Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Nathan Underhill.

Pushing forward with all my might, I teleported into the inferno’s path. The fire flowed over my body, burning every nook of my exposed skin. I fought through the excruciating pain and erected the strongest barrier my mom taught me before the flames reached my loved ones. A blue, shimmering barrier diverted the flames up into the sky. I choked when I saw my hands; they were burned black. The smell of burned flesh didn’t help settle my stomach, either.

“Nathan, hold on!” Fenrus shouted, preventing me from blacking out. ”I’ll focus on healing us while you find a way to lob the bastard’s head off his body.”

“Easier said than done!” I repeated the phrase. The barrier cracked under the overwhelming stress of my grandfather’s attack. My feet slipped as the barrage of flames pushed me backward. My blackened hands shook under the pressure, adding to my pain.

“Don’t give up!”

“I’m trying!” Clenching down on my teeth, I tried to steady my footing. I pushed forward as hard as I could, but I was losing ground bit-for-bit. My grandfather continued to laugh at my hopeless attempts to save my family.

“Give up, boy!" my grandfather said, increasing the size of the fireball, rattling against the weakening barrier. “You have no chance of saving your wretched family!”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What do we do?”

But there was no solution, no outcome. I was steadily losing the fight, and the cracks that ran along the barrier brought home the truth.

We were about to die.

“Don’t lose hope...” A soothing voice slipped into my frantic mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, a flash of silver came into view. The Spirit of the Forest! I would have broken out crying at that moment, but I already did. I couldn’t help it. The stag strutted out of the shadows and came to a halt on the edge of the embankment. What a sight for sore eyes...

“Let me in, and together we’ll finish what your grandfather had started. It is time that my judgment shakes the very earth!” The stag stomped its mighty foot into the earth, shaking the ground beneath our feet. All of a sudden, my grandfather halted his attack, causing me to stumble forward. The barrier dissolved.

“What is this?!” My grandfather’s face paled as he stared at the stag. “Begone! You have no right to interfere with mortal affairs, and you know it.” He shook his croaked finger at the spirit.

The Spirit of the Forest sorted, continuing to stomp its feet. It let out a screech that thundered through the woods. The once quiet forest came to life; the sounds of thousands of animals filled my ears. Once again, the Spirit nudged for access to my mind, which I happily gave. At once, my mind flooded with visions of animals, from the smallest bunnies to the biggest bears, tearing through the rogues. I had to choke down a snicker when one vision showed how a legion of fluffy bunnies leveled a bloodwitch while she screeched for help.

Death by bunnies... How pathetic.

Soon the visions faded, and the Spirit’s soul overtook mine, talking through me. “There comes a time when even the Gods may intervene when the balance is threatened by a cockroach such as yourself.” My deepened voice boomed across the clearing, causing my grandfather to stagger backward to gain as much distance between us.

“What’s the matter, grandfather?” I mocked him. “Scared of a god?”

The fool’s face twisted into a sneer and yelled, “What do I have to fear from a shackled god? He can’t touch me on this plane.”

‘He’s right, pup.’ The Spirit spoke to me. ”I can’t interfere too much as I already have.”

The hopes of defeating the old man drifted away with the words of the spirit. It was impossible to defeat him. The longer this battle stretched out, the more likely it became that my family would not make it out alive. Adam was barely holding on to his last breaths.

A tear slipped down my cheek. I had failed.

“Why the long face?” my grandfather continued to mock me. “Your pathetic god can’t help you, can’t he?”

My grandfather’s laughter pounded my desperation deeper into my soul. As long as he had those skulls—That was it!

“Spirit?”

“Yes, young one?” The Spirit replied.

“Even though you can’t harm the living personally without tipping your hand, you can still perform your duties as a god and usher the souls of the dead into the afterlife?” My heart hammered around the inside of my chest, waiting for the spirit’s answer.

“It’s true, as you say.”

“Yes!!!” I wanted to wiggle my ass, but I didn’t want to reveal my trump card to the arrogant asshole who was still reveling in his glory. ”May I ask a favor of you?”

“Go ahead,” the spirit replied.

“Do you see the skulls hanging from my grandfather’s robes?”

“Go ahead,” he repeated.

“Can you destroy them and release the trapped souls in them? This way I can kick the grin off the fool’s face once and for all.” I clenched my fists in anticipation of the ass whooping I was about to deliver on my grandfather’s keister.

“With pleasure,” The Spirit said through my mouth. He lifted my hand, stretching it out toward my grandfather.

The skulls hanging from the old fool’s robes glowed and cracked. My grandfather’s laughter died off while his gaze shot toward the skulls.

“What are you doing?!” he shouted, trying to hold onto the effigies. “They’re mine!”

I grinned and said, “Not anymore.”

An ear-splitting chorus of shrieks broke free from the skulls as they shattered to pieces. Fragments of bones fell to the ground while balls of light escaped from them and rose into the sky, disappearing seconds later into thin air.

“What the fuck had you done?!” the old man screeched as he crawled after the remains of his power.

“Leveled the playing field for once,” I said while the spirit left my body. My legs wobbled for a second before I regained my strength.

A fireball rushed at me, which I easily deflected. The projectile hit a nearby tree, ripping the bark apart. With a strained groan, the tree cracked and hissed until it tumbled over and fell to the forest’s floor. The Spirit raised its hooves in the air and wailed at the destruction.

“Deal with him.” The Spirit snorted out and strutted off into the forest. ”I’ll assist the forest’s inhabitants in dealing with my wayward children. Good luck, little one.” The stag then raced off, disappearing into the bowels of the forest.

“Now it’s time to shove my grandfather into the nearest hole... after I have torn out his heart.”

“Great idea,” Fenrus growled out.

I marched up to my grandfather. The pathetic fool was still trying to shovel the broken pieces of the skulls he could find, but it was hopeless. A growl escaped my lips, disrupting his incoherent ramblings. His head shot up and his eyes found mine.

“Look what you have done!” he shouted while holding up the scattered remains of his stolen power. “You’ll pay for this!”

He dropped the bones and hurled two curses at me. I erected a barrier to block them. I retaliated by throwing off a kinetic blast that slung him into the air. With a pitiful shriek, he landed face first in the dirt. He scrambled backward and flung off several more blasts of energy, which I defected every time.

“How pathetic! Is this all the power grandfather has left?” I asked.

My blatant disrespect sent him into a frenzy. He unleashed another torrent of flames on me, but much weaker than before. Just as the flames reached me, I countered and unleashed a gust of wind that extinguished the flames. My grandfather staggered; his robe trailed behind him, dragging him along until he hit a tree. As soon as I dispelled the windstorm spell, he fell to his knees.

“Enough!” he wheezed out, raising his hand. “You win! Let me go and I’ll never bother you or your wretched family again.”

“Never!” Fenrus growled out, pushing forward. “You’ll never walk out here alive. Not after what you’ve done.”

“I agree.” I twisted my hands, chanting a string of Latin words. Tree roots burst out of the ground and ensnared my grandfather. They glowed red while they wrapped around his body but soon died off.

“What are you doing? I surrendered!” he shouted. Balls of spit spew from his mouth and ran down his jaw while his gray eyes bulged out of his skull.

I scoffed and said, “Don’t give a fuck. I enchanted the roots to siphon off your magic. You’re going nowhere.”

I raised my head into the air and howled. Several howls answered my calls. I turned my back on the fool and rushed up to my family. With a flick of my hand, the roots that ensnared them turned to dust. I caught Adam’s limp body and gently lowered him to the ground.

“Nathan?” my mom called out to me. “Nathan!”

Before I could gather myself, my mom plowed into me and hugged the stuffing out of me. My aunt Cassy joined seconds later. All the emotions I shoved down my throat spilled over. It hurts my pride to admit it, and please don’t tell anyone else, but I bawl my eyes out. Not very manly was it, but I didn’t care. I nearly lost them. I burrowed my head deeper into the nape of my mom’s neck and breathed in her soothing scent that had always calmed me since I was a toddler.

“Oh, my baby boy. I thought we had lost you,” she cried while wiping the tears off my face.

I giggled while sniffing. ”Goddess, save me before I humiliate myself any further..." But who could blame me? Maybe I earned the right to act like a small kid for once, loving the embrace of his mother and acting giddy for a while.

“I thought so too,” I replied, kissing my mom on the cheek and hugging her again. This time earning a giggle from her.

“Nathan!” Came a scream from afar.

My sister, a sight for a sore eye, came barreling down the embankment with a dozen people on her heels. She looked worse for wear. But who could walk out of a bloody battle looking like a supermodel on a runway? No one. After another round of hugging, I pulled away from my brother’s embrace. Shocking! Who would have guessed Riley would hug me out of his own free will? Not me.

“Where’s my son?” asked the Alpha, throwing me out of my happy bubble.

“Oh, Goddess! How could I forget all about him?” I rushed off and kneeled beside Adam.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Fenrus said. We got caught up in the moment.

“That’s not an excuse!”

I touched Adam’s pale face, searching for any signs of awareness, but found none. He must have slipped into a catatonic state to recuperate from the atrocious wounds he suffered at the hands of my grandfather. His breathing was shallow, at best. My mom and aunt Cassy were busy healing the stab wounds. I wanted so badly to help, but even I didn’t have the skill. Healing magic required a slight touch of hand and a lot of control over one’s mana. One slip could do more harm than good.

A thunderous roar shook the earth, and then the Alpha pushed me away from Adam’s side, hitting the dirt with a grunt. The Alpha kneeled beside his son for a moment before his glare bore into my skull. He rose to his feet and stormed over to me. “It’s your fault! My son nearly died because—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” yelled my sister. A silence fell amongst the gathering crowd as more of the pack arrived. The murderous glint in my sister’s eyes made several wolves cringe. “With all due respect, Alpha. You’re full of shit.”

Several gasps rang out.

“What did you say?” the Alpha turned around and faced Maisie. Most of the wolves lowered their heads into submission, but Maisie held her ground.

“You heard me. If it wasn’t for my brother, you’d all be dead,” she yelled out. “The Spirit came to our aid because of Nathan, not you.” She pointed her finger at the Alpha. “And he defeated his own grandfather, ending his tyranny before it cost more lives.”

I struggled to my feet as the Alpha huffed out his defense. “Yet the bastard still lives.” All the heads turned to my grandfather. He was still busy struggling to find a way out of his restraints. The Alpha then turned to me. “Only a weakling shows compassion for his enemy.”

Before I register what I did, my fist found the Alpha’s jaw. He crumbled to the ground, shoveling up dirt as he staggered to his feet once again. He let out a growl while rubbing his jaw.

“Shove your growl up your ass!” I hissed while strutting up to the big man. “I don’t give a fuck what you think of me. No matter what he’s done, he’s still my grandfather and I don’t want his blood on my hands. He’s family and no reasonable person with a healthy conscience would want to kill their own kin. You can see how my grandfather turned out. He has killed his own son and then tried to kill the rest of us. I don’t want to end up like him.”

I pushed past the Alpha, bumping my shoulder into his. I know. It was childish of me and disrespectful, but I was tired and didn’t give a fuck. I walked up to Adam and lifted him off the ground, making sure I didn’t cause any further harm. His head fell into the nape of my neck.

“What are you doing?” asked the Alpha with a growl laced in his voice.

I huffed out and said, “Taking your son to the clinic. Do you have a problem with that?”

“You’re pushing your luck, pup. Disrespect me once more and I’ll—”

“Enough! The both of you need to calm down,” said the Supreme as she arrived with her entourage. She looked as graceful as ever, but a tad torn up. Several scratch marks littered her arms and face, but nothing too severe. She walked up to the Alpha and hit him on the back of the head, earning a few snickers. “Stop looking for trouble, will you? The boy fought his heart out and won the day. If it wasn’t for him, we would have lost the battle.”

“But it’s because of him—”

The Supreme slapped him across the face, shocking everyone present. Even my jaw threatened to fall into Adam’s lap.

She raked her spindly fingers through her shell-shocked curls while her eyes glared up at the Alpha. He swallowed heavily; his Adam’s apple strained his throat. “What happened tonight was unavoidable!” She addressed the crowd of wolves and witches. “This pitiful man before us is a Purist who believes that every living thing on this planet of ours is beneath them. He has eradicated over twenty packs so far, killing thousands of werewolves without a second thought.”

The tied-up fool cackled out and said, “Thank you, Supreme, for such a splendid introduction. I have to admit, it has been my greatest accomplishment so far, eradicating these vermin.” He glared at the pack while they snarled back at him. Their hands clenched into fists. The old fool was in for an ass pounding if the Alpha allowed them to seek their vengeance.

She addressed my grandfather further. “Only a wretched fool would see it as an accomplishment.” She then turned her back on him. “As you’ve heard, this man has no remorse for what he has done and he would have posed a serious threat if he didn’t act in such a rash manner. Most of you don’t know this... For years, this man has been trying to overthrow the Elder Council. He would have used its influence to fulfill his Puritan agenda. The destruction you saw tonight would have paled in comparison if he had the power of the Elder Council at his heels.”

My grandfather huffed out and laid another egg. “I would have succeeded if it weren’t for my meddlesome children!” He spat at the ground.

The Supreme chuckled while shaking her head. “No, it isn’t. Your arrogance led to your downfall. Now you have to suffer for it.” She walked up to the Alpha and placed her hand on his bare chest. “No matter how it happened,” she looked at me, “Nathan just saved the supernatural world from a blood-thirsty tyrant.”

The Alpha scratched his head and then sighed. “The piece of shit angered me by hurting my son and I took it out on you. I’m sorry for blaming you, pup. ”

Hit me on the ass with a dildo and call me a whore. ”Did the Alpha just apologize to me?”

Fenrus chuckled. ”Wow, miracles do hit you in the face when you least expect them to.”

“It’s alright, Alpha. No harm done. Sorry for disrespecting you,” I replied with a smile, which the Alpha returned.

“Now why don’t you take care of my son and get him to the hospital?” he asked.

I nodded eagerly, wanting to get Adam there as quickly as I could. Even though my mom and aunt healed him as much as they could, we didn’t know how severe his wounds truly were. I readjusted Adam in my arms and then spared a last glance back at the man I once loved as a father before he turned bat-shit crazy.

“Before Alpha executes my grandfather for his crimes, it would be wise for the Supreme to inspect him for any hidden rituals he might have laced into his soul to escape death. We can’t have him jump into another body.”

The Supreme clapped her hands and said, “Don’t worry, my dear. We have this covered.”

I turned in the direction of the pack house and began weaving my way through the crowd of people while they congratulated me on a battle well fought.

A blistering screech rang out into the forest. I didn’t want to see his execution. I would have enjoyed it too much, and that scared me. However, my grandfather deserved every ounce of torture he was about to receive at the hands of the pack before they snuffed his miserable life out of existence.

Good riddance.