The Dark Divine(83)

Then it squealed, and another wolf was on top of it. It was black and sleek, with a diamond patch of white fur across its sternum. Daniel. The black wolf snapped and nipped at the other—almost like it was trying not to truly hurt it.

The gray wolf bucked the black one off. Its eyes looked positively feral as it sprang at the black one, biting and tearing. It ripped at its legs, its sides. The black wolf rolled away, yelping and whining. Its white patch of fur was slashed with red. The gray wolf licked its teeth. Black fur fell from its mouth.

I could taste my own blood. It slipped down my dry throat. The wound in my arm pulsed and flamed. It took everything I had to choke back my screams. The gray wolf slinked toward me, its teeth bared, its eyes hungry.

The knife was just out of reach, next to what looked like scraps of Daniel’s clothes on the floor near the door. I scrambled for the dagger, but the gray wolf chomped down on my foot, wrenching off my shoe. The wolf shook it in its massive jaws until the shoe snapped and fell to the floor. The wolf snarled and bore down on me.

The black wolf pushed itself up. It growled, its lips pulled back from its long sharp fangs and jagged teeth, and crept toward me. I stretched for the knife and wrapped my fingers around the hilt. The two wolves circled around me. Their eyes locked on each other like they were partners in some horrible dance—and I was caught in the middle. Spit rained on my skin as they snapped and snarled. The heat of their collective breath made it impossible for me to think. Their claws scraped my legs. They danced, weaving back and forth, anticipating each other’s attacks. Then the gray one feigned to the left, and when the black one countered, the gray wolf lunged over me. It ensnared the black one by the throat and knocked it to the ground. The two rolled across the floor.

They slammed into the balcony’s railing, which overlooked the rest of the chapel. The old wood creaked with the impact. The black wolf lay on its back under the gray one’s feet. It whimpered. The sound was pained. Desperate. Afraid.

It knew it was going to lose.

The hilt of the knife slipped in my sweaty hand. I’d told Daniel I would be there when he needed me. I’d be there to save him before he died. I’d free his soul. But I’d thought that would be years away. Not today.

Not now.

Pain seared from the gash in my arm—like fire spreading through my entire body—engulfing me. This was no ordinary wound. It was the bite of a werewolf, the bite of my brother. I was infected.

I carried the wolf curse now.

The same curse that dictated that if I ever tried to kill someone—if I killed Daniel now—the wolf would take me over, too.

I would lose myself.

The choice is yours to make, my father had told me. But he had no idea what an impossible choice it would be. I could save Daniel’s soul or preserve my own. I could be his angel and become a demon.

The black wolf’s chest sank. It lay so limp. The gray wolf backed up across the balcony, readying itself to deal the ultimate killing blow.

I could not break this promise.

I am grace.

I flew at the black wolf, raised the knife, and plunged it into the diamond patch of fur on his chest. I will be the monster for you.

The gray wolf came barreling right behind me. It rammed its head at the black wolf’s body, and the two crashed through the balcony railing. A gruesome smacking noise echoed through the empty sanctuary below.

“No!” I ran down the ancient stairs and tripped at the bottom. My knees slammed into the stone tile of the chapel floor. I scrambled on hands and knees to the prostrate body of the black wolf—to Daniel. I laid his furry head in my lap, and stroked behind his ears. They felt too cold. The knife was still stuck in his chest. Blood spattered the floor all around us.

Where’s Jude?

My gaze followed a smear of blood across the stone floor. Jude—human, naked—stood trembling behind the altar in the shadows of the sanctuary.

“Don’t just stand there,” I shouted at him. “Go for help.”

But he didn’t move. He stood like a pillar of salt in the dark.

I couldn’t leave Daniel. I told him I’d be there when he died. I slid down on the floor and lay next to his furry body.

Why didn’t he turn human? Did I fail? Did I hesitate too long? Was I too late to save his soul before …? Did I trade myself for nothing?

A cold wind blew over me. Snowflakes encircled us. One landed on the wolf’s nose and melted. When did it start to snow? I thought as I laid my head on Daniel’s bloodstained chest. I listened to a solitary heartbeat grow softer and softer until it was nothing, and waited for my wolf to come—to take me over for what I’d done.





CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Redemption





IN THE SANCTUARY




I heard a yelp from somewhere beside me. I looked up and saw April quavering in her pink dress in the open chapel doors. The snow blew in from behind her.

“What hap—?”

“Don’t ask questions.” I sat up. “Please, just go call an ambulance.”

I looked at the Daniel wolf. It lay too still, lifeless. The silver knife protruded from his chest. Maybe I didn’t ram it in hard enough? Maybe I didn’t pierce his heart? Or maybe I needed to take it out. The book had said silver was poison.

I tentatively wrapped my hand around the hilt. It didn’t burn my skin.