Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den (27 page)

“You survived,” said Orion exultantly, his talons cutting into Simon's chest. “My heir. My prince.”

“Let Darryl go,” demanded Simon. “He never did anything to you.”

The eagle laughed. “He took you, he took my daughter, and before that, he took my eye. He was never getting out of Sky Tower alive. Besides, it's too late. He's practically dead already.”

Dizzy with fear, Simon tore himself away from Orion and turned back toward the roof. Nearly all the other birds were gone now. Darryl had shifted back into a human, and a pool of blood expanded beside his motionless body.

Everything went still. All Simon could see was his uncle, the man who had protected him for his entire life, who had given up his family, his pack, everything he'd loved to stay
with
Simon. Now he was dying, and it was all Simon's fault.

The knot in Simon's chest was gone now, replaced by unshakable fury. He screeched and dived back toward the golden eagle. A primal instinct seized him, the same one that had overcome him the day Bryan Barker had attacked him in the cafeteria, and only vengeance remained. Simon lashed out with his talons, slicing across Orion's face and grazing his one good eye.

Orion screamed. Clutching Simon's feathers, he shifted back to human form. “My eye!” he moaned. “What have you done?”

“Stop it!” cried Simon, struggling to get away. He wasn't sure how he did it, but one moment he was an eagle, and the next his limbs twisted back into a human's.

Orion clutched Simon's wrist. “You fool—you have no idea—” He suddenly gasped, panicked. “The scepter—where is the scepter?”

Simon scanned the roof, but he didn't see anything—only Darryl lying in a pool of his own blood, his chest expanding with his shallow breaths. “It isn't here.”

Orion roared. “It must be! You have it—I know you have it, boy! Give it to me!” He tore at Simon, grabbing his shirt and stumbling closer and closer to the edge of the roof. “You don't understand—I must be the one to control it!”

They were inches from the drop now. Simon struggled to pull them backward, but his grandfather was too heavy. “I don't have it! I swear—”

“
You'll kill us all!” cried Orion. “Every last one of us will die because of you.”

A strong gust of wind hit them both, and Orion teetered. If he fell, he would take Simon with him. Simon might be able to fly, but if Orion kept holding on to him, blind as he was, he really would kill them both.

“Let
go
.” Simon tried to spin them back toward the safety of the roof, but Orion held on. As the old man lost his balance, Simon twisted against his grip, pushing with all of his might.

Orion cried out, and at last he let go. Clawing at the air, he stumbled backward off the roof and fell into the empty sky.

“Orion!” Simon lunged to the edge, reaching for him, but it was too late. Orion plummeted toward the street below.

Horrified, Simon watched as his grandfather fell. Halfway down, Orion shifted into his battered eagle form and spread his massive wings. Simon didn't have time to be relieved though. Unable to see where he was going, Orion dived straight toward a brick building.

“Watch out!” yelled Simon, and a split second before he hit the wall, Orion pulled up and circled back to Sky Tower. Simon's heart hammered as the eagle flew at him, his talons outstretched.

No time to get away. He threw his arms protectively in front of his face and ducked. At the last second, Orion soared past him, close enough for Simon to see that his injured eye was open once more.

With
a scream, Orion arched downward, and Simon thought he was going to crash into the roof. Instead, his talons caught something that glinted in the sunlight.
The scepter
. He had found the scepter.

“No!” shouted Simon, but the eagle disappeared into the bright blue sky. He squinted into the sun, but it was too late. Orion was gone.

A wet cough caught his attention. Simon crawled toward his uncle, his chest tight. “Darryl?” he said, hovering over him.

“Simon.” His uncle's voice was little more than a whisper, and Simon had to lean in. “You're alive.”

“We need to get you to a hospital,” he said. “They can help you—”

“Too late for that.” Darryl managed a small smile. “I have something for you.”

He uncurled his hand. The pocket watch was nestled in his palm, slick with Darryl's blood. Simon took it with shaking fingers, his eyes watering.

“Simon, I need you to listen to me,” said his uncle hoarsely. “Whatever happens, you can't go after Orion.”

“But—he has the Predator,” said Simon, pocketing the watch and pressing his hands against his uncle's chest to stop the bleeding. Even through his blurred vision, he could see that Darryl was right. It was too late. No one could lose this much blood and survive.

“Your mother—she didn't steal the pieces. She and the
rulers
of the other kingdoms created copies. No one was supposed to know—not until you and Nolan were safe—but the Alpha never had the real ones.”

Darryl said this with a note of triumph, but to Simon, it only meant that his uncle was dying for nothing. A wave of guilt and grief crashed into him, and for a moment, Simon couldn't breathe. “I'm sorry,” he said, his voice breaking. “I should have stayed with you. I should've met you at the ferry. I should never have gone to the zoo. I should've waited—”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Darryl touched Simon's cheek with his cold hand. “You did it to save your mother. I would have done the exact same thing if it meant saving you.” He coughed again, and blood splattered the glass roof. “Promise me that whatever happens, you'll get as far away from Orion and the Alpha as you can. Your mother—your mother and Malcolm will protect you. That's all I want, kid. To know you'll be okay.”

A sob bubbled up in Simon's throat, and he struggled to speak around it. “Only—only if you swear you won't leave me.”

Darryl smiled weakly. “It's okay, Simon. I'm ready. Just promise me you'll stay safe.”

Simon pressed harder against the blood pouring from his uncle's chest. “I—I promise. But—please, you can't—you can't die. I need you.”

“This is how it's supposed to be.” Darryl's hand settled
over
Simon's. “I couldn't save your father. Let me die protecting you.”

“Please,” choked Simon. “You're my family.”

“And I always will be. I had my time with you, and they were the best years of my life. It's your mother's turn now.”

Behind him, Simon heard the click of claws against glass, and a wolf appeared at his side. Malcolm.

“Brother?” said the wolf in disbelief. He set his paw against Darryl's chest as well, but nothing either of them did could stop the flow of blood.

“I'm sorry for leaving you,” said Darryl. His gruff voice was fading. “You—deserved better.”

“Impossible. No better brother exists.”

Darryl touched his paw. “Take care of him, Malcolm. He's your charge now. Heir or not—he's our family.”

“Of course.” Malcolm lowered his head, and with effort, Darryl refocused on Simon.

“You are strong, Simon. Stronger than you know. Never—never forget it.”

Finally his grip on Simon's hand faded, and the light in Darryl's eyes disappeared. A choking sob escaped Simon, and he clutched his uncle's cold fingers. Behind him, the other wolves gathered on the rooftop one by one, but it was too late.

Darryl was gone.

25

PIGEON POOP

Simon didn't know how long he knelt on the rooftop beside his uncle's body. Long enough for his face to grow numb in the wind, and long enough for the entire pack to chase away the remaining birds and join them, their heads bowed.

He didn't let go of his uncle's hand. Over and over again, he pictured Darryl's eyes opening, and Simon silently begged for this to be nothing more than a nightmare. But it wasn't a nightmare. This was his life, and Simon didn't know how to face it without his uncle.

If only the rats hadn't attacked them. If only Simon had met Darryl at the ferry. If only Simon hadn't been so stupid and trusted Winter. None of this would have happened, and they would have found a way to save his mother together. Darryl would still be alive, and by now they would
have
left the city, all three of them. And they would all be safe.

No, Simon realized. They wouldn't all be safe. Nolan would still be at the Den, and his mother would never have left New York without him. Orion and the Alpha would have hunted them down, and one way or another, Darryl would have risked his life to protect him.

But maybe by then, Simon would have found a way to keep them all alive.

Malcolm clapped his hand on Simon's shoulder and cleared his throat. His eyes were red and swollen. “Come on,” he said gruffly. “The pack will take care of him. We need to get you someplace safe.”

“What—what about my mom?” said Simon.

Malcolm frowned, not quite looking at him. “Orion's lieutenants escaped, and they took her with them.”

The world began to tilt once more, and the edges of Simon's vision went black. His mother was still missing. Darryl was dead. And all of it had been for nothing. “I'm sorry,” he said softly to his uncle's body. Squeezing Darryl's hand one last time, Simon finally let go and stood, his gaze lingering on his uncle's motionless form. Only when Darryl's face was burned into his memory did he allow Malcolm to lead him back into the atrium.

The climb down the tree was a blur. He couldn't think about his uncle, not yet, not without falling apart, so he focused on his mother. Orion wouldn't kill her, not when
he
could still use her to find the real pieces of the Predator. But how long would that last? How long would it be before Simon lost her, too?

“About time!” Felix scampered halfway up the spiral staircase, stopping at his feet. “Come quickly—it's your brother.”

Any relief Simon felt at knowing Felix was all right evaporated, and he ran down the stairs after him. “What happened? Where is he?”

“Less talking, more running!” called Felix, darting down to the lower level and hurrying through the branch-filled hallway. Simon followed, with Malcolm hot on his heels. As they passed an open sitting room, he spotted Ariana and Jam huddled on the sofa. He would thank them later. Right now, he had to find his brother.

Felix stopped in front of a door at the end of a long corridor. An odd scratching noise came from inside the room, and Simon yanked the door open and stopped cold.

His brother wasn't on the other side. Instead, a young gray wolf paced across the carpet, making a pitiful whining sound.

“Nolan?” said Simon. The wolf sat back on his haunches, and in the blink of an eye, it shifted into a rattlesnake. And then a frog. And then a squirrel, and a robin, and a wasp.

“I'm the Beast King's heir,” said Nolan as he shifted back into a wolf, shaking his head in disbelief. “I thought when you showed up that you would be instead, but it's me.”

Simon stared at him, stunned, though he quickly
recovered.
Of course Nolan was the Beast King's heir, now that Simon knew he was an eagle. His resolve turned to steel. He wouldn't let Orion kill his brother. No matter what it took, no matter what Simon had to do, he would protect him. Orion had already stolen his mother and uncle. Simon wasn't going to let him steal his brother, too.

“Turns out I sprout feathers,” he said wearily, and his grief must have shown on his face, because Nolan trotted up to him, his wolf's brow furrowed with concern.

“I'm not going to boss you around, if that's what you're worried about. As long as you do what I want, I mean.”

Simon shook his head. “It's not that,” he began, but before he could explain, a shadow appeared over Simon's shoulder.

“It's Darryl,” said Malcolm as he stepped into the room. “He's dead.”

Nolan's face fell, and his tail drooped. “He—he is?”

“And Orion took Mom with him,” said Simon.

His brother bared his teeth. “We'll get her back,” he growled. “I'm the Beast King now. No one takes my mother and gets away with it.”

More than anything, Simon wanted to agree with him. He wanted to scour every corner of New York City—every corner of the country, if he had to—until he found Orion and his mother. But dread coiled inside him at the thought of what Orion would do to his brother if he captured him. Simon couldn't let that happen.

“
You.”

The Alpha's voice rang out, and she stormed into the room, all pretense of royalty gone. At first Simon thought she was hurrying toward Nolan, but instead she cornered him, shoving him against the wall and putting her nose an inch from his.

“You took the pieces,” she said, her face contorted with fury. “You handed Orion the Predator. Now he has control, and because of you, my kingdom will fall.” She grabbed his throat, cutting off his air supply. “You will
suffer
for what you've done, if it's the last thing I—”

A furious snarl filled the room. An enormous wolf slammed into the Alpha, and she tumbled to the ground, shifting as she hit the carpet.

But it was too late. Malcolm pinned her smaller form, and he snapped his jaw just above her throat.

“I do not care what Simon did,” he growled. “You have only yourself to blame, Mother. You were our Alpha. He's a twelve-year-old boy, and I will not let you hurt him. Not now, not ever.”

“How
dare
you.” The Alpha tried to claw Malcolm's muzzle, but he was too quick for her. In an instant, he shifted his weight, immobilizing her completely.

“You have let down our kingdom, and you have let down our family,” he said. Near the doorway, Simon noticed the rest of the pack gathering in wolf form. “You have no right to call yourself our Alpha any longer. Relinquish your crown
before
you cause any more harm to our kingdom, or I will kill you.”