Smoke and Mirrors

Damien Black

The crunch of bones announced my arrival as I walked on a sea created by the bodies of my enemies and fallen comrades. Their glassy eyes focused on me, but I paid them no attention. The smell of their blood polluted the air, I took a deep breath and smiled, it smelled amazing to me, it smelt like glory.

Victory was sweet indeed. I had overthrown the Great Blackwater pack, the so-called ‘unbeatable’ pack, something that even my father could not do. He had spent years dreaming of the idea of burning this pack to the ground, but I managed to actually do it. I had made sure to tear the Great Oak from the root ensuring that it would never be able to build itself back to its former glory, I made sure that today I erased the Blackwater line, there should be no living survivor of Ryder’s line. This would be my legacy, I, Damien Black, had brought almost all the packs to their knees. I had either took their land or forced their Alphas into submission where they could keep their status and their precious packs but had to give me their best warriors as well as pay me tribute every year, and it need not always be gold.

A small cough interrupted my thoughts, I turned to smile at the man who dared to interrupt me. My grin widened as he visibly started to shake at my expression.

“What do you want now?″

My grin faded, and my eyes narrowed to when I saw the lowered heads of his group.

“Sir, no one can find the body of the Alpha’s child.”

That cause my body to stiffen, if the boy was still alive it meant that I could not be the true owner of the land I stood upon, I could not all my hard work go to waste, I had some loose ties to attend to.

“Are the survivors rounded up?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Bring them to me.”

I hummed as my men raced to carry out my orders. I walked up to the doors of the once magnificent stronghold that Ryder used to boast about. He bragged to many Alphas that nothing could breach it, that nothing could ever destroy it and yet, here it stands barely being able to support its own weight.

Moving to the east of the house, I stopped at the entrance of Ryder’s study. It was the furthest from the main entrance to the house but was the closest to the Guard-stead. The fire had not been able to breach the thick wooden doors.

I turned to face my men who were now dragging a group of men towards me. They were covered in soot and blood, individual features almost indistinguishable. I met their glares with a smile before gesturing to the study.

“How about a cosier setting?”

My hands ran across the polished oak of Ryder’s desk, it had been ten years since a member of the Black Blood Pack had ever set foot in Blackwater. My father came here with a proposal only to be turned away and banned from crossing their borders, tarnishing our reputation with all the other packs causing them to refuse our attempts as diplomacy.

I smirked as I saw this pack’s so-called “best warriors” on their knees before me. The entire room was as silent as a grave with exception of the sound of their blood dripping onto to the concrete floor.

“Where is the child?”

My voice was soft as I saw no reason to waste energy, they were going to give me the information I wanted, and they knew of the consequences should they be defiant. The smirk that was on my face twisted into a frown when I was met with nothing but silence, I tilted my head to my men and a scream as well as a crack bounced off the walls of this room. The echo of it still ringing even after the scream stopped.

I got off my seat and walked to the man who was now clutching his broken hand, he screamed as I place my booted foot on his hand applying enough pressure for one to hear the soft splintering cracks. I grabbed his jaw and forced him to look me in the eye.

“I will only ask this one more time, where is the boy?”

My eyes closed as spit splattered my face.

“You dare sit where Alpha Ryder did. You are a coward coming after us at our weakest, you are even weaker than your father.”

I chuckled as I stroked the man’s hair, his eyes widening when he felt the pressure I applied on both sides of his jaw.

“If you knew your Alpha like I did, you would be doing anything but singing his praises… and since you were on the topic of my father, send him my regards when you see him.”

I rolled my eyes as blood splattered on my clothes, it was so hard to wash out. I kicked the man to the side and made my way to the rest of the captives who lowered their heads but when their eyes met mine, they were filled with defiance. This was starting to get quite irritating.

“Where is your Head Commander and Warrior?”

Again the silence. I motioned towards my men who pushed the captives forward and exposed their right arm. I gritted my teeth when I saw that none of them bore the Warrior’s Mark, my men who were not holding the warriors began to slowly stepped back as they took in my expression. I brought my hand down onto the desk and a crack was heard as it splintered beneath my hands. Anger coursed through my veins as I drew a blade from my belt and flung it towards the bodies lined against the wall, I heard the wet thud of one of the bodies hitting the ground.

“Sir, this means ...”

“I know what it means! Now clean up this mess and get out of my sight!”

I punched the stone wall next to me and watched as some of its fragments disintegrated into powder to float through the air. There was only one reason that could explain why the Head of Blackwater’s defences was not here at this moment.

He was with the boy.

The most infuriating thing was that the Blackwater Pack’s Head Commander and Warrior was a mystery. He was rarely seen at any inter-pack meetings and had no records of his past at all. The only thing that people knew was that he was the reason why previous attacks on this pack failed. Anger bubbled inside me as I now had to search for someone that had a smaller trace than a ghost.