Russel heard the shot ring out and immediately felt fear sink into the pit of his stomach. That was the same sound that Hank's weapon he called a gun had made back in the throne room of his castle. There was no denying it, despite wanting to very much. He could still remember in vivid detail the devastating effects the gun had on werewolves. It made an involuntary shudder run through him. He doubled his efforts to get to Lola. She was standing over Drake now while his brother lay inert on the ground, unable to move. He realized as he ran toward her that she must’ve used the ghoul poison to put Ray down quickly. In the back of his mind, underneath all the fear rampaging through his body, he wondered again just what kind of werewolf or creature Lola was. Being able to call out the abilities of other supernatural creatures was a power he’d never seen or even heard of before. But that idle wonder was too small to really get through to the forefront of his mind so he didn’t think too much about it.

The gunshot made everyone still fighting come to an almost immediate standstill. Except for Russel. He continued running full out for Lola.

She had stopped mid-attack. Her massive, wolf-like head whirled back and forth, trying to locate the source of the sound. It wasn’t all that hard to find. Several yards away, just outside the perimeter of the camp, was Hank Palsvig, ambassador to King Harrison of Alcroft. With him was a full cohort of knights, all of them armored from head to foot and sporting the same guns as Hank. He had his pointed straight up into the sky and there was a cocky, self-assured smile on his face.

“Well isn’t all this just a fine mess,” he remarked with a small chuckle.

Russel finally got to Lola. As he did, he saw her start to shift back into her human form. Her body shrank and the fur covering it fell off in droves. The talon-claws of her ghoul nature slithered back into both arms and the claws tipping her fingers fell to the ground as human nails pushed them out. The same thing happened with her teeth. Fangs plopped into the grass every few seconds. The hazy, dark aura surrounding her drifted off her body and dissipated into the air the farther it traveled from her.

When Russel got to Lola, he immediately wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She let him, feeling her body relax a little. Drake, he saw, had stumbled away from them, falling to the ground as he did. All the blustering and bravado from before was gone. He looked…ordinary. His eyes, however, were still filled with hate and a deep loathing.

“Are you hurt?” Russel asked her. He let go of her so he could look her in the eyes.

“I’m fine,” she said, laying a gentle hand on the side of his face. “I'm glad you’re okay. Did anyone else get hurt?”

His eyes immediately went sad.

“Lilith. They got to her,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she replied. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry for all of this.”

She let the tears fall and then turned an angry gaze on Drake. He’d gotten back to his feet but with his wolves scattered by the sound of the awful gunshot, there was no one that would come to his aid.

“Don’t let that man take me,” he said, not pleading exactly but close.

Russel realized then that Hank must have paid Harvenk a visit before coming to Oclan. He was sure that the human had probably given an identical presentation of their guns to King Finley with Drake watching from some hiding place, Russel guessed. There was fear showing in the Harvenk prince’s eyes.

Lola looked down at him, a look of contempt on her face.

“What makes you think I would do anything to help you?” she snarled.

“I’m family,” he said, his voice getting more high-pitched as the fear took deeper control over him. “I’m your brother, Lola.”

“You’re no brother of mine,” she said. She reached down and grabbed him by the tattered collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet easily. Then she jerked him in close so their faces were just inches away. “You deserve whatever it is the humans will do to you.”

Then she threw him. Tossed him away like he was a sack of grain.

Right at Hank’s feet.

“What a thoughtful present,” Hank said. He turned to one of his knights and gave him a brief nod of his head. At once, the knight took Drake and started to force him back toward their troops. Among them was a carriage with an iron box on top. Hank turned back to Lola and Russel. “We thought there might have been some trouble when you didn’t show up at the meeting spot. I felt it prudent we come to investigate. King Harrison really wants a private word with Drake and it would have been a shame to lose him now. Can’t have my king be disappointed, right?”

“What will he do with him?” Russel asked.

“No less than what Drake deserves, rest assured.” Hank’s eyes drifted down to Ray, who was still immobile on the ground. “I see your brother has been injured.” He stood over the Oclan prince and leaned over so his face came into view. “Do you need some type of medical aid?”

Russel delivered a nasty, sharp kick to Ray’s side. His brother couldn't feel it because of the paralysis but it made him feel better regardless. Hank eyed him with a hefty amount of curiosity.

“My brother has made the unwise decision to betray his kingdom to follow Drake’s ill-advised rebellion,” Russel explained.

“I’m sure my king will have no trouble punishing two wolves for their crimes if you wish,” Hank said.

“His justice waits for him in Oclan,” Russel responded.

“You can tell your king not to go easy on Drake, though,” Lola said. “He has caused untold amounts of pain and suffering.”

“And in return, I am sure untold amounts of pain and suffering will be heaped upon him,” Hank reassured. He held out his hand to both of them. “I know our relationship might have started off a bit troubled, but I do hope that is all water under the bridge as it were.”

“You’re an odd one,” Russel said, shaking the man’s hand. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Incessantly,” he returned with a wink. To Lola, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. He gave the back of it a quick peck and then released it with an odd little bow where he stuck one of his legs out in front of him. “Princess, I can honestly say it was very interesting to get to know you and hear the tales of your…unique…talents. I hope fortune favors me and we have the chance to meet again one day.”

“Perhaps,” she said, although the sound of her voice was less than convincing. Despite traveling with him across most of Oclan, she still mostly didn’t like him. “Although, no offense, if we cross paths again, I hope it is very far in the future.”

Hank laughed heartily at that, bowed again that same weird way, and then departed. Lola and Russel watched the humans leave and once they were actually gone, they turned back to the ruins of their camp to assess all the damage. Before doing so, Russel grabbed Ray off the ground in one easy motion, threw him over a shoulder, and walked toward the metal jail on top of the wagon. It was still intact, despite all the fighting so he opened its door and unceremoniously tossed Ray inside. Then he shut and locked it.

“Is all this craziness actually over now?” Lola asked, stepping up next to him. “I really am tired of all the backstabbing, fighting, and nearly being killed every other day.”

“Sadly, the life of a royal is never completely devoid of craziness,” he said, pulling her gently toward him and kissing her. When he stopped and pulled away, he continued to stare deeply into her eyes. “But as long as I live, I swear I will always protect you.”

****

Three days later, and about twenty or thirty miles away from the border with Harvenk, Hank Palsvig sat at a table in a rundown tavern in a small village even tinier than Gloucester had been. Sitting across from him, his posture military-perfect, was Sir Thomas Olvier. The knight was wearing civilian clothes and looked extremely uncomfortable out of his armor.

“Are you sure?” Hank asked him. He had his fingers steepled beneath his chin and kept his voice pitched low so they weren’t overheard. “The king wants absolute certainty.”

“I can’t give him that,” Sir Thomas replied. “No one can but I am about as certain as possible given the circumstances. I mean, her mother was one, right? It stands to reason she would be too.”

Hank shot him a warning look.

“Careful what you say. That information is sensitive and must never get out. If the wrong ears were to hear, it could prove disastrous.” He grabbed a cup of frothy beer and took a swig. When he was finished, he continued their conversation. “I just do not want King Harrison to get word that she is like…her, when the abilities she is exhibiting are drastically different from what we have witnessed you and others like you show. We’ve had time to study you, Thomas. And the others. In all that research, we have never encountered what Lola Tarnvol has become.”

“Her werewolf father is likely to blame for that. It has mutated the abilities. Changed them. Instead of providing an internal alarm and natural immunity to the abilities of supernatural creatures, she can absorb them instead. Like a sponge.” Sir Thomas took a swig of his own beer and set the cup back down gently, not spilling a drop. “Sensori like myself have only recently started manifesting and until Lola, only in humans. Her hybrid nature is a natural contradiction to itself. Instead of that contradiction killing her as an infant, she must have adapted instead. It’s the only explanation.”

“A plausible theory but one, I’m afraid, we might have trouble proving. King Russel will never let us get our hands on her. Not only that, but Lola has proven herself to be much too strong anyway. I am not all that sure our bullets will do anything to her except piss her off.” Hank stared thoughtfully down at the amber liquid in his cup. He swirled it around, enjoying the mini-whirlpool he created. Then he put it to his lips and drank the rest in one gulp. When he was done, he set it down on the table and gave Sir Thomas an oh-well shrug of his shoulders. “Fortunately, that is a problem for our king to solve.”

He got up from the table after throwing a gold coin on it and started walking toward the exit. Behind him, he heard Sir Thomas get up as well.

The future is going to be a very weird place, he thought as he left.