Shifter (14 page)

            Then Kevin saw her, not at the heart of the fighting, because the other Hugtandalfer moved around her to stop that happening, but still staking vampires left and right, using a stake that seemed to shine strangely golden. Briony. She was there on the hill with the others, Fallon fighting right beside her. They just had to get to her now.

            Yet that was easier said than done. There were hundreds of vampires between them. Vampires that would be even more dangerous when night finally fell, because then they would be able to come at the Hugtandalfer from all angles, unseen. Kevin pushed forward, biting vampires left and right. Archer lashed out with his tail and used his flame to blast groups of vampires, as well as firing it at some of the stranger things that seemed to scuttle among them. Had they been things that the vampires had found down in their chasm prison? Whatever they were, they seemed as mindless and vicious as the vampires themselves.

            The vampires seemed almost confused by the idea that he and Archer were there, in the middle of them. They were focused on the Hugtandalfer in front of them, rushing forward in waves, seemingly uncaring whether they lived or died. There were so many of them. Enough that every time the Hugtandalfer fought off one group, another was there to attack. Kevin saw Hugtandalfer fighting, swinging swords and glaives left and right at the kind of speeds that no human would have been able to match. Yet the vampires matched them, so that the fights took on a frantic quality. A Hugtandalfer might cut down one of the vampires as it emerged from the darkness they carried with them, but there was always another one ready to take its place.

            Kevin saw them dying there. A Hugtandalfer went down with three vampires atop him. A dragon that swooped in too low when trying to burn the vampires was pulled to earth and swarmed in a way that made Kevin even more careful about protecting Archer from attack. He spun, snapping at a vampire that had come too close to the golden dragon, while Archer spat a wall of flame that caught a cluster of vampires as they charged him.

            Perhaps if there had been more werewolves there, the battle wouldn’t have been a difficult one. The Wickham pack, given the same powers Kevin had, would have made short work even of the horde of vampires that surrounded them. Yet there was only Kevin, loping from vampire to vampire, biting and moving as flares of bright light from dying vampires marked his passage.

            The chaos of the battle was absolute by then. The noise was overwhelming as Hugtandalfers screamed, dragons roared, and the vampires made inhuman sounds of their own. Fire was all around as the dragons strafed the vampires’ ranks. There was the clash of claws on steel armor, the thud of weapons hitting flesh. There was the scent of death and burning in the air, mingled with the rank, ever present stench of the vampires. Kevin kept going even though his limbs ached with the effort. How long had they been fighting now? An hour, more? How long would it be until sundown?

            It was hard to tell how the battle was going. The only bodies on the ground were those of Hugtandalfers and dragons. The fire that engulfed the vampires on their deaths made it impossible to tell how many of those they’d killed. All Kevin knew was that suddenly, as he looked up, he was closer to Briony than he’d thought. She’d obviously seen him too, because she started to fight her way forward.

            Kevin ran for her, snapping at any vampire that got in his way. Behind him, he heard Archer take to the air, obviously deciding that Kevin could protect himself now. Kevin sprinted, arriving at Briony’s side as she reached the last of the trees along the path and bringing down a vampire that leapt at her. Kevin transformed, and for a moment it seemed like there wasn’t a battle raging in the background. Or maybe the Hugtandalfer forces had simply succeeded in pushing the fight’s front line out beyond them for a while.

            Kevin didn’t care. He didn’t even care that Briony was wearing blood covered armor. He just drew her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

            “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said. “You sent Josh back. You sent him, just to fetch me.”

            “I love you,” Briony said, pulling back just enough to look him in the eye. She hesitated, but not for long. “You know the ring you gave me as a sign that we were together?”

            Kevin knew it. He had it on a chain around his neck.  “Yes?”

            “I want to wear it again.”

            Kevin hurried to remove it from the chain, slipping it onto one of her fingers.

            “No,” Briony said. “Not that finger.”

            “I don’t understand,” Kevin said. Or at least, he didn’t dare to hope…

            “Kevin,” Briony said, “I love you. Even with the age difference between us. Even with you being a werewolf, and me being the queen of a completely different world. People have been telling me that I need to marry someone if I’m going to come into my full powers. Well, there’s only one person I could ever want to marry.”

            “Don’t ask to marry me just for that,” Kevin said.

            “I’m not,” Briony assured him. “I’m asking to marry you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Okay, so I want to do it right now because it might be nice to actually
have
some rest of my life, but that doesn’t make what I feel any less real.”

            Kevin didn’t know what to say. Well there was one obvious thing. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you. If you’re sure?”

            “I’m sure,” Briony said.

            “I always thought I’d be the one proposing,” Kevin said, “and I don’t think I’d have planned it like this…” he gestured to take in the battle going on behind them. Briony stepped past him, lancing the long, golden stake she held through a vampire.

            “Me either,” she said. “I’d thought I’d wait, at least until I was in college. Maybe longer. But this… this changes things, and honestly, no matter how long I wait, it will still be you, Kevin. It’s
always
been you.”

            “And right now, we need to do this if we’re going to save Palisor, don’t we?” Kevin didn’t mind that part so much now. He kissed Briony again, deeper this time.

            “So that’s a yes, then?” Briony asked with a smile, as they pulled apart.

            “Yes,” Kevin assured her, “it’s a yes. Did you think I’d say anything else?”

            “Maybe for a moment, when I saw you with Carol.”

            “And now?”

            “Now, you’re all mine,” Briony said, kissing him.

            Behind them, there was a pointed cough. Kevin turned to see Briony’s Aunt Sophie bearing down on them.

            “This is all very nice, and I’m very happy for you, but if you’re serious about getting married, you might want to find some very quick vows. I hate to be the one to say this, but… we’re losing this battle.”

            “We’re not losing,” Vigor said, appearing out of the throng to stand beside her. “It’s a momentary setback.”

            “We’re losing,” Sophie said. “And while I would never tell you to marry someone, if your heart
is
set on Kevin…”

            Briony nodded. She understood. Though as she saw the figure standing forlornly behind the others, she knew that there was one thing she had to do first.

B
riony went over to Fallon, taking him by the arm and pulling him back further away from both the fight and the others. She knew that she had to talk this through with him, even though there was nothing he could say that would change anything.

            “Briony, don’t do this,” he said. “You don’t have to do this.”

            Briony shook her head. “I want to do it, Fallon. Yes, marrying Kevin will help us to stop the vampires here and in Wicked, and maybe that’s why I’m doing it
now
, but it’s not why I’m doing it.”

            “Then why?” Fallon asked. He looked so hurt in that moment.

            “Because I love him,” Briony said simply. She knew that would be hard for Fallon to deal with. After all the times she’d bounced back and forth between them, it would be hard on him to find that she’d made a final decision and that it wasn’t him, but she had to do it. “I don’t know what else to say.”

            There was one thing she might be able to do to soften the blow though. She couldn’t be with him, but there was a chance that she could give him one thing he’d been looking for since he became a vampire. A way back. Hadn’t vampires come to Palisor to look for that so many times? If there was a way, then Briony had to believe that the power that would come with marrying Kevin would show her how. She didn’t say it right then though. She wanted to be certain before she made a promise like that.

            “You’re really going to marry Kevin?” Fallon asked. “Even though that will cause all vampires to die.”

            “I’m going to marry him,” Briony confirmed.

            “So you’re just going to sacrifice me? And Jake? You’ll kill your own brother to be happy?”

            “The unicorn told me that its horn gave us another way. That the vampires didn’t have to die.” Briony shook her head. “I would never put Jake at risk like that, Fallon.
Or
you. Not if I thought that marrying Kevin would lead to that. But even Sophie, Josh and the rest seem to agree that it isn’t inevitable. It’s something we can control. That
I
can control.”

            Fallon winced. “And there’s really nothing that I can do to persuade you to love me?”

            “Oh, Fallon,” Briony said, reaching out to touch his cheek. “Part of me will always love you. But Kevin… being with him makes me so happy. I don’t have to change who I am to be with him, and when I’m with him, I feel so at peace. I thought I loved you as much before, but when I was forced to think about marrying Josh, I couldn’t stop thinking of Kevin. You’re too good for me, Fallon, and I wish I can be everything you want me to be for you, but I want you to be able to live your life without having it revolve around me all the time.  It isn’t healthy, and you have so much more potential than that. Someday you’ll find someone who will love you as much or more than you love them, and you’ll be the happiest man. I’m sorry, Fallon. I’m marrying Kevin.”

            Fallon nodded. “Then we’d better get on with it. There isn’t a lot of time to spare. Once it’s dark, the vampires will be nearly unstoppable.”

            He kissed her then. Softly, obviously saying goodbye.

“Kevin’s a lucky guy,” Fallon said. He paused. “If you’re wrong… if I die, I don’t blame you. Just promise you’ll remember me.”

Fallon didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead he turned and walked away, heading for the heart of the fighting. Briony felt tears washing down her cheeks. She did love Fallon, but she loved Kevin so much more. Enough that even the hurt she felt right then was worth it to be with him. She forced herself to brush away the tears, heading over to Sophie and Vigor.

“How soon can Kevin and I be married?” she asked. She would marry him now or a year from now, but if they couldn’t find a way to do it soon, then they would be overwhelmed long before it could happen. How long would it take them to find a church or put together a ceremony? “What do we need to do?”

Vigor gestured to her and Kevin. “Kneel there beside one another. Bow your heads and hold out your hands.”

Briony did it, though she started when Vigor drew his sword. The silver steel of it shone bright as the light started to fade over the battlefield. What was he planning to do? There had been a time when she’d been worried that he might try to take the throne. Was he trying that again now? If so, how did he think that Sophie was going to react, standing just behind him?

“Relax,” he said. “This is just one of the oldest ceremonies on Palisor. Marriage is a lot of things, and ordinarily we celebrate all of them. For a royal wedding, there would normally be feasting and entertainments, a full week of celebrations. There would be a chance for your subjects to see you and swear their fealty to both you and your new consort. Kevin would be crowned alongside you, your families would take part in the ceremonies, and there would be so much more. Now though, there is no time for all that, and I… well, I suppose I have enough authority to marry you.”

“How?” Briony asked.

Vigor smiled. “The most important part is that the two of you are becoming one. Do you understand that? Do you want it?”

Briony nodded. Beside her, so did Kevin. She’d barely finished when Vigor took her hand, pressing it to the sword blade. Briony gasped as it drew a line of blood from her palm. Kevin let Vigor do the same with him. The Hugtandalfer reached down to tear a strip of white cloth from the padding of his armor. He pressed Briony and Kevin’s hands together, tying them loosely with the cloth.

“Briony, do you choose to take Kevin as your husband and consort? Do you promise to love him from now until Palisor is no more?”

Briony didn’t have to think about that. “I do.”

Vigor turned to Kevin. “Kevin, do you take Briony as your wife and queen? Do
you
promise to love her until Palisor is no more?”

“I do,” Kevin said. “I always have.”

Vigor nodded and took up his sword once more. He placed it lightly over the cloth binding their hands together, and the fabric parted beneath its edge.

“Cloth can be cut,” Vigor said, “but some things are not so easily parted. Briony, Kevin, you are now one whole. Married. Congratulations. And congratulations to you, Briony. Truly, you are the Queen of Palisor now.”

“Is this where you say ‘you may kiss the bride’?” Sophie asked.

Vigor looked at her. “That is not part of the ceremony.”

Briony started to stand, but Kevin cut her off with a kiss.

“I think we’ll have to expand it then,” Kevin said, when they were done. He helped Briony to her feet. What happened now? She was the queen, but did that mean that she now had all the powers of the scepter? Did she have the power to deal with the vampires in front of her? Just like that? She hoped so, because they were getting closer.