"Can you phase?" I ask her over the cracking of the ice shield, shielding her with my body. 

"And do what? They have guns." Marisol retorts, pulling a gun off her own hip to shoot overhead as a lycra figure. They fall to the ground and she shoots them in the head before rummaging through the objects on their person. 

"It's a government badge..." She murmurs, holding the glittering metal pin in her palm. So, am I being excommunicated for the second time? My body begins to tingle and water rises up and over the edge of my ice barrier. I throw up my hand, freezing it and forcing it back toward the barrage of screams of those below who are crushed beneath the ice shelf. 

"I'll give you one idea who is behind this." 

Marisol shoots once more up the stairwell, pressing her back to mine. "Well, we can't stay here. More are just going to keep coming. Call Doe." 

I grip all over my body but my phone is gone, I must have dropped it in the bookstore. She reads my face and checks over her body as well before cursing out loud, kicking the dead body. "

Damn it! Mine, too. And the damned keys." 

My body threatens to deflate, we're stranded here. I take a deep breath and calm myself, I've been in worse situations before. I can handle this. 

"Alright. Keep an eye out behind us, let me know if we're getting overwhelmed. If I get in enough distress, Alpha will feel it and he will come for us. Until then, I've got to keep us alive." 

Forming stairs out of the ice, I climb the height of the barrier and peer over the edge. With a quick move, I take a blast of wind and sweep the officials off of their feet only as I look down on them they don't look as I expected them to. 

They look straight ahead as if they have no thought of their own. No one even makes an attempt to aim for me they're so focused on shooting at the wall, that as I blow them over, they twist and tumble as if they aren't even human. I hear gunshots behind me and watch the men fall off the fire escape. 

They almost appear to be charmed. A blast of wind hits my chest, and I'm flying through the air. At the last minute, I direct the gust below me and manage to right myself. 

"Soli, it's Red."

Marisol's shoulders go rigid. "That's the one who beat Doe? For fun?"

I nod, not having to say anymore. She snarls low in her throat, while I shake my head, warning her with my eyes. 

"We can't get angry, not here. Soli, we can't let her get away. He let her go, he's going to blame himself... we have to end this here. These officials seem almost mindless. I knock them over and they just keep shooting. What if this is a stunt? This happened before, in our time, it was just an attempt to make us look bad. We can't be seen killing these officials. I think we sneak around the back, we can make an escape and try and find her."

We steal around the side alley and come out on the busy street. "Smell for burning atmosphere."

"Excuse me? I'm not a tracker, Nic."

"Soli, please, just try." 

Am I that spoiled with my warlord? It seemed as if every wolf I confronted was offended by this request save for him. He prided himself on his ability to track, though I do remember him saying that it was a skill he had to work on constantly. 

Sota had taught him when he was young, and he had taught others. My body feels like it's been struck by lightning and I drop to my knees, unable to scream, unable to fight back. Soli wheels around, teeth bared, and I reach for her to warn her as someone grips her from behind. 

I fight against the pain of the electrocution running coursing through my muscles. Trying to find any way to make the pain stop, screaming in my head for Alpha, my body threatens to give in to the blackness. 

A hand grabs me, and I feel the energy pulse back through my body in a surge, removing the charge as if it had been lifted. As I glance up, I'm met with startling eyes that shimmer hot white as if they were made of voltage themselves. 

The man pulls the hood back over his head, retracting his shimmering hand. "Can you move?" He asks. 

I blink wildly at him, trying to come to terms with what just happened. The man who had Soli lays unconscious on the floor and I notice the lycra bodysuit and the large cloak of the female who had shot Verando. I close my fist, yanking the very pipes from the ground and blasting her with water. She throws her hands up quickly, barely deflecting it before being overwhelmed. 

"Get away from her!" I demand, rushing for my friend as the woman tries to right herself. The man puts up his hands. 

"We're trying to help. Please, there isn't much time. Nicolas."

"How do you know my name?!" I hold the water in my hand, forming a long pointed rod, when suddenly the ice melts and splats on the floor. The woman is behind us, her hands raised. 

"We are friends." These two, were they the twins Verando had been speaking of? Bullets rain down on us, and she throws up her cloak; it deflects them as if the sheet were made of metal. Touching her belt, she murmurs something in a language I thought I recognized. 

Two more cloaked figures appear; modern-day archers launch a barrage of arrows overhead, though these have blunted tips that seem to disable their victims rather than kill them. "Come on. Please. We need The Good King."

Marisol grips my arm, clutching her stomach. "We have to go." She manages through her teeth and I support her as I follow after the male. He throws his cloak over me, guarding my hair, no doubt. A large car pulls up, and the doors swing open. I'm prepared to attack, but he shoves my head down and pushes me inside, followed by Marisol, before climbing into it himself along with the female. 

"Keep 'em busy, Aego." He shouts as he slams the door. The pair bolt towards the fray of agents, and my eyes widen as I feel the ground around us start to rumble. Red. She knows we are getting away. 

"Sunroof," I demand. 

"What?"

"Sunroof! Open your damn sunroof!" 

Obediently, the driver does so, and I stand on the seat, forcing my way through and cursing at myself for my own stupidity. The ground trembles and rumbles as the street begins to crack, the asphalt separates and groans as cars fall into the crater created by a woman scorned. 

Pipes screech and moan as they're lifted from the very earth and buildings begin to tremble as their structures are threatened. My eyes widen, taking in the growing darkness of a building leaning in for a closer look.  

A massive wave of water rounds the corner, and the ground shakes me to my core. She had gotten stronger,  more potent in her depravity. Magic like this came at a cost. The building pops, deafening us as glass shatters and supports give way. "Drive!" I demand. 

The male crawls between my legs to press his hand to the dash and boost the electric engine. The car roars to life, surging forward at a pace that makes the driver scramble to keep us upright. The wave is too controlled; it rumbles and rolls through the city as it threatens to overwhelm us.

 I throw up my hands, pushing against it and setting up a barrier. The people scream, scrambling all around as the building begins to lumber over the street. I redirect the wave, throwing it against the structure in an attempt to right it, yet I feel as though there's a pull. 

 She's fighting me, pulling back on the other end of the rope. 

I can't let her do this, I can't let her destroy the city. My body begins to shiver from the chill as I freeze the water as fast as I can while trying to yank it away. I could deflect it or I could hold my ground and continue using it to hold the building up, which seems fleeting as glass pops and explodes. 

People are going to die, hundreds, thousands, this can't happen. The pipes twist and jerk, smashing asphalt all around as water is stripped from them. I can't do it all, I can't control all of it, I'm not strong enough. Closing my eyes, I call him once more, and I can feel the response.

 When I open them, I'm seeing through the eyes of my wolf companion; I feel the anger and the heat threaten to overwhelm me.  I feel as though I'm not tapping into depleted sources but gaining access to a valuable weapon. 

With newfound eyes, I track the pull of energy, spotting the directional force, my father's book flashes before my mind. 

Push back, give it back to her. 

With a yell, I muster all my focus and use the water as current, shoving back and following that pull to find her. If she wants to have it, she can take it, all of it. It works like a whip, the force is so immense the water spirals into a funnel, and I flinch, covering my ears at the loud crack of the connection as it meets her. 

The wave drops, and the building threatens to follow. I force my fist into the air, and with wind and water, I shove the great wave up its length and feel as though the air is leaving my lungs as I reach the height of the building. The groaning and popping begin to settle to a timid shiver, this would give them enough time, and this would let as many as can escape the opportunity.

 My light begins to flicker, I'm overusing, I'm drawing too much. I let go of it, conscious of the fading light as I drop into the car in a heap. 

Marisol clutches me to her chest as the driver closes the sunroof and the ice shelf shattered. Everything goes black at the building falls onto the destruction of the street, and we're overwhelmed by dust and debris. 

____

When I open my eyes, I can't help but wonder if I'm dead. Indeed no one survives something like that? But, as I pat all over my body, I sit up from the hard floor and realize people surround me. Hands hover over me, and I hear someone murmuring. My body feels warm, almost too warm, and the lack of pain is so refreshing I can practically taste it on my tongue. 

A healer. A deeply tanned woman with dark almond eyes and long black hair sits before me, on her knees as she gauges my expression and sanity after so much use. "You're a healer."

She smiles. "I am."

Without thinking, my hand juts forward to cup her cheek, testing it for myself. Can she be real? The whole room leaps to action, and I realize we're surrounded. She raises her hand. 

"He won't hurt me. He has a good heart. He's The Good King."

I haven't heard that in almost a year. My eyes scan the room; it's dark, and shabby, with no furniture, and the windows are blacked out. "Where are we?"

"The Dead City." She tells me gently, taking my face in her hands; she kisses me so passionately that I'm entirely taken off guard. I jerk back, covering my mouth with my hand, and she smiles. "Your injuries are healed."

"I don't want to hear it from you. She kissed me, too." Marisol spits. 

The man from the car steps forward, "That's how Sef does a body scan, it's a bit unorthodox, but she's pretty remarkable. I'm Grayson." He kneels before me. "Sir, it's an honor to finally meet you." 

Yet, when I scan the room it looks as though everyone is utterly terrified of me. The room is completely silent save for Grayson. 

He follows my eyes and laughs nervously, "You must excuse them, Sir. They just watched the city crumble, and you kind of turned a tsunami into an ice shelf. That was... we've only read about power like that."

I perk instantly and stand quickly, flexing my hands and fingers as I feel completely revitalized. If I'm alive, he's alive. So he didn't die this time? Why did it feel so good? I felt so powerful like I could do anything. 

"We?" I ask. "What is the Dead City, Grayson?"

He gestures to the group around us. "This is just a small part, but we are some of the last magic users; we traveled from all over the world to come here when we heard there was a plan to bring you back. A woman with white hair has scoured the earth researching your whereabouts, and what happened to you when you died that sorrowful day. 

Rumors spread that maybe they were planning something. When Mistress Corina, a Solomonari bearing the name of your dead sister, appeared on the doorstep of the world, we had all begun to grow suspicious. So we found where she originated from, and we moved to the desert, slowly others began to grow curious and move here, too. 

There as so few of us left, it just felt safer to group together, so we stayed.. and when she disappeared, we could only hope she had been successful."

These people knew all about me, yet here before me, they still looked so frightened. A man comes forward, grabbing Grayson's arm. 

"But you have brought death to our doorstep, bringing him here." 

I'm taken aback, and I see Grayson's sister frown. He lifts his hand to soothe me and glares towards the man. 

"What would you rather I do, Hank? Leave him on the street after all he's done? Let her kill him?"

The man points a fat, dirty finger at Marisol. "She's pregnant." Then he points at me. "And you have the one thing he told us not to have. He will kill us all." 

I take a step forward, and everyone takes a massive step back, including Grayson.

"He? What are you talking about?"

"That fucking lycan," Hank shouts at me. 

Marisol snorts, amused. 

"That's a hell of a reputation. Gods, I love that man. What a dictator. Look at them, it's delcious." She purrs, appreciative of my warlord. But no one else is laughing; their eyes are stricken in fear. 

Grayson gestures to a slender man, "Would you mind, Jed?" He nods, and suddenly, I feel very calm; blinking through the stupor, I can't help but grin like an idiot. He can influence people's emotions, even mine. 

My people, these people, magic users. 

"Mr.Mercer has quite the temper, and we were instructed to stay far away from you. He doesn't trust us."

"Of course not; magic users cursed his entire race." 

But they don't see it that way because that is not how history told it. We had read the books, and the web they wove painted me as a war hero and the Lycan army as a necessary evil with a bloodthirsty warlord at their head. They would have no way of knowing that we were together, though now it was probably public knowledge given that he seems to make a point of telling everyone. 

What seemed most prominent was the emotional scars left by my, at times, intimidating fiance. I purse my lips; maybe I could use this to my advantage. 

"But, you have a right to be concerned; I'm sure you know his reputation. I need to know as much about this place as I can before he arrives because, rest assured, he will find me. Best start building a case for your benefit now; what was your name again?" I need to gain as much knowledge as possible, without the heavy burden of formalities and starstruck patrons. 

The man bows before me, "Grayson, Sir. It'd be an honor to tell you about our community."