by Haley Weir
Mary Ann looked down at her chest in shock and fell to her knees. The rifle slid across the frozen ground. Sam ran to her side as the Skadegamutc disappeared. She gasped in between rough coughs that caused blood to slither out of the corner of her mouth. Mary Ann grabbed his hand and squeezed as hard as she could, hanging on to him as her breaths got shallower. "I...I'm sorry."
"Ssshh, don't talk. You ain't got to be sorry about nothin'," he protested.
"Y-ou're...alone...now."
Sam broke inside. Tears blurred his vision and his chest burned as if he had been the one impaled. "No. No, that ain't true. I'll fix this...you can't leave me, Mary. You're my best friend and my mate." He brushed away the tears that fell from her eyes and lifted her into his arms, careful not to jostle the icicle. It was melting quickly, but the thing killing her was the only thing saving her life.
Sam raced towards their makeshift camp and set her on the bedroll. He wrapped her in blankets and then ripped through the rest of the thorny bushes with his bare hands. Mary Ann was right as always. Something dangerous had been trying to keep them off the mountain. But he would climb for Mary Ann even if it killed him. Sam hurried back to her and lifted her into his arms once more. "You gotta stay awake, sweetheart. Please, Mary."
He stumbled a bit, but the way ahead was clear. Sam was hit in the face by a gust of wind that caused snow to flutter all around. He pushed against it and trekked up the harsh, jagged path. One false step and they would tumble over the edge. His boots crunched and ground against packed snow and rocks until he reached a flat shelf at the top of the mountain. Itsá and Gabriel stood back to back with their arms raised above their heads, chanting.
"Help me!" he croaked. His voice was rough from the thin, frigid air and crying. "Itsá! Please help her!"
His voice finally snapped them out of their trance. Itsá ran over to help Mary Ann. Sam set her down and stepped back as the blankets were opened and the poncho was lifted. Itsá waved his brother over. Gabriel's eyes widened, and he blocked Sam's view. A sickening slurping sound was followed by a blood-chilling scream of pure agony. Sam lunged, but an unseen force held him at bay.
Colors swirled in the serene sky as the wind died down. Ripples of magic floated like sheer ribbons. Sam felt himself get lifted off the ground. He floated beside the magic, weightless as the ghostly faces of people he didn't recognize transformed into animal spirits.
The ancestors.
Chapter Sixteen
Iinuet Mountain
The beautiful spectrum of colors in the sky churned and writhed like waves upon the ocean. A million stars twinkled, lulling her towards the bright light that flashed behind her eyes. But Itsá leaned over her. Mary Ann saw his lips moving, but she heard nothing. Panic settled in his eyes, and Gabriel pushed him aside.
She had only met him recently, but Mary Ann liked Gabriel. He had a beautiful spirit and he always knew how to make folks laugh even in dark times. Though Itsá was his brother, Gabriel had light hair and an icy gaze where Itsá was all the warm hues of brown typical of their people. Mary Ann understood why Gabriel had resented his brother for years. Itsá had abandoned Gabriel and their tribe to look after Boone and the others; he had chosen the cursed wolves over his family. There was a time when she resented Leroy for leaving her alone with her drunken father and her ill mother to help strangers get across the borders.
But she had faith that Gabriel would work things out with Itsá. However, she didn’t think Sam and Boone would ever be the way they were as kids. Their love was strained and fragile, barely hanging on by a thread. Mary Ann wanted what was best for Sam, she always had, but she felt herself slipping away into that cold place. Out the corner of her eye, she saw the Skadegamutc. “Ssssuffer,” it breathed. “I feed from your paain.”
Mary Ann turned her head and looked into Gabriel’s eyes as he fought to save her life. She poured her strength into helping the spell work. Dying meant leaving Sam and the others behind to fight that wicked creature alone. Dying meant never seeing her baby. Dying meant rotting as a cold corpse instead of being with the man she loved. Mary Ann fought with everything she had, searching inside for the tendril of Gabriel’s magic.
His words became clearer. “There we go! Come on, Mary. You got this!”
Itsá joined his brother. Their combined power made it easier for Mary to push through the pain. She squeezed their hands and watched as a glow encompassed her body, wrapping her in a warm cocoon of light until the wound in her chest healed. The pain began to fade, and Mary Ann prayed that her baby was all right. She twitched and trembled. Each aching nerve in her body was on fire, but she held on. A flash of darkness and Mary Ann was hurled across a scorched glade…
The sky was black and lifeless. Petrified trees of white bark and bare limbs circled the field. Patches of dead grass and shriveled flowers cluttered the ground. Mary Ann walked on bare feet towards the center of the field. Before her stood the Wendigo Spirit and the Skadegamutc. Their mouths opened, and black blood spilled from their lips. A man stepped out of the pool of darkness. Sam. Like them, he had taken the form of a beast, half-wolf and half-man with sightless eyes. Mary Ann reached for him, trying to call out to her beloved, but Itsá’s voice broke through…
“Mary Ann!”
She shot up off the ground and sucked down painful breaths. Her hands trembled as she clutched her chest. “Sam...where’s Sam?” Mary Ann demanded. A strange film covered her eyes, and she fought through the lingering images of her vision. Gabriel and Itsá helped her up and walked her over to a large, flat stone that served as an altar of some sort. She blinked through the haze in her mind and saw Sam floating in the air amidst the ancestors.
“He is beginning the trials.”
Mary Ann nodded, thankful that he was all right. “You saved my life...is the baby…?”
“Your child is well,” Itsá responded. “For a moment, I feared the worst, but she has pulled through just as you have. She is strong.”
“She?”
The shaman smiled and patted her on the shoulder before walking over to Sam. Gabriel sat beside her and handed over his water canteen. “You are very brave, Mary. Not many women carrying a child would have risked this journey. You must really love him.”
“I do. There has only ever been Sam for me,” she replied. “I wish it were the same for him.”
“He loves you, Mary. I can see it in his eyes; he’s just carrying a world of guilt on his shoulders. Let him do this, and he’ll see how foolish he’s been all along.” Gabriel put his arm around Mary Ann’s shoulders. “I only hope Beth can see how I feel about her.”
“Is it wise to court Beth, Gabriel? You know—”
“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed. “I know she’s Jesse’s mate, but...I feel like there’s a connection between us that I never expected. I want to be someone she can rely on. Even if it never lasts with her and me, I want to be a fond memory.”
“You deserve better.”
“I know, but I don’t want better.” Gabriel scowled and took the canteen back when she was finished drinking. “How did Sam know to come here in the first place? In all the years they’ve been alive, not one of them has tried to climb the mountain. It is not safe for them. Spirits both light and dark roam here freely; they would have instinctively known not to come here.”
“He said Itsá told him what to do when he got to the top of the mountain, but he never said who told him to come here. He just said it wasn’t Itsá. Could this be a trap?”
Gabriel snorted. “Of course it is.”
Mary Ann looked over to where Sam still hovered above the ground. His eyes opened. One eye was the crimson orb she had grown to adore; the other was as pale as the pelt of his wolf. He seemed to grapple with something internally before dropping to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Sam roared, and Mary Ann watched the silhouette of a wolf sever itself from his body. The spirit of the wolf stared him right in the face.
~*~
Sam tried to breath
e through the nausea that overcame him. He felt every bit of his soul ripping from his body. The emptiness inside was cloying, like an itch beneath his skin he could not scratch. Even so, Sam bared his teeth to the wolf and snarled. The wolf didn’t back down; it lowered its body to the ground with its hackles raised. He rose above it, taking on the dominant stance, knowing the wolf would see it as a challenge. Sam was as much a part of the wolf spirit as it was a part of him. Unlike Boone, he never shied away from the animal inside.
Even standing at his full height, the large wolf reached his hip. If it stood on its hind legs, it could no doubt eclipse his frame entirely. Sam took a step forward, and those powerful jaws snapped. It felt strange not to have the ability to reach inside of himself and summon his wolf to fight. Sam had to use the part of him that he despised. He had to be the violent man who had once crossed the line where good folks became bad. The outlaw. The demon.
Sam tossed aside his hat and his long hair fell around his shoulders. He kicked off his boots and breathed in the cold mountain air, feeling the frost-covered stone beneath his feet. "It's time to prove once and for all which one of us is in control." His muscles coiled and he let the wolf clamp its teeth around his arm. Sam rolled it to the ground and pinned the wolf beneath him, taking the dominant position once again. Blood trickled down his sleeve.
The wolf released him and bucked Sam off his back. Sam tore his shirt off and wrapped it around the bite on his arm. He kept his gaze trained on the wolf until he heard Mary Ann shout. His concentration was torn, allowing the wolf to swipe him with its claws. Sam dove to the side and pressed his hand to the wound on his abdomen. It wasn’t deep enough to kill, but it hurt something fierce. His gaze slid to Mary Ann once more.
Dark shadows lingered all around, but a barrier of ethereal magic stood between them. Sam threw himself at the barrier and flinched back, feeling the emptiness within his body spread uncomfortably. He could not leave the circle without the spirit of the wolf inside of him. For the first time in his life...Sam Cassady feared death. He feared dying and leaving Mary Ann alone in this world. He feared for his unborn child…
Sam turned to face the wolf once more as it curled its lip into a snarl. It howled towards the sky as if taunting him. He charged just as the wolf did, crashing into the spectral beast. Sam absorbed the spirit into his body and wrestled it down. “Obey me,” he growled, feeling the biting and clawing of the wolf. “I am not your host. I am not your pawn. I am your alpha.” Sam expelled the spirit once more. It lay on his side, whimpering.
He stood over the wolf and dropped to his knees beside it. Wolves didn’t show mercy to their prey. Wolves didn’t choose to lay down and die instead of fight. Sam reared his arm back before shoving his fist through the wolf’s chest. He unclenched his fingers and felt the spirit join with him once more as the wolf faded. The power returned to him, filling him with the unsettling heat in his soul that he knew was the wolf.
Sam ran for the barrier and broke through. The colors returned to the sky and he tore through the dark spirits that fought against his mate. Mary Ann flashed a smile at him. Sam felt as if he could finally breathe. The dark spirits surrounded her, but Mary Ann stood strong. She fought with a viciousness that echoed within his heart. She was perfect. She was...
Mine. Sam’s mind howled the word like it was a prayer to the gods.
He stood in front of her and released a battle cry that shook the mountain.
The spirits retreated into the darkness, bowing before his might. Sam felt Mary Ann’s hand on his arm and closed his eyes. She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him. “Sam, someone needs to talk to you,” Mary Ann whispered into his ear. “Turn around.”
He shook his head and kissed her neck. “Just one more second. I missed you, sweetheart.”
She chuckled and spun him around, forcing him to look at the center of the flat. Savannah...Savannah stood there with a little girl in her arms. It was his Malia. Mary Ann took his hand and led him over to his family. Sam began to shake all over as the emotions he had concealed within himself surged towards the surface, holding him captive in a maelstrom of guilt and sadness. “You...look the same as I remember.”
"You’ve got a little more gray in your hair, darling,” Savannah said softly.
Sam chuckled, but he could not take his eyes off of Malia. “So beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” Savannah smiled, but there were shadows in her lovely gaze.
He took a step forward. “What is it?”
“You have to let us go, Sam. We love you, and we miss you, but we will never be at peace so long as you hold on to us,” Savannah said desperately. “You deserve to be happy, Sam. And I think the answer to that happiness is standin’ right next to you. Let us move on…”
Sam felt torn between his past and the present. He wanted to be with his family, but he loved Mary Ann. Loving her while holding on to Savannah and Malia wasn’t fair to either of them. Sam took a deep breath and released Mary Ann’s hand. He reached for his family, and his hand passed right through. The prickle of energy against him felt hollow. Sam looked back at Mary Ann. He knew her smile and her laughter. He knew her warmth, and he knew the passion within her heart. “I love her. You are my yesterday, Savannah. You were the perfect day, one I’ll never forget or regret. Mary Ann is my tomorrow…”
Savannah’s smile reached down inside of Sam and unfurled the knots in his gut. As he released his next breath, the relief nearly brought him to tears. A tiny light sparked in his heart, and Sam allowed himself to let go of his wife and little girl. Malia waved him goodbye with her chubby little hand wrapped around her mother’s finger.
And like the colorful spirits of the ancestors, they faded into the night sky.
Chapter Seventeen
Coven House
Colorado Territory
Ethan sat with his hands in his lap and his eyes closed. Sam Cassady had found peace upon the mountain just as he intended. Ruth, or the creature that wore Ruth’s face, sat beside him. She removed her hand from his shoulder and stood to leave. Ethan grabbed her wrist to stop her. Her eyes flickered over his appearance with a sneer. “You goin’ to tell me who exactly you are?” he snapped. The creature shrugged off his hold with more power than a girl Ruth’s age should have possessed. He shook his hand, staring down at it in wonder.
"You are no mere witch or spirit."
"No," she replied. "There are no words yet to describe what I am."
Ethan used his powers to peek behind her façade. The face of the beautiful young woman melted away, revealing a tattered soul of a native woman. He jumped back. "Mortal spirits are not meant to leave the mountain. You are an abomination." The Wendigo Spirit recoiled in disgust. "I would feast on your bones if you were not so tainted."
"You could not kill me even if you tried, ancient one. The ancestors have given me a purpose on this mortal plane. And you are merely a tool within my grasp." She moved to the other side of the room and stood before Kaia and her fellow witches. "My name is Aani."
"The shaman's sister?" Kaia shrieked. "You were the one that created the mirror, the one that showed those filthy mutts how to harm us!"
"You attacked the ranch without a direct order. You knew the risks when you went after Charlotte. All of you are a disappointment. And do not think for one second that I am on your side.” She pulled her cowl over her head once more and picked up a blade the Wendigo Spirit had tainted with his dark magic. Ethan took it from her hand and walked her to the door.
“If not our side, then whose are you on?”
“My own, of course.”
Ethan watched her walk out of the cabin and into the night. The door closed with a loud bang as he slammed it and leaned his back against the wood. Maintaining a human form took a lot of his energy, but he refused to show any weakness in front of the creatures he associated with. Witches were always for hire, and their morals were rarely present. They were good for jobs that required subtlety with humans, but Ethan preferre
d to do things with a bang.
“How close are they to finding a weapon?”
“One of our people was sent away with the rest of their servants but, before he left, he mentioned overhearing Charlotte say that she knew how to kill us,” Kaia explained. “That...fox has been working with the blacksmith to create weapons.”
“Set fire to the smithing shop.” Ethan pointed to the bank. “And send my men to raid the town. Leave no traces behind except for this.” He tossed Kaia a red scarf. “It belonged to Samuel ‘Red-Eyed Demon’ Cassady. Let’s see how loyal their little town is once they think he’s up to his old ways again. Make it messy.”
Kaia grinned wickedly as she brought the scarf to her nose and sniffed. "And his mate? What should we do to her?"
~*~
Wolf Valley
Colorado
The smell of horse sweat and pine hovered around her like a cloud of toxic smoke. Mary Ann held on tightly as Sam escorted them to the small stables behind her home. The broken wagon still sat near the back of the small structure, serving as a reminder of the tragedy that had brought Beth, Charlotte, and Abigail into her life.
Though things hadn't always been easy, Mary Ann loved her friends dearly.
Sam pulled the horse to a stop within the stables. He helped her down from the saddle, and Mary Ann limped over to the back door. The silence within the house was almost jarring after all that had happened on the mountain. Specks of dust floated in the air as rays of sunlight spilled in from the curtains. Mary Ann didn't feel like she was home.
Sam wasn't the only one who had to let go of the past, for the painful memories that had happened within the house still haunted her from time to time. Mary Ann heard a commotion outside and rushed to see what was the matter. The new sheriff and his deputies circled Sam. She pushed her way in front of them and placed her hands on her hips. "What is goin' on here, Sheriff? Why are you lot harassin' Sam?"