XVII
And oh they ran. Ellis ran like she had never run before, tearing out of the mansion as the wolves burst behind her, nearly shredding through the door as they shifted in mid-leap. She risked a glance back, and nearly pissed herself. Drooling jaws snapped at her ankles, and that was enough motivation to seriously just sprint.
"There!" Dreyon shouted. Ellis glanced up, and she barely had enough time to take a good look before they were suddenly thrust from houses into trees and whipping branches. They didn't have the time to duck and dodge the trees and brambles. Even though their skin and wounds healed very quickly, her jeans were quickly shredded below the knees from the undergrowth and her arms were scratched by the twigs.
Something bowled right into her, and Ellis shrieked as a mouth filled with fangs snapped inches from her face. Screw that Remus Gray, she was not going to be killed because of a no-touchy rule! Growling, Ellis hurled the wolf off of her and continued to run, but she was grateful that it landed relatively safely in a bundle of moss rather than a tangle of brambles.
Either way, the situation was not good. The wolves clearly knew their way around the forest, and there were probably many more waiting for them among the trees. Ellis laughed, and suddenly felt as though they were like two desperate little mice being tossed around by a few hundred very malicious cats, scurrying a few inches before being tugged back into torment.
They skidded to a stop, barely managing to avoid a literal army of wolves creeping before them – a hide of mottled fur and gleaming fangs in one formidable line. Behind them, the wolves stopped, and Ellis could hear their ragged breathing and smell the sour stench of their breaths. Every single eye glowed with delight, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were absolutely screwed.
"Well, this sucks," Ellis said, panting. "I guess we'll have to fight, huh?"
Dreyon nodded grimly.
When the wolves leapt, they roared back. It was painful, having to pull punches, making sure that each blow wouldn't break but bruise; that each lash would only stun but not kill. They suffered as well, clothes shredded by teeth and claws, with streaks of red flowing from wounds before their weary body knitted itself together.
A wolf sprang in front of her, but before she could do anything, it ripped right into her stomach. Her shriek could probably be heard for miles, and for one stupid moment, she imagined a flock of birds flying from the trees, all cartoon-style, but that was quickly broken when something long, tube-like, and slimy fell against her hand. Nobody wanted to feel their own intestines. And it was really sick.
Dreyon roared, and threw the wolf off of her, helping her up with his good hand. The other arm was twisted and bloody, and Ellis would have been really concerned if it weren't for the fact that she was trying to hold her innards in with a bloody hand and flaps of tattered skin.
But slowly, sluggishly, they waded through the carnage and in one final burst fled deeper into the woods.
"Dreyon," Ellis croaked. "We need to rest."
They stopped in a little clearing shrouded with thick bushes, staggering onto the floor and heaving for breath. Fortunately, Dreyon was actually pretty good, with slashes down his legs and back, though his worst injury was a broken arm, crushed by a wolf, and Ellis was just really glad that dog didn't take off the entire thing. Dreyon wriggled his arm around, setting it correctly and waiting for it to heal. Ellis was a little more battered, but mostly from that gaping hole in her stomach. She peeled the half-healed skin back a little and leaned forward, making sure that all her organs were arranged properly before patting the skin back into place and again, waiting for it all to stitch itself back together.
"You know," Dreyon grinned. His face was drenched in his own blood, and his teeth were stained with it as well. He looked like something out of a horror movie… well, to be fair, she did too. "It'd be really cool if we suddenly found the amulet right here or something."
"I know, right?" Ellis agreed full-heartedly. "That'd be really neat. And Dreyon, your butt's glowing."
"What?" Dreyon looked baffled.
"Get up!" Ellis crawled over, careful to watch her stomach, and started pawing at the earth Dreyon had just vacated, and in moments, there was the amulet, glowing a faint yellow among the dirt. Someone must have buried it there, hoping that the mud would have stifled the glow, but the two of them must have kicked up enough dirt to unearth the amulet, and… well… Dreyon sat on it after that.
"Lady Luck, we thank you," Dreyon sighed.
Ellis grabbed the amulet, and dropped it with a barely-stifled shriek. Her hand was burned, the skin scorched and curling.
"Are you all right?" He asked immediately.
"We can't touch the stupid amulet," Ellis growled. She was just so pissed. Of course, leave it to a werewolf to trick them and give them an amulet a vampire couldn't touch. And there's that obviously airheaded stereotype that vampires were the sneaky ones…?
Dreyon tore off a sleeve from his shredded shirt. "Maybe we can wrap it up, so we could carry it to a certain extent, all the way to the mansion at least…"
"That won't work."
Both of them stood straight up, crouching down and hooking their fingers into claws. The undergrowth parted, revealing a rather pretty girl with golden brown hair and lightly toned skin, but those glowing golden eyes clearly meant that she was a werewolf.
"I'd advise you to leave right now," Dreyon snarled. "Because we are two very pissed off vampires, and we're getting sick of Gray's no-injury rule."
The girl smiled, but it was tense. "I'm Maia Carlton, Sam's friend."
Dreyon didn't look convinced. "What's his favorite ice-cream flavor?"
Maia looked surprised for a moment, but then rolled her eyes. "Rocky Road with caramel sauce."
"What's his favorite video game-?"
"Look, can we deal with this later?" Maia said impatiently. "The amulet can only be carried by a werewolf. And I know Sam, OK? And he's told me about you guys, and I'm certain that Sam would want you guys to succeed in this stupid quest and live, not to be gutted by his… wolf friends."
"So…?" Ellis said.
Maia strode over and scooped up the amulet. "Come on, then, let's get back to the mansion."
"Um… OK."
πρωίωςτοβράδυ
They left some pretty bloody footprints on the front stairs and the carpet. Ellis actually made sure that she squished her feet around too, so the stains would be a real pain to scrub out. From her quick peek at Dreyon, he was doing the same, even leaving a few bloody smears on the wall with his ruined hands.
And yes, Remus Gray was absolutely livid. He was at the stairs, literally quaking with suppressed rage, and milliseconds away from exploding into his wolf form and tearing them apart. Even if he did, Ellis would have no complaints. She'd have a marvelous time ripping him apart, even if she was being torn to shreds at the same time.
Maia tossed the amulet at his feet.
"We're done with the deal," Dreyon said coldly. "Now, you're going to call off your declaration of war and let us go free."
Gray trembled even harder, and for a moment there, Ellis really thought he was going to explode. But all of a sudden, he stilled, exhaling slowly, and opened his eyes. His face was back to a very civilized, cultured expression, but the fury in those eyes was enough to make her glance away.
"No," Gray smiled, but not kindly. "You've cheated." He turned to Maia, whose face was similarly devoid of emotions. "Maia Carlton, you are a disgrace."
Maia's face remained very stoic, but her lower lip did wobble a fraction.
"You are a shame to our pack, a traitor to your family for doing the most dishonorable thing a wolf could possibly do." Gray spat out every word with a sort of savage relish. "And for all of this, I sentence you to exile."
Ellis released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She felt really bad that Maia was suffering, because in those short moments of interaction, she did seem like a very kind, caring, and brave person… but at least exile was far better than death.
Maia nodded slowly. "I accept the charges."
Gray turned from her. "Leave us now, and you may never returned."
Maia nodded again. "Certainly. But whatever you say, sir, you have to admit that what I did was what Sam would have wanted us all to do."
"Leave!" Gray barked.
Without another word, Maia left.
Gray turned back to them, and it was clear his composure cracked a little. "Now, to deal with you two. In a way, you did fulfill your side of the bargain, even though you had forced one of our own to do it for you. So I will let you go free. But I will declare war on the Shadowlocks."
"The Shadowlocks?" Ellis burst out. "Not all vampires?"
"No," Grey's smile widened slightly. "See, the moment I saw you walk in there with that amulet, I had sent a messenger to the Nightwalkers. We now have an alliance, to attack your family, the Shadowlocks, and we will not hesitate to slaughter each and every one of you to avenge for our fallen brother."
"You-" Ellis's hand shot up, ready to slap, but Dreyon caught her wrist, shaking his head. Angrily, she brought her hand back, clenching it into a fist by her side, but even Dreyon couldn't stop her from spitting a globule of blood and saliva into Gray's face.
"I hope you burn," Ellis hissed.
With that, she whirled around and stormed out of the mansion with Dreyon beside her, her head high and shoulders squared, and refusing to let them see the tears streaming down her bloody face as a sign of weakness.