The Wolves of London Book 2: The House of Striker
Chapter 36

(Chapter Song ‘Born to be Wild – Epic Version' by J2)

ZEN

Cora opens tunnels big enough for our armies to walk through. They organize and file in formation. Nathaniel, the dragons, and the Nightflyers take to the air to meet us there.

We cross through the shadow realm with leaders barking battle cries and armies answering back.

When we exit the shadow, we’re met with a wicked thunderstorm. The rain is falling in sheets and Zayden scans the area.

“THERE!!” He points to an old looking, stone castle buried in a forest. Its towers loom above the trees and lightning hits them.

“Ok. That’s not scary B movie at all.” I say as I wipe the rain off my face.

“I feel them. They’re in there.” Zayden confirms.

“Me, too.” Zander agrees. He turns to the armies. “MOVE!!”

Leaders snap into action. Shift commands were yelled and the clearing before the trees came alive.

Nala takes to the air as a giant hawk. Her screeches cut through the dark clouds. Zayden and Zander shift and bolt for the castle with bears and wolves behind them. Hunters jump on their backs ad they run by. They hoot and holler like horse riders into the trunks.

“WE END THIS NOW!” I yell as I ride Avery with my own army around us.

“KICK ASS!!” Hunters raise weapons into the air as we charge to the castle gates.

Dragons land on the castle and start to destroy the stone towers. Soon, black magic balls fly out of the castle as rhe Necromancers get to the roof.

Ice, water, fire, lava, mud and more are spit as the dragons take flight and open their jaws. Riley and her Nightflyers grab necromancers, fly them up, rip off heads and drop their bodies on the ground over the forest canopy.

We run through the trees until the castles large wooden door comes into view. We’re soaked to bone as Nala lands, swiftly turns to a rhino, and charges the door. She hits it and the wood explodes into splinters.

Instantly, the dark shadows come alive and the castle entrance fills with the undead. Their wailing cries fill the trees as the growls of wolves and bears collide with them.

Vampires leap to the castle walls and climb up to windows or drop onto Necromancers. They bare their fangs and sink them into the necks of the Necros.

Shadows rise and turn to men. They grab the attacking Nightflyers and throw them into forest.

“GET THE PAINTING!”

My hunters line up with me and we aim our rifles. We walk in a line and fire shot after shot. The thunder booms over head as Necros drop in our wake.

“CAIN!!”

I see Cora run past me and target an older man who runs into a shadow. She immediately follows.

“CORA!!’ Nathaniel dives and rockets into the shadow before it closes.

A large dark mass hits the ground, exploding the people around it. I turn and wipe the rain out of my eyes to see two Nightflyers in the mud snapping and biting with wings beating the ground. Another two fall and I look up to see an aerial battle above us.

“ZEN!”

I whip my head to Jolen as he waves me into the castle.

The castle itself is dark, but with the amount of glowing eyes, magic balls, and gunfire the place looks like a freaking disco.

The roars, growls, and sounds of death bounce off the stone walls.

I throw punches and smack skulls with my batons as I fight my way to Icarus.

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“THE THRONE ROOM!!” Zander yells over the battle.

Bodies are thrown against the walls and hit the ceiling as the armies clash.

I grab a Necro, smack a baton off his cheek and drive it into his diaphragm. He doubles over and I kick him in the head. He falls and a bear lands on him, tearing his face off. I pull a gun, smack the but end of a Necros face, and fire.

Another tries to hit me with a staff. I grab it, twist it out of his hand and slam the end to the floor. I leap, spin, and kick several in the head. I land, drop, and spin. My staff connects with several ankles. Those that go down are immediately attacked by wolves, bears and vampires.

Lycan use their muscle power to bulldoze a path to the throne room.

Zander, Zayden, and Nala fight to the front line to enter the throne room first.

I fire more bullets until I hear my name.

“ZEN?!”

I whip around and Avery is shifted. He drops a Necro and replaces my eyes. “QUAID CAN DO IT!”

I shoot off more rounds, then look at him with confusion “WHAT?! DO WHAT?!”

“MARRY US!” He yells before he dodges several punches, and returns the hits. He shoves the Necro into Darius who grabs the man by the neck and crushes his spine. The man yells in agony.

“SO?!” I yell back.

“SO…ASK HIM!” He answers between blows.

“WHAT?! NOW?!” I stop, raise my arm, shoot a Necro in the head and give him a look like he’s insane.

“YEAH! WE WANT TO GET MARRIED, RIGHT?! WHY NOT DO IT BEFORE WE DIE?” He grabs a couple daggers from dead Necros and slices his way off the wall he was trapped on. He cuts their throats and they let out garbled screams as their necks turn to fountains.

“YOU’RE INSANE!”

“JUST SAY I DO!” Quaid yells before throwing a magic ball at a necromancer. It hits him and the room explodes in red light.

“I CANT DO THAT!” I flop my hands at my sides, then smack my gun off the forehead of Necro just before he tries to throw a punch my way.

“I… DO!!” Avery yells as he snaps a neck.

He runs through the battle and stops in front of me. He pants as he smiles. “Say it, Zen… Be my wife.”

“Avery… I…”

Before I could answer, he screams and drops to a knee.

“AVERY!” I drop with him as he clutches his chest. His face scrunches as he grits out screams.

I watch in amazement as the growls and snaps of the white ghost of a wolf starts to leave his back. It grips, grabs and kicks as it fights the pull. Avery doubles over and whines in pain. The wolf barks, yelps, and howls as it separates from his back and floats in the air.

“ARRGGHHH!!” Avery drops to both hands on the floor.

“WHATS HAPPENING?!” I yell, then look up. The battle seems to part like a sea as Dorian slowly walk toward Avery with head tilted forward, a smirk on his face, and an almost evil look in his eye. My eyes widen and my brows cinch as the magician pushes his magic out and stands with a cocky stance.

The wolf growls and gnashes his teeth at the immortal as he fights. His smoky white ghostly image twists and flails his paws as he's forcefully pulled to Dorian.

The Immortals hand is up out in front, and he’s holding something small in his fingertips. I see his lips moving, but I can’t hear what he's saying. The wolf lets out a painful howl as he's drawn into the object Dorian's holding. His whines fade in echoes as the last of him disappears. The glowing white light around the object fades and Dorian quickly pockets it.

I snap my head to Avery. “What did you do?!”

He lifts his eye to me. “I… survived...” His breath is labored and he looks like he’s struggling to stay awake.

I snap my eyes up. “Dorian!”

“Sorry, dear. In the middle of a battle. Talk later.” The corner of his lip ticks up, he gives me a wink, then bolts into the fight.

“BLACK!!” I yell after him as he disappears. I grab Avery’s head and lift it as he sits on his but.

He can barely keep his eyes open. “I… do…” He labors.

I wipe the sweat off his forehead. “That’s what’s you say after that?! Are you kidding…”

“ZEN!!”

I turn just as Icarus grabs my hair and I scream. Avery falls to the floor and I’m thrown across the room. He threw me so hard, I hit the back of the throne and it fell over with me. I hit the stone floor and my head connects. White light bursts in front of my eyes and I immediately roll to my hands and knees, holding the back of my head as I grind out the pain.

The back of my jacket is grabbed and im thrown again. I hear Icarus cackle as I slide across the stone floor, hit a wall and feel my arm break on impact. I cry out as my body fills with excruciating pain. The beauty of being fucking human.

I groan as I sit up and see my arm is soaked in blood. The bone snapped out of my skin. I feel blood trickle down my neck from the gash on my head and I press my hand to it as heavy boots walk out of the battle.

His grotesque, burned face glares at me. “You will release my army.”

I remove my blood soaked hand and hold my broken arm to my chest. “I’m not… opening shit.” I clench as my body throbs.

He walks up to me, squats and grab my throat. I choke and kick at him at he rises and lifts me off my ass. His good eye locks with mine. “I don’t recall giving you a choice.”

His eye goes to my blood covered hand and back to mine. My brows stitch up. “Fuck.”

He throws me again and I scream out as I hit another wall and thud to the floor.

“ICARUS!!”

I try to get up, but I’ve lost too much blood already and the blows I’ve taken to the head are making it hard to see. “Avery…” I say weakly as I brace myself on the wall and try to stand.

I place my hand on the wall and rise on my trembling legs. Blood covers my frint and drips on the floor under me. Through slit eyes I turn to the fight. I try to focus but I’m shaking so much it looks like the room is vibrating.

It wasn’t until people started to stop fighting and look my way that I actually paid attention. The room starts to light up and I slowly turn my head to my hand.

My lips shrink as the wall begins to glow white. I lift my sticky blood covered hand leaving behind a bloody handprint.

“Awe, shit.” I mutter as I raise my eyes to the room sized painting that I thought was a wall. My red handprint rests on the face of the attacking soldier then cracks and dissolves into the light.

“ZENNNN!”

The room quakes harder, a wind picks up, and I have to shield my eyes from the light as it grows. I stumble backward as do everyone else in the room. The noise from the painting gro2s to ear crushing levels as rhe room fills with a windstorm.

“RUN!!”

“GET OUT!”

“MOVE!!”

Fighters run for the nearest exits. Nightflyers scream out and smash through the walls to escape. All fights stop as cracks in the floor, move from the painting to the walls and across the ceiling. Large chunks of stone fall into the mess of people still here. They spread to avoid the rock.

“ESMERELDA!!”

“Quaid…” I stand in front of it in a complete daze. My eyes remain unblinking as I stare into the white. I tilt my head when I think I see movement. I hear metal. I feel the aggression. I see shadows.

A body slams me from behind. I snap put of it turn my head to Dorian. “Sorry, Darling. Gotta go.” His words are rushed as he pulls me away.

“NO, WAIT!!”

The light sharply grows then the painting inside the giant frame explodes out. We're all lifted off our feet and blown to the back of the room. The room dims down, and the painting is now like a portal.

We right ourselves slowly as we watch the portal in amazement.

“Wha…”

“We're right fucked. That’s what.” I meet Dorains eyes and then turn back to the painting.

My shock is interrupted by icarus who laughs maniacally as he takes the center position in front of the painting.

“YES!! COME TO ME! RISE!! I COMMAND YOU!” Icarus yells to the portal as he raises his arms in a show of power. “JOIN ME!! I WILL CONTROL THE POWER! FIGHT!!”

We all stand and watch the portal intently as Icarus loses his mind in front of us. Instead of soldiers, the sound of something sharp ripples out of the portal and whips through the air out of the painting. Icarus is hit in the chest and is thrown to the floor on impact.

“Zen.” Quaid grabs my arms and pulls me back behind him. He produces a cloth and wraps my arm.

As I hang off Quaid and lay my head on his chest, my eyes fall to an arrow sticking out of Icarus. He’s growling, trying to pull it out, but it won’t budge. Other Necromancers try to hell, but all its doing is hurting him more. He blasts them all the way just as a voice comes from the portal.

“Well, this was unexpected.”

The voice sounds hollow until it doesn’t. With a full-sized crossbow sitting on his shoulder, his old patent leather dress shoes step out of the light and over the decorative frame of the now glowing portal. He fixes the vest of his old, 19th century suit and looks us all over.

Icarus stands and grinds out a growl as he holds the shaft of the arrow. “You will die for this.“

“No. I don’t believe I will.” In a split second the man lowers his cross bow and fires again. Icarus is hit in the neck and a look of shock comes over his face.

The man smiles. “My cure-all arrows. Wounds and kills all manner of atrocity. I’m glad they haven’t lost their touch.”

Icarus grabs the arrow as he falls to his knees. He’s surrounded by Necros as they they to remove it.

The man stands cocky. “Now. If someone could direct me to my ancestor.”

“He…” I choke as I fight consciousness.

“Shh… Be still.” Quaid warns as he holds me in his arms.

“WILLIAM!!”

My weak eyes watch Zayden push past vampires and bear shifters. Zander is right behind him as they rush to the front.

“Zayden. Isn’t this a treat.” He looks the king over and glances at Zander. “Seems I’m not the only one to cheat death. I’m actually glad. It will give me a chance to put you on your knees and beg for your life. It was amusing last time.”

“You can’t win this, William. I told you then, and I’m telling you this now. You need us. The human race…” Zayden raises his hand and pleads.

“THE HUMAN RACE ARE GODS!!” William holds his head high as his voice carries over the silence, and he starts to pace. “EVERY ONE OF YOU WERE BORN OF THE ASHES OF HELL. YOU WERE SENT HERE TO MARR THIS BEAUTIFUL PLANET WITH YOUR DISGUSTING EVIL!”

Demetri steps up to Zayden and Zanders back and crosses his arms. “Well, that’s highly uncivilized.”

Dorian stands beside him. “Right? The audacity alone…”

Krestin joins them. “I say we eat ‘em.”

“Oh, shut up.” William sneers.

Zayden steps forward. “William, this is too insane. Even for you. We were comrades. Friends. I stood for you!!”

“YOU STOOD FOR YOUR SELFISH NEED TO FEEL SUPERIOR! You weren’t my friend, Zayden. I WAS A PET! A CHARITY TO MAKE YOUR QUEEN HAPPY! WELL, NO MORE! IT’S TIME FOR THE WOLVES TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF HUMANS!!”

He lowers his crossbow.

“NOOOO!”

Zander rushes him and I muster enough strength to grab Dorians gun from his holster, aim and fire.

“AHHH!” The bullet hits his hand and the crossbow falls. Zander skids to a stop in front of him and curls his lips.

William glares at me and Zander as he holds his hand to his chest.

“Enough…” I moan as I clumsily step forward. My head is still spinning and I try to keep focus.

“Zen.” Quaid tries to stop me, but I push him away.

Broken and bloody, I hobble my way to my great grandfather. Zander catches me and holds me up while I stare into Williams eyes. “You have… a lot of…. fucking nerve.”

He looks me over. “Pardon me, miss. Just who the hell are you?”

I raise the gun in my shaking hand. “Esmerelda… Striker… Last surviving Striker in the house… and I’m absolutely sick of your shit.” I fire the gun and he ducks. The bullet goes into the light of the painting.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?! I’M YOUR KING?!” He growls as his face fills with offense.

“You’re a prejudice piece of shit that poisoned my family for far too long. If this is what a Striker is supposed to be… count me the fuck out and you… go to hell.” I fire again and he takes a bullet to the shoulder. He stumbles back toward the painting and pulls his hand back. His shoulder turns black with blood.

He looks up at me with shock. “I’m you’re legacy. YOU'RE HUMAN! YOU'RE BETTER THAN THEY ARE! THIS PLANET BELONGS… TO US! I COMMAND YOU!! YOU WILL ALL BOW TO ME! YOU WILL ALL…”

We all gasp and cry out. Zander, Zayden and I cover our face as William chests explodes and his blood is thrown at us.

I blink as I wipe my face. Williams eyes are frozen in shock as a thick forearm with a clawed hand sticks out his chest. The hand holds William’s heart and stays like that for a good 30 seconds. Blood pools around Williams shoes, then roars come from the light.

The arm slides back into his body as a boot kicks William from behind and his body lands on the floor.

All of our jaws drop as a gigantic man with dark hair, scared face and pale gold eyes looks us over. He steps forward and I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

This man is huge, hairy and muscular. He’s dressed in some form of loose armor, but looks like he crawled out of a jungle.

He arches a brow as his eyes float across the room. He raises Williams heart and crushes it as his lips snarls.

My eyes widen and I swallow as 5 more people step out of the light and the painting itself burns to ashes.

The two women are in black and leopard print, two-piece outfits. One a skirt. The other pants with high boots. The man beside leopard woman looks a lot like Krestin and the man beside the woman in black looks like a tank with silver, black hair and huge square jaw and body.

“Who the hell?”

“KNEEL!!” He bellows.

Like a vice gripped my stomach, I’m compelled to fall to my knee. I try to fight it, but can’t. One by one, the entire room falls with the exception of Zander and Zayden.

Zander walks up to the man, looks him over then glances behind him at the now empty picture frame. “Where’s the army?”

His cat like eyes look Zander over. “I said… kneel.” He scowls.

Zander crosses his arms. “You’re command doesn’t work on Zetas.”

He glances at Zayden then back at Zander. “Zetas. You expect me to believe that.”

“You know we’re not lying.” Zander says low.

He looks out to the room. “DISPERSE!!”

The room becomes a flurry of panic as the Necros, vampires, bears, lycans, Dragons and all the rest leave the room. Quaid hurries me out the room and in the crowd, we replace Darius, carrying Avery out.

“Avery…” I breathe as I hang off of Quaid.

“Zen…” He can barely walk.

“Alright, you two. You can talk later. Right now, you both need a medic.” Quaid instructs.

It’s complete chaos outside as shadows open up and the skies turn black with flying Supernaturals.

I see Icarus being carried off into a shadow.

“No…” I mutter weakly.

“Don’t worry about him. We'll get him.” Quaid raises his hand and opens a portal. It’s red shimmering oval grows and he waves Darius to step through. We cross over into a hospital. People are walking around and in a second a nurse rushes over.

“Oh my God. What happened?” She lifts my head and I can barely see or hear her.

“A little banged up, I’m afraid. Alpha Maximus orders the best care.” Quaid instructs.

She nods. “Yes, of course.”

Both Avery and I are loaded onto gurneys and whisked away into the hospital.

The light goes out and I’m lost to the dark.