Shifters Rule (Rule Series) (27 page)
Billy made a rude noise.
Jack added, “We won’t be able to say the things we need to say.
This is it, our final chance.
Please talk to me.”
Billy’s eyes snapped open.
He leaped to his feet and was across the room in a flash.
He stood as close to the open door as he could.
Hands on either side of the door frame, Billy leaned forward.
“You want me to talk to you?
Okay.
Open your ears and listen up.
If you get killed tonight, I won’t care.
I won’t shed a single tear.
You are nothing to me.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.
I really, really do.”
Jack pushed the negative emotions down that were threatening to surface like a hundred foot tidal wave.
Regardless of what Billy said, he knew the thing telling him off was not his brother.
It was the beast within.
Apparently, Billy was buried too deep to reach.
Maybe someday they would laugh about this moment... if they both survived.
“Jack, are you down here?” Silver yelled.
Billy chuckled.
“Better hurry.
Your little girlfriend is calling you.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.”
Jack dashed off to find Silver.
She was in the hallway outside of
Jersey
’s old study.
When she saw him, her eyes lit up.
She ran to him, hugged him close as if she hadn’t seen him in days instead of minutes.
“I was afraid you’d gone to meet
Jersey
without us.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Good.”
She glanced at the study door.
“Can we talk?”
He nodded and gestured for her to go first.
They went inside.
Jack sat behind the desk and Silver perched on the edge.
They talked about her fears.
She wanted him to promise not to do anything stupid.
They were going to take on
Jersey
together.
She reminded him that they needed each other.
A few minutes later, Ian’s booming voice echoed throughout the mansion.
He shouted Jack’s name again and again.
Jack and Silver exchanged confused glances.
Ian sounded angry.
They hurried to the door.
Jack stuck his head out and waved Ian over.
The three of them met in the open doorway.
Ian’s face was red, and his hands were clenched into tight fists.
He yelled, “Was it you?
Did you release Billy?”
Jack shook his head slowly and frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your brother is gone.
Someone erased enough of the spell near the door to let him go.
Was it you?”
Billy was gone?
“Why would I let him go just a few hours before we fight
Jersey
?
He’ll put himself in the middle of the battle.
He could get killed.”
Ian didn’t seem convinced by Jack’s logic.
His stormy eyes narrowed on Jack’s face.
“Maybe you put him somewhere else because you’re afraid of what I might do to him.
Is that it?
Did you hide him from me?”
“I didn’t…”
“Don’t lie to me!”
Silver interrupted Ian’s furious tirade.
“He didn’t let Billy go.
I was there the whole time with him.
We just wanted to check on Billy before the fight.”
Ian stared at her for a long moment, but she didn’t back down an inch.
Finally, he turned on his heels and marched off.
Once he was out of earshot Silver turned to Jack and asked, “Did you let him go?”
“Of course not.
I don’t want Billy loose right now.
If he shows up at the battle, Ian will use it as an excuse to kill him.
We have to convince your mom and Ian to leave Billy alone.
No one hurts my brother tonight.”
“What if he attacks first?”
“Then they can knock him out rather than kill him.”
Silver blinked.
“But… what if he’s going to kill them?
What if he attacks and the person doesn’t have a choice?
What if he tries to kill me and I can’t knock him out?”
Jack put an arm around her and stroked her bare arm.
“Don’t worry.
You aren’t going to have to make that decision.
You’re going to be at my side the whole time.
I’m convinced we need to hold hands and attack
Jersey
together.”
He wasn’t going to let Silver out of his sight tonight.
Even though it worried him to trust Cowboy with her life, he was going to have to trust the vampire.
Cowboy seemed sincere.
Deep down Jack was certain Cowboy would get Silver out of there if things went horribly wrong.
Jack held her tight.
He kissed the top of her head and lied, “Don’t worry about tonight.
We’re going to win.”
.
*****
Chapter Twenty-Four:
THE FINAL
BATTLE
.
.
It was
.
The four hunters marched onto the field behind the Miller barn, drawn by the strange blue glow.
How like
Jersey
to advertise with a neon sign.
The glow turned out to be wraiths.
There were at least a hundred of them swarming the sky.
Some were on the ground, but most of them floated in the air at a distance, circling the field.
Their combined light made the field into an outdoor stadium.
It was game day.
Silver blindly grabbed for Jack’s hand while her eyes glued to the fearsome sight.
He wanted to turn to her, reassure her, but he didn’t have the strength to come up with a convincing lie.
They were doomed and they both knew it.
“He’s built an army of wraiths,” she whispered in awe.
“There are more than there were at the cemetery.
The diary didn’t say anything about this.”
Jack knew the werewolves would revert to human once
Jersey
was killed, but what about the wraiths?
“Will they die with
Jersey
?”
“I don’t know.”
Ian spoke over Jack’s shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter.
We’re here to do a job.
Our nemesis has arrived.”
He pointed a calloused finger.
“Look!”
Jack reluctantly tore his gaze from the wraiths to watch
Jersey
approach with an arrogant swagger.
Although it was a hot and humid night,
Jersey
wore his long black coat.
He stopped while he was still at least fifty yards away.
Putting two fingers in his mouth, he whistled.
The field exploded with activity.
An army of werewolves burst into the open.
Loud growls and snarls sent chills up Jack’s spine.
Jersey
had a battalion of werewolves with him.
They tore across the field, some in animal form, some in human form, heading straight for the four hunters.
Metallic claws glinted in the moonlight.
Their eyes glowed, some gold and others a toxic green.
Cowboy came from nowhere, flying through the air like a crazed circus performer without a net.
He landed on top of
Helio
.
They rolled across the grass.
Helio
jumped to his feet, knife ready.
Cowboy feinted left before diving to the right.
He grabbed
Helio’s
arm and twisted.
With a throaty laugh he rolled and shoved the blade into the werewolf’s flabby gut.
“That’s one for me!” Cowboy yelled.
He gave Jack a thumbs up before two werewolves simultaneously jumped him.
Jack considered stepping in to save Cowboy, but Ian had other ideas.
Ian moved to the front and blocked Jack’s view of Cowboy.
“Stay behind me!
I’ll get you to Clifford.”
“If we fail, will you at least try to burn
Jersey
to death?”
“Absolutely.”
Jack strapped an arm around Silver’s waist, anchoring her close to him as they fought their way to
Jersey
.
Ian’s hand touched werewolf after werewolf, literally setting them on fire.
The werewolves rolled on the ground, writhing as they burned, some piled three to four werewolves high like football players jumping on top of the guy with the ball.
The smell was unbelievably bad.
Jack struggled to see around Ian.
He watched for his brother’s familiar face.
If Ian tried to kill Billy, Jack was going to do whatever he had to do to stop him.
He’d step between them if he had to.
No one was going to kill his brother, not when they were this close to saving him.
They moved through the chaos, slowly taking the field one step at a time and leaving a flood of carnage behind them.
Vanessa manned the rear.
Gun in hand, she watched the bodies to make sure they didn’t get up and attack again.
Jack could have told her not to worry.
Ian’s touch was final.
No one walked away from it.
In a few seconds the bodies would be ashes.
There were far too many of them.
Ian tried his best to distract them, but
Jersey
’s army was keeping him busy.
After a while the werewolves were careful not to let him touch them.
Smart dogs.
There were always a few in every pack.
Vanessa yelled, “Go!
Get him!”
She shot a few of the beasts before the gun was knocked from her hands.
Silver wanted to help her mother, but Jack dragged her behind him.
She had to stay with him.
There wasn’t anything they could do for Vanessa.
If they didn’t kill
Jersey
quickly, they were all going to die.
A werewolf charged at Jack.
He used a move he’d seen during a football game, danced to the left and pushed the werewolf to the right.
The werewolf lost his balance and fell.
Two more werewolves blocked their way.
Silver raced forward.
She leaped in the air, did the splits, and kicked each one in the chest.
The werewolves weren’t down for long.
They got to their feet in record time.
Before they could attack Silver, Jack swung invisible claws at them.
He scratched them both.
Grabbing Silver by the hand, he pulled her behind him.
They hurried to meet
Jersey
.
The smug smile on his face fueled Jack’s determination.
He hated the head werewolf more than he’d ever hated anyone in his life.
There wasn’t a trace of caring or compassion in the beast.
“You ready for this?” he yelled over his shoulder to Silver.
She squeezed his hand.
“Let’s do it.”
They started to run, hitting every werewolf who tried to stop them.
The werewolves tumbled on the grass.
Jack and Silver continued forward like a runaway train.
A seed of hope grew in Jack’s heart as they neared their intended target.
Jack vowed he was going to kill
Jersey
today, one way or another.
Jersey
clapped his hands in mocking applause.
“Good job.
In a million years I wouldn’t have dreamed you would make it past my foot soldiers.”
“I tried to give you an easy way out,” Jack said.
“You refused.
Now we’ll have to do it the hard way.”
Jack and Silver stared into
Jersey
’s eyes, both of them reaching for his black soul at the same time.
Their fingers laced together.
Using the power they shared as a couple, they worked to separate
Jersey
’s body from his soul.
Jack wondered what sort of horrible hellish place they would find themselves battling in.
Every time he fought a werewolf for its soul he found himself in a new place.
Depending on his opponent, it could be a nice location or a terrible one.
With Isobel it was a fiery cavern.
He had met Silver on a bed of clouds while practicing soul sucking.
With Blanca it was a carnival attraction.
But where would a fight with
Jersey
take them?
No sooner had the question formed in his mind than it was answered.
In the blink of an eye they moved to an interior location.
It took a few dragging seconds for Jack to realize they were inside of a huge library.
The massive shelf-covered walls curved inward, forming an oval.
A disorganized mess, there were several unbelievably high stacks of books on the floor, and there was no sign of
Jersey
anywhere.
Jack stepped sideways, stared over the wrought iron railing at the big drop to the first floor.
Was
Jersey
planning to throw him over the balcony?
Silver’s hand tightened in his, reminding him he wasn’t alone.
He forced a smile.
“It’s okay.
We can handle this.”
“How do we suck his soul out when he isn’t even here?”
Jack moved away from the edge.
He glanced this way and that, searching for the enemy.
“I don’t see him, but he’s here.
He’s playing games again.”
Before he finished the last word a book flew off the shelf and struck him in the shoulder.
He stumbled.
Silver cried out, a mixture of surprise and fright.
She held onto Jack’s hand as if it was the only thing keeping her from flying away.
The book landed face up on the red carpet in front of him.
It was a copy of The
Illiad
.
“Show yourself!” Jack shouted.
“Come out and fight.”
“Why so eager to die?”
Jersey
stepped around a sky-high stack of books.
He wore the usual smirk.
“The two of you are in for quite a shock today.
You cannot destroy me.
I could give you a hundred years, let you try to take my soul without putting up a fight, and you wouldn’t be able to do it.
On the other hand, I can take both your souls without even trying.”
“Let’s do it then.
If it’s so easy for you to take my soul, do it.”
“No,” Silver protested as Jack tried to push her behind him, protect her.
She struggled to stay beside him.
Jersey
waved his hand.
A second book hit Jack in the back.
A third flew off the shelf and slammed against his cheek, making him to bite his tongue.
He tasted blood.
A few more books pelted him, coming from different directions.
Jack yelled, “Knock it off!
If we’re going to fight, let’s fight.
Stop playing around.”
Silver pulled on his arm urgently and whispered fierce words in his ear.
“We can take him.
We can do it together.
Remember why we’re here, why we have to fight him as a team.
Concentrate and believe.”
Jersey
’s head cocked to the side.
“Do you think it’s going to be easy?”
Jack was through talking.
He focused on
Jersey
’s eyes and reached for the head werewolf’s soul for the second time.
Before he could get a grip on the dark, cold thing,
Jersey
waved his hand again.
Jack stiffened, ready for another book to hit him.
Jersey
had something else in mind.
He moved them to a new location.
One second Jack was holding Silver’s hand and the next, it was gone.
Jersey
not only took them to a new place, he also separated Jack from Silver.
Their sliver of hope vanished.
It was possible they could have sucked his soul out working together, but Jack couldn’t do it alone.
Jersey
was going to win.
Jack took a moment to acclimate himself to his new surroundings.
It was a building with intersecting hallways and rows of metal lockers.
He realized where they were almost immediately.
It was a school building.
It wasn’t Jefferson Memorial at least.
That would have been way too weird.
After finally graduating Jack vowed to never set foot in Jefferson Memorial again.
Jersey
stood at the far end of the hallway.
“Sometimes I think you forget who you are dealing with.
Your lack of respect concerns me.
Perhaps you should have learned from prior mistakes, Tobias.
Or do you want me to call you Alexander now?”
“Where is Silver?”
“She’s nearby.”
“I want you to return her now!”
“You do not give the orders here.
That would be my job.”
Jack’s hands clenched.
He wanted to physically attack the head werewolf, but he knew it would be like a ladybug butting heads with a rhino.
Trying hard to hold his anger in check, Jack spoke. “Okay.
You have my attention.
What exactly do you want from me?”
“Those days are long gone.”
Jersey
took a few steps forward.
His energy level was high.
He practically bounced with each step.
“In the past I wanted you to join me.
Now I just want you to die.”