Marcus Pelegrimas - The Breaking

“Making a spectacle?” she said in a voice almost fully human. “The Nymar are making a spectacle? This is coming from the one who tore apart a city in front of human police, news cameras, and countless other eyes staring at him?”

“That was more than just a spectacle.”

“I know,” Minh sighed. “You were sending a message.”

“And you got it, luv. You, Esteban, and even the old trickster that had been locked in Lancroft’s cage. Have you heard from Esteban?”

“He’s found another one of Lancroft’s storehouses. The other Jekhibar wasn’t there, but he says he’s found the original Shadow Spore.”

Liam grunted in what was plainly disgust. “You use the name given to it by the leeches?”

“They may have named it, but it was meant for us,” she said. “It’s just been lost until now. Lancroft tried to keep the source separate from the first carrier, but now they’ve both been found.”

“Are the legends true?” Liam asked. “Can he take the forbidden form?”

Paige strained her ears but could only hear the broken floor creaking beneath the two werewolves. Finally, Minh said, “Esteban needs a Jekhibar for that. Randolph chased him away and the humans swarmed in to attack them both before it could be found.”

Shrugging, Liam told her, “If you can trust him. There’s more to worry about than Esteban or his legends.”

Liam’s feet scraped against the floor as he settled into a new position at the edge of the pit. The ebon Full Blood arched his back and sunk his hands into the dirt exposed beneath the splintered floorboards. The way his head craned back and his entire body tensed, Paige imagined his toes were curling as well. When he let out the breath that had built up inside of him, she could almost feel it against her ear.

“Don’t be so troubled if you can’t take as much of it in,” Liam said. “It’s not something meant for all of us.”

“Don’t give me that,” Minh snapped. “You’ve been encroaching on Randolph’s territory for longer than you’ve been telling any of us, soaking up more than your share of the Torva’ox for all of that time.”

“You know Randolph. Maybe not as well as I do, but,” Liam added in a voice that must have been accompanied by a lecherous smile, “certainly in a different way. With that kind of insight, you must also know that none of us could have done much of anything in this territory without his consent. He may not be taking part in this war, but he knows better than to stand against it. It’s inevitable.”

“Nobody thinks Randolph was ignorant of anything happening here. That’s the problem. Why wouldn’t he want his share of the Torva’ox?”

Sliding his fingers from the dirt, Liam said, “He’s old and tired.”

“You still have to answer for how you got away from your assigned lands and managed to trade territories with Jaden.”

“Wasn’t easy.”

“Did you kill her?”

There was a long pause before Liam finally said, “There are other ways to solve our conflicts, luv.”

This time, Paige had to fight to keep from laughing. She knew better than to make a sound or even draw too large of a breath, which didn’t leave her many options as far as getting out of that room. Not far away, Nadya gripped the FAMAS and studied her surroundings carefully.

The voice that came next was smooth and silkier than any human’s. “If she’s not dead, then why isn’t Jaden here?” Minh asked.

“It don’t matter,” Liam replied in an accent that seemed to get more guttural as Minh’s became more refined. “There are enough of us here to draw more of the Torva’ox than any have ever felt. The Breaking Moon will see to that. Esteban probably tried to convince you to kill me before it rose.”

“Something like that,” she admitted.

“And now you must see what a mistake that would be,” Liam said in something close to a purr. “Nobody can command the wretches like I do. After all that’s happened lately, the humans are just frazzled enough for our war to be fought and won.”

“We could all go back to our territories and wait for this storm to blow over,” she offered. “The humans may be worked up right now, but they are short-lived and easily distracted. In a matter of a few years they’ll be back to nipping at each other instead of pestering us. And in a decade or two, these instances will be forgotten.”

“ No!” Liam barked with enough force to send a shockwave through the entire house. “How can you be so short-sighted? We live for centuries; observe so much in that time, and still we are blind !”

“What would you prefer?” Minh asked in a snarling rasp that Paige could barely hear. “Do you seriously want us to remain here and continue fighting amongst ourselves? We’ve always been better than that.”

“Have we? How long did it take for us to figure out where the territories needed to be in order to keep any one of us from acquiring too much of the Torva’ox? The only one to acquire all of that power is still a legend among us.”

“Gorren became a rampaging lunatic who nearly unmade us all! He may have become the most powerful Full Blood in our history, but he had to be hunted and killed by his own kind. Is that the legacy you want to repeat?”

Wagging a long, gnarled finger at her, Liam said, “But Gorren wasn’t organized and he wasn’t patient. We gather here and now with a plan, and as the Breaking stokes the fire inside of us, the Torva’ox will let us spread it to the humans with nothing more than a thought! How can you not see the beauty in that?”

“And what of the Balance?”

“The Balance that Randolph loves to spout off about? That’s nothing more than a bunch of dribble spewing from the mouth of a wide-eyed child.”

“Now I see why you wanted to send him so far from here,” she said. “Randolph would tear you apart where you stood if he heard that kind of talk. I’m surprised he hasn’t challenged you already, considering the mess you’ve made of his continent.”

“Randolph’s too busy protecting the newly awakened pup and contending with Esteban to care about what any of us do anymore.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice like saliva trickling from his fangs when he said, “He’s tired. All he wants to do is crawl back into his forest and run free with snow between his toes while you and I and any of the others he considers to be troublemakers kill each other like the brutes of Gorren’s time.”

“And what do you want, Liam?” When his eyes drifted along the front of her body, the female werewolf added, “Besides that?”

“Always time for that later, eh? Remember how well I treated you back in London?”

“I remember how well you treated those ladies in Whitechapel.”

“Those weren’t ladies and it was never proven that I was the only one responsible for that. Besides, what the hell does that have to do with what’s going on here and now?”

“Just reminding both of us what kind of man you are,” Minh said.

“The portion of me that’s a man never was my best,” Liam admitted. “Do you feel the power coming from this spot? It’s the purest essence of what gives us our gifts. Just standing here so close to it now will allow both of us to make the Half Breeds in this town sit, roll over, and play dead. Soon the Mongrels will be put back into their places as well, just like that one right there.”

Until now Minh had seemed too distracted by the power leaking up from the floor to notice Max or the Half Breed. “The Mongrels have been resisting us ever since we got here,” she said.

Liam was all too anxious to reply, “Maybe, but this one is a special creation. He’s got my essence running through his bones. I’ve been able to make him and all the others that wanted a shot at immortality see things my way. After drinking up just a little of the Torva’ox, I’ve made those Mongrels my pets. This one here will keep the local burrowers away while the other ones I turned are out spreading my good word.”