The Gate of Shadows

Raising my hand upward towards the sky, I finally felt free from all the chains that held me.

"Die!" I declared, triggering energy pulses to erupt from me and into the surrounding environment.

For a moment, in everyone else's eyes, nothing happened as I lowered my hand towards the side, prompting the hooded man to laugh loudly, thinking I had failed. He was completely unaware of the danger that lurked out of sight.

An invisible vortex was before them, allowing beasts they couldn’t see yet into our world before closing. The energy that pulsed out of me slowly spread to reveal them, but before they could see what was happening, one demon grabbed Cora, slamming her against the ground and knocking her out cold upon impact.

Everyone who followed along in the young man's laughter stopped in that split second. Instead, they watched closely as the chains blocking the Lycans from us shattered. For once, that wasn’t me, but my beloved wolf, who finally got a grip on himself.

Layla was on the floor after being shoved away by Fenris, but instead of running towards me, he stood right by the wall behind me. The energy he felt from me stopped him right where he was as his fiancée got up from the floor and grabbed his arm.

It wasn’t long before the energy reached them, revealing what I had unleashed into our world. The sky above turned crimson, just like the day Silverant fell; however, unlike that time, I was in complete control.

The two shadow beasts I summoned appeared to be a lion with bird legs and a lizard’s tail. They circled me while awaiting my command. I would use it for my wishes for the first time since I gained this power.

I’ll become their judge and executioner.

Shade snickered, “This is the part you run, worm!”

The inhibitor around my neck prevented me from summoning even more beasts, though that was a purposeful decision. I doubted I could handle one more without losing myself in the whispers already threatening to take over me.

You’ll all get your fill.

"Today... I become the most nefarious witch that ever lived! The one who preys on her kind. No, on anyone who threatens to hurt what I love. There will be no mercy! Kill them all!" I condemned, letting go of all my fears and worries and leaving behind fury in their stead.

In a split second, the two beasts launched into the witches that screamed upon being pounced. The crunching of bones filled my ears while they swiftly soaked the ground in blood.

Without hesitation, I walked over their dead bodies and toward Cora, who lay unconscious on the ground. The rest of her comrades were being torn to shreds by the two beasts I unleashed. Limbs and innards were splattering everywhere as these corpses were too mauled for anyone to use.

The sight was similar to the one of the fall, which should’ve made me feel ill, yet all I felt was relief. Each one that dropped was one less foe I had to worry about. Until this point, I had always run away from violence.

When in reality, it’s where I belong.

My heart felt stretched to its limit. Shade joined me instead of chasing after the intruders, yet she never left my side long, even though she wanted nothing more than to create chaos.

Unable to hide my disdain for Cora, I grabbed her hair, yanking her up so I could see her face. For a moment, I pondered ending her life as well. However, that thought stopped when a pulse of electricity ran through my body—followed by a throbbing sensation that caused me to release her.

It was almost enough to drop me if it wasn’t for Shade, who caught me on my way down. That was a warning that I couldn’t keep this up for much longer. My body was reaching its limit as I placed my hand on my face, only to notice my nose was bleeding.

The power that swelled within tore my body apart. That wasn’t the only negative effect, as I was also slowly losing control of the beasts. For a split second, one beast eyed down a Lycan that ran behind us to an injured human on the side.

At least, I was glad that the forces that began this chaos appeared scattered and defeated. Without having to say anything, the two shadow beasts killed everyone in their path—well, all but two of the assailants.

Cora, a witch, and the warlock were the only survivors of the attack. I wanted the warlock alive to see the life go out in his eyes. He appeared to be the leader of this group and probably was the necromancer, too.

The witch I wanted for a message I needed her to give to their leader. Getting a grip on myself, I smirked when I crouched down to the feisty warlock that was way over his head.

“You fucking bitch, I’ll kill you!” He snapped, although his piercing blue eyes were fully dilated as blood covered parts of his golden hair.

He was young.

Maybe a teen? Pity.

He was quite the looker, but I only wanted to tear his face apart. However, he had a formidable front for such a little man. Part of me wondered if this warlock was the same one who also attacked that night. Yet that thought allowed another to rise in its place.

That night… You…

I glanced over at a sleeping Cora, who had dragged us out to the meadow that day and even ensured Fenris was fired up enough to follow her when she kissed me. We probably played right into her hands that day.

They possibly planned to kill him that night when the explosions overwhelmed him. It wouldn’t surprise me if they killed the other Lycans to make it seem like Fenris wasn’t their primary target.

It’s the same as now… Pathetic…

If it weren’t for Melody, I would’ve been wallowing that no one would ever befriend me, but that girl had proved me wrong. However, it was too early to tell. Perhaps with her powers awakened, she would leave me behind, too.

Alijah might be right after all. I really don’t want you to be though.

Even though Cora was part of the enemy, I didn’t want to hurt her. Whenever the thought came, I was overwhelmed by the memories of her trying to become my friend.

Even though I saw you more like a pest, how often did you make my isolation less lonely? Ah… That’s why it hurts. That’s why I can’t…

 Ignoring the unconscious vampire, I glanced at the witch, who soiled herself.

"I have a message for Stella. Will you deliver it to her?" I asked, grabbing the girl's hair and forcing her to stare at me.

The shadow beast let go of the warlock, only for Shade to trap him. She wrapped her tail around his waist before hanging him like a piñata.

"How do you know her?!" the fearful witch replied with a question, much to my displeasure.

It was almost as if she didn’t know her position. Although her voice trembled, I released her hair and stood beside Shade. There was no escape—not while these beasts were around.

"If you don’t answer, your friend here will suffer. Isn't that right, Shade?" I smirked, gripping her fur.

The whispers urged me further, which was intoxicating and liberating.

"Say nothing!" the boy ordered his comrade.

I shrugged, leaving him to Shade as her grip on the warlock tightened enough to snap his back. His scream echoed in the air, bringing me much delight. The girl below screeched upon hearing his spine break, though.

Ah…. Is this why you hurt me, grandmother? Pain is such a delightful thing to hear. It seems I’m just like you!

“Aw, does it hurt? Don’t give up on me yet, little warlock.” I reached toward the warlock’s face, his expression bringing a smile to my lips. His eyes rolled back as he gasped for air, tears rolling down his cheeks.

However, unlike you, I’ll never have these desires towards those who don’t deserve it.

These people didn’t deserve anything less than what they ditched. Thanks to them, Owen and others like him vanished forever.

He was someone’s Fenris, and you took him from them! Unforgivable!

"Tell Stella that her past’s coming to hunt her down," I declared, tracing my fingertips over the warlock’s cheeks.

“That old hag will choke on her blood!” Shade hissed, tightening her grip on the warlock, triggering blood to come out of his mouth.

There were still so many questions I wanted to ask this boy who appeared to struggle to hang on. Before I could say another thing, a blood spike sprouted from the warlock, striking me by my neck. Shade turned towards me to shatter it, launching the warlock into the air and away from us.

Cora grabbed the male in that split second, bolting towards the forest. The beast before me crushed the witch under its weight before chasing the duo with its partner.

Huh… there’s no pain.

I reached for my neck only to notice the damage to my third inhibitor.

Oh… you ripped it off.

In a split second, I crashed back into reality as I lost control of everything. Energies radiated from me at an uncontrollable rate, and the purple aura emanating from me was nowhere to be seen anymore.

The whispers drowned my thoughts. I could barely tell what was happening anymore. All the beasts I tried to hold in were forcing their way out. I stumbled back a few steps, out of breath, but before I knew it, a vortex erupted from me, surrounding me with a ball of magical energy that sent me floating into the sky.

Again, I had become the gateway to the soul cairn. The extra magical power overwhelmed me, triggering my body to throb uncontrollably as the agony came in waves. It was nothing like the time I was a child.

Then again, my body was already shredded during the fall of Silverant. Beast swiftly emerged while the same twister from the fall formed around me. The initial responders of the Cerberus order arrived at the scene, only to witness the disaster I had become.

However, I wasn’t the child I used to be.

I will not let you do as you please!

To hold on, I curled into a ball, attempting to hold back everything spilling out, even if the pain became unbearable. I couldn’t tell my thoughts from theirs, though. It was like screaming in an ocean where I couldn’t hear myself.

A giant scaly arm from a beast within the soul cairn materialized from behind me. Just like the fall, Shade curled herself around me protectively. I let out a shriek, attempting to hold in what was coming out of me.

It hurts! Gah!

Another scream erupted from me as it felt like my entire body was burning alive. The more I tried to hold the demons back, the more they slammed into me, trying to get out.

Shut up! Shut up! I kept screaming in my head, struggling to keep my sanity intact.

The formed vortex prevented me from seeing if anyone was alive below as it picked up any debris around me. All I could do was hope that no one was harmed as my mouth began to taste familiar with iron.

The beast that emerged from me slowly dragged its head out as other smaller ones materialized without problems. The creature that struggled to come out was something else, though. It was a monster that only lived in myths, even though a stone was named after it, the same one used to protect the festival.

A dragon's head came through the vortex, breathing what seemed like black flames into the red sky above. At that moment, something caught the corner of my eye, climbing up the dragon's arm and into the center of the vortex where I was.

I raised my head to see another beastly arm emerge from the portal, attempting to intercept the intruder that got too close for their liking. Its claws grazed their face, triggering silver hair to spread into the air, followed by blood droplets.

The moment I saw shimmering hair, I knew who it was. Only one person would be crazy enough to follow me into this inferno. I reached for Fenris, who barely avoided the blow, shifting into his humanoid form before falling onto the barrier that contained me.

His eyes glowed crimson when he punched the barrier, smashing right through it before reaching me. Our fingers touched briefly, but the relief that washed over me was short-lived. Suddenly, a smaller shadow beast in the form of a raven yanked him away from me.

“Fenris!” I yelled, unable to believe he had been a few centimeters away from me.

In an instant, all I saw was red, "Don't you dare touch him!" I screeched again, letting go of every part I tried to hold back.

The moment I did, Shade morphed into a humanoid being as her hand extended towards where Fenris was. She clasped onto the bird, freeing him from its grip before disappearing back into her feline form.

It sent my wolf into a free fall where, down below, an elf cast an enchantment, growing a tree from nothing and giving him a safe landing into a tree. When his feet hit the ground, he shifted back into his wolf form, bolting towards the vortex again.

This time, he was followed by some fellow Lycans while the rest of the shadow demons were frozen. Somehow, what I did stopped them from continuing. However, that didn’t last long when my body throbbed once again, snapping me out of the control I had.

It was almost as if a twig broke within me. Blood dripped from my ears, turning my vision blurry. Unable to hold them much longer, they began slowly to move again. The dragon let out a mighty roar, startling everyone around.

Fenris launched himself from underneath the vortex and towards me using his fellows. Smashing the barrier from underneath, he grabbed Shade, who willingly pulled him towards me.

Tears streaked my cheeks when his hand reached my face, pulling me towards his embrace. Cracks formed everywhere as the shadow demons began to disappear. Instead of yelling at me, Fenris tugged me into a tender kiss.

Even though he didn’t know what he was doing, it was almost as if instinct guided him. A red glow emitted from him and into me, shattering everything around us on its command. All the shadow beasts disappeared when I kissed him back without caring who was watching.

Ah… Finally… Everything is quiet.

He slid his hand to my head, his fingers curled around my hair, securing me to him. His tongue erupted from me as the taste of blood didn’t deter him from caressing me. The only reason he separated from me was when we entered a free fall once all the surrounding energy dissipated.

He held me close to his chest as Shade caught us before we both hit the ground. Cheers erupted from the Lycans surrounding us as Fenris kept his hold on me, not caring what anyone saw. His hand trembled, holding me close to his chest as it rose and fell with each breath.

Lily… it doesn’t look like we hurt anyone else, Shade informed me, shrinking in size before curling into a ball on my belly.

Ryker's gamble, this silver wolf could reach me even in that state worked.

"I wanted to rip into you for not answering me earlier, but now I can’t find the words." Fenris's voice trembled.

He held onto me ever so tightly. Gripping onto his shirt, I struggled to glance at him to see Ben running towards us. I wanted to show him I was fine and there with him, that he saved me just like I protected him.

However, my voice was heavier than ever.

"You’ll…” I struggled to speak.

“Don’t talk.” Fenris used his sleeves to wipe the blood still flowing out of my nose, only to notice something that left him with his eyes wide open.

"Your eyes changed color. They're blue now." Fenris mumbled as my consciousness wavered.

I hit my limit a long time ago. I probably should’ve rested when the curse broke, but I didn’t regret a thing. When my poor wolf noticed my ears were dripping blood, it only alarmed him further.

"Fen..." I tried to say, only to fall promptly onto his chest before I could finish his name.

It was getting hard to breathe, let alone speak.

The moment he touched my face, he turned to Ben, and in pure desperation, he took over. Somehow, my consciousness hung on, yet everything was blurry. Fenris tried to stand up, only to tumble down with me in his arms. All the energy he had before, all this mess, was used to reach and stabilize me.

We were both a mess. When Ben tried to pick me up from his arm, my wolf couldn’t help but growl at his brother.

“I’m just trying to help. Okay. Come stand up. I can’t carry you both.” Ben reassured him, taking me from his embrace.

The last thing I remembered was the older brother rushing with me into a cabin the festival grounds had built. After that, everything went dark.