SWNOVELS Chapter 13: The Last Stand
Jack jumped back as Lycanthor’s fists struck the ground where he stood. The great beast was focused on him now, its eyes burning like coals in a fire.
Jack stumbled backwards, holding the arrow tightly. He had to make it back to Evooku or Jasyra so they could use it. But the werewolf came closer and Jack knew he was in trouble.
He chanced a quick glance behind him and saw the ruined tower. Perhaps if he could get behind that, he could dodge Lycanthor’s claws.
Jack took a deep breath and ran, leaping over rocks. His feet hit something different and he looked down to see he was running across a wooden floor, all that was left of some burnt-out inn or shop. The floor bounced with each step and he recognised the feeling from his great aunt Alberta’s library. It was probably hollow underneath. He felt the wooden frame creak and bounce beneath his feet.
He heard Lycanthor’s heavy footsteps, then a splintering crunch. Jack turned back to see that the beast had fallen through the old wooden timbers!
“Too heavy.” he muttered.
Half buried, Lycanthor thrashed and smashed at the wood around him, trying to free himself.
The werewolf’s struggle gave Jack the time he needed. The tower was ahead of him. He could see Evooku running towards him. With a burst of power, Jack sprinted, lungs burning.
Behind him, Lycanthor was free…and quick.
“Climb the tower, Jack!” cried Jasyra.
Behind him, he heard Lycanthor coming closer. The great beast’s long legs beat against the ground, and it breathed aloud in hot, fetid gulps.
Jack ran through a crumbling doorway, into the tower. Cobwebs tangled in his face and he tore at them as he bolted up a spiral staircase, three steps at a time. He kept one hand on the wall, the other clutching the arrow. There was no guide rail, and as he got closer to the top, he slowed down and clung closer to the wall. If he fell now, he would definitely die.
The thundering smash of Lycanthor shook the whole tower as the great beast attacked. Too large to fit through the doorway, it was trying to bring the building crashing down. Breathless, Jack reached the top and saw moonlight above, the roof having rotted away long ago.
Below him, Lycanthor kicked and smashed at the tower, gouging out hunks of rock with its massive claws. It reached out and heaved with all its might, and the tower shuddered. Jack looked in shock as pieces of the stone staircase fell. The tower was collapsing!
Looking down, he saw Lycanthor standing ready to pounce when the tower fell. Jack swallowed deep, with nowhere to run.
With a shake, the tower collapsed around him and Jack pitched forwards, tumbling downwards. Lycanthor smiled, waiting with his wide mouth open to reveal jagged yellow teeth.
As he fell, Jack held the arrow out in front of him with both hands.
If I’m about to be eaten alive by a werewolf I may as well try to give it a bad stomach ache!
Lycanthor’s glowing eyes went wide in shock as he saw what was in Jack’s hands. The silver glinted in the moonlight as Jack crashed full into the huge beast, striking it in the neck.
The silver-tipped arrowed buried itself halfway into Lycanthor’s throat, and the werewolf fell back, screaming a deafening cry. His fall cushioned by the beast’s soft thick fur, Jack bounced away and rolled through the dirt, coughing in the dust from the fallen tower.
Evooku was there, suddenly, to help Jack up. Jasyra bounded over and the three companions watched as Lycanthor writhed on the ground in great pain. The great beast shook and a strange glow appeared around him.
“Dragon Fyre!” yelled Jasyra.
Flickering purple light shrouded the beast. Lycanthor whimpered as the lights took over and its whole body faded into a sparkling light. When the light was gone, all that remained was the silver-tipped arrow, which clattered to the ground.