Chapter 8

That night, the wind howled as the snow lashed down. Cole was sleeping in his chair by the fire as Serena slept on the other side of it on the sofa. For her, sleep was fleeting. The cushion in her back served to be equal parts hindrance and help. Her comfort point seemed to keep shifting as she lay there. She had to keep readjusting the cushion every twenty minutes. No sooner did she drop off to sleep each time than she was awoken by cramps in her back and stomach.

'Screw this!' she thought to herself angrily after about an hour and a half. She got off the sofa and positioned herself in front of the fire. Instantly, her wolf tried to surge forward again. Sensing its discomfort, she moved back a bit so that it didn't see the fire as an immediate danger but still felt warm.

Positioning the cushion and her jacket under her, she went to transform. She decided it would be more comfortable if she transformed and laid herself down in front of the fire. Just as she was about to, she happened to glance up at the window. Her shock was absolute. Instantly, her eyes flared yellow as she let out a ferocious growl.

The Shadow clung to the window frame, liquid darkness spilling from him like a cape of inky blackness. His hand was pressed against the pane of glass, cracks slowly starting to appear under his palm. Raw hated burned in his eyes. Serena knew she couldn't let him in. She couldn't let him target Amy and Cole. She couldn't let this happen.

Quickly as she could, she transformed and charged towards the window. Her jacket sleeve had caught around her foreleg but it didn't slow her down. With the network of cracks running across it, it was easy to smash through it. She seized the other Wolfblood in her jaws and smashed him into the ground as she heard Cole jolt awake in his seat and Amy come rushing downstairs behind her. It was a concern she had to force aside. She couldn't afford to focus on anything other than the force of evil that she'd now locked herself in combat with, both of them writhing and twisting on the ground and kicking up great plumes of snow. They both knew he had the advantage. In his semi-corporeal form there was virtually nothing for Serena to grab onto. In her wolf form, it was like trying to bite down on smoke. Because of that, she wasn't able to stop the Shadow from breaking away and leaping into the network of shadows cast by the street lights and becoming one with the ground. Luckily for her, he would be easy to track. She could smell his scent trail left behind just as with any other living being. She transformed back and stood up, turning to face Emily who stood there stunned. The other woman's mouth hung agape and Serena knew Amy was just beginning to grasp the scope of a Wolfblood's true power for the first time.

"Call the police! I'm going after him!" Serena raced off, not waiting for an answer. With a bit of luck the cold would jolt Amy into action. It wasn't something she could spare the head space for. This had to end and it had to end now! Enough was enough. She knew she was in no shape to be getting into a fight of this magnitude, but that ship had sailed as soon as she'd spotted the Shadow hanging from the window. He didn't know about her one weakness. As long as she didn't give anything away, she'd be fine. And if she didn't stop him tonight, there wouldn't be a tomorrow. Nowhere would be safe for her. Most importantly, she'd never get another chance to get Damien back.

She followed his scent through the streets, trying to ignore the cold. She'd thrown off most of her layers at Amy's house to try and get comfortable against the stomach cramps and hot flushes that kept hitting her like sledgehammers to the gut. She now only had the leather jacket. She considered transforming to try and keep the cold out a bit better, but dismissed the idea. Her wolf had been useless against his Wolfblood sorcery and she knew he'd seen that if he hadn't known already. If she transformed now, he might try and attack while she was vulnerable.

Eventually, she arrived at the church. His scent had led her here. The almost-full moon stood positioned perfectly behind it, bathing it in light and casting a nightmarish silhouette in its silver glow. As she ventured closer, she realised the Shadow must have been using this as his hideout. His aura was all over it. The energy radiated out in livid waves that lashed against the air and tore at it with unseen claws. The atmosphere carried a note to it as though it were some unheard song, its arcane lyrics only audible to anyone who dared listen for them.

'Can you hear the choir sing?

Voices fill the spires!

Hymns of want still echoing

Prayers on the lips of liars!'

She headed inside, putting all of her thought into each footfall. The snow was coming down thick and fast. She had a lot of exposed skin as she was and it was probably turning blue by this point, to say nothing of the internal problems she was risking. But as much as she wanted to rush in where it would be warmer, she couldn't take the chance that he'd laid traps anywhere. She cautiously picked her way through the snow-covered ground, cursing the fact she hadn't had time to grab her boots before jumping through the window. Luckily, there was nothing hidden in the snow. She slipped into the church through the heavy doors and instantly found herself revelling in how much warmer against her skin the stone floor was.

Every light was out, but she brought her wolf forward, the black veins moving through her arms sluggishly from the cold serving to help warm her as they did. Her eyes began to smoulder with yellow embers, the room beginning to brighten thanks to her wolf's enhanced sight. As she worked to kindle the embers of her wolf, they began to burn into a raging internal fire that burned inside her. Energy humming through her body, she felt her wolf throw back its head and give out a triumphant howl as her eyes flared to life again. The room was suddenly lit up as though it were mid afternoon. Serena looked up, panning her gaze around the room and trying to find a trace of where he'd gone. That was when she noticed the message. The ancient Argenspraec was something she'd learned from Willem's books and after practising for years she could read it like a second language.

"Traverse the labyrinth of a god!"

It all made sense. He'd planned to lure her here. The church had been the place she'd first met Fayveer again after taking up the burden of revenge. After Des had first flown into a psychotic rage, the killing had started hard and fast. The church hadn't opened since. Come to think of it, no one had seen the priest either. The realisation chilled Serena now that she thought on it. The labyrinth he was talking about must mean the catacombs below.

Without pause, she ripped the door open. Rage was building inside her as she descended the stairs. Of all the bones she was about to see, she prayed none would be Damien.

It wasn't long before the damp stench of death assaulted her nose. She pressed on as though it didn't faze her and probed deeper, trying to pick up his scent under the carpet of decay. Getting nothing, she decided to change tactic. She crouched down and rested her hand against the dusty stone floor, focusing past the bones that lined the walls around her. She could hear the creatures in the soil below the floor burrowing away. She could hear the birds high in the air as they called to one another in the cold night. Most powerfully of all, she could feel the moon. It still stood large over the sky and its light bathed down on Stoneybridge. Even trapped as she was by the maze-like walls of the catacombs, she could feel its intense power coursing through her veins. It made her feel re-energised and powerful in a way she hadn't felt since all this started. It also gave her Eolas the boost it needed to see her target. Des was just ahead of her and around a couple of bends. She ran on ahead and didn't bother trying for stealth. She wanted him to know that the living embodiment of retribution was out for his blood.

As she ran, the power of her Eolas singing through the halls as she went, she saw Des slipping into a side room. He must have been waiting for her to catch up which meant he was baiting her again. She was just about to follow him when a door to the other side caught her eye. She moved over to it, only to stifle a gasp as she spotted the figure inside. It was Damien. Sure enough, his right arm was completely gone at the elbow. But that seemed to be the least of his problems. He was pale as a ghost, multiple wounds littering his body. The monster holding him captive had obviously taken his time. His jaw hung loose on one side indicating it was either broken or partially dislocated. Bruises covered him, the swelling making him almost unrecognisable. Yet somehow she still knew. She would always know it was him.

Seeing him like this turned her stomach. Even when she first found him in her back garden, he wasn't in such a grievous condition. Yet now wasn't the time to free him. Forcing herself to turn away, she threw open the other door and headed into the next room. If she lived, she'd free him once Des was dead. If she didn't, she expected Damien wouldn't live too much longer either, having served his purpose. In that moment she vowed that they would one day be together again, be it in an afterlife or through searching a thousand lifetimes.