A Howl In The Night ✔ » l.s

4

Louis was halfway through a dream when the doors to the office burst open with such force causing him to snap his eyes open. A Trooper stood at the door, sweaty and pale, and—was he trembling?

"Well, what is it boy?" Benedict snapped from the end of the table.

"Head Commander, th-there is currently an attack in the markets. Three or more beasts have been sighted. We need more men," the Trooper stuttered out.

Just then, Louis' blood ran cold. The markets. Harry.

Louis was out of his seat in an instant, shoving past the Trooper and dashing to his room. He hastily grabbed his weapons from his cabinet with trembling fingers, trying not to drop anything.

"Louis, what's going on?" Liam practically screamed in frustration. Zayn came stumbling into the room as well, eyes filled with concern.

Louis ignored them and continued to arm himself, until Liam spun him around and looked him in the eyes. "Louis, what are you doing? Benedict's absolutely pissed—"

"Harry's at the markets." Louis sneered, shoving his arms off of him.

"Shit."

Louis pushed them both out of his way and practically ran to his car. His hands were trembling so bad he managed to waste a good few minutes in trying to unlock his car. Just as he was frustrated enough close to tears, a hand held his, and he looked up to see Zayn.

"I got you, it's alright." Zayn said ever so calmly, taking the keys from his hands.

He easily slipped the key inside, then opened the door to sit on the driver's seat. Before Louis could insist that he should drive, Niall was steering him to the backseat.

"It's not safe for you to drive, Louis. It's alright." Niall said as they sat down at the back.

Liam came running out of the mansion and sat down in the passenger's seat, beside Zayn. Before Liam could even properly close the door, Zayn was already speeding down the road, probably breaking several laws as they did so.

*

"Harry, when I tell you to run, you run. Got it?" Jaron said slowly, his lips barely moving as he whispered.

Harry didn't respond, too afraid to move, but Jaron was certain he'd heard it. So, carefully, Jaron reached for his sword and unsheathed it as quietly as he could, raising it to strike as he whispered,

"Now."

Harry was as quick as the wind, gone in the blink of an eye. Just as anticipated, the beast leaped right after Harry who hadn't gotten that far, but then Jaron's sword was standing between the beast and the boy. With a single strike, the blade sliced across its face, right between its eyes. A deep, gurgling howl of pain left its mouth, and at that moment Jaron grabbed Harry by the arm and practically threw him across the room, as far as he could. And then, Jaron stroke with his blade again.

Harry landed on the concrete ground with a harsh thud, rolling over to the side and covering his head with his arms as soon as chaos took over the markets. People were screaming and shouting for their lives, and as they ran, none of them noticed or cared for Harry on the ground, struggling to escape the middle of a stampede.

With all the strength he had, Harry tucked himself beneath one of the wooden stalls and closed his eyes tightly for a moment, trying to will the pain in his head and all over his body away. He was certain that he was bleeding in several places, but that was the least of his problems right now. He tried to sit up and move but his vision spun so hard, he thought his eyeballs might pop out. From where he was hidden, he could hear Jaron's yells, as well as the sound of his cries and his blade. Harry couldn't let Jaron face this battle alone, not when Harry could very much help.