The Call of The Crescent

Chapter 8

I had woken with a deep pit in the bottom of my stomach, today the antidote was ready, and I was extremely happy, but yet there was a feeling of darkness looming ahead, I wasn’t sure why but I had a feeling that things would not be going as planned today.

This terrified me.

Jake and Minnaloushe had gone out to see one of the creatures, and I sat outside under a beautiful tree with glowing flowers, King sat beside me.

“You look stressed, Luna.”

“I am, I have a terrible feeling about today and I don’t even know why.”

“Perhaps you are scared to get Riven back? Maybe you are scared that things will not be the same.”

“I am scared of that, but this is something else. I have a feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong.”

King sighed but said no more and I found myself wishing that someone could give me some kind of reassurance, my stomach twisted and I felt extremely sick with this worry.

Laying my head back against the tree, I closed my eyes.

I had busied myself with exploring the garden by the time Jake and Min returned, and although it had been a welcomed discussion, I was happy to have them back so that I could discuss my worries with them.

But as they approached, I saw the looks on both of their faces and realized that I was probably about to find the source of my bad feelings.

Minnaloushe forced a smile, “Hey, sorry we left without you, but we didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Why do you both look as if you have bad news?”

The pair glanced between each other before turning back to me, neither saying a word.

“Jake?”

He once again looked to Minnaloushe before speaking, “Minx, I need you to promise me that you are going to remain calm, and allow me to speak.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilted my head to the side, “Spit it out, Jake.”

“Jesse is here in Flora-”

I felt the rage building up within me as I walked away, pacing in no real direction. Knowing he was here, I wanted to find him right now and slaughter him.

Jake placed a hand on my shoulder, “Minx, you need to listen to me. We have spoken to a few of those in Flora, Jesse has been sighted. And Riven is with him.”

“What?! Riven is with him? As in he’s Jesse’s fvcking pet? Facts, Jake, speak.”

“Minx, Riven has been sighted with Jesse, as his protector. He is to Jesse what Midnight is to Minnaloushe.”

Anger was far too weak a word to describe what I was feeling.

“What is he doing here? Does he want to flaunt what he’s done to Riven? Is he hoping that I will go after him and Riven will hurt me? Is he so stupid?”

“I believe he has calculated this just right. He knows you are here, he must have realized that you would have found Riven by now, so he knows that you would be doing everything in your power to bring him back. And he knows that you will go after him, he is trying to set you up to die by Riven’s hand.”

“Where is he, Min?”

She looked at Jake and then down to the ground.

I spun to Jake, “Where are they?”

“You can’t go rushing in there unprepared, Minx, think logically, do not act on anger.”

“You want logic, Jake? No problem,” I turned to Minnaloushe, “Where is he, Min? You mentioned that I could challenge the people who had Riven. I will do the same to him, he surely cannot decline if it’s done publicly.”

Minnaloushe nodded, “That may be a good plan. But you must know that if you do this, no one else is allowed to help you fight them.”

“That’s fine by me, I don’t need anyone else. I need them both in front of me, once I give Riven the antidote I’ll focus on Jesse.”

“But if there is two of them, and one of her, that is not fair. Can I go in with her to make it even?”

I shook my head, “Jake, no. You have already done enough for me, I am not taking the risk of losing you.”

Jake threw his hands up dramatically, “Right, And after everything that I’ve done for you, you really think that I would leave you to do this alone? I have done everything in my power to make sure you are safe, to make it easier for you. Do not insult me by thinking that I would allow you to walk in there alone.”

Minnaloushe sighed, “We can decide all this if we get this right. Jesse isn’t one of us, he may not follow our rules. However, he wants you dead so maybe we can use his ego against him, it won’t look too good for his image if he declines.”

“Great, how do we do this?”

Jake made a face, “Um, hello? Is no one hearing me? I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“It may not be a good idea, but it’s the only idea we have,” Minnaloushe turned to me, “Let me go and set this up, I have reason to believe that he is with the ogres.”

“I am coming with you, this is between him and me.”

Minnaloushe gave me a short nod before heading inside, presumably to allow Jake and me a moment.

“Minx, this is going to go wrong, I can just feel it.”

“Jake, I need to do this, I need to save Riven and I need to stop Jesse. This may be my only chance.”

He came over, placing his hands on my shoulders and staring into my eyes, “I know that it needs to be done, but all I’m asking is that you let me do it.”

“No. Riven will kill you, I still have a chance because of our bond. You have already sacrificed so much for me, I won’t let you sacrifice your life. I don’t think I would make it if you’re taken from me.”

He kissed my forehead and stepped back, dropping his arms in defeat, “I’ll let you do this, but if things get bad in there, I’m stepping in, regardless of the rules.”

“I’ll be okay, I promise.”

Minnaloushe came back out, holding a small vial of light purple liquid, “The antidote. Can be administered through the blood, so you have to inject it through this sharp tip here.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking it from her.

“Are we ready to go and call Jesse out?”

“Absolutely.”

“Just keep in mind, you have to stay calm, you cannot lose your cool when we see him.”

The ogres were much more welcoming than I had expected which led me to believe that Jesse had known I would come for him.

He sat casually atop a large rock that was over a small, but beautiful waterfall.

He wore no shirt and had strange tattoos on his chest now, I was unsure of what they meant but they looked magical of some sort.

Riven sat next to him.

He stood when we approached, smiling warmly as if we were old friends and not enemies.

“Harley, so nice to see you again. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

My eyes were glued to Riven as Minnaloushe stepped forward. He stared at me, and I hoped that deep down he knew exactly who I was.

Minnaloushe held up her hands, “We come before the ogres with a challenge. We ask to address the newcomer werewolf.”

Jesse jumped down and I took a step back, he hadn’t shifted, yet he jumped down as if it were nothing, the fact that he seemed to have some sort of new power both alarmed and surprised me.

He walked over to us, Riven in toe.

“Well, here I am, address away.”

My wolf stirred, and I had to fight to keep her at bay, which was not that hard when I saw Jesse’s eyes, causing me a distraction.

They were no longer yellow, they were a fiery golden colour, it looked like a mix of red and yellow.

I took a step closer to him, “What happened to your eyes?”

He grinned, and I stepped back at the sight; he had fangs. Vampire fangs. 

“What do you wish to discuss with the new Hybrid King, Harley?”

Hybrid King?

As confused as I was, I wasn’t about to let that stop me, “I wish to call you and your pet out, a fight between us.”

Jesse laughed, “You want to fight me? I will rip you to shreds little wolf.”

“If that’s the case, stop talking and agree. Unless you are too scared to face me, a little wolf?”

“State the rules, witch.”

Minnaloushe smiled, “The rules are as follows. Any of the two parties can forfeit, the large wolf cannot. The fight ends when either Harley or Jesse forfeit. Or when one of them has been killed. No weapons will be brought in. No outside help. Breaking the rules will result in death.”

Jesse smiled, toying with a strand of my hair, “Ah, how I will enjoy this.”

I swatted his hand away and stepped back, “Tonight.”

“I propose another rule. Should I win, I get Harley, I think she would make such a pretty little Hybrid slave. My coven would adore her.”

I took a step forward but Minnaloushe grabbed a hold of my arm, reminding me to stay calm.

Jake however had other plans, he sauntered over to Jesse laughing, “J, man, I have to say, I never realized that you were this pathetic. Couldn’t make it as anything other than an Omega, so you ran away to start your own little wolf pack, knowing full well that you were not a proper Alpha. That didn’t work, so you tried to turn the world all screwy, which is also not going to work. And when you realized what a complete failure you are, you ran along to become a Hybrid, thinking that this will finally give you the power you crave. It won’t, you may have a few cool new powers, but at the end of the day, you are still plain old Jesse, never good enough for anything. Even your mother only used you.”

Jesse snarled at him, he had hit a nerve, but I had to wonder what Jake was up to, he didn’t say all this just to piss him off, he had some sort of plan.

Minnaloushe stepped forward before Jesse could do anything, “None of this in Flora! We are not savages here! We do things accordingly. Do not make me enforce the laws upon you.”

I could tell by the look in Jakes's eyes that he was annoyed by this.

Minnaloushe turned, “We will continue this tonight, as the sun goes down, be there, if you are not, it is seen as a forfeit.”

Jesse smiled at me, “Oh I will be there alight.”

We had barely left when I spun to them, “Would someone please tell me what the fvck a Hybrid is?”

Jake sighed, “It is one of the strongest things you get. It’s a werewolf-vampire mix. They are extremely powerful, they possess every strength of both sides, and they can move around in the sunlight. They are also immortal and can procreate. To kill them you would need to decapitate them, or rip out the heart.”

“Oh that’s just lovely, I cannot wait to fight this creature that’s so incredibly strong and difficult to kill.”

“He’s still Jesse, all the power in the world means nothing if you don’t know how to use it correctly.”

“Thanks, Jake, I feel so much better.’

Minnaloushe sighed, “I think we should go to the arena now so that Harley can get accustomed to the space, it may give an advantage.”

I nodded, she was right, and after finding out what Jesse now was, I was sure that I would need every advantage I could get.