Fragile Fury - (Glass Angels book one)

Fragile Fury - Chapter Fifthteen

"Where are we?" Jordan asked, "Where's Anna?" Luc was quickly alert; he bound his arm - sliced by flint - and looked. He didn't hold in the gasp when he saw her. Her body crumpled around the bottom of a tree, thick blood of a strange colour seeping through her clothes, and across her cheeks. But he didn't have time to react, to run to her lifeless shape.

"Lukos!" Asher yelled. The vampire's eyes were a blaze with hate, as they smelt the air. The Shade's drew their weapons. Silver blades and guns of silver bullets, glistened deadly in the streams of sunlight.

Lukos, lycanthropes . . . werewolves, they were one of the same, no matter the name.

Trigger was the first to move, faster than the other Shade's he disappeared into the forest . . . alone. There was a grunt, before a yelp, a scream and then a cry. Luc stared into the blackness watching - waiting - with his brothers for Triggers return.

Trigger ran back, his shirt bloody and torn open leaving his scar on show. Across his cheek there were three slashes, dripping blood from his jaw. An unmistakeable claw mark, "twenty, maybe thirty," he said. The Shades shoulders set firm, they held their weapons to the darkness.

Then a wolf, bigger than a car, with dirty grey fur leapt from the shadows, towards Asher. Luc spun round, his dagger firmly in his grasp. Sweeping the blade up in one smooth motion, as the wolf was over head; he slashed through the thick fur of its stomach.

Luc heard the growls around him, as his brothers were in motion, slashing and stabbing at the wolves leaping towards them. Not to be left out, the vampires ran - claws curled, and snarling - at the wolves. Their bodies clashed mid-air, before crashing to the floor in dirt and blood. The dragons took hold of wolves between their jaws, clamping down as if they were dinner.

Someone screamed behind them, but to the carnages of vampire snarls, wolf growls and Shade fighting, the noise was lost. Luc heard it only as faint as a whisper, carried by the winter winds to long forgotten lands. His mind forgot it, as a black wolf ran at him, jumping at him. Luc moved out of its way fast, but not fast enough. The wolf's teeth caught the top of his arm, throwing his body to the ground like it was no more than a rag doll. The wolf hovered over his body, its lips pulled back over bloody teeth.

Reaching to the back of his jeans, Luc ignored the protest of his screaming muscles. He pulled his gun, and aimed at the wolves head. Its eyes went wide as the light caught the letters carved into the gun. Pro Cado, quod totus est occultus! The wolf backed away, howling to the tree tops.

Then there was silence in the forest, the black wolf bowed his head forward, crouching on his front feet towards the ground, the rest of the back followed. "Shades," it growled. A human voice, from an animal's mouth, warped and twisted to something un-natural.

"I never liked the French Hidden World," Ellie shook out her shoulders as she walked forwards. Luc could only guess that the vampires could smell that they were in France, because there certainly had been no welcome sign. "Every time I come here, they ruin my clothes!" A light coloured wolf snarled at her and she brushed the dirt from her dress, "This was a limited edition Dior," The wolf sounded almost as if it was laughing. Ellie strode forwards, the wolf mimicked her, and they circled each other. Like lions in the wild, the strongest would win, that much was certain. But there was nothing certain about the fight between Vampires and Werewolves. The hatred ran deeper than the vampires were dead, and more out of control than the wolves at a full moon.

"Jordan!" Luc pushed himself to his feet, as he looked around, "Jordan, wake up!" he knew the voice, as well as her sobs. "Jordan," the last word came softly, barely a whisper. Luc surprised himself, he had forgotten all about Anna, that she had been unconscious . . . hurt. When now, clearly, there was nothing more than grief to her.

Luc saw him then, lying in his own blood, with Anna leaning over him, tears streaming down her face. Luc thought of how the tears made her eyes sparkle even more like hidden gems. His eyes were closed; blood in even tracks ran from the corners of his lips. The black wolf padded over to them, as Luc and his brothers ran. He shifted on his way, leaving a tall muscular man with black hair and tanned skin, in its place.

The man crouched beside Anna; pulling her back with gentle hands on her shoulders. Luc saw her, but she was gone. Her green eyes black, her straight teeth

now fanged, cats claws from her nails. Then her wings broke free. The man gasped as Anna caught his throat in her fingers.

She blinked huge eyes at him, and all Luc could do was watch, "Who killed him?" she snarled, "who spilt his blood?"

One brave and stupid wolf stepped forwards, his fur white as snow, his muzzle stained red. Anna dropped the man she was holding. She leapt straight up, thrusting her wings down she flew, disappearing into the sky. The silence came back, eerie and deadly, the wolves watched the sky, and the Shade's watched the shadows as the vampires listened to the silence.

Yet no one heard her come back, no one saw her sleek body fly through the air, her midnight wings tucked to her sides and she tackled the white wolf. She tore at its chest, splashing its blood across her thighs. The little wolf yelped and cried but didn't fight back.

"Someone do something!" Luc turned and saw a frantic woman, with greying hair running towards the white wolf, tears running from her blue eyes. "That's my son!" Damon was the only one who was brave enough to move towards Anna. Somehow Luc thought it had more to do with stupidity rather than being brave.

"Shadow," Damon nodded towards Anna. The dragon swept its spiked tail towards her. Hitting her chest, he knocked her backwards into the arms of Damon. He caught her wings, folding them against her chest as she hissed. "Oh, be quiet," he said as he grabbed her wrists.

Luc looked back at the little wolf, only he wasn't a wolf anymore, but a boy. A small boy, no more than thirteen with white blonde blood stained hair lay in the mud. His mother ran to him.

Asher was suddenly beside Damon, "Give me one of her arms," he said. Luc watched as Damon twisted and pulled her arm, trying to give it to the prince. He was not surprised that Anna fort him all the way.

Asher bit down into her wrist, spilling her blood across her skin. He pulled her arm - and Damon, too - over to the unconscious little boy. Licking his lips, he squeezed the wound until a stream of blood fell from her wrist, down to the boy's lips. Everyone stared at the boy, as Anna kicked back at Damon, arching her body trying to get away from him.

"Anna, stop it," he whispered, "you'll hurt yourself," Luc didn't hold the confused look off his face when Anna suddenly stilled.

"I killed a boy," she whispered, her eyes faded back to green, tears running down her cheeks. "A little boy," Damon let her go.

She wobbled on her feet as she look at him, blood now soaking his face, his mother kneeling beside him, her fingers holding his as she rocked back and forth. "Connor, baby, breathe. Come on, you have to stay alive," she sobbed. But Luc knew it was too late.

Anna screamed, Ellie screamed, Lorelei screamed and almost everyone else screamed. In fact everyone - including the wolves - but Asher did scream, as the boy gasped, as if he had drowned and the air filled his lungs for the first time. He sat up panting, before his mother threw her arms around him, "Connor," she whispered.

Luc followed Anna as she scrambled across the floor, tripping and falling over tree roots, towards Jordan. "We can do that with him," she said, frantically looking back at Asher. "We can save Jordan too, right? Right?" she urged.

"Right?" Luc asked Asher. He shook his head.

"Jordan is different," he said. "Only the Lukos can save him . . ." he paused, "That is if he can be saved,"

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