Shifter (Wicked Woods #6) Read online

  Slowly though, so slowly that at first she didn’t notice it, Briony could feel the tide of the battle turning. Vampires were slower to throw themselves forward now as she attacked, and there seemed to be less of a storm of claws and teeth around the edges of her vision. She saw Sophie actually standing there with nothing to fight for a second or two, when previously her great aunt had been at the heart of the action. The werewolves were still busy biting any vampires they could get close to, but more and more of them were shying away from them.

  Briony charged forward at another knot of vampires. They looked at her for a second or so, and then seemed to make a decision. Or maybe it wasn’t as calculated as that. Maybe it was just their primal instinct for self-preservation. Either way, before Briony could reach them with the staff, they turned and they ran. That was the tipping point. Briony could sense it. She pressed forward, and the werewolves surged with her.

  Like birds startled from their perches by the flight of one of their number, the vampires turned and sprinted down the mountain path. Those that didn’t died. When they were coming forward, the vampires were a deadly wave of violence without thought, but that also meant that once they started to panic, they couldn’t stop themselves. They fled, while Briony and the wolves ran after them.

  It would have been so easy to stand there and let them run, but Briony knew that this needed to be finished. Palisor needed to be safe. Briony summoned her magic, sending a burst of fire after the running vampires, then lifted her face to the sky.

  “Archer!”

  The dragon was there like he’d been waiting for her summons. He dropped to earth, letting Briony climb aboard his back before taking to the air again and sending flames to match hers into the ranks of the vampires. The few who weren’t already in retreat routed then. The wolves, the dragons and the unicorns kept after them, leaving behind those Hugtandalfers who were too slow to keep up. Though Briony saw that Fletcher had acquired two familiar silver clad passengers. It seemed that Sophie and Vigor weren’t going to miss the hunt.

  From this height, she could see the point of the burning along the edges of the vampire horde the dragons had done. Flames still licked at those edges, and whenever it looked like vampires might break away to one side or the other, dragons swooped low to add their fire to them. They were funneling the vampires down the path, controlling the route they took as they fled before the rest of Briony’s army.

  How long did the chase take? Longer than any human army could have sustained it, that was for certain. The vampires ran and ran, chased by the werewolves. They hunted the vampires across mile after mile, forcing them back over rocky ground, always in the same direction.

  Briony felt it before she saw it. A scar on the landscape that she felt as though it were part of her. A long, jagged split around which vampires and other creatures thronged, seeming to roll like a dark tide. Briony held out the staff she held, and light sprang from it, illuminating them, almost seeming to push at them as they shrank back before that power. Some of them fled then, heading back into the welcoming depths of the chasm. Others turned tail when they saw the rest of their horde running towards them, driven on by the wolves and unicorns.

  A few needed the dragons’ flames, Archer and his family opening up in concert to blast those who refused to flee with white hot fire. The vampires screamed and scrambled for cover in the only place they felt safe. Xylyx. Those fleeing the werewolves followed them, a great, screaming horde that plunged into the chasm, apparently unconcerned about how many of their number fell over the edge to crash into the depths so long as they could get away from the wolves. They ran, until minutes after Xylyx had come into sight, the last of them disappeared into its depths.

  Archer took Briony down then, so that she dismounted in the middle of her army of werewolves and unicorns. She stood there, and they seemed to be watching for her cue. If she told them to go into Xylyx and kill all they found there, she knew that they would. But there was another way. Briony could feel it as surely as, right then, she could feel the land around her. The opening to Xylyx might look like a natural feature, but it was a portal, the same as the ways to Wicked were portals.

  And now, Briony knew that the portals would answer to her. Archer shifted beside her, adopting his human form and putting a hand on Briony’s shoulder. A wolf ran forward from the hunting pack, so that a second later, Kevin was standing beside her, his hand in hers. Briony held the scepter, complete with all the power of Palisor. She said only one word.

  “Close.”

  The chasm shuddered, the earth around it shaking so that the wolves around it howled in discomfort and moved away from the edge. Briony, Kevin and Archer stood still. Gradually, with the rumble of moving rock, the edges of the chasm moved closer together. They ground closer and closer, the sheer weight of rock moving just with Briony’s power so great that she knew if she thought about it, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Yet she was queen, and she could do it. This was her kingdom. It obeyed her.

  The edges of the chasm met with a final, resounding crash. Xylyx was closed.

  Chapter 19

  It took a minute or two for Sophie and Vigor to land and join Briony. By that time, a lot of the werewolves had transformed back into their human shapes. Some were celebrating, while others were staring around at Palisor like they couldn’t quite believe it was real. Josh was there with his sister, making his way through the crowd of magical creatures towards them. Jake was there too, and Briony could see Fallon near him, looking very nervous at the heart of a crowd of creatures that had so recently been killing every vampire they could find. He didn’t need to worry though, Briony wasn’t going to let anyone hurt either him or her brother.

  Ahead of them, Xylyx was closed. There was a faint scar on the landscape; a gouge of uprooted trees and displaced earth, but Briony knew that would quickly become overgrown. In a year, or maybe just a few months, it would be like Xylyx had never been there. Yet it was. Briony knew that too. She had dealt with the threat, but she was the queen here. She had to go on dealing with anything that threatened Palisor.

  Beside her, Kevin transformed back into his human self. His clothing was badly torn, but Briony didn’t mind that. Now that they were married, she planned on seeing a lot more than just a few flashes of muscle glimpsed through half ruined clothes. She put an arm around him, enjoying the moment.

  “It is over, your majesty,” Vigor said, striding forward and bowing deeply. “May I be the first to congratulate you on your victory?”

  Beside him, Sophie rolled her eyes. “You can tell he grew up in a royal court, can’t you? Straighten up, Vigor. You’ll embarrass my great-niece, even if this angle is giving me a nice view.”

  Vigor straightened up so fast, it was like something had bitten him. Sophie laughed. Somehow, Briony got the feeling that in the aftermath of all this, the two of them would be spending a lot more time together.

  “This isn’t over, Briony.” Josh stepped forward, looking at her seriously.

  Vigor turned to him, obviously glad for the change of topic. “What do you mean, Werewolf King? We have won the day. The vampires that threatened Palisor are gone. Briony has come into her full power as queen. It is done. It is over.”

  Josh shook his head, looking pointedly at Briony. “You know what I mean. This isn’t done.”

  Vigor bristled at that. “I insist…”

  “He’s right, Vigor,” Sophie said. She looked over to Briony. “There’s still a lot to do. Not here maybe, but it still needs doing. Palisor might be safe, but there’s still Wicked to think about.”

  Briony nodded. They were right. This wasn’t done. She’d seen some of what was happening in the reflecting pool. Pietre was there, and the town was in trouble.

  “I know,” she said. She looked around at the werewolves, the unicorns, and the other creatures that had joined her in the fight against the vampires. She lifted the scepter, and in that instant, all eyes were on her. “Listen to me, all of you. You’ve done gr
eat things here today, but we aren’t done. Many of you don’t belong in Palisor, and I need to get you home, but it is likely that there is another fight waiting for us there. Are you ready for that fight?”

  The roar that greeted those words was almost deafening. Briony looked across to Archer.

  “Are you ready?”

  The dragon nodded. Briony understood this part now. She’d done it once before, by reflex, but she hadn’t been able to control it. Now, with the full power of Palisor behind her, she could feel how it worked, and where the dragons came into it. The link with them was a focus. A key. She could summon the gates, but Archer’s natural talent made it easy to unlock them.

  Briony focused and thought of Wicked. She summoned up power, and while she held the scepter, she could feel that it didn’t come through the scepter. It was her power. The power that came with being the queen of this place. She just had to use it. She extended her closed hand in front of her, and slowly, carefully, opened it.

  Mist sprang up, shifting and billowing as it flowed upwards into the familiar shape of an arch. With Archer so close, Briony could feel the mist within it pulsing and stretching like the skin of a drum, or perhaps like the surface tension of a lake. She concentrated, making sure that she pictured Wicked in every detail on the other side. She didn’t know if that would help or not, but how else was she meant to make sure that the gate came out where she wanted?

  Archer stepped forward, and the gate sprang into life, the mist within it clearing as the dragon took a step through it. Briony realized what she’d done as that happened, because she could see George’s diner there, the people clustered within it. She’d been so busy simply thinking about Wicked that she hadn’t thought where in Wicked she should open the gate. It looked like she’d done it right in the middle of town. Well, it was too late to do much about that.

  “Everyone who’s going to Wicked, go through the gate now,” she commanded, and even though she knew that she was the queen, it was still slightly surprising to see so many people jumping to obey her. The werewolves poured back through, though Josh paused before he did so.

  “Will my people be able to come back here?”

  Briony nodded. “The restrictions are gone. I don’t plan on putting them back in place. There needs to be somewhere your kind can live openly.”

  “Good,” Josh said, heading through. Carol glanced back at her, or maybe at Kevin, before stepping through. Sophie stepped through after them, still dressed in her armor. To Briony’s surprise, Vigor stepped through after her. Jake jumped through along with them, and Fallon slipped through in the same moment. Finally, it was her turn. She looked over at Kevin, took his hand, and stepped through.

  They were, as the image through the gate had suggested, right outside George’s diner. Through the windows, Briony could see people staring at them. Several members of the Preservation Society had weapons out, like they were convinced that this was some new threat to deal with. There were so many people in there, and just one glance at the diner told Briony it had come under attack. One of the windows was broken, while there were gouges in the brickwork outside.

  “It’s all right. It’s Briony.” Maisy came out from inside, dragging Steve in her wake. George stepped out with them, obviously looking a little concerned. At least until he saw Sophie.

  “Sophie Edge? Is that you? What happened?”

  “It’s a long story, George,” Sophie said, moving off with him with the obvious intention of telling him all of it. Vigor looked to Briony, like he knew he ought to stay with her.

  “Go with Sophie,” Briony commanded, and Vigor went with her. Briony could hear her great-aunt explaining some of what had happened to George and the rest of the Preservation Society, but she knew that Maisy would have her own questions.

  “Why is there a portal in the middle of town?” her friend asked. “What’s with all the werewolves? Why are you carrying that staff? And that ring… that’s Kevin’s ring, isn’t it?”

  “Slow down,” Briony said, holding up her hands. “That’s a lot of questions to have to answer at once. A lot’s happened very quickly. Come inside, and I’ll try to explain.”

  They headed back inside. Jake and Fallon were sitting with Sophie, Vigor and George. The rest of the Preservation Society was crowded around, listening to Sophie’s account of what had happened. Briony knew that she should fill Maisy and Steve in on the key parts, but right then, there were things she needed to know more than she needed to tell them.

  “What happened here?” Briony asked.

  “Pietre,” Steve supplied. “He’s been launching attacks more or less constantly for at least a day. He attacks us here, then while we’re pinned here, he has his vampires grab people from the town and transform them. It’s crazy.”

  “Like he thinks it’s the end of the world or something,” Maisy added. “We’ve all heard him talking about some kind of vampire apocalypse. It’s like he thinks if he has enough vampires, he’ll be able to avoid it.”

  “Or maybe he just wants to take more people with him,” Steve suggested.

  Briony didn’t know what to say to that. She’d stopped the vampire apocalypse. By killing the first unicorn of Palisor and taking its horn, she’d put herself in a position to prevent it. To deal with the vampires another way.

  “It’s good to have you back,” Maisy said. She looked at Briony’s finger, then at her face, then at Kevin. “Isn’t that Kevin’s ring? Are you two…”

  “We’re married,” Briony said.

  “Married!” Maisy put a hand over her mouth and practically jumped for joy. Then she hugged Briony so tightly Briony thought that she might be crushed. Maisy stepped back from her, looking stern. “And you didn’t invite me?”

  “We were in another world,” Briony pointed out.

  “Like that’s an…”

  Maisy tailed off. Silence crept over the diner. Briony looked outside and saw why instantly. Pietre stood in the middle of the street. He had vampires with him. Dozens of them. More. They thronged in front of the diner, looking almost strange after the vampires of Xylyx. At least those had looked like monsters. These… for the most part they looked like kids. Confused kids, with the occasional adult here and there where the vampires had been able to grab them. Briony recognized at least a couple of members of the town’s council.

  Pietre stood there staring at the gate to Palisor until Briony sent out a whisper of power to close it. She stepped out into the street with Kevin and Fallon on one side of her, Sophie and Vigor moving to the other. Around her, Briony could see werewolves positioning themselves for a fight. Astonishingly, this might be a harder fight than against the vampires from the chasm, because here, werewolves didn’t retain the deadliness of their bite the way they did in Palisor.

  Pietre ignored Briony, looking at Sophie. Staring at her like he’d never seen her before like this. Briony knew he had. He’d been involved in too many of the fights with Marcus not to have noticed her transformation. Yet, he’d probably never had a chance to really stop and appreciate the change.

  “I can’t get used to you looking like that, Sophie,” he said. “You’re… you again. The same girl who loved me so much. The same girl who betrayed me.”

  “You keep using that as an excuse, Pietre,” Sophie said. She drew her swords. Beside her, Vigor did the same. “You’ve been busy. Killing people. Forcing them to be what you are.”

  “I’ll do whatever I need to do to survive,” Pietre said. “I’ll turn every one of you if I have to.”

  “No you won’t,” Briony said, stepping forward.

  Pietre turned to her. “Quiet girl, I’m talking to your aunt.”

  Briony brought her staff down sharply on the sidewalk. It let out a quick burst of light that made Pietre take a step back.

  “What…” the master vampire managed.

  “You’ll talk to me,” Briony said. “At least if you want to live.”

  Chapter 20

  Pietre stood there at t
he head of his vampires, staring at Briony. He had so many vampires with him now, but Briony found that for once, she wasn’t afraid. Not even after everything he’d done to her and her family. She wasn’t even angry anymore. Pietre wasn’t worth her anger. He simply had to be stopped.

  “You’ve grown in power,” Pietre observed. “You’re very different from the frightened little girl who showed up in town to stay with her great aunt.”

  “I’ve changed,” Briony said. “We all have. You haven’t. I’m the Queen of Palisor now, Aunt Sophie is the Hugtandalfer she was always meant to be, Fallon and Kevin have come into their powers, even Maisy and Steve have had to live through a lot. But you… all this, and you’re still trying to do the same things you were at the beginning.”

  “I’m a vampire,” Pietre sneered. “We aren’t meant to change. We are eternal, there when you and all your kind have gone. Ten thousand years from now, I will still be here.”

  Briony thought of the vampires from Xylyx, each unimaginably ancient. Each utterly mindless and animal. Perhaps they had always been like that, but maybe time had done it to them too. So much time that they could never be anything else except insane.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Briony said softly. She felt Kevin move up beside her.

  Pietre looked at them oddly. “The werewolf won out then? And is that a ring I see on your finger, Briony? You’re… married?”

  Briony nodded. “I’m married, and I’m the queen of Palisor. Fully the queen. Where did you think the gate came from?”

  Pietre stared at her. “But that… that’s impossible.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if you are the queen, then the apocalypse… we should be dead! I have spent days trying to find enough vampires to resist it. Are you saying that I succeeded?”

  He hadn’t been sure. All that time he’d spent transforming innocent kids into his kind, and he hadn’t even been sure it would work. However much Pietre liked to play the part of the cunning master vampire, in his heart, he’d just been a scared, desperate creature trying to cling onto any hope of life, regardless of the cost to anyone else. Maybe he always had been.