Supernatural Nation: The Beginning of the End

Author’s Note:
Thanks for waiting patiently here is Chapter 8!















Supernatural Nation: The Beginning of the End








He ran through the forest at a speed that would have awed any human who had caught sight of him, but no human saw him as he raced through the trees. Jumping over fallen trees and dodging low hanging branches he ran not daring to slow as the insane laughter of the monster followed him. All of his guards had died on the creature’s blood soaked talons and he knew if it caught him he would be next. He knew it was behind him, close behind him, but he could not hear it as it moved through the forest in a silence only broken by its laughter at his feeble attempts to elude it. It was playing with him, herding him through the woods, and he realized it but every time he tried to turn from the path it wanted him on wolves made of flame attacked him until he retreated and headed back down the desired path. After he was moving once again they would fade back into the trees as if made of mist. He burst from the trees and into a clearing with several burned out building and a big metal cage. He recognized the clearing immediately and his gaze locked on the cage, and he ran for it.


















Anthony watched from the edge of the clearing, still hidden in the shadows of the trees as Reed Logan ran to the cage. He jumped inside and slammed the door on the cage, the cage he had locked so many defenseless Were-women in. Anthony looked down at his glowing hands, his bones showed through clearly, like cooling rock in a stream of lava. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was going to do and accepting that it would probably haunt him forever. Exhaling slowly he stepped from the tree line and Reed’s head snapped to face him and his gaze locked on Anthony. Gone was the arrogance and self-assurance of the leader of werewolves who took what they wanted. Seeing his strongest fighters burst into a bloody mist or turn inside out with a thought had stripped him of his delusions of supremacy. Now he screamed when he saw Anthony and curled into a ball in the center of the cage floor and began to weep and plead.

“Please don’t kill me,” he begged.

“How many women have begged for you not to hurt them in that cage? Why? Should your pleas be given anymore consideration then theirs,” Anthony demanded as he stopped in front of the cage. Reed continued to babble but Anthony tuned him out and instead focused on the cage. He concentrated on it and the metal took on a waxy sheen before tendrils rose out of the metal forming into cords. They shot out and wrapping around each of Reed’s limbs pulling my eagle spread up into the exact center of the cage, he hung suspended by the cords his feet unable reach the ground. He began to scream wordless and shrilly as his skin rippled and Anthony clenched his jaw against the desire to just kill the man and be done with it. He refocused on his power pulsing down the wires and into Reed’s body and he forced the other man to change and with the crunching of bone on bone Reed became his wolf. He howled in pain at the rapid unwanted change and then again when the wires let him go and dropped him to the floor of the cage. He got unsteadily to his feet and snarled at Anthony menacingly but dropped back to the ground as his skin rippled again. He howled, only stopping to breathe so he could howl again at the pain consuming him. His skin parted and pulled free of his body with a sucking sound as it ripped free and then the power filled him again forcing him to shift back to human with a violent wrenching of his bones. The cords once again suspended him only this time they clutched his muscles and unprotected nerves, he shriek and prayed, in his head, to die. A single cord wrapped around his forehead like a crown and pulled his head back so he was looking up toward the roof of the cage. The metal of the roof started to melt forming a single dripping strand of metal as thick as a man’s wrist, and it slowly lowered toward his face. The tip of the strand sprouted several cords that pried his mouth open and the strand began to force its way into his mouth. It looked like liquid metal but it was as solid as a metal pole and he choked on it as it forced itself down his throat and into his stomach. As his vision dimmed from lack of oxygen he felt a churning in his stomach. The single strand split into a thousand separate razor sharp cords and pulled apart cutting through him. Anthony grabbed the now whole wolf skin and with a thought sent himself far away.

He appeared in the living room of his apartments at the hotel and stumbled sideways. He trembled as the images of the last half an hour beat away inside his mind. He fell to his knees and struggled not to puke with the horror of

what he had just done.

“Anthony,” Risa called in alarm from the doorway she had just entered from. She froze as he looked up into her eyes and she saw the pain and horror in his. He finally began to lose his battle against his stomach and she rushed to his side as he dropped the skin to the floor and rushed to the bathroom. She sat beside him as he emptied his stomach into the toilet, rubbing his back. He rolled onto his side and let the mercy of unconsciousness take him into oblivion. Risa sat his head in her lap confused and concerned. Wanting to understand, to help him, she let her mind flow into his through his defenses and into his thoughts. Her own stomach clenched in rebellion as she watched the events replay again and again in his mind. His actions tormented even his sleep, with a kiss to his closed eyes she willed the memory down deeper. She didn’t try to erase it only to lessen its emotional effect on Anthony. As she worked his restlessness lessened but didn’t fade entirely. When she had done all she could she cleaned him up and then she shifted to her feet and lifted him into her arms. She took him to bed and tucked him in next to Megan and Liz. She headed out into the living room and stood staring down at the skin of the man who had forced Anthony to destroy a piece of his humanity. She bent lifted the skin, folding it, and placed it on the coffee table before leaning over to the phone.

The guests would be departing back to their home to prepare for The Unveiling. They would be readying their peoples to begin making nice with the humans or to retreat into the underwater retreat that neared its completion with several thousand goblins working day and night to finish it. She dialed Anya and Sonya’s room and waited as the phone rang.

“Hello,” a sleepy voice asked after five rings.

“This is Risa we need you to come up to our room in the morning before you leave.”

“We have to catch the early flight home that’s why we already said our goodbyes,” Sonya asked.

“I have something for you from Anthony. It is rather important if you want to get it tonight then I’ll wait up for you. I have to wait for housekeeping anyway,” she offered.

“Alright we’ll be up in a few minutes,” Sonya said irritated. Risa hung up with her and then called down to the front desk to send housekeeping to clean up the mess Anthony had made. Housekeeping sent up a young woman after only a few minutes and she began cleaning up the mess in the bathroom where Anthony didn’t quite make it on time. Sonya, Anya, and one of their bodyguards arrived just as the cleaning woman was finishing her task.

“Thank you,” Risa said to the young woman tipping her several hundred for her trouble. The woman looked at the money in her hand in wide eyed shock as Risa ushered her from the room and closed the door behind her. She turned to face Sonya and Anya her face grim as they observed her.

“Is someone sick,” Anya asked and sniffed the air.

“Not exactly,” Risa said her voice tense. She wasn’t angry at the two of them but she was angry that Anthony was suffering. She walked pasted them to the table and grabbed the folded fur pelt and trust it out towards Sonya. Sonya looked confused until her hand touched the fur and she took a deep breath scenting the fur. Her head snapped up to look into Risa’s eyes and her hand trembled before she gripped the fur and pulled it from Risa’s grasp letting it fall

open. Anya gasped as she stared at the perfect wolf hide hanging limply from her mother’s grasp.

“Reed Logan,” Anya said staring at the limp fur form.

“Where is Anthony, we should thank him,” she said turning to face Risa.

“I put him to bed. He… isn’t doing well,” Risa explained motioning to the wet spot on the floor.

“What’s wrong with him,” Sonya asked suspiciously. Risa looked at her silently for a moment before she reached out a hand, slowly, allowing her plenty of time to pull her face away. Sonya didn’t move and her eyes closed as Risa allowed Anthony’s memories of the night to slip into her. Her eyes flew open and sadness shone from them as her ice blue eyes stared back into Risa’s black eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“So am I, this was all I wanted. Lock the door on your way out,” Risa said and turned back to the bedroom.

“What is it what happened,” Anya demanded not having shared the visions Risa had shared with her mother.

“Anthony didn’t… his actions taken on our behalf tonight sickened him,” Sonya explained. Anya looked confused for a few seconds then her eyes flicked to the hallway leading to the bathroom, where the scent of sickness wafted from, and then lit upon the wolf skin and sadness filled them.

“I see,” she said and turned, heading for the door. Sonya followed after her gathering the pelt and folding it into her arms.



Anthony woke in the morning warm and surrounded by his loved ones and pushed the memories of last night away. What was done was done and he couldn’t change it even if he wanted to. He smiled looking down at Risa who was lying between his legs her head pillowed on his stomach as she slept.