slice through his shoulder with her curved blade. He winced for a second before twisting her arm so hard I heard the bone snap. Then he kicked her in the stomach and she crumpled into a pile of debris.
“Now then, what do we have here?” Tobias said, pinning me with his eyes. The two slagpaw stalked towards me, growling from either side.
“Could it be the famed rebel princess? You know, nobody can stop talking about you back at the citadel. It’s a bit darker than the story I would have written for you, but I get the appeal. I guess I’ll have to be the one to bring Damien the sad news that you got eaten by slagpaw.”
“Tobias, please. Why are you doing this?”
His eyes flashed with pain, and for a moment, I saw him for who he really was. Kind, sweet. But then his mask of rage fell again. He crossed the room in a flash, seizing me by the throat and slamming me against the wall. My feet kicked against his ankles uselessly. I clawed at his arms and neck as his fingers tightened around my neck.
“I serve at the pleasure of my king,” he growled, fire in his eyes. “And the rebels, they lured away the only thing I loved. They twisted her, made her betray me. She used me. Now she’s dead.”
“That’s not what happened,” I said, fighting for breath. Had he forgotten everything?
“She loved you. She loves you still.”
Tobias’s eyes grew wide, and he stumbled backwards, dropping me on the ground. He had a question in his eyes, one I confirmed with a nod.
“She’s still alive,” I whispered, daring a step closer. His face contorted, but just then, a savage howl ripped through the church and a dark shape tackled Tobias, smashing through the altar and bringing the remains of the tower crashing down on them both. I covered my ears against the harsh brass clang of the bell as it cracked the marble floor.
I thought it was one of the slagpaw at first, but this one was still wearing pants. Only the top half had grown wolf, and it was still human enough for me to recognize Trev’s dark features. He slashed at the elite, and in his shifted form he was bigger, and stronger. But too slow. Tobias dodged the razor-sharp claws and pummeled Trevor with lightning quick jabs to the ribs. Trevor sank back, clutching his chest.
Tobias leisurely drew his long, thin sword. Light gleamed against the ornate, decorative blade as he raised it up to strike. My heart caught in my chest. There was no way to beat him. He’d kill the others, and take me back to the citadel a prisoner. I reached for my vial of elixir, even though I knew it wouldn’t be enough, but before I could raise it to my lips, Luke ran past me with a battle cry, holding up the compact ultraviolet bulb. For a second, I was blinded by a flash of brilliant white light.
I heard Tobias scream, clawing at his eyes as dark purple veins spread across his pale face. He swung wildly with the sword, but Luke helped Trevor stand and we ran through the now open section of the wall. Outside a third slagpaw was waiting, baring its teeth and growling at us, saliva dripping from its jowls.
Elixir thrummed through my body as I sprinted towards it, ducking under its claws and sliding across the rough ground on my knees, stabbing upwards with my sword. It slipped between the creature’s ribs, slicing it open, belly to tail, and showering me in a warm cascade of slagpaw viscera.
“Grab the crate!” I shouted. Jazmine and Luke each grabbed a handle and together we stumbled into the thick woods, leaving Quandom behind until the ruined steeple was swallowed up by the swirling ash and grasping branches.
5
It was dark by the time we made it back to the dead city. I cringed, expecting to see another slagpaw around every corner, or Tobias. I couldn’t shake the anger and hatred in his eyes. I’d never seen it there before.
I wasn’t sure how many people in Havoc realized what slagpaw actually were, and I didn’t want to risk getting shot again if I showed up with a mutid, so I gave Trevor the rest of my elixir and we waited at the edge of the city until he changed back.
I found a trickle of water running out of some exposed pipes into a small sheltered pond