Chapter 23 - The Beast Tamer Who Fights

Sneaky and Frank posted up at the highest point in the slums.

Frank lay at the edge of the hill, the rifle resting on its bipod.

Sneaky scanned the hill to make sure they were alone.

Frank turned his head toward Sneaky as he nervously looked around.

"What's wrong with you, man? Did Uncle Marc really scare you?"

Sneaky turned his back toward Frank.

He stared through the trees and saw ten beasts stalking them nearby.

"You don't know him like I do, Frank."

Frank raised his right eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about right now?"

Sneaky raised his bat with his right hand, House Edge in his grip.

"Before we became friends, he used to be my mother's fixer."

Frank turned and leaned into the rifle with one eye closed and the other looking through the scope.

"So he used to fix things? Big deal."

One beast charged Sneaky.

His bat hummed, and the number on the back of his hood spun from 00 to 2.

"He used to kill anyone that got in my mother's way."

Sneaky swung the bat across the beast's head so hard the crack echoed across the hill.

"Stay there, Frank. I'll handle them."

Sneaky raised his arm as if he was gripping the lever of a slot machine.

"We are going to finish this and go back home to Mom."

Five beasts lunged at Sneaky with claws and fangs bared.

A slot-machine afterimage flared up behind Sneaky.

He yanked down the lever.

"Don't let me down, Lady Luck."

The reels spun, then snapped into place.

Power surged through Sneaky's arms.

He gripped House Edge with both hands and smashed one of the five beasts out of the charge.

The crack echoed across the hill—and carried into the slums below.

I opened the carriage door as the sound reached us.

"Looks like they're already having fun."

Aries closed the gate behind him, then walked up to me.

"Luna?"

I picked up Aries and carried his big hare body in my arms.

"You have the best job right now."

Aries looked at me, his ears practically throwing up question marks.

The soldier opened the carriage door, and Aries saw my mother sitting inside waiting for him.

"Your job right now is taking care of my mom."

Aries kicked off me and jumped into the carriage.

"Looks like I didn't need to ask twice."

The driver closed the door and waited for my command.

"Since we'll be working together from here on out…"

I fixed my posture and put my hands behind my back.

"State your name, Soldier."

His response was so sharp it demanded attention.

"Ma'am! I am First Commander of Drago's Offensive Carriage Division, Chris reporting!"

I felt a tremor underfoot.

Pebbles rattled across the street.

Exe jumped over the gate onto the roof of the carriage.

Tenka, Ren, and Fubuki jumped out of his jumper onto the roof as well.

"He's here!"

I turned around and saw a massive black stag.

One that could tear through my father's castle with enough momentum.

"GET INSIDE, PRINCESS!"

Chris opened the door, and I ran inside.

He formed a blood whip from his Ichor, snapped it over the ghost horses, then hooked himself onto the driver's seat and swung up.

My mother stretched her hand out of the carriage.

Purple-and-black mist formed around her hand, condensing into a dark purple frozen sphere.

"Exe, be a dear and use this if you don't mind."

Exe snatched the sphere from her hand with his scythe and flung it toward the army of beasts coming for us.

The sphere shattered on the street, then formed a thick, ominous ice wall.

Noctis rammed it once, expecting to go through it, but only cracked the surface.

"What is this magic?"

Nick climbed onto Noctis's head and realized what it was.

He reached behind his back and pulled out his staff with a morning star attached to it.

The morning star looked small, its dull spikes almost harmless, but it moved as if it had a will of its own.

Nick thumped the morning star over Noctis's head.

"Prepare to ram it, Noctis!"

Noctis's eyes glowed pitch black, and he gritted his teeth hard.

He took a few steps back and lowered his head, angling his antlers toward the wall.

Nick thumped the morning star against his head one more time.

"CHARGE!"

Power surged through Noctis's legs, his muscles swelling beneath his hide.

He lunged with a destructive thrust, shattering the ice wall.

Noctis kept galloping toward our carriage.

His eyes returned to normal.

"Your skills have always been terrifying, Nick."

Nick ran a hand through Noctis's mane.

"I only did it because back then we were both weak."

Noctis closed the distance, lowering his head and angling his antlers toward our carriage.

Exe stood on top of the carriage, his scythe resting on his shoulder.

The moment he took his eyes off Nick, the girls squeaked in panic from his jumper.

"What's wrong? He's just a tamer."

Exe chuckled and looked back at Nick, expecting him to still be on Noctis's back.

Nick's morning star chain shot out, wrapped around Exe's neck, and yanked tight.

"You think I'm just going to let my family fight for me?"

Exe twirled his scythe with one hand, entangling the chain around it.

Nick followed through, keeping his grip on the staff.

Nick landed on his back atop the carriage.

Exe drove his scythe downward toward Nick's chest.

Nick smirked, then shouted out.

"ENFORCER!"

Something rammed the carriage, forcing Exe to lose his balance.

"What the hell was that?"

Nick swept Exe's legs out from under him.

The girls jumped from Exe's jumper and lunged at Nick.

Nick flipped up with his staff in hand.

The chain and morning star thumped into their faces as if the weapon already knew how to fight demon rabbits.

Exe caught them in midair and threw them back into his jumper.

There was no talking.

No screaming.

Just weapons crashing into each other.

The carriage tore past leaning buildings with boarded windows.

"What the hell just hit us?"

I looked out the window and saw a silverback gorilla with black-red eyes trailing behind us.

"So that's Enforcer."

We went over a bridge that had no water under it.

"I'm going to help Exe, Mother. Aries, you stay here with her."

Aries sat on my mother's lap while she wrapped her arms around him.

"You both really got along that fast, huh?"

I stood up from my seat, then turned toward the carriage door.

I slammed a button with my hand, releasing the spikes on the wheels.

The sound of the spikes rolling across the street sent chills down the residents' spines as they looked out from their broken windows.

I grabbed the door handle.

Before I opened the door, I looked over at my mother and Aries.

"I'll be back."

My mother gave me a look as if she was staring at a future queen.

"I raised you well, haven't I?"

I opened the door and formed one moonblade in my left hand.

"Maybe a little too trusting, but other than that, I think I turned out better than Drago."

I grabbed the roof and swung my body onto the top of the carriage.

I saw Nick with his foot on Exe's chest, his chain wrapped around his neck.

"Get off my brother!"

Nick didn't move.

He just stared at my moonblade as it came toward his face.

A sinister smirk spread across his face.

He backflipped while kicking the moonblade out of my hand.

"WARDEN!"

Nick landed on his feet, and before I could grab him, a massive hawk swooped in.

Its sapphire feathers flashed beneath the light.

Its yellow eyes shined with intent, and its blue talons clamped down onto Nick's shoulders.

At the same time, Nick snatched up his staff from the roof and dragged Exe off the carriage with him.

Exe landed on his feet, pain twisting across his face.

Warden placed Nick onto Noctis's head.

"This is where you die, Exe! Noctis, trample him!"

The chain yanked Exe toward Noctis's hooves as the beast galloped forward.

"Ren…"

Exe groaned, his eyes fixed on Noctis's enormous frame.

"I need you here, now!"

Ren scurried from his jumper and plopped herself onto his head between his horns.

Her eyes glowed.

So did the rest of her body, crackling with purple electricity.

Exe's body swelled with Ren's power.

He grabbed the chain around his neck and pulled it down, forcing a little slack.

His eyes shone bright gold.

"Let's do it, Ren!"

Nick kept his grip on the staff and pulled it back toward himself.

He bit his bottom lip.

"Whatever you're going to do, just give up and get trampled!"

Exe swung himself with the chain, slipping past Noctis's gigantic stomp.

Exe's feet scrambled as he tried to regain his balance.

He shifted from one foot to the other, dodging Noctis's hooves as they thundered forward.

Nick got yanked, forcing him to grab Noctis's mane with one hand.

"Just die already!"

Exe ran across Noctis's body while holding onto the chain.

Each step sent a jolt of electricity through the beast, forcing it to break its gallop.

Nick leaned over Noctis's head.

"You sure are resilient."

One of the tigers leapt from the pack to support Noctis.

It had a red mane and black eyes.

It slashed at Exe with massive claws.

Exe ripped the chain from his neck and slipped past the tiger's paw.

I stared at him from atop the carriage as if I could somehow help.

Exe landed on the tiger's back with Ren still perched on his head.

The tiger thrashed violently while continuing to charge forward.

"Let's see if I can borrow you for a moment."

Exe pulled out his Ichor Blood Scythe and drove it into the tiger's head.

It growled and shook its head side to side.

Nick cried out for his friend.

"DON'T HURT HIM!"

Exe's eyes glowed gold as he held onto the tiger while it kept moving forward.

He tilted his head up toward Nick.

"I'm just borrowing him."

Exe drove the scythe deeper, then gave the beast an order.

"Bring me back to the carriage."

The carriage's spiked wheels scraped across the street, crushing smaller beasts as they tried to board it.

"Hurry up, Exe!"

I dropped to one knee on the roof, reaching for him as Chris jerked the carriage hard to the right.

The screech of the wheels echoed through the entire slum district.

Exe ripped his scythe from the tiger's head and leapt off its back.

I stretched out and caught his hand.

His body slammed against the carriage door.

Our mother stared at Exe through the window.

Calm as ever.

As if she was used to seeing her youngest son fight for his life.

"Is this all my youngest son has to offer?"

Exe felt a wave of heat spread across his chest.

He tilted his head up toward me, then planted his feet against the door.

"Get ready to swing!"

I lowered into a squat atop the roof, reached down with my other hand, and pulled him up.

Exe stood up, then moved toward the back of the carriage roof.

"I need you to buy me some time, Luna."

I stepped toward the center of the carriage and shifted into a ballerina stance.

My clothes transformed into a purple leotard, matching tights, a black romantic tutu, and black ballet shoes.

My black hair twisted into a tight chignon.

Nocturne Of The Half Moon

My moon blades began to orbit around me as I moved through romantic ballet.

Every beast that came close was cut down with a clean, decisive strike.

Exe stared at Nick as he rode atop Noctis's head.

"Girls… are you three ready?"

A massive makeshift barricade rose from the ground.

The residents had reinforced it with cement, stone, barbed wire, and parts from old houses.

Noctis lowered his head while Nick sat calmly, smiling.

The barricade shattered instantly, debris exploding outward toward nearby homes.

Noctis lifted his head and shook the rubble from his antlers.

Nick spoke to Noctis with calm determination as they crushed parked wagons beneath a single step.

"Be ready for anything."

Nick's eyes narrowed.

"I don't like the look in Exe's eyes."