First challenge...
The first thing Zass did as we headed into the maze was to push me behind him. I appreciated the concern, especially since the things that I had seen clearly were going to take place in the ring inside the arena, and I had only seen Zass and Bohdan. I didn't know what would happen before that and I wasn't sure where I was in that time and place. I could only hope that I made it that far, Iris's freedom was contingent on me making it through all three challenges and what I had seen made me dread the arena. What also concerned me was that I hadn't seen anything after the arena, so I couldn't prepare myself for it. This was a time when I really appreciated the new changes that coursed through my body, I could feel the strength, the weight of my shoulder rig, my bones and muscles straining and releasing with every step I took, they moved in perfect synchronicity and I knew I was ready to take action at the slightest provocation. Which turned out to be two seconds later when a huge wolf leapt from nowhere and landed on Zass. The weight of it took him down to the ground and then he was up in in instant, holding the snapping jaws away from this head. Claws sliced into flesh and I heard a yelp, before growls turned to whines and I heard bones breaking. At the last dull snapping sound, a human form replaced the wolf, fur changed back to flesh and the dead man at my feet bled slowly from slashing claw wounds across his abdomen and chest while his head lay at an impossible angle, unseeing eyes staring back at me.
Zass turned to me quickly and kissed me, before whispering against my ear, "You don't know how easy that was Scotty. That's the fastest I've ever taken down a Were. The added bonus you've given me is just freaking incredible."
I was happy for the distraction, and the change of view. Zass's happy face was a sight I much preferred to the dead guy. I smiled slightly as I returned to vigilant mode and said, "Pay attention Zass, an hour remember?" Then chuckled at his grumble as he turned to walk deeper into the maze. "Do you know where you're going?" I asked a few minutes later, we'd taken so many turns, I was sure we were lost.
"I was trying to avoid a certain ominous looking dark patch in the maze, but it seems there's only one way forwards and it's to go through it. Enough wasting time, let's do this." Zass said as we approached the spot in the maze he was worried about. It was like it had its own weather system looming overhead, rain fell and dark clouds crackled with electric energy as we approached the edge of the ever circling storm.
"What could be causing that?" I asked Zass.
"Nothing good." Was his reply.
He shrugged and led the way into the pitch black tunned, keeping to the left hand side. I followed him, trusting his instincts more than my own recently developed ones.
His instincts paid off as another menace appeared between us, huge scythe-like claws slashing the air to the right of Zass. He turned and saw the creature and then ducked as he felt in his pockets for a small vial. I shouted at the creature and pulled out my gun, aiming at one of the massive arms.
"Silver isn't going to work on this one Scott." Zass shouted and I hesitated while he got the lid off the vial and threw the contents at the creature, then dove in the other direction away from the creature. What looked like metallic particles adhered to the slimy skin and the gathering storm above us seemed to expand exponentially as some of the particles were sucked up into the swirling clouds. I backed away as fast as I could while still looking at the creature and what was happening. The clouds above us crackled with energy and then lightning suddenly split the air in front of me and struck the creature. The forked tongue of lightning burned my retinas it was so hot, leaving flash burn when I closed my eyes. I concentrated on the injury and then felt it melt away as I healed faster than I ever had before. When I opened my eyes again, the scent of ozone and burnt flesh filled the air as the creature, fried like a bug by the massive electrical discharge lay smoking on the ground between us.
"Storm Elemental," Zass told me as he gestured me to follow him. We hurried onwards through the maze as he told me a bit more. "They can't be harmed by their own storms unless the poles change on them."
"Which you made happen when you threw those... what were they? Iron filings, on it?" I asked.
"Yeah, the effect was close enough for our purposes." Zass said, and pulled me along behind him, striding with confidence down another part of the maze. We reached the centre of the maze and came out into a wide clearing with a small shrine in the middle. Zass stopped abruptly as Mirth stepped from behind a column.
"Zass," she said nodding in his direction. "Meg and Dimity sent you didn't they?"
He approached cautiously and nodded. "Do you want to leave?" He asked making sure she was still a captive.
"More than anything, I was about to give up and fade when I overheard Lynx and Sebastian talking about your arrival in Las Vegas." She said, before backing away. "But you two should just leave." She added after looking at me.
"Why, what is it?" Zass asked as she turned to flee.
"You and your Lover here are in over your heads. Bohdan is the scariest creature I've ever seen in the ring. Since he became Alpha his strength and speed have become freakishly impressive. I've seen him tear opponents into bloody pieces in seconds." She shook her head sadly. "Not to mention Iris's test." She shook herself and looked back towards the viewing platform. Then turned to leave.
"Can you tell us anything to help? I asked quickly.
"Don't drink from the crystal goblet." She called as she disappeared behind the shrine.
We looked at each other and shrugged. Time was ticking away and we moved towards the opposite side of the clearing, expecting another sudden appearance at any moment. We weren't disappointed when four Weres charged us all at once, almost falling over each other as they rushed into the clearing. Zass let the first one slip past him and head for me, as he faced down the other three, letting them see their deaths in his eyes. I had taken a step backwards to give him room to move and had my gun out before I even knew I'd drawn it. I pumped two shots into my first Were and he stopped in his tracks. As his fur melted away and was replaced by the face of a confused young man, I regretted the kill shot, but not enough to lose sleep over. I looked over at Zass and the other three Weres. One was on the ground, panting and bleeding from multiple slash injuries. The other two were trying to get him to expose his throat and were darting in as fast as they could, trying to do as much damage as possible while avoiding his wickedly sharp sword. He'd obviously used his claws on the first one before having the time to draw it. As the other two kept up their onslaught I saw his shirt was already becoming mere strips of cloth, than anything resembling a shirt when I managed to get a clear shot and fired at the closest Were. They hadn't been paying any attention to me so I took the first one by surprise. The second lost a precious second of reaction time and darted in too late.
As his jaws opened to bite, Zass was already there grasping the Were's head in his powerful hands and squeezing. Urgent whines turned into a howl as Zass slowly crushed its skull. Fur flowed away revealing human skin as Zass dropped the body to the ground and turned to check on me. I nodded at his question, "You good?"
We checked the other two Weres which were still alive. The one I'd shot was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, gut shot and grimacing in pain, the silver bullet slowing his healing to human speed. The other one Zass had turned into shreds was almost back to fighting strength and though I wanted to be merciful I knew we couldn't afford it under the circumstances so I aimed for his head. Zass took the decision from my hands though and his sword sliced cleanly through the Were's neck, the two pieces falling to the ground as we heard more Weres approaching.
We turned as the five remaining Weres padded into the clearing and took in the scene. They saw my ready stance, Zass slowly wiping his sword blade on the body at his feet, their fallen comrades and the one we'd left alive, his deep groans of pain the only sounds in the dimly lit clearing. The lead Were was standing slightly ahead of the others who were spread out in 'V' formation either side of him. He growled low and angry in the back of his throat and the two left side Weres moved forward to attack Zass while the right two started to pad towards me. The one I was assuming was a Beta stuck with the two heading for Zass.
I guess he figured I wasn't much of a threat considering the size of the Werewolves heading my way. I changed clips as quickly and as smoothly as I could. My muscle memory kicking in even with my new changes. I aimed rapidly as they approached and shot the closest Were, blood blossoming on its shoulder and neck. Then as I turned to fire another shot, I had a second to think 'Shit that was fast.' Before I was hurled to the ground by the force of my other opponent. A snapping, growling, slobbering face was shoved into my own as the Were tried to bite me. Luckily I managed to turn my head and held it away from my throat with one arm while digging my gun into the ribs of the thing above me, firing three rounds in quick succession.
When the Were's eyes glazed over and fur started to flow back into flesh, I knew I'd shredded its heart. Good thing too because as I let the heavy body fall to the side I could see Zass was in trouble. I checked on my first opponent, taking a moment to put a bullet in its brain. That one wasn't getting back up now either. Then I stalked towards Zass and the others. Zass and the Beta were in a standoff, but the other two were causing problems, taking Zass's attention from the biggest threat, so I quickly fired the rest of my clip at them as their attention turned from Zass to me. I'd hit one in the leg and he was down, but my shots had gone wide of the other and he rushed at me. I knew I couldn't get another clip in before he got to me, so I reached for my boot and got out my switchblade, thumbing the scalpel sharp edge free just as it leapt and took me down to the ground.
I felt my flesh tear as the massive jaws closed on my shoulder and collarbone. My left arm became numb and I couldn't move it. I knew he was trying to rip out my throat, so I dug my right thumb into his eye until I felt the pop and his head reared back so he could howl. Only then did I scream in pain as the teeth ripped back through my protesting skin and blood began to pour from my wound. I stabbed the blade into his neck and face with everything I had left, stabbing again and again, before I fell back against the dirt. Zass looked at me quickly as the other Were circled and saw that I was hurt. He wasted no more time with the Beta, the next attempt the Were made to bite him, Zass let him close in and then spun swiftly in the opposite direction, slicing his blade down in a huge diagonal blow. It practically cut the Were in half from ear most of the way through its chest before lodging against the monster's pelvic bone. Zass rushed to my side and I smiled weakly up at him before the pain overtook me and I blacked out.
Zass quickly wrenched his sword from the corpse's body. Then he bent over my prone figure and examined the injury. He saw it slowly healing and knew I would be OK eventually. The issue now was the minutes on the clock, ticking down to 'That's all folks.'
"Scotty, Scotty." Zass called and slapped my face. "We're running out of time. Scotty?"
I couldn't reply, so Zass wiped his blade on the dead guy, sheathed it and then picked me up, hoisting me over one shoulder and heading for the other end of the maze. When he found the rest of the way clear of obstacles, he stopped just at the edge and put me down.
"I hope you're about ready to wake up Sleeping Beauty," he said and started to pat my uninjured shoulder. When that didn't rouse me, his hand moved to my cheek. "Wakey, wakey." He said and shook me. "You need to walk out of here on your own two feet Blondie."
I heard him calling me and wanted to respond, but the fog holding me under was immense. I could feel the muscles and tendons in my neck and shoulder knitting themselves together and I wanted to scream, but staying in the fog was easier than dealing with the pain.
When he used that name though, I opened my eyes in protest.
"Nope." I said closing them again.
"Come on, time to get up Scotty."
"OK, help me up." I demanded and felt Zass lift me again, this time supporting me so I could find my feet. I examined my shoulder, the blood that had been freely gushing from my injury had slowed to an ooze and I knew given a bit longer to heal, I would make it to the next challenge under my own steam.
"Don't call me that anymore, OK?" I said.
"You walk out of here and I'll call you anything you want." Zass replied and then waited for me to indicate I was ready to move. I looked at his concerned face and took a deep breath. I nodded and then stood up on my own, taking a step forward. Another deep breath and one more step and we were out of the maze, just under the time limit.
One test down. Now for the arena.