I shift parts of my body into wolf form and try to hold my own against Bryer. It proves to be more challenging. I growl and snarl at him, using both magic and human combat, but it's no use against him. His strength is just too great.
Bryer laughs as if taunting me, "As long as Brandon Stine is here, you are doomed even before our fight begins!"
I glare at him. I am aware of it. The mere presence of General Brandon here is strengthening Bryer. I need to do something, or anything, to get past this hurdle.
"Kaiya, I think you need to kill me for this to end. I am useless for a battle right now," General Brandon whispers. "Thank you for saving me, though."
I turn my attention to him to check if he's not doing anything stupid like taking his own life. "No," I say.
"But Stine Kingdom is no more."
"You are still a Pitchford general, even if you are injured right now. Besides, if it's that gone from you, it doesn't matter. It's merely a title."
And then we hear screeching. From outside, different kinds of monsters appear and enters the barrier. All are black creatures that smell of three things-human, vampire, and magic.
Brandon bristles at the sight, and I glare at Bryer. "You turned all castle people into these beasts... including the royalty."
"They are great resources," he says matter-of-factly.
My anger flares up. Without thinking, I rush at him but am impeded by three ten-foot creatures that block me. They swing their tail, which almost catches me. Thankfully, I shift back to my wolf form and bounds off the ground.
And then, a ring of fire engulfs the three monsters. I look at the source of the fire magic and see Klevon marching up with Ninus and Gezer.
The two vampires look visibly weakened, but Klevon seems thrilled. "Hi, Kaiya. Guess what I found that's keeping Gezer and Ninus trapped in the throne room?"
Klevon is holding up a massive metallic chain. Even with just lifting it, there is a tension in his arm muscles.
"It looks heavy."
"It is, but I can handle it. Watch."
Klevon faces the other monsters. He swings the chain, but instead of catching the black minions, it catches Bryer around his ankle. Bryer falls with a massive thud, and surprisingly, Bryer struggles to fight against it.
"See, vampires are weak against this."
The three men encircle General Brandon and me. Klevon leans to me and whispers, "Allow me to take care of Bryer, so you help these two vampires against these black creatures."
I nod, and he beams at me. "Good girl," he says. He's clearly in a good mood.
And then the battle starts. As we slash and use our magic against the creatures, the wind howls in the night, as if in rhythm with the cry of death of the monsters. Seeing that we are significantly lowering the number of monsters, the smaller beasts scurry away out of the castle and into the woods. As morning approaches, the large army of black creatures dwindles to a manageable number.
And then we hear it, a brave march of numerous humans prepared for battle. And as the sunlight casts a golden hue over the castle, we find out that those are Stine citizens waiting outside the palace with their swords, bows, and any blunt weapon that they can take hold of. The other creatures that scurry away from us are lying on their feet.
The citizens have a decisive look on their faces. They attack in groups every time some monster slips us. Some humans are wounded, but even in the face of death and untrained in combat arts, they are courageously helping us. No... They are here to defend their home.
And as the sun slowly rises in the morning, I see the people in their midst-Inanna, Ruth, and the other two siblings.
I meet Inanna's eyes, and she nods at me. I turn my attention to Bryer and Klevon who are still battling. No, not a battle. Klevon has caught Bryer in chains. He is also burning from Klevon's fire magic.
I move closer to them and ask, "Is he burning or not?"
"Kaiya," Klevon greets. "As we thought, simple fire magic can only weaken a vampire, as what you can see."
I nod and look at Bryer. He has an expression of madness and pain. And so I kneel before him. "I am sorry, Bryer. I am not there when you needed someone the most."
I reach for his head, but he evades my touch. "I know what you plan on doing! Don't you dare get into my head!"
But I did. As I touch his head, I spiral into that same cave where I found Inanna before. This time, I move to Bryer's location instead of going to where Inanna is.
And on the floor, I find him in a heap. He is bloodied and almost dying. There is a crazed look in his eyes. The Blood God is standing over him, and he is asking him not to hurt him anymore.
However, the whip on the Blood God's hand continues to hit his bare body. Bryer grunts as the strikes continue. He dies. A low growl erupts from my throat, which makes the Blood God glance at me.
"Moon Goddess vessel. Welcome," he says. "Just stay there and watch."
And soon Bryer's corpse starts to move erratically. The white in his eyes turns black. The blood in his veins pulsates, and then he throws up black blood.
He crawls to the Blood God's feet and kisses it. "Please, no more," he pleads. "I don't want to die anymore. Don't kill me again."
The Blood God kneels before him and says, "You need to die a hundred or a thousand times more, just so you will get familiar with the feeling of death. In that way, you can call up the dead and make them do your bidding."
Even when Bryer vigorously shakes his head, the Blood God continues to beat him up. Bryer's battered body shivers–once again close to death. I am about to step forward when I realize what it means. An icy chill runs down my spine, and I am forced back into the present.
When I open my eyes, I look into Bryer's eyes, which are turning black. There is a smirk on his face, and he says, "You know about my actual ability."
In a panic, I take my knife and cut off his head before his eyes completely turn black.
Klevon exclaims, but I have no time to explain. In a split second, I burn both his body and his decapitated head. I put all my magic in it, so much that electricity crackles on the fire that consumes Bryer.
"What the heck are you doing?!" Ninus screams.
"Ninus, stop!" Gezer says. He tackles Ninus down on the ground.
But Ninus continues to scream. "He is a victim too! Much like Inanna! We never talked about killing him! We are here just to weaken him!"
And yet, I didn't listen to his complaints. Instead, my magic focuses even more on turning his body into nothing but ash. I am completely drained of magic when it's finally done. And when the sunlight shines on it, it puffs into a smoke and is obliterated by sunlight.
And then silence. No more Bryer. No more black creatures. And no more sound of battle. But my head is spinning. I stand up but almost fall if not for Klevon, who catches my arm.
I smile at him. "Thank y–" Darkness fills my vision before I realize that I am losing consciousness.