Into Death's Arms (42 page)

  
He gurgled and went limp. Hmm, this was getting easier. I grabbed Nikissos by his hair again and started to move forward. I know it seems really ungrateful of me but
,
so what
,
the man wore a collar around his neck that made him obey Kinsley’s every word I didn’t want him deciding to attack me when I wasn’t ready.

         We rounded the fire and I forgot all about holding him. Laith was kneeling on the ground. He had been tied to a ‘T’ shaped piece of wood. His face was bruised and bloody. His chest was bare and he’d been beaten across the chest with a whip.
Two other men were
tied
in similar positions
not far from him.
All three men had a tattoo of the Leo astrological symbol on their left shoulder blades. I wonder what they’d done to get the same punishment
. I continued to drag the
Dream-walker
by all that red and silver hair.

    
A wolf stood guard over them. His eyes widened at the sight of me. From this
angle,
we couldn’t see what was going on where Kinsley and my father were.
He backed up.
Lowell and his buddies
stood within view but didn’t move to either help or hinder us. They were waiting to see if my father killed Kinsley or not. They risked punishment for not assisting the others but maybe they were powerful enough that
they weren’t to terribly worried about it. I was sure they had more to gain than to lose when my father won.

       I moved to Laith.
Glaring at the wolf who’d been standing over them I made a threatening move with my sword he backed up even farther. Laith’s
eyes were open but he
didn’t see anything before him.  I growled angrily. “Laith,” I whispered as I knelt
before him, d
ragg
ing Nikissos with me. Laith’s head jerked toward the sound of my voice.

     “Macyn,
” he asked his voice like sandpaper.

       I let go of the
Dream-walker
and touched his fac
e. “Yeah, we’re here to get you,
” I said softly.

      He sighed roughly, “trap Kinsley knew you’d come
…
gonna use you,” he coughed up blood, “use you to get at Caden.”

      “Dad came with me. I’m gonna cut this rope.” I looked at the
Dream-walker
. “You don’t want me to find somewhere with florescent lighting to lock you up in for the next say fifty years I suggest you catch him.”
Nikissos nodded enthusiastically. I had to remember they were actually friends it was weird to have someone you loved be friends with someone you considered an enemy. I cut the ropes Laith fell forward. The
Dream-walker
caught him. “The others,
” I asked.

     Nikissos had turned Laith over so he was
lying
across the
Dream-walkers
lap. The widening of his eyes warned me the other wolf had finally decided to make his move. I whipped to the left. His hands closed around my upper arm instead of my throat. I was thankful, as it was I was going to have one hell of a bruise. He jerked me toward him and bit at me. I lodged my right forearm into his mouth. Unfortunately, my sword was in that arm. His teeth tore through tendon, muscle, and bone. He had both my arms and still had one arm free. This was going to suck
, except we were close to that bonfire. I punched my body forward using every ounce of my supernatural strength to force him closer to that blaze. We both pitched into the fire. He went up fast. The
Shadow-born
aren’t real good with fire. I on the other hand was also on fire. But
,
fire is light right? I am of the lightborn light didn’t hurt me right? I took a deep breath and let the flame move around me, through me. I walked out of the inferno unscathed.
Damn if I wasn’t the lucky one.

     Dayton was standing there when I walked out, his hand out toward the fire. A look of utter despair etched into his features. I stepped out. Light shone off me
as if I were
a beacon in the dark as if I had absorbed some of the fire into my very being. Dayton’s eyes widened. Then he threw himself at me. He caught me up in his arms and crushed
me to his body. “You will never…
never frighten me like
that again do you understand me,
” he shook me hard. I nodded marveling at the depth of feeling I’d seen laid bare in his eyes.

    
My bro
ther had struggled to his feet and he wrapped us both in his arms.
Tears etched his face as he buried it in my hair.
Hunh, my brother was taller than Da
yton. I wouldn’t have guessed but Dayton had
always seemed so much larger than life.

      The rest of the
Shifters
on this side of the fire gave us a wide berth. I cut the other two
Shifters
free at Laith’s request. Turned out they’d gotten themselves into their current predicament by trying to protect their former pack mate.
This made me like them a hell of a lot. A
nyone willing to take on that kind of suffering for a member of my family got my okay. 

  
We moved around the edge of the fire. My father and Kinsley
no longer fought. Kinsley fought Donovan, while my father battled a tiger
Shifter
in mid-form.

    Kinsley tore into Donovan with his claws sending the big
Vamp
ire
reeling back. Another
Shifter
entered the fray and Kinsley moved back toward my father.  Shit, my father already sported claw marks along his left leg he limped as he fought.

    
Other
Shifters
closed around us. Not Lowell’s crew but the rest of the
Shifters
were slowly creeping toward us. There were too many. Nikissos
grabbed my arm. “Challenge him, b
lood rite you are related via Laith he has to answer
,
which means safety for the others until
the challenge has been decided,” h
e rasped. I didn’t really have to think about it for long. My father, my brother, and my love were in danger.

      I stepped up and shouted over the din. “Kinsley, I challenge you.”

     The wolf King turned his massive head toward me. “You have no right.” I noticed the other
Shifters
had backed off waiting to see how this would play out.

     I shook my head regretfully. “Through Laith my brother
by blood,
I do.” I saw several of the others begin to nod. Lowell was nodding like he had a spring in his neck and smiling like a serial killer.
Which was creepy
, so very creepy
.

     “Fine,
” he
spat then pointed at Dayton, “You cannot interfere!”
He gave my sweetie a look of pure malice.

     Dayton smiled benevolently at him. “I would not dream of it.” He kissed me softly. Several
Shifters
cleared and marked a large circle. The tiger had jumped away from my father who was barreling toward us.

    My dad grabbed my arm, “You can’t do this.” He growled at me.

    I sighed, “You can’t interfere either dad. You can’t do it because you’re not technically related to Laith or any other
Shifter
related to the King. It’s me or Laith and,” I handed Laith off to Dayton, “he can’t even hold himself up. I am an AoD I can do this.” I looked him
levelly
in the eyes. He closed his eyes like he was in pain.

     “I don’t want you to do this.
You are my baby.
” He said softly, insistently.

     I sighed, “If I don’t we are all going to die look at all of them.” I pointed at the
Shifters
surrounding us, “there are too many.” He looked around.

    Then
to my
surprise,
he
nodded firmly once, “I got him in the ribs once he should be we
ak there,” h
e said. Then he went to help Dayton with Laith
. “Your brother and I will be waiting here for you.”

     I stepped into the circle my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
I took a deep breath. I think I can, I think I can. “Leave the blade and gun outside the circle AoD as the one challenged I have the right to chose the weapons used and unfortunately for you AoD I chose claws and teeth.” He watched me closely expecting me to try to back out.

    I shrugged easily and tossed my sword and gun outside the circle.
I had just walked through fire. I could feel Dayton’s
Vamp
iric power flowing through me.
“K,” I answered him.

     His dark eyebrows crinkled together. I smiled benevolently like I’d seen Dayton do when he was trying to be scary. It always scared the crap out of me.
Kinsley looked even more confused. He took one side of the circle. The
Shifters
had all gathered to watch.

    A very happy Lowell stepped forward.
If he looked any more cheerful, he’d be whistling.
“The challenge has been given and answered. Weapons have been chosen. The first to leave this circle
physically or through death has lost. The remaining combatant will have rite of blood to rule over all the American
Shifters
.”
He winked at me letting me know his little rule spiel there had been all about warning me as all the
Shifters
already knew the rules. Note to self thank Lowell later.

   
“You will die girl,
”
Kinsley
announced.

    I took one last deep breath, “Yeah, someday,” I agreed. He flashed his claws attempting to intimidate me. I mimicked his stance
and called on that power Dayton had given me. I wasn’t sure what to
expect
but if I could feel
power,
I should be able to use it. However, what happened next was not what I expected. White
Vamp
ire
claws slid forth from the tips of my fingers. Long fangs formed in my mouth. I had not only accessed Dayton’s power but his abilities as well. I rocked!
I held my hand up so all those gathered could see them. “Pretty huh?” I said loudly.

     I heard Dayton chuckle, “That’s my girl.” Kinsley roared and barreled across the circle at me. I dodged.

He had to stop abruptly to keep from blasting across the edge of the circle. I took advantage of his abrupt stop and slammed my elbow into his back. He fell to his knees I wished I could see his face. I turned so I was facing him. He popped to his feet and turned. It was frightening to behold. His big furry body turning his claws out and ready his teeth flashing. I must have lost my damn mind because I found myself smiling.
He leapt at me.

  
I threw myself forward while falling to my knees. I raked my claws along his torso as he flew over me. He hissed sucking in a deep breath. He rolled over me. He got back to his feet and looked down at the long tears through his abdomen. He blinked as if surprised.
He should be surprised,
hell,
I was surprised and I had done it.

   
I crouched down waiting for him again.
He was more cautious this time. He moved in slowly. His reach was much longer than mine was. He clawed at me. I just barely escaped him.
When
he tried with the opposite
arm,
I threw myself at his massive body digging my claws deep into his chest. He screamed and peeled me off
,
throwing me about ten feet. I landed on my ass but had a big chunk of flesh in either hand.
I hadn’t let go he’d had to rip me free.
He was bleeding profusely. I was only breathing hard. Okay so my butt was bruised but I could have been a lot worse for wear.

     He growled a low menacing sound. Then in a burst of speed I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen
it,
he
charged me. I didn’t have time to move. He hit me head on, biting into my shoulder. He shook me like a rag doll. I was
desperately trying to
grab on to anything so he couldn’t shake me anymore. I could feel my shoulder tearing. I grasped at him.

    I wrapped my legs around his massive torso. The shaking stopped. He tore his mouth free. I screamed, it hurt,
when his mouth tore free his head shot back exposing his throat. I dove my claws into that exposed expanse and leapt a
way from him.  Blood sprayed me and a good expanse behind me too
, like one of those horror flicks
.
The crowd had gone silent. Kinsley gurgled
and
fell back. I waited. Slowly he fell to his knees, then face first into the dirt.