Wolves of War

Into the Dark

The door the leads down to the tunnels is inside a minor temple located just a few short minutes away from the main temple. I peaked through the cracks of the door to get a better look at what was beyond, but the room was too dark to make out any shapes. I can smell her though and sense her presence. It’s not the same presence as the one that caused Faluma and I to nearly pass out from fear, but it's enough to make me feel a little nervous.

The cursed witch must have been drawn into the temple by something or someone. Slowly, I backed away from the door as the stench of death got closer and closer. Whatever she was hunting no longer concerned her. She knows that I am here and I am a better meal for her Queen.

I jumped back just as a hand burst through the wooden door. The cursed witch grunted in frustration as she grabbed air and quickly pulled her hand back. A yellow blood-shot peered through the hole. The eye smiled as it locked its gaze on me. She didn’t speak, just made noises as she pulled the wooden door off of its hinges. The noise she is making will surely bring others, the element of surprise will be lost. The night is still young in Akkadia and the last thing we need is for the Queen to escape into the Desert.

Energy began dancing around my fingers as the adrenaline sent the blood pumping through my veins. With quick movements, I wrapped the creature in my power and pinned her to the floor. The binding spell is one of my favorite go to’s. It's easy, efficient and does not cause harm to my opponent. The con to a binding spell is that it won’t work on beings stronger than you. I feed energy into the hold on the creature, making the invisible ties tighter and stronger the more she struggles. Within a few moments, the creature had no more room or strength to struggle. I breathed a sigh of relief as I held the binding spell steady.

Slowly, I approached the cursed witch and began inspecting her body for the mark of the curse. The mark will give me some clue as to what the caster was trying to accomplish and give me an idea of the nature of the curse. It didn’t take me long to locate the mark nestled right between her breasts.

“What is that?” Ramune asked, covering his nose.

The cursed mark is festering and oozing yellow and green fluid. I placed an ear on her chest to listen for a heart beat and heard nothing. The curse mark is in the shape of a circle. Inside the circle is a triangle. At each point of the triangle are smaller circles. There is a rune in each circle but I could not make out what they were due to the rawness of the wound. However, I can make an educated guess. One rune is probably life, the second rune is probably death and the third rune is soul or spirit. It’s a seal that kills and reanimates the body, trapping the soul in an undead body.

“A zombie”, I answered “The witch who cursed them was trying to trap the other witches in suspended animation but the spell went wrong and she created a nest of zombies instead.”

“Is there a cure?” Ramune asked.

I sighed and took a deep breath. I looked at my coven sister. I searched her features for any familiarity. Sky Tower is one of the larger Covens in my world. That's both a strength and a weakness. Apart from a select few, I would not be familiar with the majority of the members of my coven. This is more than heart breaking.

I pulled a dagger from out of my utility belt and hovered it over the cursed mark. Disrupting the spell is the only way to liberate the witches from this curse. I pushed the point of the dagger firmly into the skin and cut a line down the center of the seal. A few moments later, the cursed witch looked at me, smiled, then closed her eyes in peace.

I stood up from my position on the floor. Every breath I took shook with anger and sadness.

“We await your orders, my Desmona.”

I turned and looked down at whom I assumed was the captain of the bat shifters. Most vampires have black hair, but his fellow have blonde hair. He is a little on the short side, but his wing span makes up for it.

“You're a member of the royal family?” I asked, surprised to see wings on someone other than the royal family.

“No”. The vampire chuckled “Sometimes commoners are lucky enough to be born with wings. It doesn’t happen often but it does happen.”

“What is your name?”

“Ulah”

“Nice to meet you Ulah. Take the others and secure the streets of Akkadia. The other witches will have spread their curse by now and other citizens may be infected. The witches will have a mark in between their breasts, disrupting the pattern to free them of their curse. As for others who may be infected, the only way to free them is to pierce their skull.”

“How would we know the infected from the others?” Ulah asked.

“The whites of their eyes will be neon yellow.” I answered, “and they will be trying to eat people.”

“Ulah, be careful not to get any bodily fluids of the infected or the curse on any opening of your body. I don’t know how the curse will work on you guys and I’d rather be on the safe side.”

On cue, the streets of Akkadia erupted in screams and shouts of terror. Not waiting to be dismissed, Ulah rushed out the door shouting orders as a team of vampires followed after him.

Ramune produced a tarp and covered my coven sister with it. I nodded to him in thanks. The queen would be in the main temple where she is feeding on whoever is brought to her. The queen zombie is queen because she retained her power and some intelligence after the curse took over her body. The first time I went down to the basement, the power the zombie Queen exuded nearly crippled me. I grew a little but not much since the battle with the fire Deity and most of that power came from Lumina. I haven’t felt that power since.

“What’s the plan?” Thea asked.

“Get to the Queen before she decides to run off” I said as I led the way.