Page 26 of Fear the Fall

Wolves

He turns in circles,crouching into a fighting stance. He doesn’t question my instincts, and I file that away, remembering to buy him dinner sometime. The fact he has my back so readily warms me, endearing him to me even further.

More cracking sounds reach us. With each snap, whatever’s out there moves closer. I join Zeke in a crouched stance. From out of the thick brush, two demons step onto the path, heads tilted, sniffing the air with bloodlust. The taller of the two is missing his nose, nothing but two holes in its place. His eyes have no pupils; white nothingness stares directly at me. The skin around his eyes hangs loose, the muscle below exposed. Long, greasy black hair falls to his shoulders. He looks like he just came from a fight and he lost.

The other has the head of a wolf, yellow eyes large and dilated. He stands on two feet, swaying back and forth.

What the hell?

“Are you seeing this?” I call over my shoulder to Zeke, not willing to risk turning my back on the monsters.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m not feeling good about this turn of events,” Zeke admits.

He can say that again. It’s been years since I’ve come against anything other than a vampire, and it’s been a millennium since I’ve encountered a werewolf. Worse yet, they’re out during the day. That is something I’ve never witnessed. Demons are typically eviscerated by the sun, which makes it impossible for them to roam during the day.

It was one of the curses God put on Lucifer when he was banished to Hell. Eternal darkness for him and all the original fallen angels. This new development is bad. Very bad.

My eyes roam the two creatures, looking for anything that would help me understand how they’re out.

“One of you wanna tell me how you’re still standing? Considering the sun is out,” I say, lifting my chin upward.

No-nose steps forward. “Things are changing,” he says. His voice slithers over me, menacing and malicious. “The days of hiding are almost over.”

My eyebrow rises to a point. “How?” I spit the word.

The wolf throws his head back and howls, while the other laughs maniacally.

“Friends.” It’s all he offers.

Witches.

The only thing that makes sense is that the witches have teamed up with Lucifer, but what’s in it for them? The covens around here don’t play nice with any creature. They keep to themselves and don’t get mixed up in the celestial politics that the rest of us are forced to partake in.

The werewolf raises a fur-thick paw to scratch at his ear, and that’s when I see it—the talisman on his finger. Definitely witches.

There are different covens all over Earth, and each sides with either Heaven or Hell. One faction wants peace and to be left to themselves, while the other wants hell on Earth and to reign supreme. Dark witches are at work here.

“You stumbled across the wrong fallen today, boys,” I say, lacing as much conviction as I can muster into my threat.

“We’re going to feast on your heart, angel.” He growls the word like a curse.

As much as I want to unleash my signature brand of cocky, they’ve caught me off guard. I have the benefit of Zeke’s help, but we’re unarmed. Neither of us has our swords on us, and unless Zeke has powered up, we’re at a major disadvantage. This fight isn’t going to be one of the easiest I’ve embarked on. I grit my teeth.

“Smell that, Magrid?” No-nose directs to the wolf. “Fear. She’s going to taste delicious.”

I huff. That’s good. Underestimate me. That’ll work well for you, I think to myself, channeling all the rage I can muster up. It comes much easier than anticipated, the lingering anger from my dream sweeping over me.

No-nose slinks toward me, his left leg dragging behind him at an odd angle. He definitely lost a fight recently. Or he was tortured.

I glance in Zeke’s direction, and he smirks, noticing what I had already worked out.

Homeboy making his way toward me is going to be easy peasy to take out. It’s the wolf I have my eye trained on.

Zeke steps in front of me, seemingly eager to take out No-nose. “Mind if I take this one?”

“Help yourself, but don’t think I don’t notice you’re taking easy street.”

He grins, right before crouching and jumping up into a roundhouse kick, knocking No-nose back a good ten yards. When he lands on his feet, he looks back at me, chest all pumped up as though he has something to brag about. Yeah, so what if he didn’t even break a sweat.