Asphalt Moon

Chapter 16: The Legacy

The altar was closer now.

I could feel it in my bones. A pull. Not like the wolf. Something older. Darker. The blade in my pack seemed to hum with it.

We'd been walking for three days. The mountains had given way to a narrow canyon. Red rock walls towered on both sides. The trail was thin. One wrong step and you'd fall into the ravine below.

Cade was beside me. His hand was in mine. He hadn't let go since the valley.

Nellie walked ahead with Damon. She was quiet. Too quiet. The grief was still there. Hollowing her out.

Damon's dog stayed close to Nellie. Her tail was down. Her ears were flat. Even she could feel it. Something was wrong.

"Lena." Cade's voice was low. "Look."

He pointed ahead.

The canyon opened into a wide clearing. Red stone walls formed a natural amphitheater. In the center, a stone altar. Flat. Dark. Stained with something that made my stomach turn.

"Marisol," I whispered.

The Circle killed her here. Drank her blood. For nothing.

And now they wanted me.

"Lena." Cade stopped me. His hand was on my arm. "Before we go down there. I need to ask you something."

"Now?"

"Yes. Now." He turned me to face him. "Why are you doing this? Really. Not because you're stubborn. Not because you're angry. Why?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it.

The truth was harder than I wanted to admit.

"Because I can't run anymore," I said. "My mom ran. She hid. She spent her whole life trying to escape the Circle. And she still died. Carmen ran too. She left the Circle. She hid for years. And she still died."

"Lena..."

"I'm tired of running, Cade. I'm tired of losing people. I'm tired of being afraid." I looked at him. "My mom's letters. Carmen's training. They gave me something. A chance. To finish what they started. To end this so no one else has to die."

"That's not stubbornness. That's courage."

"Feels the same."

He smiled. "That's why I love you."

"I love you too." I squeezed his hand.

The clearing was empty.

No wolves. No Circle. Just the altar and the red walls and the sky.

But the blade in my pack was vibrating now. Humming. Like it was calling out to something.

Or someone.

"Lena." Nellie's voice was sharp. "Behind you."

I turned.

They came out of the rocks. Everywhere. Wolves and humans. At least a dozen. Their yellow eyes glowed in the canyon light.

The man from the garage was there. The one with the scar. He was human now. Clothed. Smiling.

"Lena Calderon," he said. "We've been waiting."

"You killed Carmen."

"She was a traitor. Traitors die."

I pulled out the blade. Held it up. "Then come and get it."

The man laughed. "We don't need to take it from you. You brought it to us. Right where we want it."

He snapped his fingers.

Wolves lunged from the sides.

I swung the blade. Caught one in the shoulder. He yelped. Backed off.

Cade was beside me. Knife out. He stabbed a wolf in the flank. It whined and retreated.

Damon shifted. His gray wolf was fast. He took down two wolves before they could blink.

Nellie swung her tire iron. Connected with a wolf's skull. It crumpled.

But there were too many.

They came from everywhere. Pinning us. Surrounding us.

I swung the blade again. Again. But I couldn't hit them all.

A wolf leaped at Cade. Caught his arm. He screamed. The knife fell.

"CADE!"

I ran to him. Swung the blade. The wolf backed off. But another took its place.

I was surrounded.

The man walked through the chaos. Calm. Unhurried.

"Give me the blade," he said.

"No."

"Then your friends die."

He pointed.

Three wolves held Nellie. Two held Damon. One had Cade on the ground, a paw on his chest.

"Let them go."

"Give me the blade."

I looked at Cade. His face was pale. Blood soaked his sleeve. His eyes met mine.

"Don't," he said. "Don't give it to them."

"Lena, please," Nellie whispered. Her voice was shaking. Tears streamed down her face. "I don't want to die."

I looked at her. My best friend. The girl who'd followed me into danger without hesitation. Who'd slept on my floor. Who'd held me when I cried.

Then I looked at Damon. He'd changed. He'd come back. He'd fought for us.

And Cade. The boy who loved me without needing me to be anything other than myself.

"I'm not giving it to them," I said.

The man's smile faded. "Then they die."

I held up the blade. "I'll destroy it. Right here. You won't get the ritual."

"You won't."

"Try me."

I raised the blade. But I couldn't do it. My mother's knife. The one she died to protect. The one Carmen died for.

I couldn't destroy it.

But I also couldn't give it to them.

I lowered the blade. My hands were shaking.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

The man stepped closer. His yellow eyes bore into mine.

"Your will. Your blood. Your life. You'll come willingly to the altar. And in return, your friends live."

"And if I say no?"

"Then they die. And we take the blade anyway."

I looked at Nellie. At Damon. At Cade.

My mother gave her life to protect me. Carmen gave her life to protect me.

But they didn't die so I could let my friends die too.

"Let them go," I said. "And I'll come with you."

"Lena, no!" Cade yelled.

"Let them go first."

The man nodded. The wolves released them.

Cade ran to me. "You can't do this."

"I have to."

"There has to be another way."

"There isn't." I looked at the blade in my hand. "I'm finishing what my mom started. She never gave up. She never stopped fighting." I looked at him. "Neither will I."

"What about us?"

"We'll find our way back to each other." I kissed him. Quick. Desperate. "I promise."

Then I walked toward the altar.

The Circle chanted as I approached.

Old words. Dark words. They seemed to echo off the red walls.

The blade was in my hand. My mother's blade. The one she took from them. The one I was supposed to destroy.

But I couldn't destroy it. Not yet. Not without knowing why it was so important.

The man led me to the altar. Stone. Cold. Stained with the blood of Marisol and countless others.

"Kneel," he said.

I knelt.

"Give me the blade."

I held it out.

He took it. Laid it on the altar.

"Tonight, the circle is complete. Your blood will restore our power. Your sacrifice will make us strong again."

"Everything else you killed them for nothing."

"No. It was preparation. A way of getting ready for you. Each death was a step closer to making you willing."

"You killed my mom."

"She stood in the way."

"And Carmen?"

"She stood in the way. They all did. Every one of them died so that you would be here. On this altar. At this moment."

The words hit me like a punch.

"So you knew."

"We knew it all along. The letters. The training. Carmen's guilt. It all led to this."

"No," I said. "It led to this. My mom's love. Carmen's sacrifice. My friends' loyalty. They didn't die for you. They died for me. So I could have a chance."

"The chance to die on this altar."

"No. The chance to be free."

Something in my chest cracked. Not the wolf. Something else.

Something older. More powerful.