The Wolf

Ch. 61: Taking The Plunge, Again

~Nico~

Things weren't supposed to happen this way. I thought that with all of our forces combined we could take her on, so how did it go so wrong?

My ears ring as I scan the room. Dust floats in the air, blocking my sight. When it settles I see Blake and Kayla unconscious at the walls of the cavern, blood coating their clothes and flesh. Eleanor is lost somewhere in the dust and gloom as she heals the injured Damien. Only Luca and Alex remain standing to fight against Nyx.

Ragged breaths tear through my lungs and throat as I try to push off the ground. All the magic I've used and all the blood I've lost is too much. I thought that we could end the fight quickly, but it's been over thirty minutes of a merciless onslaught from Nyx. Since the spell that the water spirit gave me was wiped by Luna I can feel all the pain that I couldn't before. My fingertips are going numb and I can't really feel my legs anymore. Also, my clothes are soaked with blood and water, chilling me to the bone. My head is also cloudy with a fever.

I watch as Luca gets smacked away by Nyx into the cavern's ceiling. He drops to the ground with a thud and is quickly buried beneath the rubble. My heart twists painfully as I wonder if he's still alive. Only Alex is left to fight against Nyx now. I can't let him do this alone.

The scent of blood is so thick in the air that it gags me. I pull myself to my feet, walking on numb legs toward the battle. All I have to do is stab Nyx with the dagger that is coated in vampire, druid, werewolf, and demon blood. If I can do that, then she'll definitely slow down enough for me to wrap the Moon Chain around her and incapacitate her. After that... well, that's the easy part. All I have to do is absorb Nyx into myself, becoming a vessel that will contain her, and then kill myself using the same knife. Easy.

Nyx uses her magic to create spikes out of stone that stabs into the air. Alex dodges the spikes by turning into his human form and doing a backflip before fluidly changing back into his wolf form and gaining speed. Before Nyx can react he bites her in the calf and she snarls at him. I take this moment to push myself forward, closing the distance. She goes to grab Alex by the scruff of his neck, but he releases his hold and turns into a human, landing an uppercut on her chin.

Without even moving an inch, Nyx laughs and licks at the black blood at the corner of her mouth. Alex's fingers are black and blue, suggesting they're broken. I cringe at the sight. Rushing forward, I stumble over my own feet and land in front of Nyx, face planting into the ground.

"Nico!" Alex calls out before he is sent flying with a single flick of Nyx's finger.

My vision is blurry when I look up to see Nyx's sneering face. My shaking arms push against the ground but Nyx steps on my back to prevent me from getting up. I gasp as all the air is knocked from my lungs. I wriggle under her foot like a worm. As if I didn't already have low self-respect as it is, this just makes me feel worse. I'm so close to her and yet so powerless. If only I could somehow stab this damn knife into her heart, that would be great.

Nyx rubs her heel into my back, pushing me further into the ground with the weight of two tons. "Poor, poor, Nico. Did you really think that you were capable of stopping me? Come on! you can barely save yourself or your friend... what was his name? Dean? Darell? Oh, oh, Dom! You couldn't even protect Dom from Celeste and she is much weaker than I am. How could you possibly think that you could stop moi?"

I hear and feel my ribs crack against the stone ground. Stars swim in my vision. Air refuses to enter my collapsing lungs. "Agh..." I glare at Nyx. My cheeks flush with shame and rage.

Nyx smiles. "Ah, sorry, what was that?" She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and leans in to hear better.

Taking the chance, I grab a handful of her long, long hair and give it a hard yank. She bends further down, stumbling a little. Her foot moves from my spine, allowing me to turn. That instance is all I need to stab her in the stomach with the dagger that I had up my sleeve. To be honest, the wound is pretty shallow. Definitely not deep enough to be fatal to anyone. What can I say? My ribs were just broken and I had bad positioning.