Seventh Mark (Part 1 +2) (27 page)

Tears sprang at
the thought of Michael and the risk he was taking. I didn’t want to
die, but it seemed inevitable now.
Would Michael?
What could
he do once surrounded by the pack of Grollics?

I continued the
feeble beating of my fists on his back which probably acted more of
an annoyance than causing any pain. I wanted to get back to dense
forest and help Michael.
Do something, not be so weak and
useless.
I hated myself, and despised the grollics even
more.

Damon’s running
slowed to a walk and his arms came around my hips to toss me over
him. I landed in a snowdrift and, angry as I felt, began shaking. I
hadn’t even realized the cold until the snow pressed against my
bare skin and thin top.

Instinct made
me stand and try to shake the snow off my exposed hands and wrists.
I began rubbing my hands and blowing hot breath on them to warm
them up. Blood mixed in with the snow and turned it crimson.
Disgusted, I tried flicking it off.

Damon, standing
fifteen feet away from me, laughed at my meagre attempt to create
heat. The laughter stopped when I met his gaze. “What do think of
your wonderful life now?” he mocked. “You’re about to die, about to
have your
immortal
boyfriend die, and all for what?

Nothing but a
silent war I knew nothing about and an idiot saying I was the one
they wanted dead.

“How ironic
does it feel?”

I refused to
answer. Ferocious growls and sounds fighting erupted in the forest,
but here by the frozen lake, it was silent. With my back towards
the water, I could feel the wind coming off it, making me shiver
even more.

“You still
don’t get it, do you? Wait.” He paused, tilting his head slightly.
A grin full of scorn spread across his face. “You think you’re one
of them! You think, because you don’t know your folks you might
have
their
blood inside you.” He snorted. “Impossible! You
are the Seventh Mark.”

My heart
dropped lower than my stomach, which had just dropped itself. “I’m
not marked,” I whispered.

“Not above your
chest.” He pointed, his finger stabbing in my direction. “But you
are. When you’re dead, I’ll cut your heart from your chest and find
it. How about I show it to your boyfriend?”

My voice caught
in my throat. I had nothing to say and nothing to protect Michael
with.

“Answer me!” He
snarled, and stepped closer, his arm now drawn back and hand balled
tightly into a fist. “I want to see your fear and terror! How does
it feel to know you are about to die from the one thing you
despise? And I’m not going to kill you quickly. I promise you will
hear Michael scream before I finish you off.” He laughed a
horribly, vicious laugh.

I forced my
shoulders back and straightened, pissed at my own weakness and his
pure evilness. “Screw you! You’ll never be half the person Michael
is. What do you have in your life? A pack of beasts who’ll try to
beat you any chance they get?” Damon’s jaw tightened and his hands
clenched together.
Ahhh, hit a nerve there
. It fuelled me
with more courage. “An Alpha who doesn’t give a toss if you live or
die? You’re expendable to him, you know? I’d choose torture and
death over your life any day.” I couldn’t be sure if I now shook
from rage or cold. “And here’s something you don’t know: I have
Bentos’ book. I know
everything
.” I knew jack squat, but
wasn’t about to let him know that. I spread my arm out towards the
forest. “I can kill you, and your whole damn pack.”

Damon’s face
turned dark red. He growled, and his eyes burned dark, ugly yellow.
Like the sun covered in blood. He took two steps and leapt, midair
changing into Grollic.

I stepped back
and nearly fell rear-end into the snowdrift. Pushing my foot down
hard through the snow, I managed to catch myself, for a second,
before stumbling when the drift ended and I fell. Right onto the
frozen lake. Facing the bank, I struggled to my knees and then
tentatively stood, having to fight to keep my balance on the smooth
ice.

Damon landed a
few feet in front of me still on the ground. He snarled and swiped
my arm with a paw. The claws caught me on my shoulder and ripped
through my jacket and sweater. The sharp pain came instantly and I
fell, sliding further onto the frozen lake. Damon sat on his
hunches not venturing off the snow. He tried to swipe again but I
leaned out of reach. Wind from the swing shot by my face making me
flinch. He snarled, flashing sharp, yellow teeth.

“What’s the
matter? You scared of ice?” I jeered as I rose, struggling again to
keep my balance. The ice was smooth like a mirror. “What’ll your
precious Alpha think of you when he hears this?”
Silly girl
taunting a Grollic.
He probably couldn’t even understand in
beast form
.

He growled.
Leaning forward, he tried to take another hit at me again. I
shuffled back. Better safe than dead
.
The monster paced the
edge of the lake. Would he turn back into a human and step onto the
ice to kill me?

The matted,
greasy hair on his back rose and he glanced back toward the forest
as a vicious howl erupted and suddenly cut off. I hoped he’d run
back to the fighting. No luck. A small cry shot out of my throat
when he turned and pushed off the bank onto the ice toward me.

Eyes wide, I
struggled to keep my legs from slipping as they tried to move
backwards as fast as they could. The beast leaped into the air with
his jaw open, aiming for my throat.
Or anywhere in that
vicinity… probably my heart
.

Instinct made
me cringe, and my feet slid out from under me. My head hit hard
against the frozen water, but an ear curdling growl told me Damon
had missed me and hit the ice instead.

I rolled to
watch him struggle on the ice. His four paws slipped out from
underneath his massive weight. A resounding crack of the ice echoed
loud in the air and he thumped underneath me.

Crawling on my
hands and knees, I edged towards the bank and lurched myself on the
snow the moment I hit it. I swore Damon’s breath was brushing
against my neck. I pushed upright and began running hard, needing
as much of a head start on land as I could get. Just over the snow
drift, a loud cracking noise sounded again, followed by a terrified
yelp.

I glanced
behind and froze in my tracks.

The ice gave
way and Damon disappeared into the cracked ice.

Water splashed
as he struggled to get a clawed grip onto the frozen wet ice around
him. Just as he seemed to be gaining ground, his paw slipped and
Damon disappeared from the small opening. Muffled thumps echoed
under the ice as he struggled to break through from beneath its
surface. The noise slowed, weakened and eventually stopped.

My heart
beating so fast I was sure it would explode, I scanned the lake and
waited for the monster to break through. My head tried to tell me
what my eyes and body would not believe.
Nothing’s coming out of
the ice.

He died instead
of me.

At least, I
wasn’t going to die at that exact moment or place. Now I had a
chance to help Michael.

His name
brought me out of my frozen state. I turned and raced back into the
forest, terrified I’d now be too late. My shoulder blade burned. I
pumped my arms to move faster. The pain only made me push
harder.

As I got closer
the noise became deafening. Each contact of body with tree and each
growl reverberated against my chest.

I slowed my
pace to assess the situation and possibly sneak in without being
noticed. I stepped over a dead Grollic, blood oozing from a jagged
cut in its neck, and hid behind a tree to locate Michael and
Caleb.

Back against
the tree, I closed my eyes and took a few deeps breaths. Part of me
still thought Damon would burst through the trees. Deep down, I
knew he was dead, but fight or flight continued to wreak havoc with
my brain process. Peering from the one side of the bark, my heart
rate quickened with what I saw.

Michael.

Covered in
blood, he still looked very much alive as he fought against two
massive beasts. His fighting seemed like a dance he led with the
Grollics trying to keep up.

Caleb and
Seth’s lack of appearance set my teeth to chatter. I squinted to
focus on Michael, and as if I had mentally called to him, his head
turned slightly toward me. His eyes widened and immediately his
fight took on a stronger vengeance. Leaping off the ground, his
feet connected with one Grollic’s chest and he used that momentum
to get higher into the air, one arm bent back. He moved so fast, I
only caught the glimmer of silver before it sunk deep into the
other Grollic’s chest. Before the beast hit the ground, Michael
pulled the blade out and stabbed it again and again. He repeated
another four times in the same area and then wiped the blade on his
pant leg.

Mesmerized, I
could only watch. There were still seven Grollics attacking, but he
continued to fend them off. It dawned on me that they were working
on surrounding him, trying to encircle and tire him. They began
attacking him two at a time, then pulled back to have two others
attack before quickly retreating for another two Grollics.
A
game. A bloody, taunting game.
I swore I heard their
laughter.

Michael began
to slow from fending off mortal bites and gouging claws. The
Grollics fighting skills seemed meticulous. There were a lot of
them, but they fought as if they were one mind.

Horrified, I
could only cover my mouth to keep back the scream when Michael
sustained a huge swipe from a pair of claws down his back. It
looked like he had been whipped five times.

He stumbled
from the blow, his eyes closed and nostrils flaring. He pressed his
lips tight as if refusing to show anything.

He needed help,
and I was the only one here. Who knew where Caleb could be.
Or
if he’s still alive?

A howl erupted
as two Grollics managed to pin Michael down. Michael kicked and
thrashed in the snow, the white turning to crimson and brown. He
managed to free one arm, and clasped it under him only to pull it
out a mere second later with a long, thin blade. Faster than my
brain could register, he sunk the dagger into the Grollic holding
him down. The beast fell, flaying as he went and going limp seconds
later.

Before Michael
had a chance to react, another Grollic grabbed both Michael’s arms
and pinned them high above his head. The Grollic gnashed his teeth
and barked at another Grollic nearby. It came toward Michael, his
mouth opened wide. Straight for Michael’s neck!

I couldn’t stay
hidden and watch him die. I jumped out from behind the tree and in
clear view of the Grollics, I whistled. The hands in your mouth,
screaming whistle. The terror in Michael’s eyes scared even me. He
shouted "NO!" and struggled harder against the Grollic holding him
down.

Another monster
turned and reared, already pushing towards me into a jump of
attack. His jaws were open the way Damon had just come after me.
Without even consciously thinking, I shouted, “
Vilkacis
Diakonos
!” The words
came from the Grollic book.

W
ild static hit
the air followed by a silent, almost sonic, boom. The one Grollic
stopped mid-flight and dropped into a lying position at my feet.
The others instantly stopped their attack on Michael and dropped
onto their haunches, each staring directly at me.

The area became
dead quiet. The Grollics did not move, as if waiting for
something… someone.
Their Alpha?

Michael still
lay on the ground, his chest heaving.

“
Are you hurt?” I asked, unsure that if I moved,
the Grollics would break from their strange, almost frozen
state.

It
seemed like
eons before he pushed himself up and stood slowly. His eyes never
left my face. I think the expression on my face must have been
similar to his dumbfounded one.

“What did you do?” he
whispered.

I hesitated, afraid to look away from his face.
“I-I-I’m not exactly sure.” I tore my gaze from his ice blue eyes
to the mammoth Grollics now sitting like good little puppies. My
eyes narrowed as I recalled how intent they’d been on killing me
and Michael. They were following orders from their Alpha, but I
could feel their hatred towards us even as they sat, unable to
move.

Waiting.
Waiting for orders from me
. I knew it without doubt. The answer ran through my veins…In
my blood.

“
Go! All of you! Head to the lake” I pointed at
each one. “Every one of you—”

Caleb appeared from behind a large tree, Seth close
on his heels. Both had signs of fighting, but were alive. They
dropped into a crouch position, Seth pulling a long blade from
behind the side of his boot.

The Grollics growled but none made a move or even
slightly rose from their sitting positions. Their eyes darted
towards Seth and Caleb, but constantly came back to focus on
me.

Caleb started to speak and Seth seemed about to
pounce. I panicked and cleared my throat loudly. I needed to finish
whatever I’d planned on saying before I lost control of the pack
and somebody got himself killed. Blinking, I tried to focus, not
sure what to do.
What if the Alpha came back?
Glancing at the spray of blood across Caleb’s coat, I assumed
it wouldn’t be. “Head to the lake, all of you, and find where the
ice is thinnest.” I swallowed. “Join Damon under the ice. Your
Alpha is defeated and dead. If you manage to survive, change back
to human form and forget all of this. Forget you were ever a
Grollic, that you ever saw me, or any of us. Live your life with no
memory of being a beast.” I glanced at Caleb who stared at me with
blue eyes large as golf balls. His mouth hung open, but he said
nothing. Even Seth’s face had shock written all over it.