27. Zhang Junjie

Chapter 27

Zhang Junjie

T hunder rumbled low like a distant beast’s growl rolling across the black sky, and Junjie shivered. Kai was anxious about the coming battle, and his building anger was churning up the heavens. Building moisture made the air thick and heavy, as if one good poke would send the rain falling onto their heads. A breeze stirred the leaves that rattled loudly on the branches overhead. The scent of death lingered and teased his nose.

As if sensing his unease, a large head bumped Junjie’s thigh. He smiled at the sleek black jaguar that stood next to him and rubbed his head. Leo had opted for a somewhat bigger feline form for this fight, and Junjie was grateful.

“I get why River and Wyatt had to stay behind,” Rafe Varik drawled as he leaned his shoulder against a tree near where Junjie hid. “But why is he here? Should we be worried about the fae getting in his head and controlling him?”

A disgruntled huff escaped Leo, and Junjie smirked.

“When have you known any cat to listen to anyone?” Moon asked.

“That’s a good point,” Philippe agreed, a smile dancing within his words.

“With Winter on the other team fixed on taking out Trin, we need someone who can spot Jiang Chong while he’s in the dead realm,” Chen cut in sharply. “Now everyone, focus. We need to find Jiang Chong and protect the first team.”

“The glamour is in place, but I can’t hold it over the entire field for long. We need to find Jiang Chong quickly and draw him to us,” Xiao Dan whispered.

Junjie pushed away from the tree he’d been hiding behind and stepped closer to the edge of the field, putting himself out in the open while Leo growled and soundlessly climbed the tree closest to him so that he was right above Junjie.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting him to come to us,” Junjie said. After all, their creator was still very determined to kill Junjie after his failure of a student had come so close to killing him.

The planning with the Variks had taken nearly an entire night, but they’d decided to break into three teams. The first team comprised Rei, Yichen, Winter, Xiang, Kai, Aiden, Ronan, and Mei Lian. Their goal was to kill Trin and any of the elf wizards who were attempting to cast the spell to wipe out more human towns. The hope was that once they took out Trin, Rei could seize control of the fae army.

The second team comprised Junjie, Leo, Rafe, Philippe, Chen, Moon, Huli, and Xiao Dan. Their goal was to eliminate Jiang Chong and then, hopefully, join the fight against the fae.

The final team of Ming Yu, Fox, Ethan, Marcus, Bel, River, and Wyatt gathered at the Varik mansion with Moon’s old coven. In Junjie’s mind, their only task was to keep Erik and the most vulnerable of their two clans safe.

How Moon had ended up on the team to fight Jiang Chong was still a mystery to Junjie, though. That fledgling was one fast talker when he wanted to be.

Junjie stared out across the large empty field ringed by thick woods. A narrow stream cut through the center. The water wasn’t particularly deep, but Rei suggested that the running water would help to fuel the spell. Kai was hoping to turn that against them. Junjie was looking forward to seeing fae magic take on the magic of an ancient dragon, but right now, his only concern was for Jiang Chong. They had a score to settle.

“Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment,” Xiao Dan said in a tight voice. Shixiong was always good at reading his mind and his moods.

“He killed my mate,” Junjie bit out.

“Your mate is also alive and hiding in the tree above your head. You must remember your duty to your clan and the Varik clan.”

“Movement! Ten o’clock.” They all turned to where Rafe pointed across the field. Shadows shifted among the trees before the pale ghostly glow of will-o-wisps penetrated the darkness at last. Several battalions of armed elves stepped out of the woods. In the middle of the armed fighters was a circle of elves in robes with floating balls of light around them. They were walking slowly but steadily toward the stream in the center of the field.

But there was no sign of Trin or his right-hand woman, Aire Bira.

It was a painful understatement to say that the fae vastly outnumbered them. Even with a dragon on their side. Ellora was supposed to bring her army of resistance fighters, but they didn’t know how many she had on her side or what kind of damage they could do.

“Shit!” Xiao Dan swore suddenly, ripping Junjie’s gaze from the movement of the fae army.

Xiao Dan was kneeling on the ground, curled up in the fetal position. Huli flew from where he’d been lurking in the shadows, shifting into human form the second he reached Xiao Dan. He laid an arm across his bowed shoulders and pulled him in close.

“Gege, what happened? Where are you hurt?” Huli demanded.

“It’s the fae magic,” Xiao Dan panted. “I can’t hold my glamour in place on the field. The closer those wizards get to us, the more their magic burns through mine.”

Junjie swore under his breath and stared at the field. The glamour Xiao Dan had created had been barely noticeable. A few changes to the field and sky. Things that most wouldn’t see even if they were searching for them. The hope was that Jiang Chong would walk into their trap without realizing it, giving himself away. They hadn’t considered that the fae could disperse Xiao Dan’s glamour.

But Jiang Chong would have.

A chill ran up Junjie’s spine and he spun, turning his back to the field and the fae army. He scoured the wooded area where his team waited for the first sign of Jiang Chong. Thunder crashed again; the heavenly boom came closer this time as the storm bore down on them.

“There!” Huli shouted, pointing at Moon.

The young vampire didn’t even have a chance to move. Philippe dove across the short distance separating them, hitting Moon square in the chest and taking them both to the ground. They were briefly lost in the brush while all eyes turned to the blade that poked through a hole in the very air.

Jiang Chong stepped through the opening, a grin slashing wide across his face. “We have unfinished business.”

The monster’s words must have served as a signal, because a cry rose around them in the woods and more than a hundred elves poured through the trees with bows and swords raised. Trin had gifted Jiang Chong his small army to use.

“Leo! Keep your eye on Jiang Chong!” Xiao Dan shouted as they all dove into the fight. Without Xiao Dan’s glamour spell to help give them some warning of Jiang Chong’s presence, Leo was the only one who could see the vampire when he dipped into the dead realm.

A fierce roar erupted from Leo as he jumped from his perch in the tree and raced toward Jiang Chong. Junjie followed on his heels, leaving the rest of his team to fight the fae. Gunshots rang out above the cries of the dying. Philippe and Rafe had no training in bladed weapons but were excellent marksmen. The air crackled with magic from both the fae and Huli. Junjie exhaled, and it came out as white fog. The temperature of the forest had dropped more than twenty degrees in a matter of seconds, thanks to Chen and his ice magic. Frost crawled up the trees and gilded the grasses at their feet.

But Junjie didn’t let his gaze waver from Jiang Chong and Leo. The jaguar was almost a liquid black blur as muscles stretched and danced under smooth fur. He leaped at Jiang Chong, and the vampire moved to bring his sword down. Yet Leo shifted from a massive jaguar to a tiny house cat in the blink of an eye. The vampire didn’t have the chance to adjust his attack. Leo landed right on his face and kicked off, supplying Junjie with the perfect distraction to attack.

Their blades clashed, and Junjie laughed at Jiang Chong’s surprised expression. His haughty demeanor was long gone. He might have caught them off guard, but they were not about to be beaten so easily.

“I never expected to have another chance to kill you,” Junjie bit out as he deflected each of Jiang Chong’s slashes. His old creator had gotten faster over the years, but so had Junjie. For two thousand years, he’d regularly trained with his clan, determined to be a powerful defender of his brothers and sisters. He was not about to let such an evil threat defeat him now.

“You would never have gotten so close the first time if it had not been for the rest of your clan,” Jiang Chong snarled. “You could never defeat me one on one.”

“That may be true, but I don’t care. I will always have my clan and my mate at my side to see me through any adversity. Together, we will destroy you.”

Just saying those words lifted an ancient weight from his chest. It was as if the words Shifu Shi Lei had whispered in his ear a hundred times had clicked into place. He wasn’t alone or an outsider because of his birth. The Zhang clan was his family and his home. Leo was his mate. They would always be there to support him. There was no need for him to face Jiang Chong alone.

It began as a small bubble. A giggle. But soon the laughter broke forth, shaking Junjie’s entire body as he continued to match Jiang Chong.

“Have you gone mad?” Jiang Chong demanded, taking an extra step back to disengage from Junjie. He stared at Junjie as if he’d lost his mind, but for the first time in his entire life, everything felt right.

“No. I finally figured out how little you matter.”

Jiang Chong snarled and lunged at Junjie. The clashes of their swords rang out again and again as their battle raged over the woods. Junjie was vaguely aware of the rest of the clan fighting swarms of fae around him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his creator for even a second.

He caught flashes of orange in his peripheral vision. Those flashes were usually followed by horrific screams as Leo, now in his Bengal tiger form, took down any member of the fae who got too close to him and Jiang Chong. No one could aid the monster across from him. Tonight, this had to end.

Muscles burned, and a cold sweat tricked down from his temples. A knot formed in his stomach, and a realization rose in his mind. He was slowing down. The fight was stretching too long. Jiang Chong was giving him no opening to steal the advantage.

Patience.

It was almost as if Shifu were whispering in his ear as he fought with Xiang back in the training ground of their youth.

“Patience…and trust in your training.”

The panic receded, and he could breathe a little easier. Jiang Chong had never trained with them. He’d always stood on the sidelines and barked orders. Only Shifu—and later Xiao Dan—had actively participated in their drills, gently correcting their stances and movements so they were perfect. Jiang Chong had never practiced the Sword of the Heavenly Garden sect techniques and fighting style.

The more he trusted in his training, the more fluid and natural his motions became, while Jiang Chong’s started to be rushed and sloppy. The elder vampire’s face twisted with rage, and his waxy pale cheeks grew slick with sweat.

At last, Jiang Chong made a misstep and Junjie was there for it. He slashed, catching the vampire across the chest. The rich scent of blood blossomed in the night air, but it was foul like rotted meat to him since he’d discovered the sweetness of his mate’s blood.

Jiang Chong cried out in pain, and a black doorway opened behind him. Junjie tightened his hand on his sword, mentally preparing to follow his maker into the dead realm. He would follow him wherever he must to end his life.

But before Jiang Chong could slip away, Leo bit down on the vampire’s leg and tossed him back toward Junjie, away from the black doorway. The vampire stumbled, barely catching himself and blocking Junjie’s strike.

For the first time, real fear flashed across his face, widening his eyes and parting his lips in a soundless cry. There was no escape. Leo was patrolling the area, forcing him to remain in the living realm.

Junjie laughed as Jiang Chong tried again and again to escape. At each attempt, Leo was right there to jerk him back, and Junjie added another cut to his body so that blood now soaked his shirt and pants. It dripped from the fingertips of his empty hand, painting the forest floor.

“Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?” Jiang Chong’s voice shook as he shouted at Junjie.

A smirk toyed with Junjie’s lips. “Not quite. We’re almost there.”

Jiang Chong was still digesting his comment when Junjie gave Leo the tiniest nod of his head. The tiny black cat had sneaked around Jiang Chong and was behind him. In the blink of an eye, Leo became a massive Bengal tiger again.

The giant cat lunged at Jiang Chong, sinking sharp teeth and long fangs into the vampire’s leg. Jiang Chong screamed and twisted as Leo pulled him off balance. As he fell, Jiang Chong attempted to swing his sword at Leo. In two quick moves, Junjie blocked the swipe at his mate and lopped Jiang Chong’s head off.

Jiang Chong fell dead while his head rolled to a stop against a fallen log.

“Spit that out,” Junjie admonished. “You’re not allowed to eat something so disgusting.”

Leo lifted his head to Junjie, making a show of sticking out his massive tongue and wiping it with his paw as if he had tasted something nasty.

Junjie stood over Jiang Chong’s lifeless body for several seconds, deaf to the sounds of fighting through the woods and across the field. This monster had been a shadow across their lives for two millennia. Even after they’d escaped him, he’d continued to haunt their memories and dictate their actions. He’d swooped in the moment their clan had been at their weakest, when they had been in deep mourning for their shifu and many of the clan elders.

“We are free at last, Shifu,” Junjie whispered.

“Chen!”

Moon’s blood-curdling scream sliced through Junjie’s moment of peace. He swung about to find a sword and three arrows sticking out of Chen’s chest, pinning him to a tree, his pale face splattered with blood. Xiao Dan and Huli were barely holding their own a few hundred meters away, but elves surrounded them completely. Meanwhile, Moon had gotten separated from Chen and was standing near Rafe and Philippe, who were reloading their guns as fast as they could while more elves raced toward them.

“Leo, protect Moon!” Junjie shouted as he ran for Chen.

They had all been giving him space to defeat Jiang Chong, but they were out of time and strength.

Junjie sliced through several elves who were preparing to attack Chen while his er-ge struggled to remove the arrows from his body. Junjie reached him as he pulled the first one free.

“Forget me! Protect Moon,” Chen snarled. His voice was weaker than Junjie had ever heard it as blood poured out of him and pain coursed through his body.

“Leo has Moon?—”

“You dared to hurt my mate.” Moon’s low voice was a cold wind that froze everyone.

“Shit,” Chen swore and pulled frantically at the arrows, his hands slipping on the blood. “Moon! Don’t! Baobei, I’m okay. Please, don’t!”

Junjie dared to look over his shoulder, and his heart stopped. Gone was the sweet laughing Moon they’d all come to adore the past several months. The blood witch that Moon had put aside for his own safety had returned, and he was fucking pissed.

Moon sliced the knife in his right hand across his left palm. He lifted his left hand as if he were sprinkling seeds on the ground. Beads of blood dropped from his hand and hung frozen in the air like shining red stars. The tips of his fingers changed from a dark burgundy red to black as the color crept up his arms to his elbows. His golden-brown eyes glowed blood red, and the elf soldiers took a hesitant step back.

“Moon, you swore to never use blood magic again!” Xiao Dan called from across the forest.

“Oh, this isn’t blood magic, Shifu,” Moon said with a mad cackle. “I talked with Sky, and he had a different opinion about my magic. He says I’m not a blood witch anymore, but a necromancer.” He’d barely finished talking when he thrust out his left hand, sending the drops of blood he’d had hovering in the air flying out.

Junjie gasped and staggered a step. Some unseen force had slammed into his chest, pushing him off balance. Strong hands grasped his shoulder, and he glanced to see Leo in his human form standing behind him, holding him steady.

“You okay?”

Junjie nodded. “Help me with Chen. He’s the only one who can get through to Moon.”

“Okay, but it seems to me that Moon’s got shit under control. Literally.”

Junjie lifted his gaze to where Moon was standing to find the bodies of the elf soldiers they had killed were climbing to their feet in front of their master. Moon had raised the fucking dead. The living elves standing among them screamed and ran toward the field, trying to put as much distance between them and the zombie army.

“Yeah, that’s creepy,” Rafe muttered.

Junjie couldn’t argue with that. He pulled free of Leo’s hold and rushed to a frozen Chen. He quickly pulled the last two arrows out of Chen’s chest and held the vampire up when Leo jerked the sword from his stomach. Chen’s legs instantly gave out, and Junjie caught him while keeping one hand pressed to the largest wound.

“Talk to him, Chen-ge. You can feel the rage rolling off him. Make sure he’s truly in control of this,” Junjie murmured in his ear. “Moon is still in there. He’s only doing this out of fear. He loves you.”

Chen gave a jerky nod and used Junjie to get back to his feet. “Moon? Baobei? Look at me. Please.”

Moon’s head snapped to his mate and those glowing red eyes made Junjie swallow hard, but Chen didn’t hesitate to close the distance between them, his trembling hands cupping Moon’s blood-splattered cheeks.

“Baobei, I’m okay. I promise.”

“They hurt you. They tried to kill you.” Moon’s voice shook, and tears clung to his lashes before spilling down his cheeks.

“But they didn’t kill me. I’m still here with you. Are you here with me?”

“I’m here. I swear.”

Chen released one of his cheeks and grabbed his hand. He lifted it up between them so Moon could see the blackness covering his skin as if he had been charred to a crisp. “Are you in control? Because this is scaring me. The last time you used magic, you weren’t in control and it nearly destroyed you.”

A smile lifted the corners of Moon’s mouth, and he blinked, changing his eyes from red to golden brown. “No pain. I’m in control. I promise.” Moon raised Chen’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “Sky told me how to tap into necromancy with my blood magic. It was a more natural outlet for me since I’m a vampire now.”

Moon winked and slipped away from Chen. He spun with his arms wide, and more dead fae climbed to their feet. He waved his right hand toward the field where the fae were fighting the first team and Moon’s dead army joined in the fray, evening the odds at last.

“So, he’s a vampire necromancer now?” Philippe asked.

Moon grinned at them. “Not a full-blooded one like Sky. I can’t see ghosts and the underworld minion language still sounds like gibberish to me, but I can command the dead.”

“And this is what you’ve been chatting with Sky about the past few weeks?” Chen demanded in a low, even tone.

Junjie knew that tone and took a step away from Chen.

Apparently, Moon knew that tone as well, because the fledgling vampire had the good sense to drop his head to his shoulders and flash some very big “I’m sorry” eyes. “Maybe…” he whimpered.

“I’m killing the necromancer when we’re done here,” Chen muttered.

“Okay, but can we kill the fae first?” Huli bounded close in his fox form, all nine of his tails dancing behind him in his excitement. “Especially since Moon was nice enough to create an army for us.”

“He has a point,” Leo agreed. “I like fighting with an army at my back.”

Chen glared at Leo for all of two seconds before he finally sighed. “Fine. Let’s go kill the fae army with our dead army. We can’t let the dragon have all the fun, anyway.”