Dawn of Vengeance

Chapter 27 -- Ultimatum

Lance's POV:

Lance was sitting idly by as he waited for news of what happened with Jake and Wallace after Father Matthew whisked them away to yell at them most likely after what they'd done in the courtyard. Fighting with fellow Unrisen wasn't tolerated at all by Father Matthew, so he couldn't help but wonder what he'd do after Jake attacked the Chairman of the Saint Shields, and even more so what would happen to Wallace once the higher ups learned he'd gotten into a fight with an Unrisen. Lance knew of course that Father Matthew would no doubt "discipline" the both of them as was his right as their mentor, but Lance couldn't help but wonder what the repercussions would be for Wallace.

Besides that Lance couldn't help but feel uneasy seeing as he'd gotten in on the fight though for only the briefest of moments yet he was let off the hook. Sure he hadn't been involved long enough to do anything like Jake or Wallace had, but he'd attacked the Chairman too but he was cast aside as if he didn't exist. Maybe it was because he was a Being and not a full-fledged Unrisen like Jake, but that shouldn't he be put to death instead of being pushed aside and forgotten? Lance had paid attention to the lessons that Sister Mary gave both him on Saint Policies unlike Jake who just sat in his desk doodling and answering questions with a simple 'yeah' or 'nope.' Lance would always ask Sister Mary why she insisted on trying to teach him when they both knew he didn't pay attention but she just said that just because he wasn't truly listening doesn't mean that he didn't learn anything.

There was a faint tugging at his heart when Lance thought about Sister Mary and that he'd never see her smiling that small yet loving smile ever again. The feeling made even worse when he remembered that he hadn't been there in her final moments of life, something that Jake was still extremely angry with him for. He wouldn't say it but with Lance's sense's he didn't need to, every time Jake looked at his former best friend all Lance felt was contempt and sorrow. It tore Lance apart to know that he chose to stay with Maria over going to his brother when he needed him most, all because of some stupid animal urge that he'd gotten whenever he was around Maria.

He flinched at the thought of her. She was a painful memory too after the Strigoi attack on the docks where the Los Lobos and Wolfhounds had set up their camp. His mind shifted gears from regret over not being around for Sister Mary to anger as images of the slaughter on the docks replaced his memories of Sister Mary. He remembered how Stark had held his head making him watch as his horde of Strigoi wreaked havoc among the pack, brawling with the barely changed members, going after the elderly wolves who could barely defend themselves but they fought to protect the children of the pack to the very last wolf. Images of the skeletal grey bodies flying through the air and among the clusters of screaming children. Some tried to fight back but they never stood a chance against such merciless creatures. The parents of those kids couldn't do anything to help their offspring because they were fighting for their lives too.

If only the pack had been together as a group then they might've been able to drive the Strigoi back. But Stark and his psychotic wife chose their time to attack when everyone was apart either cleaning fish, storing them, or putting their equipment away. Then came the moment when Merrick returned from a fishing trip Lance guessed and he was like an unstoppable force of nature, cutting his way through the horde of vicious vampires tearing several in half with his enormous arms, and breaking the necks of the rest with his powerful jaws. The false hope that'd flooded Lance's body when Stark himself decided to face down the alpha of the pack and let it appear that Merrick could stand on equal footing with him.

Then came that horrible phrase; -your strength isn't anything special. And just like that, it was over. Stark had beaten the strongest among the Los Lobos single handedly and what was worse was that he did it without much effort in the end. At the time Lance had thought him some kind of demon that couldn't be stopped after having dispatched the giant alpha, but the worst part of it came when Luis tried attacking from behind. Lance recalled his huge body flying through the air right at Stark and for one agonizing moment it looked like maybe Luis could've stopped him...until Stark rose to his feet at the end of the scuffle. And with him rising to his feet he raised Luis severed head in his hand with a smile, the alpha's face frozen in a savage looking snarl letting Lance know that his death was instant.