CHAPTER 7: Dread Walkers.
1385 Words
THUMP THUMP THUMP.
The thunder of hooves echoed through the valley as Damian's forces raced toward Avalon territory. Dust clouds billowed behind the mounted warriors, their armor gleaming in the fading light.
Damian pulled his horse to a sudden halt, raising his fist. His men stopped immediately behind him.
Before them, smoke rose from the Avalon pack borders. Orange flames licked at the sky, and the distant sounds of battle screams, the clash of steel, inhuman screeches carried on the wind.
"Oh s**t, we are too late," Damian's jaw clenched, his knuckles white around the reins.
The dread walkers were skeletal figures who were long dead, their bones held together by wisps of dark magic that glowed sickly green in the joints and eye sockets. They wore remnants of ancient armor, corroded and broken, yet they moved with terrifying speed.
They can only be risen from the dead by ancient magic,magic that should have been lost centuries ago.
The creatures had already begun to raid the Avalon pack, their skeletal hands tearing through wooden structures, their hollow eyes searching for Lyra.
"Lord king…." One of Damian's men pointed toward the tree line, arm shaking. Skeletal figures emerged from the shadows, dozens of them, moving with unnatural speed toward their position.
Damian's eyes flashed gold. "On me!"
He unsheathed his sword,the blade singing as it left the scabbard and kicked his horse into a gallop, charging straight into the oncoming horde.
His men roared behind him, following their king into battle.
CLANG SLANG CLANG.
Damian's blade met the first dread walker, sparks flying. The creature's bones were harder than normal skeletal remains, reinforced by dark magic. But Damian's strength was superior. With a powerful swing, he cleaved the dread walker in two, the pieces clattering to the ground before dissolving into black smoke.
Another lunged from the left. Damian ducked beneath its clawed grasp, spinning his blade in a wide arc that took the legs out from under three more creatures.
"Shield wall!" Leon's voice rang out as the Avalon pack warriors rushed to reinforce the perimeter.
The Avalon pack warriors fought with fierce determination, shields locked, swords flashing in coordinated strikes. They had trained for battle, but nothing could have prepared them for fighting the dead.
A dread walker broke through their line, its jaw unhinging impossibly wide as it shrieked a sound that made eardrums throb. It grabbed one warrior by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Fire!" Damian commanded.
Archers released a volley of flaming arrows. The projectiles found their marks, igniting the dread walker. The creature released its victim, stumbling backward as flames consumed its ancient bones.
They poured from the forest like a tide of death,more were coming.
CLANG SLANG.
"Lord king..there's too many of them!" One of his warriors shouted, barely parrying a lethal blow.
Damian's gaze swept the battlefield. His men were skilled, but they were getting overwhelmed. The dread walkers felt no pain and they felt no form of exhaustion either.
Dread walkers closed in from every direction, a ring of bone and death tightening around us.
Damian's eyes began to glow brighter, power building within him. He raised both hands. Dark clouds gathered overhead, responding to his will. Lightning crackled between them.
"Fall back!" Damian commanded. "Get clear!"
His men retreated in practiced formation, backing away from the advancing horde.
Damian conjured massive fireballs in both palms,spheres of flame that roared with intensity. He hurled them into the thickest concentrations of dread walkers. The fireballs exploded on impact, sending bones and dark magic scattering.
But the bones began to reassemble, pulled together by invisible threads of necromancy.
"They're regenerating!" Leon called out, horror in his voice.
“Oh shit.." Damian gritted his teeth. Dread walkers couldn't be killed by conventional means,only complete magical annihilation would stop them.
His body began to shift,bones cracked, muscles expanded,fur erupted across his skin.
Then he transformed into his wolf form.
His transformation was massive nearly the size of a horse, fur rippling with barely contained energy.
"AWOL!" The howl erupted from his throat, power given voice.
Dread walkers stumbled, some falling backward from the magical pressure.
Damian leaped impossibly high into the air, seeming to vanish into the dark clouds above,thunder rumbled.
Then he descended like a meteor.
His massive paws hit the ground with catastrophic force.
BOOM!
The impact created a shockwave of pure magical energy that radiated outward in a visible wave of golden light. The ground cracked and buckled.
Dread walkers caught in the blast simply disintegrated,their physical forms and the dark magic animating them vanishing in eruptions of black smoke.
When the light faded, Damian stood at the center of a massive crater, breathing heavily. Around him, hundreds of bone fragments lay scattered.
The remaining dread walkers fled back into the forest.
Damian shifted back to his human form, sweat dripping down his face, muscles trembling from the exertion.
"Alpha Damian.." King Adrian's boots pounded against the bloodied ground as he ran toward him, chest heaving. "How did you know we were in grave danger by this…things?" His brow furrowed, head tilting slightly.
"I am the protector of the realm, it is my duty to know when my kingdom is in danger" Damian replied, his voice steady despite his exhaustion.
"And Lyra?" Adrian asked urgently.
"She is safe," I replied. "I have guards posted at her location in Velmoria."
Adrian's shoulders sagged with relief.
"Where are your daughters?" Damian's gaze sharpened, one eyebrow arching upward.
"Inside the palace," Adrian said quickly. "I ordered them to the safe room the moment the attack began."
"I see," Damian's eyes narrowed, his tone dropping lower.
Something didn't sit right. The timing of this attack, the specific targeting of the Avalon pack...
"I need to speak with your daughters," Damian said.
Adrian hesitated. "They're shaken, Alpha Damian,perhaps"
"Now." Damian's voice carried absolute authority.
Adrian swallowed and nodded. "Follow me."
As they walked toward the palace, Leon fell into step beside Damian, speaking low.
"My lord, something about this doesn't add up. How did the dread walkers know to come here? And why now?"
Damian's jaw tightened. "I was thinking the same thing."
They entered through the main entrance. Servants rushed about, tending to wounded,guards stood at every corridor, weapons drawn, eyes wide with lingering fear.
Adrian led them to a reinforced door with two guards stationed outside.
"Open it," Adrian commanded.
The door revealed a spacious safe room filled with plush furniture and supplies.
Sitting on an ornate couch, looking remarkably composed, were Thalia and Eliza.
Thalia stood immediately when she saw Damian, her face brightening. "Alpha Damian! Thank the goddess you're here!" She rushed forward.
Damian sidestepped smoothly, keeping distance. His eyes studied both sisters carefully.
Neither looked frightened. Neither looked like they'd been in any danger at all.
"I was told you both went missing," Damian said, his voice dangerously quiet.
Thalia's smile faltered for just a fraction of a second. "Missing? No, we've been here the whole time."
"And you didn't think to help defend your pack?"
Eliza spoke up, her voice cool. "We're not warriors, Alpha Damian. We're royal ladies of our pack"
"Interesting." Damian's gaze shifted to her. "Because your half-sister Lyra managed to make it to a battlefield despite having no training."
Thalia's hands clenched. "Lyra is reckless."
"Or perhaps," Damian said softly, "she has something you two lack,a heart."
"Where were you three days ago?" Damian interrupted, taking a step closer.
"Here. In the palace," Thalia said quickly.
"All day?"
"Yes."
Before anyone could respond, a guard burst through the door, face ashen. "Lord king! Alpha Adrian! The palace dungeons,someone's broken in! All the prisoners are gone!"
Damian's blood ran cold. "What prisoners?"
"The captured rogues from previous raids," Adrian said, his face going pale. "At least thirty of them."
A massive explosion shook the palace. Windows shattered. Screams erupted from outside.
Damian and Leon rushed to the broken windows.
In the courtyard, thirty rogues stood in a circle, dark magic pouring from their bodies. The air rippled and tore, reality splitting open to reveal swirling darkness.
Stepping through the portal was Sebastian.
Sebastian's
eyes locked onto Damian's window.
" Hello, brother!” Sebastian said with an evil grin.
“A war is coming, brother! And you….shall….fall!” Sebastian said,one at a time.
- Writer
