Chapter 103

Charles

I hung up the phone with Grace. Not exactly the conversation I would have wanted to have right before gunshots, but it was one that needed to be started, especially after hearing a bit of what was said between her and Eason. Hopefully, she wouldn't clam up and actually listen to what I said.

She needed to take risks and test her judgment. It was the only way she was going to get better at it.

I winced, remembering what Eason told me, and couldn't help but agree.

Grace isn't going to start making decisions until she doesn't have a choice. He said, scooping up another dollop of ice cream. If it's not science, she'll use your brain to solve her problems instead of her own if you let her and act out when it suits her… And you should probably brace for the defend, divert, deny, and disengage tactics, too.

He sounded bitter about it but honest like he was bracing for it himself and still warring with whether or not he should.

"Shots to the south," someone called from behind me. "Not even two miles."

"Head that way," I said.

“Your Majesty. Should we head your way?"

"Not yet," I said into my headset. "It could be a diversion.

I peered out into the forest as the car swerved and headed in the direction of the gunshots. I heard screaming and labored breathing. People were running towards us.

A woman broke through the trees, screaming desperately.

"Help! Somebody help us!"

Her ragged clothing and the fear etched on her face told me most of what I needed to know. From the way she ran, it seemed like she'd been going for a long time.

I smelled smoke coming from behind her.

More people came out of the forests, running just behind her of varying ages. A man had a little boy in his arms as he bled from his head.

"Move forward and get them behind--"

An engine roared. Someone cackled, and another set of gunshots went off, splintering a tree as a fleet of ATVs came right behind them.

"For fuck's sake," someone cursed beside me. I pulled my javelin out and extended it, forcing magic into the length of steel and crystal until it was burning hot in my hand. I braced myself with a foot on the car door as we rode closer. The forest terrain was treacherous, and the ground was uneven. As we neared the fleeing refugees, I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I waited for the right moment.

"Cast the barrier on my mark," I said, taking aim as a young woman dove out of the way and rolled over the top of an ATV with a shriek of pain.

The man driving it laughed. "Ten points, lycan-loving wench!"

His comrades laughed. The ATVs grew closer as I took aim at the one leading them. With one swift motion, I launched it.

"Now!"

The wall of light followed the path of my javelin and closed off the running people from the fleet of ATVs. The javelin slammed into the chest of the driver, sparked, and ripped through the rest of the ATV, igniting the gas tank. Fire exploded and beat against the wall before blooming out and engulfing the other vehicles as they careened off course or slammed into the barrier's wall. Metal crunched. People shrieked, and the fire continued to burn.

"Fuck..." The man beside me gasped as the car slowed at the edge of the barrier. I called my javelin back, absorbing the fire with it and leaving nothing but the charred vehicles and half-living men behind.

As the dust and debris settled, I got down from the jeep. The rest of the unit swarmed forward to round up anyone who had mostly survived and check on any of the running people who might have been behind the barrier.

I scanned the area.

"She's alive!" I turned towards the voice, hurrying towards the man's voice. "Barely conscious."

"Give her what you can." I looked forward. "Someone get a unit from Mooncrest here with medics. Set up a temporary camp."

"Can you tell me where you came from?" Another enforcer asked a sobbing woman.

"P-Pear Valley," she shudded, shaking her head. "It's... It's all gone."

I pulled out a map, searching for Pear Valley. It was about three miles from the edge of Mooncrest.

"See to their injuries, the idiots from the ATVs too, and get what information you can out of them. Keep them restrained."

I went to the older man, who looked like he was mostly all right, aside from the blood that covered him from head to toe. "Can you tell me what happened?"

He looked up at me with a bleak expression.

"I've heard all my life that... you lycans take killing up as a hobby."

I crouched beside him. "You've been misinformed. We don't shy away from murder when necessary, but it's hardly a pastime."

His jaw trembled. "Are you going to kill them?"

I tilted my head. Something in his voice was weighing down the words I wanted to give him.

"If need be."

His eyes narrowed. "They killed my wife... and our son..."

His jaw trembled. "Be-Because her mother was half lycan. S-Said they could smell it on her."

He clasped his hands. "Made me watch and set me running. Sport. Prey."

He grit his teeth, and familiar energy ebbed from him. This man's wife might have been a quarter lycan, but he was at least half. The blood wasn't from open wounds.

This man had likely killed the man who had killed his wife or someone else on the way. Perhaps they had just covered him in their blood. I couldn't know for certain.

"If you know who it was," I said calmly. "You can have the first stab."

He looked at me, and a vicious smile curled his lips. "So at least a little of it is true, hm?"

"Some. Did they say why they let you run?"

His jaw shook. "Sport. Lycan-Lovers are better off as a sport."

He turned his head. "Those men... those monsters aren't some pro-werewolf coalition... They're terrorists and murderers... Where are we?"

"Near the Mooncrest border."

He nodded, his eyes shadowed and sniffled. "S-She said she wanted to move to Mooncrest... Healthcare... Better jobs..."

His shoulders shook as he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

"She was pregnant..."

My heart ached for him. "You have my word. You see that bastard, take his life. It's the least he owes you. If there is a body left..."

He nodded. "Please."

I took and turned. "I need a group of three to come scout with me. Three miles south."

I got my three volunteers, and we headed into the forest to run.

"What are we looking for, Your Majesty?"

"Hopefully, survivors." But my gut told me that there would be no one left. "Mostly, information."

Either they'd burned the town to the ground, or they were going to use the town as a base of operations. There were several other small packs in the area that could be the next targets if Blood Moon was looking to make things as bloody as possible.

They were, I knew that much.

"How long before the backup arrives."

"ETA five minutes."

"There's a half-lycan man who might have just shifted or will shift," I said. "Tell them to keep an eye on him."

I led them through the forest towards the scent of smoke and the smell of fire. With any luck, there was something left standing to save. I pulled out my javelin that doubled as a magical focus when I needed it, and heard the others pull out their weapons as we entered the town. The ruins were mostly still burning, hissing, and crackling. I stole the fire from every house we passed and let them check inside the buildings that looked safe enough.

"Bodies."

"Two here."

"Three here."

It had been a massacre. I could still smell the blood in the air.

As we moved further into the town, I couldn't shake the feeling of dread that hung heavy in the air. There were no survivors. We stopped in the middle of the town and looked up at Bood Moon's calling card: a tall pole adorned with the unmistakable symbol of Blood Moon.

The symbol, marked by its eerie, bleeding crimson moon against a pitch-black backdrop, hung over the town like a ghost.

"Your Majesty?"

I growled, putting my foot through the pole so the banner fell. I torched it for good measure and turned my head.

"We search for survivors. For now, we leave the dead."

The three fanned out as I clenched my javelin.

Blood Moon was more cowardly than I thought, involving people who couldn't even defend themselves against the elements properly, let alone a terrorist attack.

As I continued to scout for survivors, something about the attack pricked at the back of my mind. A terrorist organization was usually born of a vendetta.

But were they just murderers enjoying the leeway the President gave them?

I suppose I'd have to ask Alpha Shadow when I dragged him out of the darkness.