Screams fill the air, those of pain, bodies littering the field as blood seeps into the green field and begins to turn the once green and luscious field into a field of limp bodies and blood. My lungs ache for air, pleading with me to take a break for one second, to relax and catch my breath. I gasp for air as I watch the men around me, those who were once breathing a second ago, now dying brutal deaths. Lily Maxwell still holds most of her pack back in the forest line, watching as from a distance as I can spot the petite human in the crowd of rough werewolves.
"Sybil," Zion calls out to me, his words repeating over and over in my head as I notice how I stand still in the field. "Shift, Sybil, damn-it, shift!"
I try, trying to find my wolf, but she is afraid. It's been such a short time since my wolf came back to me and to now ask her to shift during a deadly battle only scares her deeper into my soul. "I can't," I whisper, watching as Zion charges forward with a set of knives out, digging them into the neck of a black wolf who leaps out at him. "I can't!" I shout at Zion, watching as he turns back to me with fear in his eyes.
Zion grabs my arm, tugging me away from a group of wolves attacking our army. The smell of smoke grows stronger, the screams from the forest dying off as we know we have lost some of our army in that fire that drove us out. "The witches started the fire," Penelope informs, running up beside me as she watching the field before her. We stand at a small include of the field, the main bloodshed occurring a good twenty yards from us. "We could not smell their scent...it had to have been the witches."
Just as Penelope finishes her conclusion to the fire, a bright light flashes around the palace, displaying a shimmering purple and blue globe around the palace, protecting it from any long-distance attacks. "Those damn witches are now going to try and tear down an ancient magical spell which protects it. Is that possible, Zion? Do they have the magic possible to tear down an ancient magical shield of protection?" Penelope asks, drawing Zion back to us as a few of Penelope's top warriors form a small barrier around us, looking in awe as they spot their past king fighting among them.
"Fiona's coven is one of ancient magic. They know how to work with the proper spells."
We all watch in silence as a dark and murky green color appears upon the magical shield in a concentrated spot, a group of witches behind Lily's men beginning to tear down the barrier as another group of witches put up a shield of protection over Lily's witches. "The palace walls have weapons to attack, but it will take a bit of persistence to break down the spell the witches have cast to protect their coven."
"So how do we draw them out?" I ask, knowing there has to be some way to get them to stop.
"We need our warriors to break through every wave of warriors Lily Maxwell sends us until she begins to send witches to us. Witch covens have a strong bond, they will protect their sisters," Penelope replies, turning to her men as she instructs them to push forward with more men who sit on the sidelines. Yet we are already in jeopardy, we are losing so many men out here already and too fast.
"No," Zion interrupts Penelope's orders. "Have your men form a line two rows thick in a semi-circle formation to try and trap Maxwell's warriors in and bring them together so we can give them less chance of charging us." Penelope nods, repeating Zion's orders as we watch word make its way to the warriors fighting on the field. "We are not doing anything here by sitting back. How many warriors are here just watching the battle unfold? We are not doing anything by just sitting around."
"You wish to join them?" Penelope looks puzzled. "Alphas usually stand back and give orders."
"Right now you need every man out there. Orders can travel faster if you are down there," Zion answers, looking to me, asking for approval, wondering if I would feel comfortable joining the battle below. He does not need to ask through. He knows I would not say no, for this way my idea. Nodding, we all begin our charge down to the lineup of men we have on the battlefield, running around the limp bodies as my boots sink into the blood as if mud.
From afar I can see a small hole beginning to form in the palace barrier, the witches beginning to pull it apart as I know time is running out. Running faster, I pull out my knives as Zion stays close to me, the two of us joining the formation as we are met with the gruesome battle. Left and right wolves and humans dodge at one another, tackling the other as screams fill the air.
A force knocks me off my feet and onto my back as pain erupts around my neck, my eyes meeting those of a blood-hungry grey wolf. I immediately place my hands on his neck, digging my fingers into his neck as I hold his head back, his powerful jaws snapping at me, trying to take a bite into my face. My knives landed at my side during the fall, questions flooding my mind as I wonder how I can reach them. The wolf continues to snap at me, slobber falling onto my face as his canines come close to my nose as I close my eyes tightly.
Suddenly, the weight of the wolf is off of me as I see Zion's dark brown wolf attacking the grey wolf, his powerful jaws locking around the grey wolf's neck as my attacker falls limp. I act fact, picking back up my knives as I know not to waste any time. Just as the knives are back in my hands, I can see from the corner of my eye someone in human form charging at me. I hop to my feet and twist around, sharply straightening out my arms as the silver blades of the knives land into my new attacker's torso and sternum. My eyes widen as I see the blood run down his chest and as I remove the knives, I watch his body fall to the ground. My first kill.
My hand is grabbed, pulling me out of the line of attack of a golden brown wolf, Zion working fast to swing me around behind Penelope's men as he goes to attack the golden wolf. I watch as Zion is in human form, jumping onto the back of the wolf as he digs his knife into the back of the wolf. The wolf takes Zion down with him, throwing Zion to the ground as the wolf lands his teeth into Zion's lower leg. I scream out in horror, running forward to protect the man I love, picking up his discarded knife as I watch Zion try and pull his leg out of the wolf's teeth, his screams of pain filling the air as my heart aches.
The moment the golden wolf spots me, it is too late, for I have placed the knife directly into his eye, watching as his locked jaws loosen and Zion can pull his leg out.
Helping Zion up, I get him behind the second row of Penelope's men as we both watch Lily's men become fewer on the field. "She will send in the next wave soon," I comment, looking down to Zion's leg as I can see the blood staining his pants. "You okay?"
"I'll recover," he insists, grabbing the material of his pants below his knee as he tears it off and begins to wrap it around his fresh wound. I run my hands through his hair, trying to help him relax as I can feel how tense he is, the two of us looking out to Lily Maxwell's men as the second wave of wolves begin. "We need to head for the palace, to get Laraxis safe. Lily is going to go after him."
"You're an enemy of the kingdom."
"Laraxis should have noticed by now that Lily Maxwell is no ally." I nod in agreement with Zion, looking to Lily's line of men still left in the treeline. She is getting anxious, for most of her men have been sent to the the battlefield. Scanning the end of the line of her warriors, I spot a familiar face, one which brings hatred to my soul as I meet her eyes.
Fiona looks back at me from afar, the tension between the two of us thick even from out here. Fiona stands beside Lily, whispering in her ear as I have no doubt Fiona has been the little snake on Lily's shoulder, whispering lies to deceive her.
A sudden crackling draws everyone's attention to the shield the witches put up around themselves, for the palace has launched a fiery mass at the witches, only for it to fail. "The palace is using the trebuchet," Zion comments, "no double when they realize they cannot breach the witch's shield, they will begin to fire at us."
"Would they do that?"
"Kings and Queens have given the order in the past," Zion informs. "I once saw my father do it. We need to get to the palace before we are smashed to pieces."
Taking in a deep breath, I nod, looking at the distance between us and the palace. "Where is the nearest tunnel to the palace?"
"Fifty yards East. We will need more men just besides us two," Zion points out, showing me the locations of the tunnel being back in a forested location. "The door to the tunnel is strong, it hasn't been opened in years." Nodding, I look over to Penelope, seeing her shout orders as we all begin to brace for the next wave.
Zion and I rush to Penelope as the second wave hits, the scent of metallic blood filling the air as Penelope shouts at her men to stand strong. "We need to get into the palace, to brace Laraxis for Lily to bring her men inside," Zion informs, yet Penelope is distracted as she watches her men fight all around her. "There is a secret tunnel we can enter through. We need men though to open the door and to get into the palace."
"We can defeat Lily on the field," Penelope insists, only for Zion to point towards the palace walls.
"The trebuchet are already beginning to turn towards the battlefield, not the witches. Laraxis is going to send massive rocks our way.Besides, look how much of the magical barrier the witches have torn down already. Lily will soon enter into the palace, we should too."
Penelope looks over to the witches on the other side, giving new instructions to a group of her men. "I need twenty men to head for the witches. Try and kill as many as you can. One or two will make even the smallest difference." A group of warriors set off, running around the wave of warriors Lily sent out, charging for the witches as I watch Fiona walk forward, in the way of the charge of the warriors.
The ancient witch stands there, feet shoulder-width apart as she opens her palms and a golden mist swirls around her. Just as our twenty warriors get closer to her, she shoots her hands straight forward, releasing an energy forward as our warriors are pushes back, their coats of fur in fire as they roll around in the grass to try and put out the fire as a small group of Lily's men rush over to kill them off. Fiona's eyes meet mine as I watch twenty warriors become slaughtered, a smirk tugging across her face.
Just as I turn to Zion, we hear the noise of a mechanical object, everyone looking to the palace walls as the trebuchet throws over a flaming mass our way. Penelope screams for her men to get out of the way. We begin to run back, Zion tugging my arm as he pulls me further away from the battle as we watch the tar-covered rock which was lit on fire crush through a small crowd of ten men fighting from both sides, rolling across the field as their bodies become smeared with it. The blackened grass smells of smoke as I feel vomit rising in my throat and Zion buries my head in his chest to keep me from looking at the sight anymore as we can all smell the burning flesh. "Penelope, we need to head for the palace. Give us at least ten of your men," Zion pleads to the Alpha.
"Fine," Penelope decides. Looking to the Alpha, I watch her call out ten warrior's names, gathering them together as they begin to whisper among themselves as they recognize Zion. Their eyes scan over me, wondering if they recognize me, puzzled as they raise eyebrows. "You will all follow Zion to the palace to take a secret tunnel. You are to follow his orders and keep him and Sybil safe." Their whispers die out as they stare at me with awe. "No time for gossip, go."
Nodding, Zion leads the way, taking hold my arm as he instructs them to take wolf form. As Zion shifts, he nudges for me to get onto his back. Hopping onto his back, I grab onto his fur to keep on as Zion and the warriors now in wolf form charge out to the forest before the palace. I look over to see Lily's witches tearing down almost all of the magical barrier, the witches beginning to cast spells into the palace as palace guards scream out in pain. Looking closer, I see a small group as well begin to head for the palace, but not for a secret entrance, but for the main gate of the palace. "Lily is heading into the palace too," I inform Zion's wolf, only for him to reply by picking up his speed.
Today our worlds have collided, for Lily Maxwell and I have met on the battlefield. We all head for the palace, a race against time as we will all be trying to find the King and to try and do what we believe is best for the kingdom. Taking in a deep breath, I look behind me to the battlefield as another rock launched from the palace lands and more screams fill the air as warrior bodies are smeared across the battlefield. Keeping my chin up, I think of what could be if we make it out of here today, if Zion and I succeed. We just need to keep that in mind and know that we are fighting for a better tomorrow, for the future of the kingdom. I hope this is the last time that the story of Lily and Nixon meet the story of Sybil and Zion, for our worlds were never supposed to collide in such a chaotic manner.