As Samuel shifted his focus to the injured Tunde, Fortune saw his final, desperate chance. He dissolved into a thin wisp of shadow, flowing down the side of the clock tower toward the only other person involved in this fight: Esther.
Esther, hidden in the shadows, had been agonizingly tracking the fight through the comms device. When the battle ended, she started moving toward the clock tower base.
Suddenly, the air around her dropped twenty degrees, and the familiar scent of mint and cold stone hit her.
"The wolf has his freedom, Keeper," Fortune's voice whispered from behind her, now weak, but still laced with malice. "But your greatest weakness is your physical frailty."
Esther whirled around. Fortune materialized, looking ruined, his face pale and contorted, his beautiful silk clothes torn and dusty. He was barely holding himself together, but his eyes were focused entirely on her.
"The Golden Leaf is stable, Fortune," Esther countered, standing her ground. "I am not the source anymore. Attacking me is pointless."
"Oh, but it is not the source I need," Fortune rasped, taking a slow, painful step toward her. "It is the key. That silver pendant on your wrist, wolf." He pointed to Samuel, still massive and imposing on the tower, unable to hear or see the confrontation below.
"Your wolf is a controlled beast, Keeper. But what happens if the source of his control—his anchor—is threatened? I won't kill you, Esther. I will simply take you. And I will make him watch as I plunge this into the Golden Leaf Casket."
Fortune produced a slender, exquisitely sharp piece of obsidian—a vampire weapon infused with a dark, nullifying shadow energy.
Esther knew what he meant. Samuel had chosen to retain his identity while in his wolf form. But if his deepest, most primal protective instincts were triggered by her immediate capture, the raw rage could overwhelm the anchor. Samuel would lose control and become the savage beast—a monster that would destroy the city in its rampage.
Fortune was going for the ultimate leverage: forcing Samuel's self-destruction through love.
Just as Fortune lunged, a sudden, heavy blow struck him from the side.
"Leave the Keeper alone, Shadow!"
Ngozi, battered and wearing torn clothes, stumbled forward. She had tracked Fortune, not to help him, but to stop him.
"You promised me power, Master!" Ngozi cried, clutching her bruised arm. "You promised me a queen's position! You promised me stability! All you offer is chaos and death! I choose the Balance!"
It was a desperate, final betrayal.
Fortune snarled, his attention divided. He shoved Ngozi aside with a contemptuous blast of shadow energy, sending her flying into a wall.
But the distraction was enough. Esther sprinted toward the clock tower base, yelling into the comms device: "Samuel! Down! Now!"