Sapphire Bones

Flight

"Stop!" A nearby guard shouted. He ascended the stairs, weapon at the ready. "Do not move!"

The second his foot hit the top step L whipped around. A smile stretching from one ear to the other came to her face. Her tongue parted her lips but she didn't move toward him.

Two more heads appeared. They climbed the stage from the back, revealing Ruby's former leaders. Cole and Roddy stepped up next to L who appeared unfazed by their presence. Instead, she kept her eyes on the guards that swarmed around her like a family of wasps, from the only set of stairs up onto the stage. Few words were shared between the trio but an understanding between the three of them signaled something, a growing fear maybe, deep in my gut. My stomach fell, pitted into a void as I watched Cole and Roddy's clothes shred in front of my eyes. They shifted simultaneously, the entire transition lasting less than two seconds. Bones cracked, the sounds ripping through the air. Stretching skin and sprouting fur, their human forms morphed at dangerous speeds. In their place a dark chocolate wolf and steel gray one emerged on either side of L. They crouched low, prepared for an attack. Growls ripped through the air; their nostrils flared. Two enormous wolves and a woman faced an ever-growing army of Councilmembers and Mercenaries. Animal instincts versus human weapons. Bullets fired into the air; a warning sent to the trio to stand down.

"Surrender and nobody else will get hurt," the guard in front tried to reason. The chocolate wolf lunged first, aiming close to the only piece of skin to be seen. Before the guard could react, the wolf's jaw anchored down around his neck. A deafening crack splintered the air.

Snap. The wolf waved the lifeless body from its teeth and readied for another attack. Teeth bared, both wolves stood in defense of L. Blood dripped from the wolf's jowls.

The guards closed in on them. They raised their guns just as the other wolf leaped forward. Shots fired around them, a cloud of smoke arising out of the aged weapons used by the Council. Soon enough the entire stage was covered in a blanket of thick smoke with only a couple darker shadows to lead the chaotic crowd through the action. Yelps from the wolves ripped into my ears but nothing I did would help. They were alone in their mutiny. Zane pushed forward in my head but I held him back as I broke from my immobile state. I shoved through the crowd toward the stage but as soon as I hit the clearing L jumped. She bounded off the edge of the stage and took off through the crowd while Cole and Roddy continued to fight off the guards. Her body moved like a rock parting a sea of people. Afraid to touch her, the crowd divided without hesitation. As soon as she made it through the clearing the two wolves on the stage stopped. Whizzing around, both wolves leaped. The guards stopped and watched as they cleared the rest of the stage in a single leap. They landed smoothly on the ground and sped off after L.

I went to follow but a hand caught my arm. When I turned around Luis was there, a deep frown across his features covering more than just his lips. I watched through the thinning crowd. More and more people fled through the open doors but some stayed, hopeful to see more blood spill in the name of Lycan's. L hesitated by the edge of the courtyard, up on a ledge. Her form, through the crowd, hazed over as my vision struggled to focus with all the noise and moving people. The short cream dress around her torso blew gently in the ocean breeze. Her hair, once a dazzling spectacle, lay just above her shoulders in jagged strands. Once the wolves reached her they jumped up onto the concrete step. The dark brown wolf bled from one of his front legs. It trickled down his fur, and the wolf struggled with the injured limb as he kept his balance on the thin ledge. The remaining guards shuffled off the podium, leaving their fallen comrades for a couple of servants to clean up later. With their weapons aimed, the guards huffed as they ran toward L and the two wolves. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She glanced my way and her head bobbed, hopeful I understood. I blinked.