Chapter Six- Revenge
Mozenrath watched Aladdin struggle to subdue his beloved without causing injury to either of them. Having control over Jasmine was a great feeling and he could hardly wait to hear Aladdin's scream of pain as Jasmine ended his life. He was so preoccupied with the struggle, that he failed to notice Abu. The clever ex-thief quietly and smoothly slid the gauntlet from Mozenrath's bony hand and padded back to Carpet with his prize.
The first hint that something was wrong was that his right hand felt cold. He glanced down and saw his exposed bones. "My gauntlet!" he exclaimed, catching the werewolf's attention. He looked up and saw a look in those red eyes that he didn't like. A look of desired revenge.
Teeth bared, Jasmine advanced. She wanted to carry out her revenge, but a part of her wanted to finish the order Mozenrath gave her. She ignored that part. Her desire for revenge was stronger.
Mozenrath backpedaled, not even bothering to use the cross to order her to halt. The sorcerer backed up into a patch of moonlight. The moon was in position and Jasmine leaped toward her master. She sailed gracefully through the air. Her eyes were locked on her target. She could almost taste his flesh. Her revenge was finally here! She landed smoothly in front of her target. Her teeth found their target and she bit down on his left hand as hard as she could. The scream of pain that reached her ears was the sweetest sound she ever heard in her life.
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Aladdin knew Abu had succeeded when he heard Mozenrath's exclamation. That utterage caught Jasmine's attention as well. She wheeled on the sorcerer, teeth bared. Aladdin stared at her, bemused. Why did she stop attacking him? Was she breaking Mozenrath's control on her own? For the moment, maybe. But, it wasn't going to last forever. He needed to get that cross.
He got to his feet just as Jasmine leaped toward the sorcerer. He gasped as her teeth sank into his enemy's hand. Mozenrath let out a scream of pain. "Jasmine!" Aladdin cried. "What are you doing?"
Jasmine released the hand and looked at her boyfriend as Mozenrath backed away. "I'm taking my revenge. Now that cross will have to come off."
"You had this planned, didn't you?"
"For about two weeks."
"I don't get it, though. You didn't have to bite him."
"Maybe not. I plan on killing him however."
"No! I won't let you be a murderer."
"He deserves to die, Aladdin!"
"Jasmine, I think being a werewolf is affecting your reasoning. I mean, Genie could zap up anti-magic something to restrain him."
"My judgment is fine. Besides, Father said I could kill him."
Aladdin sighed. "I can't go against your father's wishes." Now he saw why Jasmine bit Mozenrath. To insure a successful kill, the cross needed to be removed and since werewolves were allergic to silver, she bit him. Smiling at his beloved, he nodded his understanding.
Mozenrath gripped his hand, breathing heavily. The princess broke her promise to him. She turned on him and had just cursed him. Glaring at Jasmine, he snarled, "You'll pay for that princess."
"You're the one who'll pay! The moon is up and you know what that means."
"I'll-I'll kill-" The wizard cut off when he felt pain flood his body. Especially his right hand. He stared as his arm in shock. The muscles, tissues, and flesh were being restored. The werewolf virus had rejuvenated it. Then, his hand became a paw. His shock gave way to pain and anger. He fell to his knees as dark fur began to spread all over his body. A howl signaled the transformation's end. Glowing yellow eyes bore into Jasmine's red ones.
Mozenrath gasped suddenly and then moaned. He sat down and promptly started scratching at the chain that was starting to burn the fur off his neck. He started to whimper in pain, scratching furiously at the chain. There was a clink as the necklace hit the palace floor.
A look of relief crossed Mozenrath's face before his eyes lit up again. He growled as he prowled to Jasmine's left. The princess responded by moving right. They circled one another, eyes glowing and growling at each other.
"You tricked me!" Mozenrath exclaimed. "All this time, you've been deceiving me!"
"Not all the time. Your control did work. Now, it's time for you to die."
"You don't have the guts, princess."
"A month ago that would have been true. Now, I do have the guts for it." With that, Jasmine leaped at Mozenrath who met the charge, smugness on his face. The two went down in a tangle of fur and limbs. Claws and teeth bared, Jasmine attempted to rip her former master apart. Mozenrath dodged the attacks that were aimed to kill him. He was pleased at his agility. The strength and power contained in this form amazed him. Maybe he should have turned himself into a werewolf in the first place.
Unfortunately for him, the princess had a month of experience and knew how to move. Facing Mozenrath, her eyes scanned left and right. She faked a left and tackled from the right. Her tackle had enough force to turn him onto his back...right on the discarded cross.
Mozenrath howled in pain as the cross bit into his shoulder. Somehow, he brought his hindquarters up and pushed the princess off. He rolled to his feet and Genie swiped the cross out of harm's way.
The two werewolves circled once again. Jasmine was trying to find a hole in Mozenrath's defenses. The latter was trying to find a way to escape with his life.
"That is enough!" the voice of the Sultan commanded. His voice snapped Jasmine's attention to him. Abu must have freed him and the others.
Jasmine's distracted attention gave Mozenrath an opening to tackle her. She landed on her side as Mozenrath scratched at her fur and skin. Jasmine reacted by racking her claws across his cheek. He howled again as he put distance between him and her in order to recover. Shaking his head, he rubbed his foreleg over his cheek before advancing once more. He stopped in his tracks when Rajah stepped in front of Jasmine.
"Damage control," Genie announced. He zapped Mozenrath into anti-werewolf strength chains as Aladdin ran over to his girlfriend.
"Jasmine, are you all right?" he asked as the princess werewolf got to her feet. There was dried blood on her fur and the scratches had already healed.
"I'm fine, Aladdin," she replied as Genie zapped away the blood. She padded up to the bound sorcerer, teeth bared viciously. "Now to end this."
"Whoa, Jas. First we dispose of this," Genie said, holding up the cross. "Just to make sure he doesn't find a way to use it again." He zapped up a brazier with a crackling fire.
"Here, Al. You do the honors." He tossed it to Aladdin, who held it above the fire.
"No! Don't!" Mozenrath cried. But, it was too late as the cross landed in the fire, melting it into a liquid mess. The enchanted cross was no more.
"Okay, Jas. Go for it." A growl behind Genie made him realize that something wasn't right. "Jas?" he asked as he and the others turned to look at her.
The princess' eyes were closed and she was growling as if she were fighting an internal struggle. Aladdin approached her, concerned. "Jasmine? Are you okay?"
Jasmine opened her eyes to show them glowing more brightly than ever before. Her tail completely bushed out as she growled viciously at him. Aladdin backed up in alarm. Jasmine turned and fled the palace, howling all the while.
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Jasmine watched with pleasure as the cross was destroyed. However, the cross was driven from her mind as the deep primal urge from the first night a month ago was reawakened. She closed her eyes as she fought this urge while trying to understand it at the same time. The urge, however, soon overpowered her mind just as Aladdin spoke to her. She didn't understand his words, but she knew she smelled a human: her enemy. All humans were her enemy; she the wolf. She opened her eyes and growled a fierce warning at the human in front of her. The human backed up, which was what she wanted. She smelled other humans and knew she could not hold them all off. She saw a male werewolf, chained up. The humans did that and would do the same to her unless she escaped now. Turning to the door, she ran, howling as she went.
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There was stunned silence as Aladdin stared at the still open doors. "Wha-what just happened?"
"You fools!" Mozenrath exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. "Destroying the cross unleashed the primal instincts."
"You better explain that."
"Very well. The use of the cross was to allow me to hold her will. The spell would have turned anyone under its power into a wild werewolf. The cross sealed those instincts. So when the cross was destroyed, those instincts were reawakened within her."
"Are you saying she's wild now?"
"Yes. She's viewing humans as enemies to kill and other werewolves as strangers to avoid. She'll kill any of you if you get too close to her, seeing as she probably thinks she's a wolf. She's probably looking for a territory to claim as we speak."
"We can't leave her out there," Aladdin declared.
"Weren't you listening? There's nothing you can do!"
Genie zapped a muzzle on Mozenrath's mouth as the Sultan ordered him to be taken to the dungeons. This left everyone to consider their options.
Meanwhile in the desert, a black wolf with red eyes howled a warning to keep others out of her newly claimed territory.