Free Dark Light of Mine by John Corwin Page B

but to decide matters."
    "So the Alpha kicked your butt and you left?"
    He winced and looked down at the bare bone where his steak had been.  "He was my best friend."
    I felt for the guy.  My supposedly best friends had turned on me.  "That sucks, man.  I'm sorry."
    "I almost killed him," Ryland said, staring at the plate.  "I could always beat him, but I never wanted to lead the pack.  I left him bloody and near death after our fight.  The others demanded I take over as Alpha."  A haunted look crossed his face.  "But I couldn't do it.  I had to get out of there."
    "I didn't realize werewolves could die so easily."
    His face hardened.  "Easy?  You've never seen werewolves fight.  We aren't weaklings."
    "Stop getting ticked at me.  I hardly know squat as it is so I'm bound to jump to conclusions."
    "Your family never taught you about the Overworld?"
    "Dude, I just found out I'm a spawn maybe two weeks ago.  My dad told me a little bit but otherwise I'm a total newbie."
    "How interesting."
    "Yeah.  That's one way to put it."  I dropped some cash on the table to pay for my food.  I wasn't about to pick up Ryland's tab, considering he'd gone through two rare steaks and an order of bacon.  That guy could shovel it down like nobody's business.
    He paid and we left.  I really wanted to go back to Shelton's hideout, but I needed to ditch wolf-man first.  I hated to do it, but the best course of action seemed to be figuring out how to lose him.  He had an amazing nose, apparently, which meant I'd have to cover myself in rabbit feces or something to make him lose the trail.  Or, I could take him someplace he might not want to be anyway.
    "Are you a big Wolverine fan?" I asked him as we hiked down a dark road.
    He stroked one of his mutton chops.  "Yep."
    "He's pretty cool."  I found a road sign and got my bearings.  "You ready to do some running?"
    Ryland showed his teeth and stretched his arms.  "I thought you'd never ask."
    It was dark and nobody was in sight.  I zipped away, looking behind me to see how far he was lagging behind.  I heard a chuckle and looked to my left.  He was pacing me without breaking a sweat.  I could've gone faster but I didn't want to waste the energy.  After winding our way down some back streets, we flashed down a ragged asphalt road and to an abandoned property with warehouses.  I stopped and stared at the place the warehouses should have been.  At the place where Stacey lived.
    All I found was rubble, flame, and smoke.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    Ryland stared at the destruction and wrinkled his nose.  "Sulfur."
    I tested the air and caught a faint whiff as well.  "What does that mean?"
    "Surely you've heard of brimstone."
    "Like the stuff from Hell?"
    He nodded.  "This sulfur odor is not natural."
    I couldn't tell the difference.  It all smelled like rotten eggs to me.  I saw a small form on the ground and ran to it.  A pile of concrete had crushed a calico cat.  A quick glance around revealed more tiny bodies strewn about.  "Oh no."  I looked around frantically for the body of a woman or a large cat, my heart aching at the thought of Stacey being hurt or killed.  "Stacey?" I called.  "Stacey!"
    No answer.
    Flames flickered in the ruins of several buildings, casting an eerie glow across the shadowy mounds.  My blue-tinged night vision kicked on and off as I stared at them.
    "You know someone who lives here?" Ryland said.
    "Yeah.  A friend."
    "All I smell is sulfur and felines."
    "Dead felines?"
    He drew in a whiff.  "It's too soon to tell.  This happened very recently."
    "What's the deal with brimstone and sulfur?  You know who did it?"
    He raised an eyebrow.  "You really don't know anything, do you?"
    "Obviously."
    "Sulfur usually means demons.  Since demons can't just waltz into this realm without a lot of fuss and bother, that would mean manifested demon spawn or their ilk were here."  His silvery eyes glinted as orange flames licked and consumed a large