Havermouth, Present TimeAs the night darkened outside the window, Harry moved around the room lighting candles and Jules tried to concentrate on the map of the town that was spread out before him and not on the spectacular beauty and grace of his mate. He wasn’t the only one distracted by it, he thought, catching Jacob Rever with his mouth hanging open tracking Harry’s movements.Sensing his gaze Jacob’s eyes met Jules’ and he flushed. “Sorry Jules. Right, so you were saying, we’ll hit these roadblocks here, here, and here. Diana?”Diana Boyston nodded. “I’ll use the distraction to move the children to the new safe houses and reunite them with their parents.”“James Jones took a crew to the MegaStore earlier,” Casey Donald told them. “They’re planning on taking out the Van Helsings’ generator and as many of their cars as they can. It’s only fair that if we have to get by without power, they do too.”“That should keep them busy,” Jules’ smile was vindictive. “We’d best finish up for t
Havermouth, Present TimeSweat darkened August’s armpits and slicked his hair to his scalp. A drip hung from the tip of his nose, shaking with the inhale and exhale of his breath. The room stank, stale urine and sweat overwhelming any lingering residue of Aislen’s mates and her time in the room, and mingling with the dust and ancient smoke that had permeated the wood.Aislen rolled her head on her shoulders, stretching out muscles that were stiff and aching. After her initial revulsion, she had dug deeper into August’s brain. Tyler had excused himself, but Toby had remained and still leaned up against the corner, watching with an unreadable expression on his face.Aaron had joined them with a notepad and pen and had sat in the corner to take notes. Something which Aislen found useful as some of what she was getting from August made no sense to her, but she didn’t know whether it might be meaningful to someone from the pack, or someone with more military experience.“Well?” Aaron asked
Havermouth, Present Time“Park around the back,” Sigrid told Greg.“It’s further for Tom to walk,” Dan protested.“But out of sight,” Sigrid told him over her shoulder. “And we do not know how far away pursuit is. Better for us to carry Tom to where we go, than for the car to be a flag pointing to our destination.”They couldn’t argue with that logic and rounded the ancient warehouse to it’s rear, where similarly abandoned vehicles including those from Zeus which had carried her across the rickety old train bridge had been abandoned.The warehouse itself was bereft of life. As they got out of the car, the night air picking back Sigrid’s hair and dragging at her skirt, looking up at the shadowy building, she thought there was nothing about it that would make her think that there was life within.She paused a moment, looking around, remembering Harry’s werewolf’s advice that they had spread out. She could just faintly see light through a warehouse to one side and behind. Perhaps that wa
Havermouth, Present Time“We should make the trip to the MegaStore and get some sleep,” Harry’s werewolf, Jules, decided as the group shuffled back out of the narrow hallway and into the night. He ran his hands wearily through his hair, his eyes shadowed and tired.“Can’t,” Aislen shook her head, although like Harry’s werewolf, she looked about ready to fall over from exhaustion. “My boys aren’t back yet. The werewolves haven’t responded to my demand for hostage exchange, and the werewolves I sent with the message have been gone for hours.”“I’m sorry?” Jules frowned. “I feel like I’m missing something. Cameron isn’t back?” He looked up at Harry and Sigrid could see his mind working frantically. “Something’s wrong if he’s not back,” he said grimly.“Yeah, what’s wrong is that the werewolves at the bunker decided to take them prisoner,” Aislen replied crisply. “And August and his goons came to try to take me back to them but got themselves caught. So now August is enjoying the comforts
Havermouth, Present TimeThe stairs groaned beneath Jules and Harry’s footsteps as they headed to the second level with Aaron. Toby hung back, waiting for Aislen’s attention. “I have to go to the MegaStore,” he told her. “Tyler and Izeikiel have been waiting for me and if we’re expecting trouble here… I need the things from there.”“Okay,” she agreed, distracted by her own mission.“Aislen,” he reached out for her arm, but stopped himself from touching her. “You should stay here. Don’t go to wherever it is that you are going. What you can do to people’s heads… It’s scary and dangerous and if the wrong people find out what you can do, they will use it to do worse things than you can even imagine.”She paused. She had known that he was disturbed after watching her search August’s head for details of the war and that she should have spoken to him, offered some reassurance. “I don’t use it that much, Toby,” she said, feeling guilty. She should have sent him from the room, she thought, rat
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen watched as the party approaching from Concordia neared the wall, riding through the ruins of the encampment and under the torchlight shed from the walkway above, his palms resting on the stone. Alyra, Hod, Magnus, and about twenty soldiers. Too few to be the reinforcements that he had requested.Dread sat heavy in his stomach.“Thaelen?” Harithen looked at him in concern. “Perhaps the army follows behind?”“There is no army coming,” Thaelen said darkly. “This is an intervention.”“An intervention?”“Hmm, an interference by officials in the will of the king,” Thaelen considered the implications that Sigrid was not amongst them. “They have come to tell me that they are refusing this war.”“But… You are a king! How can they refuse your command?”Harry seemed to think that the position of king was the same as that of a God, Thaelen thought dryly. Perhaps it was amongst humans. He did not know. “Amongst the Concordia, there is the king,” he sai
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeBehind Harithen there was a scream as one of Thaelen’s soldiers sprouted an arrow in the forehead, dropping to the ground. Thaelen rushed out, pushing Harithen against the curve of the tower wall. The roof tops of the houses bristled with archers and gunners, and he could see the gleam of armour moving through the narrow streets of the city beyond. Far too many.“F-k!” He gripped Harithen by the gambeson, pushing him towards the crenelations as from below there was the harsh bark of gun fire. “We cannot hold this side of the wall against so many,” he told the golden-haired prince. “We have no choice but to retreat.”Stone sparked near their heads as a bullet struck against it, the metal ball shattering under the impact.Haethnir held up a shield as Alyra, Hod and Magnus followed them out onto the wall, the thunk of arrows impacting on the outward facing side rapid, the wood splintering as the points pierced it. He swore as a bullet grazed his thig
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen became aware of the meeting between the Captain of the Guard and Magnus and Hod when the redistribution of men caused a flurry of activity in the courtyard.He stood on the balcony overlooking the activities with a sour taste in his mouth and an uneasiness in his stomach. His teeth ground against each other as the fury rose within him. “Hmm,” he huffed as he watched Magnus and Hod walk out with the Captain to oversee the movement of the troops.“Thaelen,” Alyra said softly from behind him.He cast a glance over his shoulder. “I am not sure that I wish to hear what it is that you think you have to say to me,” he told her. “Or what could be said between us. Harithen is right. If you had sent the army, the city would be ours right now and we would be planning our next move into Greibron as conquerors. Instead, we cower in our towers, watching their wall for any sign that they may, emboldened by our defeat, attack us.”“That is certainly one i