Wolf of Sight

by Quinn Loftis

  “I belong here,” came a weak voice from Dalton’s arms. “With my family, with my pack.” Dalton bent down and kissed Jewel on the forehead.

  “Damn right you do,” said Peri. “Now, we just have to figure out a way to keep you from killing me in my sleep.”

  “Put me down, love,” Jewel said to Dalton. Some of the color was returning to her skin.

  “Well, how do we do that?” asked Gustavo.

  “The first thing we do is keep that big idiot as close to Jewel as possible,” the fae replied, pointing at Dalton. “Even though their bond is no longer intact, there is still magic between true mates. His presence will help her fight the darkness growing inside her. But because the bond is broken, it won’t work if he isn’t physically near her.”

  “Something tells me that won’t be a problem,” said Jewel.

  “That’s ironic. It’s usually the other way around. The females are supposed to fight back the darkness in us,” said Gustavo.

  “Now the shoe is on the other foot. Get used to it, because the same goes for you two. Anna isn’t as powerful as Jewel since she was only created by Jewel instead of by Volcan himself, but she’s still damn dangerous. And she’s also susceptible to his influence.”

  “Great,” groaned Anna.

  “Just be vigilant,” said Peri. “You’ve already proven you can fight off his mental attacks. Let that give you confidence. I wouldn’t be surprised if the time comes when Jewel needs your strength again to bring her back from the edge. God help us all if she goes over.”

  “You aren’t being very encouraging, Peri,” said Sly.

  “Look on the bright side,” she replied. “At least now we know what we are up against.”

  “There’s just one problem,” said Z.

  “What’s that?” asked Peri.

  “The All-Powerful-Super-Wheeler still has to make witches.” The pet name earned a growl from Dalton, but he didn’t move from where he stood behind Jewel, his arms around her waist. Z continued without acknowledging the large wolf. “And I’m just a wee bit afraid if she succeeds, they may come out just like her and—I don’t know—kill us all … violently, which is exactly what Volcan wants.” Z’s voice rose as he spoke, and he threw his hands in the air.

  “Can I ask a question here, Peri?” said Anna.

  “By all means, Wheeler, ask away.”

  “Not you, too,” said Jewel, rolling her eyes.

  “Hey, I thought it was dumb at first, too, but if the nickname fits…”

  “Anyway,” said Anna, “I’m just wondering why we really even need to make the witches. What if we just tell Volcan to stuff it and we all go … I don’t know, somewhere … somewhere safe?”

  “Did anything about what just happened seem safe to you?” asked Sly. “You more than anyone should know what Volcan is capable of after he kept you in a dungeon for three months and carved you up like a fish.” The statement drew a snarl from Gustavo.

  “Peace, wolf,” said Peri. “The warlock is not wrong. To answer your question, Anna, Volcan isn’t simply going to go away if we don’t do what he wants. There is no place safe. He will continue creeping into your mind and into Jewel’s until you no longer have any power to resist him, no matter what kind of strength you’re able to garner from your respective mates and packs. Just look at what Jewel did before coming here. Six women died in one night because of Volcan’s influence.”

  “I’m sorry,” whispered Jewel. Dalton wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her softly and whispering into her ear. The words were too soft for the others to hear because they were meant only for his mate. She needed him. She needed to know she wasn’t responsible for the things Volcan had forced her to do. Dalton would remind her every day for the rest of his existence if that’s what it took.

  “Don’t worry about it now, Jewel. It’s water under the fridge at this point.”

  “Don’t you mean water under the bridge?” asked Z.

  Peri looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “No, that doesn’t make any sense. Water is supposed to flow under a bridge. Who cares if water goes under a bridge? But if ice falls under the refrigerator, then that’s a giant pain in the ass. It becomes water, and you can’t get under there to clean it up. It’s a problem, but you can’t do anything about it. Exactly what we have here.”

  “Ooookay,” said Z with a shrug.

  “There’s another reason we must make the witches,” continued Peri. “But I don’t want to reveal it right now. I’m really not sure what Volcan can see and hear through the minds of his witches. It’s probably best not to lay all my cards on the table right away. I’d like to keep a little something up my sleeve, just in case I need it later.”

  Now Dalton and Gustavo both growled. “Please don’t call our mates his, Señora Peri,” said Gustavo. “They do not belong to him. I do not care what he has done.”

  “My apologies, Gustavo. Poor choice of words.”

  “Forgive me for continually being the wet blanket,” said Z. “But we still don’t know how to make witches that don’t want to kill us all and take over the world.”

  “That’s where the spell comes in,” said Jezebel. “It should allow us to make non-evil witches, if the sacrifice is adequate, of course.”

  Z nodded. “Ah, yes, I must have forgotten the magical spell book we stole from the witch museum. That none of us can even read! It’s been so helpful up until this point.”

  “Are all warlocks so whiny?” asked Peri. “I feel for Lilly having to be mated to one. It must be a constant headache.”

  “I’m not whiny. I’m just being realistic,” said Z.

  “There’s a saying in my realm,” said Peri. “Warlocks should be seen, not heard. Did you forget Jezebel and I are on a first-name basis with an all-knowing, all-powerful djinn who can read the book?”

  “I don’t think that’s a real saying, Z,” said Sly to his partner. Peri rolled her eyes.

  “Well, then, Mrs. I-have-an-answer-for-everything, why doesn’t this all-knowing, all-powerful djinn just zap ‘ol Volcan right in his ass and be done with it if he’s so powerful?” asked Z.

  “Slow your roll, warlock,” said Peri. “It’s not like Thadrick can snap his fingers and all our problems are solved. It’s more likely that he snaps his fingers and an entire city gets destroyed. That kind of power can’t really be harnessed. If Thadrick confronted Volcan directly, then yes, Volcan would die. And so would everyone else.”

  “Then what good is he?” asked Anna.

  “He can read ancient magical books, for a start,” said Peri. “And he can … assist and evaluate.”

  Sly blew out a breath. “Better than nothing, I guess.”

  “I’ll go and fetch him shortly,” said Peri. “It’s past time you all met our resident djinn. I need to swing by my place to let the others know what’s going on, so it might take me a few minutes.”

  “Where is he?” asked Jezebel.

  “He and some others are trying to break down the door to the draheim realm. We’re pretty sure that’s where Volcan is holed up.”

  “Nasty ones, those draheim. I hope he hasn’t convinced them to join his side,” said Z.

  “I’d be surprised if he hasn’t,” said Peri. “All the more reason we need our own witches. The more supernaturals we have to throw against Volcan, the better. Now, you all hang tight, I’ll be right back. Keep a close eye on those two.” She indicated Jewel and Anna. “Gustavo, if Anna starts to slip back into the darkness, you know how to bring her back. If Jewel starts to go, then it’s all on you, Anna. If they both go at the same time before I get back, then I’d suggest the rest of you run as fast as you can.

  “And, Jezebel, don’t worry about this mess. I’ll clean it up as soon as I get back.”

  “Peri,” said Jezebel, holding up a hand and stopping the fae before she was able to flash away. “Can I speak to you privately a second before you go.”

  Dalton
returned his attention to his mate. Nothing else mattered at the moment.

  Perizada raised her eyebrows. “Sure,” she replied before they walked into the front room of the Little Shop of Horrors. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s something I think maybe I should tell you before you bring Thad back here,” said Jezebel quietly.

  “I’m all ears,” said the fae.

  Jezebel hesitated, picking at her fingernails. Peri raised her eyebrows. “What is it, woman? I don’t have all day.”

  Finally, Jezebel spoke softly. “This is kind of hard to discuss.”

  “Find a way to power through it. I’m a bit pressed for time.”

  “Okay, okay, here goes nothing,” said Jezebel before she drew in a large breath. “Peri, something happened after you, Thad, and I cast the spell and Metea sacrificed herself. Remember, it wasn’t long afterward that I went into hiding and we all went our respective ways and lived our own respective lives?”

  “Yeah?” said Peri.

  “Well, Thad and I didn’t exactly go our separate ways, at least not immediately.”

  Peri narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

  “We may or may not have had a … relationship … before I went into hiding.”

  Now, Peri felt her eyes go wide. She grabbed Jezebel’s arm and spoke through gritted teeth. “Are you telling me you had a fling with an all-powerful djinn a hundred years ago and you never told me about it?” Several emotions threatened to explode from the fae. “I don’t know whether to give you a high five or strangle you.”

  “Probably strangle would be more appropriate.” Jezebel’s face took on a look of shame.

  “Oh no,” said Peri. “What happened?”

  “I may or may not have cheated on him…”

  “No,” said Peri, putting her hand on the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut.

  “With a warlock…”

  “No,” repeated Peri.

  “In Thadrick’s bed.”

  Peri groaned. For several seconds, she said nothing. The fae just shook her head and tapped her foot. Finally, she said. “There’s nothing to be done about it now, I guess. But it’s about to get real awkward for you real fast. I just hope he doesn’t hold your past transgressions against the rest of us. Have you spoken to him since?”

  “Nope,” Jezebel replied.

  “You know Thadrick might be the most petty, stubborn, temperamental, unpredictable being in existence, don’t you?”

  “Yep.”

  “And now we’re depending upon him to not hold a grudge against you so he will help us save five young women, one of which is your daughter, from becoming evil witches, right?”

  “Yep.”

  Peri patted her on the shoulder. “Great, just so we’re clear on exactly what’s going on.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Jezebel.

  “No, no, no,” Perizada replied. “I’m glad this happened. I really am. Before, this job was going to be way too easy. We might’ve been done with this whole messy business before lunchtime. That wouldn’t have been any fun at all. Now, at least, it’s going to be a challenge. I’d hate for anything to actually be easy for once. Who likes things to be easy? Certainly not me. I’M BEING SARCASTIC, IN CASE YOU COULDN’T TELL!” Peri stomped her foot.

  “I … I … I got that,” said Jezebel.

  Peri paused for a second and then said as sweetly as possible, “Jezebel, I’m going to go now.” She put her palms up and spread her fingers, then clenched her hands into fists. “Before I make good on that strangulation threat. When I return, I will have your ex-boyfriend with me. I’d suggest you start thinking about what you want to say to him so he will still help us and so he doesn’t turn us all into little piles of ash. Goodbye.” With that, the fae vanished.

  Chapter 6

  “When I was taken from my home with virtually no explanation given and lead blindly (pun intended) into the supernatural world and told that I was destined to be mated to a werewolf and that I had secret healing powers, I thought I might have some time to … you know … practice or something. I didn’t know I would be almost instantly turned into a witch and that my werewolf mate would have to die for me. And I thought being born blind was unfair.” ~Heather

  Ciesel flitted toward the crumbling castle in the draheim veil. The location Volcan was currently using as his lair was entirely too far into the draheim land for his liking. The pixie hated crossing into the draheim realm. With every second that passed, his fear grew. He just knew that one of the great beasts was going to leap out from behind a boulder and gobble him up. Ciesel was faster and much more agile in the air than the draheim so he was confident he could evade them if he saw them coming. But if one ambushed him … Ciesel gulped. He could almost feel the massive teeth snapping his tiny bones.

  So far, though, he’d seen no sign of the beasts since he’d entered their realm. Luckily, the draheim’s ferociousness also made them few in number. They couldn’t abide very many creatures, including their own species. Weaker draheim were quickly killed off by the stronger ones, acting as an automatic Darwinian population control, which Ciesel couldn’t be happier about. He breathed a sigh of relief when he flew over the castle walls into the courtyard. He passed through a doorway—its wooden door long ago rotted and crumbled to dust—flew down a hallway, and stopped outside of Volcan’s throne room. He didn’t dare just rush in.

  “Ahem, the pixie, Ciesel, here to request an audience with the almighty fae, Volcan,” he yelled into the chamber.

  “Enter,” commanded a voice like sandpaper.

  “The vampire…” squeaked Ciesel before hurrying in. He did so but froze a few paces in when he saw his first draheim of the day, which was languishing in a corner of the room. Volcan sat upon the throne staring down at him, but the pixie took no notice. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the huge purplish-green beast in the corner. Its eyes were closed, and its huge scaly tail was wrapped around itself, tucked under its chin. Ciesel could smell the thing from across the room, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

  “Never mind the draheim, Ciesel,” said Volcan. “Approach.”

  Ciesel did so, slowly, as if he might awaken the beast if he moved too quickly.

  “He won’t hurt you, Ciesel. Unless I tell him to. I assure you, pixie, the draheim isn’t the most dangerous thing in this room. Now, stop wasting my time.”

  Ciesel gulped and hurried forward, kneeling before the fae. He wished he could deliver his report and get the hell out of the draheim realm. He had no clue where he’d go, just as long as it was as far as possible from the evil fae or the giant magical killing machines known as draheim.

  Volcan stared down at the pixie that knelt, quivering on his knees. The little being had actually done quite well, but the dark fae wasn’t about to let him know it. Volcan pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes. He was looking at the pixie, but his thoughts were far away with the goodie-two-shoes Perizada. What was she up to?

  The three healers were planning to turn themselves into witches. That was good. It meant that his queen was doing her job. She was coming over to his side; there was no doubt about it. Soon, he would have his witch army. And the other three gypsy healer witches would be the first members. They would be his captains as his forces wreaked havoc on the world.

  But what of the sacrifice the male wolves had spoken of? Why were they willing to sacrifice themselves, and what was this spell they had mentioned? The whole thing stunk of Perizada. He was sure the high fae had something up her sleeve, but he didn’t know what. Volcan had hoped mixing his blood with Jewel’s might have given him the power to see through her eyes. While it had indeed made him stronger, that particular trick eluded him.

  And he was beyond frustrated his plan to kill the fae had failed. He was so close to taking her down. Had Anna and Jewel cornered Peri alone, the woman wouldn’t have had a chance. Curse those damn wolves. Still, the effort wasn’t
a total failure. He now knew his witch queen was not only Peri’s equal, but her better. When the time came, Jewel would eliminate the fae, he was certain of it. Unfortunately, now, his queen was going to be on her guard at all times. He’d have to a bit more subtle the next time he tried to take over Jewel’s mind.

  Until then, he would bide his time a little longer. The effort of imposing his will on Jewel and Anna from so far away had taken a lot of his energy. He was weakened, at least for the moment. But Volcan’s power would replenish, so long as the healer’s blood coursed through him. This made him chuckle. The healing power within the gypsies was amazing, and he’d been able to harness it for himself. Now, it acted as his own internal gypsy healer, involuntary mending his wounds. No one in history had ever done that.

  “And that’s all you heard from the three healers?” Volcan turned his attention back to Ciesel. “Giggling over their so-called mates?”

  The pixie nodded vigorously. “I stayed as long as I dared, Volcan. The women didn’t say anything else.”

  “I’d have hoped the other healers held a little more gravitas. If they’re going to be commanders in my army, they’ll have to learn there are more important things than foolish romance.”

  “Indeed,” agreed Ciesel.

  “Hush,” snapped Volcan. “Don’t speak unless spoken to.”

  “Yes, my lord,” whimpered the pixie.

  “And you’re sure Perizada of the fae was not on the premises?”

  “I didn’t see her, and I couldn’t sense any magic recently performed. I was honestly surprised the fae’s house was so easy to infiltrate.”

  “She’s probably had to drop some of the wards with all the individuals coming and going.”

  Volcan wished he could rush in and drive the high fae from her little perch right now. Much like she’d done to him so long ago when she’d banished him to the dark forest. The bitch would pay for that. But she wouldn’t just be banished. She’d be destroyed. Volcan wanted to strip Peri of everything before he killed her. He wanted to take away her power, her friends, everything she loved. When Perizada knew that everything she’d ever held dear was lost, only then would he grant her the mercy of a very slow death.