Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2018 08:26:11 +0400
From: Nell Bas <helledon12@gmail.com>
Subject: the last feres/ the feri light 25

Happy Reading!

       				The Feri Light
       				  Chapter 25

       'Ladies and gentlemen, the wolf-shifters have arrived,' the
announcer's voice boomed over the stadium. The spectators roared. However,
Wren and his kin remained stoic. 'In this match, their opponents will be
the most noble of beasts, the...' he paused for effect, '... werewolves.'

       Unlike the shifters, the werewolves arrived through a dark smoky
ring portal laced with blue lightning streaks. There's only one person able
to conjure this type of portal; Helledon.

       Once again, we were overwhelmed by the noise coming from the
spectators. Honestly, I was beginning to question whether saving these
people was worth it.

       'Don't blame them Rye,' Keene said. 'Not everybody has the courage
to stand up for themselves. Self-preservation is a primal need and it can
cloud the most sound of mind. They are doing it out of fear.'

       'You don't need to make excuses for them, Keene. Intimidation or
fear, right now I don't see the difference.' There was a lot I wanted to
say but I kept my opinions to myself.

       The portal closed behind the third werewolf. They were massive;
their height ranged from six to seven feet. They snarled showing their four
inch canines.

       I noticed the wolf-shifters didn't flinch or even budge. They showed
no fear whatsoever.

       "Wren," I whispered. I was still a bit pissed at him for leaving me
in the prison chamber, nonetheless I still wanted him in one
piece. "There's feri light all over the arena. You can shift." He didn't
use words only nodded his answer. With so many eyes around, he didn't want
to draw unwanted attention towards me.

        The werewolves snarled at my bond-mate and his companions. Calm and
collected, Wren began to discard his clothes; first his tunic, then his
pants and then his footwear. Confused, Kane and the others stared at
him. In fact, the whole stadium stared at him, perplexedly, in
silence. Inhaling, deeply, he morphed into a raven black wolf. The others
quickly caught on that their powers were back. They also stripped and
morphed.

       As if that was the cue they were waiting for, the werewolves lurched
forward. On all fours, they charged the wolf-shifters.

       With a quick glance, I noticed Helledon was at the edge of his
seat. He was enjoying this. In a split second my fear for Wren turned to
anger towards the bastard. In my mind flashed a dozen ways to end the
degenerate's life. Call it a reflex, I touched my core. Before I did
something rash, Keene and Caleb had their hands on me. "Not yet Rye."
Devlin's voice rang in my head.

       "Why not? This is as good a time as any."

       "Sorry Rye. I made a promise to Wren."

       'What kind of promise?' I said out loud.

       Keene nervously looked around. Someone might have overheard me.

       'Keene!'

       'We promised Wren that we would wait for the bastard to bring forth
his father,' Keene said in a low voice.

       That was shifters for you. Stubborn, irrational and reckless.

       'Does he know that his course of action just sealed his father's
fate?'

       'I'm sure he does but, of all people, you know how the wolf-shifters
are.'  Keene said.

       No. He should have said 'how the Graylards are' because any
wolf-shifter in his right mind would weigh his options carefully before
acting.

        'Shit!' Caleb exclaimed next to me. 'The wolf-shifters are agile
fuckers.  Look! it looks like they have a strategy in mind.'

       Following his line of vision, I saw that Wren and his kin where
keeping their distance from the werewolves. They kept dodging the beasts'
attacks by weaving between them, retreating and enticing the large
creatures to chase them. Caleb was on to something. The shifters did appear
to have a strategy. That was to tire their opponents. Already I could see
the effects on the werewolves.

       Suddenly, I saw Wren and a silver wolf break away from the
others. They circled back behind the werewolves and tackled the slower
werewolf to the ground. Instantly Wren was at his throat. The werewolf used
his rear legs to push him off, but the silver wolf was on to it. He latched
on to one of the beast's back legs and pinned it down while Wren brutally
shook the beast by the throat. The beast's forelegs were free so he was
clawing at Wren's side. Kane appeared and disabled the werewolf's front
paws. The three of them managed to subdue the beast.

       The other werewolves sensed that they were going to lose one of
their own. They stopped the chase and rushed to help their companion. The
two remaining shifters weren't letting that happen. The tawny wolf
repeatedly nipped at his werewolf's back legs. The beast got angry and
resumed chasing him. The other shifter, a gray wolf managed to get in front
of the other werewolf. The beast stopped and a snarling contest began. The
werewolf wasn't impressed with the shifter, or perhaps driven by his
friend's desperate cry, he launched himself in the air over the gray wolf
and darted towards Wren and the others. Alas, he was too late. As my
bond-mate released his grip on the now dead werewolf, he immediately
targeted the charging beast. The others caught on quickly. They surrounded
the beast on all sides. One by one they nipped at his rear end. He was
forced to sit down to protect his hind. The shifters kept on nipping at the
werewolf. Mouth open, he threw his massive head around hoping to snatch a
shifter. But that proved to be a mistake. In doing that he kept exposing
his neck.  The silver wolf was waiting for just that as he latched on like
Wren had done with the first werewolf. Instantly the other three shifters
were on the werewolf. Pinning him down like the first, they tore him to
shreds.

       Two down, one to go.

       Noticing his companions, the tawny wolf joined the group. The
remaining werewolf halted in his tracks. He sniffed the air and realized he
was all alone now.  However, that wasn't going to deter him. He lurched
towards the shifters. They scattered. Then they did something that left me
in awe, each of them doubled back and latched themselves to a limb. The
remaining wolf grabbed the tail. They pulled outwards, stretching the beast
to its limit. Of course, the beast fought back but each time he brought his
massive jaw to snatch a shifter, another would increase the pressure of
their bits causing the beast to yelp and be distracted. It took me a while
to realize what they were trying to do. They were attempting to split the
beast apart. It took several minutes but they succeeded.

       The spectators went wild with cheers. Finally, I was able to let out
a huge breath to empty my lungs.

       'They did it!' Caleb yelled.

       I didn't see any cause for celebration because I knew this was far
from over.

       Just like I thought, three dozen armed warriors spilled into the
arena and corralled the shifters into a tight circle. The wolves growled.

       'That's not fair,' someone shouted in front of us. He was quickly
hushed by another person standing next to him.

       'Do you want to join them? If you do then keep it up, my friend.'


       Glancing at the royal podium, I saw that Helledon had a very
sinister grin on his ugly face. I thought he would get involved but it was
Uren who stood with his hands in the air. The crowd understood the meaning
of this gesture and the level of noise died down almost instantly. Throwing
his cape back, he moved to the edge of the podium.

       'Wolf shifters. You put up a good show today. I appreciate the
effort. I have to say, you fought valiantly ... for a bunch of animals,
that is. Alas, it wasn't impressive enough. You should know, I'm a hard man
to please. That's why you'll get another chance to fight, but this time
without your shifting abilities.'

       With a flick of the hand, two warriors blow-darted the
shifters. Instantly they reverted to their human forms. The murderous look
on their faces reflected their disgust for this man.

       'Come down and fight me yourself and you'll see how impressive I can
be.'  That came from Wren and his big mouth. Enticing Uren or even
Helledon, for that matter, might not be a good idea.

       Helledon jumped to his feet and joined his son. 'If it isn't Wren
Graylard, the feres sidekick. I thought I recognized you. Honestly, I am
delighted that you could make it to our little celebration. By the way,
where is your little feres lover? I hope wherever he is he's hiding. Hiding
from what is to come.'

       'You speak big for a freak,' Kane shouted. Helledon turned to
him. He seemed to recognize Kane.

       'Well, two princes of Wyrmer. I'm touched.' Suddenly, his face lit
up with excitement. That was not a good sign.

       'It's fortunate that you're here. I have a surprise for you. I was
saving it for a better occasion but today will do just fine.' He turned to
his son and Uren grinned.

       'Bind them,' he ordered the guards.

       With great difficulty the guards subdued the shifters and dragged
them to the east wall. To make sure they couldn't break free, inhibitor
collars were placed around their necks.

       'People of Koff, you're in for a treat today as you'll get the
chance to witness the death of a king. To be more precise, the death of the
Alpha King.' For once, no one cheered. The whole stadium had gone
mute. That didn't bother Helledon at all. In fact, it seemed to have the
opposite effect. This guy loves the smell of fear.

       Two smoky portals opened in the sand pit not far from the pile of
corpses.  Their sudden appearance frightening the crows. They flew
everywhere blinding the spectators for a minute. As they returned to the
carcasses, I saw Elron standing in the middle of the arena facing three
angry werewolves.

       Wren and the other shifters roared and fought their chains. That
amused Helledon who gave a short sinister laugh. 'Let the game begin,' he
yelled before he and Uren regained their seats.

       "Now! We should move now," I said to Keene.

       I touched my core, ready to teleport myself down there when Keene
stopped me.

       "Rye wait," Devlin projected. "Goran and Ned haven't arrived yet. We
have to wait for them before we can do anything. We can't put the mission
in jeopardy for the sake of one person."

       For the sake of one person! I nearly screamed my head off. I pinned
Keene with a deadly stare. "Give me one good reason..."

       Keene sighed. It was Devlin who answered, though. "I know how
restless you are. However, Helledon and Uren have the upper hand right
now. Have you forgotten the guards? There are hundreds of them
around. What's more, Helledon has the portal. He can bring forth any number
of werewolves here in the blink of an eye. Sure, under normal
circumstances, you and I would be a match for them, but right now it would
be suicide. My powers are limited in Keene's body. If I force it, it might
kill him. And you. Targeten can't risk losing you right now. You're the
glue keeping all of us together. If you fall, we all fall."

       Trembling with rage, I glared at the werewolves in front of Elron. I
didn't have a comeback for Devlin because the annoying bastard was right. I
can't reveal myself, but I can do something to help Elron. I reached out
and latched on to the werewolves' cores. They were so vile that I almost
let go. As they neared Elron I froze them long enough for him to tackle the
first one to the ground. He was as fierce as his sons proclaimed him to
be. While I kept the others back he quickly made short work of the one he
had. The third werewolf fought my bond as Elron challenged the second
werewolf. Within minutes his wolf managed to bring down all three
werewolves.

       The crowd didn't cheer when it was all over. They were in shock.

       Uren jumped to his feet. 'Wolf-shifter. I don't know how but you
cheated!'

       He returned to his seat and pulled out a sword. 'You're going to
fight me now. See if you can cheat your way out of this.' He said casting
aside his cape. 'Dart him,' he yelled at his guards who were back in the
sand pit.

       As Wren and the others had, Elron reverted to human form.

       In one leap, Uren was in the arena. He rotated his blade like an
expert sword master. 'Say your last goodbyes because now you die.'

       The shifters rattled their chains as they struggled to break free.

       It seemed hardly fair for Uren to fight an unarmed man. He attacked
Elron.  The old man was surprisingly light on his feet. He managed to stay
out of Uren's sword's path as he delivered a blow to the younger man's
side. Uren didn't flinch.  Instead, he got an opening to Elron. He jabbed
him in the face with the hilt of his sword and sent the shifter flying with
a kick to the stomach.

       Again, no one cheered.

       Helledon grinned and nodded from his seat.

       Another attack from Uren left many open wounds on Elron. It was then
that I realized the dart they used on him was poisoned and was slowing him
down.

       Uren didn't dart the other shifters with poison because his father
wanted them to watch their leader die. He knew that neutralizing Elron's
wolf wouldn't ensure his victory. The shifter was indeed powerful, but Uren
intended to win.

       Soon he got Elron on his back, panting out of breath. Blood and sand
caked his body.

       The shifters snarled in their chains.

       Uren turned to his father. Helledon put his thumb up and swiftly
turned it downward. In doing so, he sentenced the Alpha King to death.

       With Goran or not, I wasn't waiting any longer. Anticipating my
decision, Caleb grabbed my shoulder. He was coming with me, although at
first, I thought he meant to hold me back.

       I looked at Keene. I wasn't asking permission, I was just letting
him know that I've made my decision. He felt my determination of course so
he only nodded.

       Caleb was already in beast mode when we materialized a short
distance from where Uren held his sword above his head poised to deliver
the killing blow.  He stumbled back when I pushed him with my
telekinesis. Before he realized what just happened the tiger disarmed him.

       A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. I ignored them and
strode towards Uren, who was now holding his injured hand. Caleb
disappeared from my line of vision. Screams filled the arena as he took the
guards down one by one.

       'Who the fuck are you?' He spat.

       I didn't answer him. I just reached for his core and stunned
him. His eyes grew big, and fear dripped out of him.

As he was half Northender, feri light was his downfall, so I added some
through the connection. At that moment, I heard a thud.

       'Rye, watch out!' I heard someone shout.

       I turned around in time to deflect a blue lightning bolt coming from
Helledon. He was standing over Elron with Uren's sword in his hand. Without
breaking eye contact with me, he plunged the weapon in the Alpha King's
chest, right through his heart. He gave it a twist and within seconds
Wren's father was dead.

       Wren and Kane growled in outrage. They were still chained and I saw
that Caleb-tiger was trying to break them free of their bonds.

       Helledon produced another bolt of lightning. He didn't say a word,
but his angry face spoke volumes. I let go of Uren long enough to counter
Helledon's lightning with an energy ball.

       By that time, there was a lot of noise coming from the stadium. I
didn't dare look. I knew a fight had broken out. Goran and Ned had finally
arrived.

       Helledon produced another thunder bolt but I didn't give him a
chance to throw it. Like bullets out of a machine gun, i fired energy balls
at him. He was forced to drop the bolt and shield himself.

       I thought I had the upper hand when I felt a sharp pain in my back
and heart. What came next took me by surprise. My whole body began to
spasm, my blood was on fire and my skin was turning charcoal
black. Stunned, I fell to my knees.

       Helledon grinned and produced more lighting. This was it. I was
going to die.

       Wren, shouting my name, drew my attention to him. He stopped
struggling and locked eyes with me. He was far away but he had better
vision than me. 'I love you,' I lipped. At that instant, he knew he was
going to lose me just like he did his father.

       Helledon was strolling towards me when a loud inhuman roar stopped
him in his tracks.

       My eyes never left Wren, so I saw the whole transformation. Yes,
transformation. Engulfed in rage, Wren's body contorted just like I had
seen him do countless occasions when he was shifting. But this wasn't a
normal shift. He was growing way too large. All activity around us ceased
as he began to morph into a humongous beast. I recognized the creature he
was morphing into instantly. Ten feet tall, huge talons, a stocky yet
elongated snout, bony spines that runs along his back to his muscular tail,
fiery breath, he was a dragon.

       Roaring mad, he shook the pieces of chains that still hung on his
body. He took two steps in our direction as a pair of giant bat wings
sprang from his back.  With two quick beats he flew and landed behind
me. He grabbed Uren and shook him like a ragdoll before throwing him at his
father. Helledon looked down at his son solemnly but he didn't attempt to
touch him. Like all of us, he knew he was dead. Spread out, Wren moved
towards Helledon. The bastard threw lightning bolt after lightning bolt at
my bond-mate, to no avail. Just before Wren reached him, he glanced at his
son one last time, then at me before vanishing in one of his portals.

       Just then, Keene appeared next to me with the professor. The older
man, pulled out a syringe and stabbed me in the chest. Instantly, the lava
inside of me calmed. Moments later my skin regained its normal color, but I
could still feel something inside.

       'You were hit with the Northender dark energy,' Devlin said through
Keene.
       'It felt like I was dying,' I croaked.

       'Yes. And you're lucky you didn't. So many of your kind die from far
less in their system,' Devlin said.

       I glanced up at Wren who was towering over us. I could see the
relief in his eyes that I was going to be fine. He glanced at his father's
corpse.

       'Go.' I told him. 'Take him home.'

       He gazed down at me. I smiled back, knowing what he was trying to
say. A minute later he walked to where Kane and the other shifters were
kneeling next to their fallen King.

       When Wren-dragon arrived they moved out of the way. He roared and
breathed out fire skyward scattering the crows and sending them on a cawing
frenzy once more. And then another part of the vision acted out before my
very eyes. The dragon gently scooped up Elron in its mouth. Looking at
Kane, Wren bent down low enough for his brother to climb onto his
back. Taking to the sky, they set off homeward.

       ........................

       End of chapter 25