Book of the dead: The rise of the Necromancer

The skull ring

While eating breakfast, the three young wolves keep their eyes on Mason. They make sure to look for any sign, like if he mind-link or call someone. The young wolves don't have to wait too long. Mason excuse himself to go to the bathroom. Dora gets up and follows him, changing into a man. So she was also suspecting him? The three young wolves wonder what Dora is planning. Soon Dora return.

"Let's go before that bastard returns!" Dora says, and the four of them runs to the truck and take off. Leaving Mason to pay, they know it will give them more time to get away as the little restaurant owner will not let him leave until he pays. Luckily none of them told him about their plans for the next couple of days. All he knows is that they are going to drive to Provo in Utah. They decide to drive all day all the way to Yellowstone Park. They know they need to get their fast, get the next clue from the map, and move on the same night. He may suspect they are going to Yellowstone Park, as they just drove from a major landmark in the States, so he may figure out they will drive to the next major landmark. Since Provo in Utah is halfway to Yellowstone, it may be easy to figure out as well. 

"What happened in the bathroom, Dora?" Maisie asks. Dora takes out a ring from the pocket of her black dress. The ring has a skull on it.

"He is not Mason. I knew that since last night when I saw this ring on his finger," Dora says. She hands the ring to Rufus.

"What is this ring?" Rufus asks, showing it to Stew, who shows it to Maisie.

"It is powerful, and only one that is strong enough to wear it can put it on his or her finger. The rogue was not even twenty-five years old. He looked so old because he was not worthy of the ring. The ring also gives you the power to change into anyone you wish to change in. The only way he could become strong enough for the ring and become young again was to kill a strong Alpha. He was hoping you kids will form a pack and that Maisie will become the Alpha. So when you three did the ritual this morning, he saw his chance. He went into the bathroom. He called his girlfriend to tell her he will be back soon and he will be young again. Without the ring, he will slowly die. He has about two days to catch up with us and kill Maisie. He also needs to take the ring back. He could not mind-link his girlfriend as he became a rogue and ran away from his pack. He challenged his brother the Alpha to become the pack leader, but he lost, and he stole the ring from Dante, who was too afraid to put it on because he knew he was not strong enough for the ring. If you are not stronger than the ring, it will overpower you and tap the life out of you. I know all this because I tapped into his mind last night as he was past out. I did not sleep with the young wolf, so do not worry. He knows about my history because he is the brother of Dante. He was testing your strength when he made you fight the rogues that were "attacking" him. He was scared of you, Maisie knowing he can not beat you in a one on one fight as you were strong. The ring only required him to kill a strong Alpha. So he could poison you or kill you in any way. It does not need to be a duel. His brother is not strong enough to kill, so that would not have saved his life. You, on the other hand, Maisie is strong enough. Put on the ring. The ring is calling for you as its master," Dora says.

"Okay, I have a lot of questions first," Maisie says, looking at the ring. She does not trust the ring. But it does feel like it is calling to her. 

"Ask away," Dora says.

"How did you know about our ritual this morning?" Maisie asks.

"I could feel your bond growing, and I am not even a wolf, so 'Mason' should have felt it more than I did, he is a wolf after all, and he can feel an Alpha's presence," Dora says

"Shoot, we did not think of that," Stew says. It is true that if you are a rogue or a wolf from another pack, if an Alpha is present, you will feel that Alpha's presence.

"So how do I know the ring will accept me and not reject me?" Maisie asks.

"The ring will talk to you. It will call you. It was made in 1872 by the magic council to give them power over a great evil until the Champion could kill it, or that is how the legend goes," Dora says.

"So if the ring rejects me?" Maisie asks, scared of the answer.

"You will grow older every day, and you will not be able to take it off. You will have to kill a powerful Alpha or any other powerful creature to gain control of the ring, but you will have to do it every year, or the ring will consume you, as it demands power. If you are strong enough and powerful enough, it will not be able to overpower you," Dora says. Maisie feels the ring calling her again.

"So it only calls strong wolves?" Maisie asks.

"No, it tries weak wolves to put it on first as it hungers for power," Dora says. Maisie can see Stew staring at the ring. He is about to slip in on his finger, and she knows she can not let him do it! She breaks hard and at the same time grabs the ring from Stew. She slips it on her finger. The ring feels like it is disappointed for a second, but then it shrinks to the size of her finger. Stew looks at her as he just woke up from a daze.

"Well, I put it on, so let's see if I have to kill a powerful creature every year or if it accepts me," Maisie says, knowing she just saved her friend from that fate.

"It shrank. It will not shirk unless it knows it is overpowered," Dora says.

"What the f**k does that mean?" Maisie asks.

"You overpowered it! It is submitting to you, Maisie!" Dora shouts.

"Really?" Maisie asks.

"Yeah, look at yourself in the mirror," Stew says. Maisie looks in the mirror. She is shocked a what she sees. Her hair skin is smooth and shining. All the scars have disappeared. She looks renewed and feels good.

"Wow, so when it rejects you is sucks the life out of you, but when it accepts you, it gives you new life?" Maisie asks.

"Clever girl!" Dora says. She is relieved. She did not know if the ring would accept Maisie or not.

Maisie feels alive and awake, so she drives all the way to Yellowstone. She is not afraid of 'Mason' anymore. She and the rest of the party decide to wait for this 'Mason' guy and get more answers out of him. Dora is not going anywhere tonight. She wants to stay with her children. She opens a bottle of vodka to celebrate that the bloody ring did not consume Maisie. She took a big chance there. She knew Maisie was strong as hell, but she did not know the young she-wolf was that strong.

They arrive at Saltlake city and decides to book into a hotel there. It is already late. Maisie is not tired yet and decides to run with her wolf outside the city borders. She is faster and stronger than ever. She feels the power of the ring penetrating her wolf. Her wolf howl in pleasure as she feels the power surge through her body. Maisie feels the wolf before she sees him. She is ready for him. He stinks of rotten flesh. She waits for him. As he walks into the clearing where she is waiting for him, he growls. Maisie sees his eyes on her front paw. The ring is fitting her even in wolf form. He looks surprised. He attacks Maisie, but she is ready for him. She wanted to get him alone and protect her friends. She wanted him to come after her alone. That is why she came out running by herself. He is no match for Maisie as he is already dying. Maisie sidesteps his attack, and he lands on his feet behind her. She smirks. It looks funny on her powerful wolf's face. It angers the dying wolf, and he uses his last strength to attack her again. Maisie shows him some mercy as she grabs him by the throat and bite into him, and kills him instantly. She knew he was no match for her. She also knew she could not put her friends in danger. This wolf was desperate, and he wanted his life and the ring. He would have gone into the city in wolf form, and that could have exposed them all.

Maisie knows there can be vampires and hunters in a big city like Saltlake City. She had to get him away from there. She had to face him alone. She leaves his rotten corpse there and starts running back to the city. She changes back to human form and gets dressed in her clothes, where she left it at the border of the city lines. The ring has sharpened Maisie's senses. As she walks to the city, she hears them coming from far away. She knows they are fast creatures but weak to a werewolf's bite. The bite of a werewolf kills them. They normally attack in packs of not less than ten when attacking a lone wolf.

Somehow Maisie does not feel scared at all. She knows what is coming at her. They must have smelled the blood of the wolf she just killed. She stays in her human form and waits for the attack. The first one shows his face, and he stinks like the corpse he is. She grins at him. She knows there should be about ten of them.

"Look a bloody mud," The one says that is standing in front of her.

"Look, a rotten corpse," Maisie says, looking at the vampire in front of her.

"You think you are funny b***h?" The vampire asks her. He knows a lone wolf doesn't stand a chance against ten vampires unless Markus Blackwell or a strong Alpha like Dante, but a mere she-wolf does not stand a chance against them. Before he knows what is happening, she has bitten him in his neck. She is fast.

"Bloody b***h bit me, get her! I need her blood to heal!" He shouts at his mates. They all storm Maisie at the same time, but she is ready for them. She throughs all of them of her as they pile up on her. Then she let out a mighty growl. The vampires are not so brave anymore. She is powerful. She is an Alpha. They try to attack again, but she grabs one of them by the neck and bites into him. She kicks another, and he gets impaled into a broken tree branch.

"Three down seven to go. Come on, you cowardly stinking corpses," Maisie shouts out. The rest of the vampires is getting scared, and they want to run, but Maisie is fast and grabs two of them before they can even think of moving. She bites both of them and, at the same time, rips the heart out of a third vampire.

"Six down, four to go," She taunts them, and they start running, knowing no normal werewolf can catch them. Maisie gets rid of her clothes and shifts into wolf form. Giving them some time to run away. Her wolf is as fast as the wind.  Maisie catches them from behind and jumps all four of them, running in a group. She loses control of her wolf for a second, and her wolf rips them apart limp by limp. After killing the vampires, she walks back to he clothes. She is surprised at her speed and strength. She walks back to the hotel and takes a shower. She is tired enough to sleep now. The other three has fallen asleep, waiting for Maisie to return. She looks at them, and she knows this is her family, and she will do anything to protect them. She is strong now but not strong enough to take on an entire pack of a hundred rogues. They need the treasure and a few more wolves to help her fight her uncle and his rogue army.