‘No, it’s not safe. There should be a tunnel near the river that leads directly to the palace. Follow me,’ I replied and continued running in that direction. There has to be.
We followed the sound of the fast flowing water to reach the river. And then I saw the exact spot I had seen the first time Ava and we had been the victim to the illusion of this mountain. The rock in front of me was the same rock Ava was standing on the edge of, wanting to go ahead to save the ‘child’ from the ‘snow leopards’. And then the vast river was just behind it, flowing with great energy.
‘The tunnel is under the rock in front of that huge rock.’ I said and carefully crept towards it, jumping from one rock to another to reach it. Symon reached to it before me, shifted to his skin and began trying to move it.
It did not move an inch.
‘Only my imprint will be able to open it,’ Just like the doors of the tunnels in the palace. I walked ahead and placed my paw on it, praying to the Moon Goddess for the tunnel to really be there.
The rock began vibrating and shaking so I took my paw off and took a couple of steps back till I was standing on a rock that wasn’t moving.
Slowly, the rocks started shifting and a circular opening was created in front of us. This is it. This is the tunnel. The tunnel that was going to safe Ava’s life.
‘Alpha,’ Symon’s anxious voice made me look up at him. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking ahead, towards the river.
I followed his gaze to the other side of river. On the other back I saw a man with red eyes. I took a deep whiff. He smelt like a rotten corpse.
Is he… is he…?
And then I saw his lips move before he cracked a smile in our direction.
I heard a loud burst and then red dust fell over me.
I looked up to see a cloud of red dust.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
And then hundreds of zombie witches appeared in the air before they began dropping on the ground. Their eyes were red and most of them were stick thin. Their skin was pale blue and green, their teeth either gone or decaying. They truly were dead. They were wearing rags for clothes or nothing at all. And then they were running. Towards us.
I used my powers and concentrated on pulling all the oxygen from their body.
It didn’t affect them.
Fucking hell. Of course not. They’re dead! They don’t need oxygen!
“Run!” Jan hissed. “Protect the King!” And then the three Neos were off-after transferring Javier to Symon of course, their swords out and they hacked the enemies left and right.
“Run, Alpha. Protect Luna.” Symon growled and took a defending position in front of me as we began backing towards the cave.
They won’t make it alive. I know it. They know it.
And they are ready to sacrifice their life for mine.
Not on my watch. I tried fire next. The smell of rotten corpses burning raised in the air and so did the sounds of their bones crackling and burning.
More red dust fell on me and I looked up to see more zombie witches popping up.
I increased the fury of my fire but then the fire was causing the grass, plants and trees around us to start burning too. This can cause a forest fire.
‘The fire will only burn down our entire forest. And they will keep coming till we are all dead,’ Symon whispered in realisation and then placed Javier on my back, in front of Avalyn so that she’d make sure he didn’t fall off, ‘you need to extinguish it. And then you need to leave, Alpha.’
Fucking hell. There really was no other way. And even if there was, I didn’t have the time to think for one or implement it. I had to take action. Right fucking now.
I extinguished all the fire, ‘you will not be forgotten,’ I said and then jumped in the tunnel.
The second I was inside, Symon came in and began placing Javier on my back, in front of Ava so she could hold on to him and keep him from falling off, “hold on to him, Luna.” Ava did, really well for her condition.
And then a few zombies came extremely close to the opening of the cave and he ran with a growl out to kill them and keep them from coming in. And then the sound of the growl earned him more attention from the zombies who began running towards us, ‘close it! Save your life!’
Me eyes met his for the last time. His eyes held pride and the kind of finality that a dying man’s eyes held. But they also held the fire and determination to fight till his last breath, “I am thankful to have taken the right decision by helping you sneak into Montana. It was an honour serving you, Alpha King Nikolai.”
My heart tore apart at the love and respect in his eyes. But if I could do anything to save even one life here, I would be happy.
‘Shut up. Run inside, they’re not fast enough,’ I growled through the mind-link as I saw one of the Neos warrior be swallowed up by a swarm of zombie witches. Jan and the other one were too far now, too deep into fighting off the zombies to make it here alive. The only reason Symon was so close was Javier and I wasn’t going to let him die when there was a chance for him to survive. Even in his death, Javier would be the reason for someone’s survival.
‘Alp-” he started unsurely as he tore apart the head of a zombie.
I let out a low, threatening growl, daring him to be even a second late in following my order.
And then he had shifted into his fur in the next second and was running towards me. My breath stopped as I watching him run, hoping and praying he made it.
The zombies were running behind him like starved rabid animals.
And just when he stepped inside, I slammed my paw on the rock, making the rocks shudder back their place and closing the tunnel forever.
Symon whirled around and killed the two that had made in inside.
The last sight I saw was both the remaining Neos being swallowed up by the zombies. Another life that I would forever be grateful for.
Symon was breathing hard, his chest heaving up and down, as his eyes that held sheer terror met mine.
Both of us realised the intensity of the situation. We had the stones to protect us from their black magic but not the strength to protect ourselves from their sheer volume.
One could be fighting four witches at a time but another fifty would come together and rip you apart.
Nothing short of a miracle from God Sol and Goddess Luna would save us now.