Cornell awoke with the scent of blood in his nose and the sound of screaming in his ears. Cornell opened his eyes to smiling face of Ortega standing before him. He tried to leap and grab his throat but the shackles around his wrists would not allow him. Although he was no longer in his wolf form he growled as he saw that his shackles were attached to chains that were bolted down into the ground. He could stand but could run only as far as the length of the chains. Ortega stood gloating as Cornell continued to struggle against the chains that bound him.
"Welcome Cornell. Welcome to the tower of execution!" Ortega said loudly.
Cornell blind with rage did not bother to observe where he was. His eyes were focused on his prey. Ortega grabbed Cornell by the chin and directed his view. Cornell now saw what Ortega was forcing him to see. The tower was just as large as the art tower. As Ortega directed his view Cornell saw that the tower was filled a fiery liquid like lava. The platform that they were on floated on this lake of fire as did the giant structure that stood in the center. The platform they were on, like many similar ones throughout the tower, were connected to the main structure. Ortega then grabbed Cornell hard by the hair.
"Ah. Is it not sweet?" Then he looked at Cornell. "Do you not hear it? But then that is the point. Silence."
It was true. The screaming that Cornell had heard before was now silent. All he could hear was sound of the fiery liquid bubbling.
"What have you done you devil?"
"Me? I'm no devil Cornell. I'm a saint compared to Dracula. This is all his doing you know. Well, not all of it. I must take credit for a few small details. Such as the villagers."
Cornell stared at Ortega. "What did you do to them?"
"I believe you noticed something about the vampires, correct?"
"None of them have been members of our tribe. No former man-wolf has attacked me, except you!"
"Exactly Cornell! You always were quick weren't you? Do you want to know why?"
Cornell gave no reply. He merely stared. "I'll tell you then. Better yet, I will show." Ortega then grabbed his head again and forced him to look into the fiery lake. Cornell looked but at first could not see what Ortega wanted to show him. Then something came into view. It floated on the surface of liquid. It was black from the heat but under the burnt color he could still see the white underneath. Bones. The fire lake was filled with bones. Cornell forced himself to face Ortega.
"You animal! How could you butcher your own clan?!"
"Animal? Coming from you? Howironic? Perhaps appropriate is the word."
"Why Ortega? Why damn you? And why have you taken Ada?"
"Why? How can you ask me that? You defeated me! It should have been I who should have the power to tap into the seal."
"The clan chose me, it is not my fault!"
"Yes it is! It is your fault I had to live so many years trapped in this human shell! I was happy as a man-wolf! The humans were meant to be our food but no! The mighty Cornell with his infinite wisdom had to make us see the light and seal our powers!" Ortega punched Cornell hard in the jaw.
"You destroyed our destiny Cornell. You changed us. Why? Tell me! Why join them?"
"You know why."
"Yes! I alone know why! And now you know why! You know why all if this has happened. Enough of this, it is time to show you the result of your actions." Ortega then stepped away from Cornell. He turned and looked into the lake. Cornell followed his gaze. The bubbling from the lake became stronger and stronger until finally a shape began to rise from the lake. It was twice as large as Cornell or Ortega. It had gray hair and fangs much like Cornell.
"You remember our fellow pack member, Harleck?"
Cornell stared in disbelief as a giant man-wolf approached him. Harleck growled close to his face and flashed him his fangs. He grabbed Cornell by the head and howled into his ear. Cornell looked into his eyes and failed to find even a hint of intelligence. Perhaps the man-wolf before him was once Harleck, a great man-wolf and loyal friend, but now he was a mindless wild animal.
"What have you done to him, Ortega?"
"As a warning from one friend to another. Look at him. Unlike you, this creature could not tap into the seal placed by the man-beasts. That seal was broken for him by Dracula."
"What?!"
"After all, there is a limit to the benefits of ascetic training. YetDracula has exceeded that limitation of the man-wolf with ease. Perhaps if you could also find the power to exceed that limitation you might survive, hm? I'll be waiting for you, Cornell. You're not the type that would lay down and die after coming this far."
Ortega turned and began to walk away. Cornell yelled after him but Ortega just laughed aloud. As he walked away, Cornell's shackles fell off and he was free. Almost simultaneously a wall of fire erupted and surrounded the platform they stood on. Suddenly the platform was no longer connected to the main structure and it began to float away from it. But not only was it floating away but Cornell could feel it sinking under his feet. The huge man-wolf that towered over him did not make things any better. Each time he would take a step closer the platform would sink a little deeper. Cornell fired several bolts of energy but they did not have much of an effect. The huge man-wolf grabbed Cornell and picked him up. Cornell dangled in the air for a moment and then it threw him back to the ground. Cornell struggled momentarily to get himself up and then threw his entire weight against the creature. It stumbled and finally hit itself against the firewall. It howled in pain. Cornell pressed his advantage and transformed himself into his wolf form. He slashed the creature across the chest but that only made it angrier. It swung its arm in a wide arch and threw Cornell into the very same fire. It was Cornell's turn to howl in pain. Cornell was angry. He and the creature exchanged growls and Cornell pondered his next move. This was a mindless creature operating on animal instinct. Cornell struggled to find a way to outthink it. But then Cornell remembered something. This creature is or was a man-wolf. Therefore only one thing could possibly destroy it, a very large amount of man-wolf energy. Cornell remembered something that Ortega said, ". Perhaps if you could also find the power to exceed that limitation you might survive"
Cornell closed his eyes for a moment. As he did so the man-wolf grabbed him and began to push his body against the wall of fire. What Cornell had in mind had never been done before. But he had no choice. He might not live to save Ada and if did live he would be a mindless animal like the one before him. He thought back to Melinda's corpse and allowed the anger to swell up inside him. He thought of Henry's mother and father. He thought of Coller. Finally he thought of Ada being held captive by these monsters and then he did it. The man-wolf howled as he saw it coming. A wave of man-beast energy came towards him. It was blue light that slowly floated in all directions out from Cornell who was now howling. The wave began to consume the huge man-wolf and continued to spread in all directions. When it reached the center structure, the structure began shake and crumble. Slowly it tilted to the side and sunk somewhat into the lake. Finally the whole of the man-wolf dissipated into the wave and it began to retract back into Cornell. When all of the energy finished dissolving into Cornell, Cornell lay on the ground for a few moments. In his mind the memories of the man-wolf that was Harleck floated around hauntingly. But slowly they faded out of mind and only one thought remained in Cornell's mind, Ada. Only that name and a scent permeated in Cornell's mind. His mind was blank. He howled for no reason other than it made him feel good. He did not know where or why he was here. Cornell only knew of the scent that he was after. He does not remember. He knows nothing else. He knows not even that he has broken the seal. Without the seal all the energy of a man-wolf rages through him uncontrollably. Cornell, once a great warrior under the great seal placed by all the man-beasts has now been reduced to a wild animal.
Chapter 17: Last of the Man-Wolf