by LeAnn Mason
I was too focused on my own route to look for Wolfie, to see how she’d handle such a descent. If she even did. The tree seemed to almost help me in my coast to the grass, holds appearing in just the right place for my hand or foot and branches almost bending to keep the long cloak from getting hung up on the sharp protrusions.
Once on the ground, I smiled, looking back up into the tree's tangle of branches and bright leaves. Laying a palm against the rough bark, I did what felt right at that moment. “Thank you,” I murmured before pulling away. As I turned toward where I could see the tops of the trees that made up the nearest line of the forest, I would have sworn that a breeze ruffled the emerald leaves in such a way that allowed the tree to return the sentiment.
I shook my head to clear it of the crazy notion and looked around. No one appeared immediately around the grounds who would object or even notice the flight of a scarlet-clad girl across the lawn. Perfect.
CHAPTER 10
I hated to make my way through the “downtown” area, the same entrance point from last night with… Jason, but it guaranteed to get me where I wanted to go. My cape was like a beacon, turning people’s heads as I passed. I kept my face shrouded but my head up as my heart rate increased with the number of eyes on me. Wolfie trotted alongside me, deft in her agility, weaving between what people we encountered without hesitation.
It was still startling to think that this fierce creature was somehow now a part of me. Crazier still that no one knew she was there. No one could see her. Though, it seemed that maybe Jason could… sense her? I had no idea, but I remembered him saying I smelled like a wolf.
A few harrowing minutes later, we were free of the hustle and were running headlong into the line of trees that ringed this magic-laden place. Wolfie bolted ahead of me, much happier to be out in the woods among the trees, the fresh air, and scurrying creatures that darted across the leaf-strewn ground. When a red squirrel fled from the base of a tree to our right, darting directly into the path of the giant canine, Wolfie took chase. I’d never seen a wolf act more like a dog, the sight pulling an amused laugh from my chest.
I was weirdly fascinated to realize that my own heart rate picked up in response to her chase. I could smell the small mammal’s fur, the woody pecans it had recently hoarded still a lingering aroma on its pelt. My attention bounced all over the place. The new sensations pricked my skin, making me feel almost itchy.
I didn't know where I was going and didn't have a destination in mind, so we just meandered, soaking in the ambience of nature. Several times, the birdsong ceased when we moved along a game trail we'd found. This one, like the last, would most likely take us to the nearest water source; probably the creek I'd bathed in the day before.
Another minute of walking dumped us out into a beautiful meadow like those you'd expect to find in a fairy tale. There were flowers of almost every shade of every color mingling happily among tall, waving grasses. The blooms were all different shapes and sizes, the sight, the smell, pulling me forward without coherent thought.
I'd always been a sucker for flowers, but since my grandmother's death, I'd shied away from picking any. They had been my distraction, the reason I'd lost sight of Grams. The pretty bouquet that I'd just had to pick for her had given the wolves the opening they'd needed to kill her.
I knew logically that my presence at her side would have changed nothing, but the scars were there, and they ran deep.
None of that seemed to matter as my feet plowed onward, bringing me within the ring of lush foliage. There were yellow trumpet daffodils, purple lion-headed dahlias, white daisies with bright sun-like centers, pink tulips, and red poppies among countless others I didn't know. This was not a wildflower field, filled as it was with cultivated blooms, but it grew like one. Wild and in sync with its surroundings, the long stems waved in the breeze, rustling slightly as the greens brushed lightly against one another.
“Here is where we will have our talk, Wolfie.” I couldn't pull my eyes from the field. My fingers flitted over the various plant heads, feeling the velvety petals as I smoothed across the surface. Finally, I chose a spot where I felt I wouldn't crush too many pretties with my bum and settled to the ground.
This was my peace, for sure, and I closed my eyes to let my other senses take part in the beauty. Birds chirped and sang from high above in the trees at the edge of the clearing. The droning buzz of bees, as they gathered pollen for their honey, pulsed against my senses.
Wrapped in my cloak, I was able to lay as if I had a blanket, and the sun soaked in and warmed my bones. A peek from one squinted eye showed Wolfie sprawled out nearby, her body stretched flat among the flowers. She looked about as peaceful as I felt.
“So, Wolfie, do you think there's a better name to call you? One that's maybe not so generic? A little more befitting of your badass-ness?” One golden eye opened to pin me with a curious look. Maybe she didn't care what I called her. She was a wolf, after all. I mean, people called their dogs Fluffy and Pancho and such. Maybe Wolfie was a perfectly acceptable moniker.
“What do you think of Sadie?”
I swear the animal lifted a condescending eyebrow at me. “No? Okay… how about Lily?” I'd spotted some orange ones in the field. They were lovely. The wolf just blinked. “How am I supposed to know what you think?” I blurted in a huff. “Umm, what about Luna? No! Ebony.”
She perked an ear, thrusting her body into an upright lay like you see of most dogs, and panted at me. She almost looked to be… smiling. I knew it to be the way her lips curved as she sat there with her tongue lolling, but I took it as a sign. “Ebony?” The name caused her to cock her head to the side, a move that made me think she was trying it out. “Ebony.” This time the name drew a yawn from her, and I knew she agreed. She liked Ebony. It fit her well: dark and mysterious.
I sat up then, our talk feeling like the type that should be done in an upright position. “All right, Ebony, we need to figure some things out. Like, am I always going to see you? Where do you go when you're not… around?” Logically, I knew that Ebony wouldn't be able to tell me anything, but I didn't know who to ask. Plus, I really didn't want to be around anyone while I came to terms with my new—dual?—nature.
“Am I like Seth now? Am I to become some evil, twisted thing that seems to only care about myself and my power?” I bit my lip and threw my hands around my knees, hugging them to my chest. “Can you take over my body?”
Ebony cocked her head at me again. She didn't know, either. Before I'd come along and facilitated her death, she'd been just a normal wolf living her life in the woods, maybe she'd even had a family. The thought stopped me cold. I couldn't be responsible for ripping this animal from her family, binding her to me—a wolf-fearing Shaman—and forcing her to live a shadow-life by my side.
I ducked my head into the circle of my arms, resting my forehead against the tops of my knees as I tried to force my heart back into a normal, non-panicked rhythm. A moment later, I felt Ebony move closer, not physically, but more of a pressure on my senses. I peeked around my elbow to see the dark wolf nearly at my side. She scooted forward a little before resettling, her whiskey eyes clear and bright. I didn't sense any malice on her part, which I found odd. I'd be kicking and screaming if someone took away everything I knew, my very sense of self. Hell, I had done that when Seth took me.
She was a more forgiving animal than I was, it seemed. “Thank you for forgiving me,” I cooed, unfurling my arms to reach cautiously toward her.
Her eyes darted between my face and my hand as it continued to near her shoulder, but she didn't make a move to escape. I felt anxious the closer I got, my skin once again tingling like it warned me of something. I had to wonder which of us pushed the feeling. Probably both, a compound effort, but I pushed on.
Another few inches, and I hovered just above the coarse guard hairs that stood out on her shoulder. The fur looked both prickly and soft in the sunlight, coal-black hairs tipped in a burnished gold. She was gorgeous.
>
With a heavy swallow that threatened to choke me, I placed my hand onto her coat… and it passed right through. No resistance, no texture. No body. Ebony was good and truly only in my mind. I let my hand drop, an intense sadness creeping into my very center. I'd never be able to touch her. I wouldn't be able to physically reassure myself of her well-being or offer her a comforting hand, and it struck my heart.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered, letting a tear escape to roll down my cheek before I took a deep breath to center myself. “Let's get back to walking, shall we? I feel like I could run a marathon and still be anxious on the other side.”
I pulled myself to my feet, forcing myself to make them move out of the meadow. I enjoyed my solitude, the feeling of freedom that I'd never had before. I didn't want to go back to the scrutiny and uncertainty of the coven house in Grimm Hollow. Ebony and I might need to flee if what Gloria wanted from us was something we didn't want to give. I wasn't sure I wanted to live in a magical town, but I wasn't sure I belonged anywhere else, either.
Lost in my own thoughts once again, I had no concept of time or distance as I followed the game trail across the narrow creek. The gurgling and whooshing of the water became a steady soundtrack to my movements, lulling my senses to a much-needed calm.
Ebony jerked to a stop just as I plowed through what felt like a trash compactor. Denseness squeezed me uncomfortably as my momentum carried me forward while the force simultaneously pushed back against my body. Finally, an audible pop sounded in my ears, accompanied by the feeling of a bubble bursting against my skin, freeing me from the sensation.
I gasped in air like I tasted it for the first time, bending over to inhale like a failed track-star. Rustling from in front of me jerked my body upright. My skin prickled in warning, echoing Ebony's low warning growl that seemed to sound in my head.
Damn it! I didn't have any weapons on me, no way to defend myself against the shadow that pulled from a thick trunk ahead of me with a lingering sneer.
“There you are, Little Lupo."
CHAPTER 11
T he raspy timbre seemed to slither underneath my skin, burrowing deeper, leaving a trail of coldness in its wake. It was a sensation I had felt every time this specific Warlock had spoken to me growing up. A tall, albeit thin, figure emerged breaking from the shadows he’d been concealed within.
Altogether, Colin presented a very unassuming profile. Nothing stood out about the man. He was very nondescript, just kind of… blah. Plain blondish-brown hair, brown eyes, average height. But Colin was one of Seth’s most devoted followers and one of the most twisted.
My muscles bunched, and I slid my foot backward as nonchalantly as I could manage. Ebony’s hackles were raised as she continued her warning growl, standing her ground against the sadistic Warlock. As much as I hated to give this asshole my back, I feared my only course of action was to run… again.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Colin chided, having caught my attempt at retreat.
Screw stealth, I needed to move. I whipped into a turn, ready to run back toward what I assumed to be Grimm Hollow. Though, to be honest, I had no idea where I was or how exactly to get back.
My loose hair still arced from my momentum, as did my cloak, when I let loose a deafening scream from the pain lashing across my back. It felt like the fires of hell were descending upon me, one lash at a time, as Colin threw his inky black magic at me in whipping tendrils. I fell to my knees, landing heavily on the bare dirt of the forest floor, as another lash fell across my back, burning from shoulder to hip. The heavy cloak was thick enough that it lessened the impact minutely, possibly keeping the lashes from bringing blood, but I couldn’t be sure. I was too focused on the pain to worry about physical wounds.
“That’s it, Little Lupo. Scream for me,” Colin cooed excitedly at my back. I could feel him stepping closer. His nearness made my stomach churn. He loved my fear and pain even more than Griffin had. They’d been my chief tormentors, often making a game of my pain and misery. Of course, he would be the one who found me.
On hands and knees, I scrambled to crawl away, to get back to my feet, but found that even though I could move my body—my limbs—I couldn’t move from my spot. With a flick of his hand, Colin moved the cloak away from my back to run a bony finger slowly along my spine. As his finger dragged from my neck to my lower back, I lost functionality of my limbs, and I fell to my belly, my face smothered by the earthy dirt. The dusty particles clogged my airways as I tried to suck in air.
Please, don’t let me suffocate on the forest floor!
My breath came in heavier and heavier pants as I realized that not only could I not move but that Colin had no intention of simply taking me back to Seth.
“I’m going to have a little fun before I take you back to the Master, Pocahontas. I’ve missed you, and I owe you for Griffin.” His breath hot on my neck, too heavy for my liking, I could picture the excited gleam in his dull eyes. A light that matched Griffin’s.
“How is Griff?” I ground out viciously, smiling at his sharp intake of breath. “Not good, I take it? Too bad.” I huffed out a laugh into the dirt, the burst sending a puff of detritus into the air for me to inhale and immediately choke on.
“Let’s see if you’re laughing by the time I’m done with you, little Red,” Colin sneered, flipping me onto my back. I hit the dirt with a thud, the air pushing from my lungs as the Warlock straddled my torso with a leg on each side. My hands were yanked above my head and bound together with invisible bindings. I still couldn’t move my legs or back, unable to buck or fight this invasion.
That was the scariest thing: not being able to do a damn thing to stop the torment, the violation.
Ebony was a hair's breadth from Colin’s grinning mug, her lips pulled back to bare her teeth, snapping and growling. Spittle flew in all directions as she tried her damnedest to put holes in our aggressor, but her visage did no physical damage. She had no impact on his body. Her fear and anger were affecting me, though. I could feel my skin tightening, threatening to split again, an intense itch crawling beneath the surface.
Colin gripped my chin solidly with deceptively strong fingers, forcing my face toward where he leered above me. “Look at me, Little Lupo.” Like I would turn my eyes away from him. He should know me better than that. I may have tried to run initially, but I wouldn’t cower when caught. His cruel brown eyes were glued to my mouth as he brought a finger to trace my lips. The moment he touched me, that slithering sensation burrowed deep again. The black-red of his aura—a stretching, grasping entity looking to reach out and touch me—caused me to recoil on instinct.
When he tried to slip a finger between my lips, I opened my mouth just a little. The light in his eyes sparked again, his breath hitching at what he perceived as compliance. The moment the tip touched my tongue, I clamped my teeth shut, clenching my jaw as tightly as I could. I reveled in the burst of blood across my tongue as my teeth sank through skin to meet bone.
Those previously bright eyes sparked with a fury I’d not evoked before as he reared back with a roar. Pain exploded across my cheek as I was hit with a two-ton brick—or at least that’s what it felt like—and I released Colin’s finger on my own pain-filled gasp. At least it allowed me to spit out the vile blood pooling in my mouth that threatened to choke me.
“You’re going to pay for that.” Another strike, this one like the lash of a whip, landed across my other cheek. The spell-weapon’s strike caused my skin to split, my blood joining my assailant’s to fall upon the dirt. I couldn’t move, but the agitation under my skin kept growing, keeping pace with Ebony’s fury. I had no idea what the outcome would be, especially if I couldn’t move.
“I love your new eyes. Did I mention that?” Colin taunted with a dark chuckle as he licked his lips, apparently undeterred by his injured digit. Who knew, maybe that added to his jollies. “They’re glowing, did you know that? Can you feel her?” He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and savoring… something. “You smell so good.”
“I wouldn’t try to shift right now, little wolf. With your body in this position, you will tear yourself apart. Now, while I’m perfectly happy watching you try, I assume you wouldn’t like that outcome.” He gave me a false look of pity before malice overtook his features, curling his thin lips in a sinister smile. “The Master doesn’t really need his heir, anyway. He’s already lost one. He can focus on the rest of us if he’s not worried about his children.”
I screamed out a pain-filled laugh. The writhing burn reached unbearable proportions the longer I was incapacitated. “Is that what this is about?” I lifted my head to meet his narrowed eyes. “You’re jealous? Like a jilted lover? That’s priceless.” I huffed a laugh as I let my head fall back to the earth, water leaking from the corners of my eyes—the only visible sign I’d give this bastard of my pain—as I breathed through the lava igniting my veins.
Colin didn’t enjoy my jab, and he made sure I knew it as another lash hit me, this time across my chest. The added pain pulled a cry from my lungs as Ebony continued her ineffectual attack on our aggressor.
“Enough! Seth can deal with you when we return to the coven, and then we will have the rest of our lives together… I’ll be sure to make it pleasant for you,” he taunted. I knew that “pleasant” meant anything but.
I’d rather die than go back there.
I decided that if the burning meant Ebony would have my body, then I would let her. Maybe she could overcome the immobilization spell and tear Colin to pieces. If she—we—couldn’t, then death was the best option. At least our torment would be over, and she could sever herself from me. Granted, we’d both be truly dead, but I had to believe that was better than a life back with Seth and the coven.