Queen Ascending (Ace of Queens #2)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Any sign of life, Braxton?" Xavier asked as he sat at the head of the table in the throne room.

Everyone was present as the King's guards searched the grounds of Arizona and other states for any sign of life from the packs that had been attacked. The guards were suited with body cams, giving everyone in the palace live feeds of what was happening.

"Negative, Alpha." Braxton, the head of the king's guards radioed back.

Rye watched the screen with shaky breaths as the guards moved through the piles of bodies.

They were torn to pieces. Not a single body was intact enough to be identified.

"Gather the bodies, prepare for a mass burial," Exton said with his eyes glued on the screen. It pained his wolf to see his people in such a state. He knew his father felt it too.

The air in the room was heavy and tick with sorrow. Xavier and Exton sported identical poker faces as the councilmen tried to make sense of what had just happened.

On the screen, the image of wood cabins and snow covered grounds shifted to the dark interior of the pack house.

"Alpha, are you seeing this?" Braxton asked as he entered the house.

How could we not? Rye wanted to say.

At the center of the pack house, the furniture were all pushed up against the walls, creating a perfect clearing in the middle.

Flames rose from the hardwood floors as black smoke slithered out of the chimney. As Braxton neared the flame, something caught Exton's eyes.

The flames were only burning at certain spots on the floor...it was controlled and contained.

"Braxton, get a look at the main floor from the second story...focus on the fire." He told the guard.

Xavier and Exton leaned forward in their seats as Braxton's body cam showed him climbing the stairs. Once he was at the top, he looked down at the flames.

Exton's suspicion was correct.

The flames created a pattern on the ground.

It was a sigil...unlike any the palace had ever seen before.

In a ring of flame, a bird perched on a double edged sword. The birds wings were folded, it's tips looked as if it was being severed by the very sword it sat on.

How ever put the sigil there was meticulous and patient. The sigil was done to perfection, no blade of flame dared to leap in a direction that would disturb the image.

"What is that?" Braxton's voice rang around the room at the palace.

No one knew how to answer him. No one had ever seen such sigil.

"Continue the search for any survivors," Xavier commanded. "Report back to Basil."

"Yes, Alpha." Braxton confirmed.

Basil turned off the feed as the room sank into silence.

"Anyone want to explain what the hell that was? Xavier asked rubbing his head. He looked up at his councilmen.

"It's not any sigil we know of," Charles said bravely. "I'll pull out the Ancient Roopcian books and see if we can find anything."

Xavier nodded. "I want whoever did this found."

"Yes, your grace." the councilmen all agreed.

"Lawson and I will lead the relief efforts for the packs that are still in America," Rye said inhaling deeply. "We need to send them more security until we have an idea on what we are dealing with."