, holding the heart in his hand and studying it with intensity as his skin pulled back together and his chest became whole again.

“You are worthy,” his words thrummed with power and the heart in his hand lit as if he’d stuck a candle within it. It glowed and hovered up into the air before plummeting back into the werewolf’s chest. The body jerked and then lifted to its feet as if pulled by strings. My breath caught as I saw the lack of awareness in the corpse’s eyes. I was seeing my very first zombie.

I leaped the last few feet between me and my prey, going straight for the jugular with the strength of my anger and fear. Anubis had time only for only the barest of reactions before his neck gave way to my teeth. I felt his spine crack in my mouth as his arms reached around me like a lover’s and my warrior’s heart exalted. I drew back, licking the sweetest blood I’d ever tasted off my lips as Trevor caught up with me.

“Damn it, Vervain,” he swore as he surveyed the scene and then looked around at the disintegrating jackals. The Froekn zombie went limp and fell to the earth once more, hopefully for good. “Okay, I see your point but let me know before you go running off next time.”

I raised a kitty brow at him and he chuckled.

“Okay, I get that point as well.”

His eyes widening in horror was my only warning before the biting pain spread into my body.

“Mother!” I heard Vali's strong voice but my attention was focused on Anubis.

His eyes held mine as easily as he held the dagger in my shoulder, rainbows swirling across their glassy black surface, keeping me in thrall, until two arrows pierced Anubis’ heart in rapid succession. Vali's arrows. Anubis’ eyes widened a hairsbreadth before he shimmered and disappeared. His knife however, remained where it was, imbedded deep in my left shoulder.

Trevor quickly pulled it free and not a second too soon, because the cold of the blade had started to seep into my flesh. I licked at the wound, desperate to remove the frigid feeling of the  metal more than any pain it had caused, but Trevor’s hand on my head brought me back.

“
Follow me, Minn Elska,” he started off at a lope, “there are still more threats to neutralize.

I scented the air, knowing instinctively that he was heading in the right direction, before stalking off after him. My Intare gathered behind me, blood streaking their magnificent manes and wild pleasure filling their eyes. I growled lowly and they answered me, letting me know we were intact. The jackals had taken none of mine.

Then the night became blacker and the cries of ravens filled the air. We stopped and looked around us warily. The dark seemed to seep across the ground, an inky blackness that flowed like mist, and I backed away from the tendrils nearest me. This was not your average darkness. This was a dark filled with need and with a determination to fill that need.

“
Andrasta!” UnnúlfR's pained cry cut through my misgivings.

I looked over to where Unn
úlfR stood, his pale coat making him easy to spot, and saw him staring in shock and horror at the hillside before him. I shifted my gaze to where he stared and saw the source of the darkness. A woman with wild, black hair seemed to be emerging from a cloud of inky fog, tendrils of it wrapped around her arms and snaked through her hair. She was staring at UnnúlfR in much the same way that he was staring at her but she recovered quickly and replaced her shocked expression with a snarl.

“
Filthy cur,” she spat. “This time you'll die.”

“
You traitorous coward,” he growled back to her as he started to make his way forward. “You never could fight on your own. Always had to have someone do your dirty work for you. Not this time, bitch. This time, you're mine!”

He launched himself through the air and impacted with her hard enough to send her shadows shooting away. Without the cover of darkness, the woman looked frail, completely outclassed by the werewolf on top of her. Her hands flung out to her sides, reaching, grasping, and the shadows returned, enveloping them both as a vicious snarling began.

I started to head toward them but Trevor stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him in question.

“
He needs to handle this alone,” he looked back to the mass of darkness, which had pulled in all the straggling tendrils to help its mistress. The night was clearer already, less weighty than it had been only moments before. I nodded, if Trevor could let his brother face his ex alone then I would follow my mate's lead.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Odin, his body blurred in the obvious presage of shapeshifting and then suddenly he was gone. In his place stood a monstrous crocodile, scales shining green and his single eye shimmering peacock blue. I blinked at the impressive display. An inspired choice, I thought, as I watched a vampire’s head roll away. Behind him, his massive tail swung out, sending opponents flying. Now all we needed was Captain Hook.

I surged forward happily, leaving Odin to his fun and UnnúlfR to his revenge, my mate in the lead and my lions at my back. We came upon Ares and he turned to face us. His sons, along with his attendants, were still battling the God Squad. It looked like the combined forces of Deimos, Phobos, Trembling, and Panic were canceling out Pan’s effect. The other invading gods were sending a varied attack over at my side without any hindrance.

Thor’s lightning flashed before being swallowed by Tawiskaron’s dark fire. The Mohawk Indian god’s demon powers lit his eyes and sparked off the tips of his traditional hairdo. He sent his own black lightning back at Thor, who neatly sidestepped before reciprocating. Dark and light met in the sky, crackling and sparking as they fought for dominance.

I caught a glimpse of Kuan Ti, the Chinese God of War and one of Blue’s closest friends, as he swung his magic sword against Finn’s. Finn and Kuan Ti were evenly matched, neither of them having an offensive magic, and I wasn’t surprised that Kuan Ti had sought the black swan out. The Chinese General had a streak of honor as wide as the Moloka’i channel running through him, even though he was usually on what I considered to be the bad side of the war. I was sure that honor had prompted him to seek a fair fight.

Vikings were everywhere but on my left, a contingent of stunning, scantily clad women, fought brilliantly around Odin. His Valkyries. It warmed the cockles of my heart to see his loyal women fight for him. Yep my little heart mollusks were all warm and shiny. Who the hell came up with that term anyway?

As I pondered cockles and their relation to my heart, Hades sent spurts of hellfire into the fray but a tall blue-haired Nordic woman, who I remembered as Ran, spouted waves from her mouth and extinguished them as soon as they appeared. The air around the two of them was quickly taking on the aspects of a sauna.

Then there was Loki, in that damn Sabertooth form, fighting back to back with Fenrir, who was the most impressively terrifying wolfman I'd ever seen. They were taking out both vampires and gods with equal ease and confusing my already numbed mind. When had Loki joined us?

I let go of the question as I took in the bigger picture. The sight was awe inspiring and horrifying. So much power, how does any side win when the odds are with everyone? I shook my leonine head and faced off with Ares. He smiled at me, disregarding Trevor and my lions as if they weren’t even there.

“
Godhunter,” Ares' sons glanced over at him when he spoke but they were too occupied with Pan to back him up. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment.

Right, I remembered the only reason I don't like fighting in my lioness form. No witty comebacks. I had to make do with some heavy growling, which in my book, is no fun at all. I almost switched back to human just so I could tell him to keep dreaming ‘cause that was the only place he’d beat me. Man, it was even worse than when you get into an argument and don’t think of something great to say till after it’s over. I actually had something great to say, I just couldn’t say it.

Ares seemed to sense my inner conflict, which made it worse, especially when he laughed. “You hardly seem worthy enough to house Aphrodite’s powers.” His eyes heated as he aimed his sword at me. “I’ll be happy to take them back.”

I was about to leap for his throat, when Trevor beat me to the punch. His paw reached out and sliced through Ares’ arm, forcing the god to drop his weapon as Trevor moved in for the kill. His other paw lifted up into Ares’ stomach, catching in his ribcage and costing a precious second which Ares used to recover.

The war god leaped back, eying Trevor with distaste.

“
Never turn your back on a wolf,” Trevor growled, “and never insult his mate.” My heart sang, at least Trevor could talk some battle smack for me.

I circled around as Trevor shot forward again, striking Ares across the cheek before darting away. My head shifted sharply when I scented Trevor’s blood on the breeze as well as Ares’ and I was shocked to see my lover’s side torn open. I hadn’t even seen Ares move but in his hands was a dripping knife, wet with Trevor’s blood.

I roared in rage and pounced on him, sending him into the ground as I tore up his stomach. His knife flashed from his one remaining good hand, slicing into my side but soon Trevor was there and the knife dropped away as Ares screamed. I looked up to see Trevor holding a dismembered hand between his teeth. Oh yay, a Captain Hook, just as requested.

“
Reach out a hand to harm a Froekn and you shall lose it.” Trevor quoted his family's motto after spitting out Ares' hand.