Chapter 116 - Desperation

  Cerberus and I crashed together again, fists and claws flying in a blur of violence. I blocked a savage right hook and countered with an uppercut that snapped his head back with a spray of blood. He recovered instantly, driving a knee into my gut that folded me forward. The impact drove the air from my lungs, but I powered through it, grabbing his fur and yanking him into a head-butt that shattered his nose.

  We were locked in close quarters now, too close for technique or strategy, which left just raw power and fury. We were both strong enough to punch through stone and tough enough to absorb those hits and not go down. That left us trying to destroy each other more through force of will than anything else.

  I hammered a punch into his ribs and felt bones crack beneath my knuckles for what seemed like the twentieth time. As soon as my hand withdraw, the bones began knitting themselves back together again. His Regeneration speed was insane! Cerberus snarled and raked his claws across my shoulder, slashing through cloth and skin alike. I twisted away and drove my elbow into his jaw. His head rocked to the side.

  At first, the fight was almost even. We traded blows like heavyweight champions in the final round, both of us too stubborn to go down, too determined to give even an inch. Blood flew with every exchange, his and mine alike. My arms ached. My ribs screamed. Every breath I took was like inhaling fire.

  But I had advantages he didn't. I grabbed him by the throat with one hand, my fingers digging into his fur, pressed my other palm against his chest, and cast Drain Life.

  The spell erupted directly into his heart at point-blank range. Cerberus threw back his head and howled, the sound primal and agonized, echoing off every building surrounding the Yard. His life force flowed into me like a torrent, washing away my pain and wounds. My bruised ribs stopped aching. The cuts on my shoulder sealed themselves. Even the crushing exhaustion mostly lifted, replaced by stolen vitality.

  Meanwhile, Cerberus weakened before my eyes. His movements slowed and even his incredible regeneration struggled to keep pace with the damage I was inflicting. I didn't let up. I had precious few advantages against this adversary, so I pressed this one with everything I had.

  The spell ended. I released my hold and fired off a devastating right cross which caught him square in the jaw, snapping his head around so hard I heard vertebrae pop. A left jab to his floating ribs drove the air from his lungs. I followed that with an uppercut with my full Strength behind it lifted his eight-foot frame completely off the ground. He crashed back down, staggering, barely able to raise his guard.

  Blood dripped from a dozen wounds now. His breathing was labored. That golden fur was matted with crimson. For the first time since we'd started fighting, Cerberus looked vulnerable.

  Even as powerful as he was, Cerberus wasn’t unstoppable. He was beatable. We had him!

  "Alex!" I shouted, stepping back to give him a clear shot. "Hit him now!"

  Purple energy crackled through the air as Alex unleashed everything he had. Lightning Bolt after Lightning Bolt streaked down from above as rapidly as Alex could cast them. The first caught Cerberus square in the chest with a thunderous boom, making his entire body convulse. Electricity arced across his fur, muscles spasming. The second bolt hit his shoulder, spinning him around. The third slammed into his back, knocking him down at last.

  Cerberus collapsed forward onto his hands and knees, his golden fur smoking and singed black where the Bolts had struck. The smell of burnt hair and ozone filled the air. He tried to rise, his massive arms shaking with the effort, but couldn't manage it. He fell back down, gasping for breath, blood dripping from his mouth.

  This was it. The opening we needed. It was time to end this nightmare.

  I moved forward, ready to land a finishing blow. It felt like one strike might be all it would take. If I landed the strongest punch I could throw, I might be able to end this right here and save everyone from the plague he was spreading. I moved in, wholly focused on my target.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Until something grabbed me from behind.

  Powerful, hairy limbs wrapped around my torso with crushing force, pinning my arms to my sides. I struggled immediately, trying to break free, and caught a glimpse of brown fur over my shoulder. I peered back and saw the creature’s face. A powerful sense of recognition hit me like ice water.

  "Ruiz," I whispered.

  It was him. Or the monster he'd become, anyway. The yellow eyes that met mine held no recognition, no trace of the man who'd joked with us in the dungeon and fought beside us against the Fungus Knight. All I saw there was animal instinct and pack loyalty. He was protecting his alpha the only way he knew how.

  I should have thrown him off immediately, broken his grip, and tossed him aside without a second thought. He was a werewolf now. An enemy, no different from any other.

  But for one terrible, fatal moment, I hesitated.

  This was Ruiz. Alex's friend. A good man who'd been cursed through no fault of his own. Someone who'd begged me to kill him rather than let this happen. Someone I'd failed to save.

  That moment of hesitation cost us everything.

  By the time I finally wrenched myself free and hurled Ruiz away, sending him crashing into a group of lesser werewolves twenty feet distant, Cerberus had regained his feet. He swayed, still injured and bleeding, his fur smoking from Alex's Lightning. But he was standing. And he was back to showing off that same toothy grin again.

  "Persistent, small ones,” Cerberus growled, his voice ragged but triumphant. "But Cerberus is stronger. Always stronger."

  Alex was already casting, his hands glowing purple with gathering energy. Another Lightning Bolt streaked down from above, electric death aimed directly at the pack leader's head. It was a perfect shot.

  Until Cerberus moved.

  I'd never seen anything that size move that fast. One moment the Lightning was about to vaporize his skull, the next he'd rolled sideways with liquid grace. The bolt missed by inches, scorching the ground where he'd been standing, leaving a smoldering patch of grass. Before Alex could cast again, before he could even process what had happened, Cerberus launched himself into the air.

  The leap was impossible. An eight-foot werewolf shouldn't have been able to jump twenty feet straight up, but we’d all seen the incredible things someone could do with a high enough magical Strength. Both Alex and I had been thinking we were safe in the air, but it turned out nothing could be further from the truth. His powerful legs propelled him upward like a missile, his claws outstretched.

  "Alex, move!" I screamed, already activating Flight and rushing to intercept the attack. I was too far away and just too slow.

  Cerberus's claws closed around Alex's leg. There was simply nothing Alex could do. The sudden additional weight completely overpowered his Flight. The pain of those terrible claws digging into his leg had to have done a number on his concentration, too. They fell together, tumbling through the air in a deadly spiral.

  They hit the ground with a sound like a car crash. Alex landed badly. Even at a distance I could see he was stunned. That left him defenseless against the monster right in front of him, and Cerberus knew it.

  I rushed in, closing the gap quickly, but a werewolf leaped at me from the side, grabbing onto my back. Another jumped in, and then a third. Between them, they dragged me to the ground. I punched one in the face hard enough to shatter the bones and snapped another’s arm with a quick blow, but four more joined the fray, one grabbing each of my limbs and biting down.

  This time, I screamed, more from panic than pain. The bites hurt, but my Natural Armor felt like it was still holding. I swung my arms together as hard as I could, smashing two of the werewolves together. Cerberus was just ahead. I had to get there!

  The pack leader advanced on my friend with horrifying efficiency. One massive paw pressed down on Alex's chest, pinning him flat against the broken ground. His other hand grabbed Alex's wrist and snapped it. Alex screamed, but Cerberus just bore down, holding his shattered arm immobile. Alex struggled beneath him, trying to break free, trying to cast with his other hand, but Cerberus shifted his weight and ground Alex’s broken bones together, and the struggles stopped cold as Alex gave the most agonized cry I’d ever heard.

  "Don't struggle," Cerberus said, and even from fifteen feet away, his voice was strangely…kind. His bloody muzzle lowered toward Alex's throat, moving with terrible slowness, savoring the moment. "No need to fear, smart one. Soon you be strong. Soon you be pack. No more weakness. No more pain. Only strength. Only family."

  I tossed away the last of the werewolves pinning me down and launched myself back into Flight, skimming just feet above the ground. I pushed my Flight harder than I ever had before. My vision tunneled. The world reduced to just Cerberus looming over Alex, those jaws opening wide, those dagger-like teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered.

  And deep down, I knew I was still too far. I knew my speed, knew how fast I could move, and there was no way I could reach him before those jaws closed on his body.

  "Get away from him!" A woman's voice, raw with terror and rage and desperate love.

  I caught a glimpse of Marion, somehow nearer to Cerberus than I was. Why was she even outside? She was supposed to be safely tucked into the infirmary! Her face was bone-white, her eyes wide with horror.

  Alex met her eyes across the distance, and I saw something pass between them in that instant. A whole conversation was contained in that glance. Love. Regret. Goodbye.

  I flew faster.