by Jami Gray
“Cheveyo?” Tala’s voice was quiet.
“Something’s off.”
He felt when her magic joined his, their combined energy creating something richer, deeper. Together, their magic cautiously circled the home, neither willing to break through Hadley’s wards, not unless given no other choice. Instead, they limited their scan to the surrounding area, keeping it as delicate as possible and trying not to ruffle Hadley’s metaphoric feathers.
Tala picked up the first warning sign. “Where’s Toby’s wolf?”
It wasn’t just the missing guard wolf that worried him. “Where’s Hadley?”
No matter how soft they kept their scan, there was no way to keep it completely from a witch of Hadley’s power. He stepped in front of Tala and took the lead. He went to knock but paused when Tala touched his back. “Hold up.”
As intertwined as their magic was, he had no choice but to follow as her power slid around Hadley’s wards, in an effort to identify the protective triggers.
The intricate warding composing Hadley’s protections was impressive, but not impenetrable. Tala spent a couple of tense minutes assessing what they faced. “This is going be tricky.”
“But not unmanageable,” he countered, already weaving his magic through Hadley’s in an attempt to unlock the first level of wards.
“It’s not these, I’m worried about.” Even as she spoke, she worked with him to realign the wards so they could enter the house. “It’s what we’ll find inside.”
He couldn’t disagree because the same apprehension nipped at his heels. “Let’s get inside and see what we’re dealing with.”
Together they disarmed the outer layer of protections, giving them safe passage into the house. Had Hadley been there to answer their knock, this wouldn’t have been an issue. But since she wasn’t at the door, demanding answers on why they were messing with her magic, he felt secure in assuming she was nowhere nearby.
With the primary wards down, he reached for the doorknob. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until it escaped in a relieved rush when his palm didn’t burst into flame, and nothing tried to eat his face. He turned to Tala. “Ready?”
She nodded even as she curled her hand in his T-shirt, her knuckles brushing against the small of his back.
He tested the knob and was surprised to find the door unlocked. He shared a look with Tala, who shrugged. Maybe Hadley felt her wards were enough of a deterrent. Using his other arm, he nudged Tala behind him as he moved to the side of the door. No sense in presenting an easy target. He gave the door a small push so it swung wide.
At the sight that greeted them, he muttered a curse. “Dammit all to hell.”
Tala peered around his arm, sucked in a sharp breath, and whispered, “This is so not good.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cheveyo stepped across the threshold, being careful where he put his feet. Hard to do when the disaster that once served as Hadley’s living room was nothing more than an obstacle course of broken furniture. Tala followed, choosing to step where he did. The chaotic wreckage made him uneasy.
It wasn’t just the coffee table sporting a split down the center, as if a bar or body had landed on it, and now lay drunkenly in front of the slashed cushions of what once was a plaid couch. Or the glittering trail of glass shards from a shattered lamp marking its route from the side table to the front window. Or the smears of blood filling the scratched grooves marring the wooden floor. It was the dark spill of magic wafting from the hall and setting every warning bell he possessed clamoring.
Considering Tala was plastered to his back, she wasn’t immune either. “I don’t like this, Cheveyo.”
Yeah, neither did he. Reaching back, he caught her hand and untangled it from his shirt. He gathered their magic, weaving a protective spell he settled over both of them, unwilling to step into a trap blindly. “We need to find out what that is.”
She gave a reluctant nod.
He inched his way through the living room and down the dark hall, keeping her hand in his. With no idea of what they were about to face, he had no intention of letting her go. In an unnerving twist there were no further signs of violence as they crept down the hall’s narrow confines and deeper into the still house.
They passed a bathroom and an untouched, but very feminine office, before coming to the last two rooms. The door on the right remained cracked open, while the door on the left was closed.
He turned to Tala and tilted his head to the left and then to the right in silent question. She pointed to the right. When she tugged against his hold, he reluctantly released her. She slipped to the right of the door, her back to the wall. Her energy spiked as she prepared for whatever they might encounter.
Angling his body so he wasn’t approaching dead center, he pushed the door open.
For a moment, he could only stare, fury chasing horror as he took in the scene. They found Hadley’s witching room and Toby’s wolf. Her ceremonial circle was carved into the floor, melted puddles of wax evidence of where candles once burned. Strewn within the lines were the remains of what once served as her alter. But what turned his stomach and iced his blood was the figure held captive in the center.
“Oh my gods,” Tala’s comment was barely audible as she moved forward.
He raised his arm to stop her, “Wait!”
Rocking to a stop at the door’s threshold, she turned to him, her face pale, her eyes wide. “We can’t leave him like that!”
“We won’t,” he bit out. “But we can’t rush in there either.”
Because if they did, it would trigger the dark, hungry magic prowling within, barely held in check by the waning barriers of hastily laid salt lines and poorly constructed confines of the circle. Sliding along their combined magic like a dark, icy wind, it held the twisted form of what once was Toby’s wolf captive.
Cheveyo didn’t take his gaze away from the maddened yellow gaze blazing from a grotesque mask created from a mishmash of wolf and human. An ugly suspicion crested. “I’ve seen this before,” he muttered.
He didn’t need to see Tala to feel her sharp attention. “What are we dealing with?”
Unable to fight back his anger, his lips curled into a disgusted sneer, “Magic and science.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not.” In fact, the wolves who portrayed this kind of mutilated transformation were victims of a human-created serum. One that ended in horrific death. “Maybe since the poison didn’t work on Toby, they decided to target a different wolf.”
“This is the crap they used on Warrick’s wolves?” Horror and pity filled her voice, but she didn’t wait for his answer. “Tell me you can fix this.”
He couldn’t answer because somewhere in that twisted amalgam of wolf and human was a comprehending soul. The last thing Cheveyo wanted to do was crush whatever hope the poor wolf was holding on to. Unfortunately there might not be a way to save the wolf. “We need to get past the laid spell first.”
When her lips thinned with displeasure and a steely glint appeared in her eyes, he reigned in his flinch. Yep, she picked up on his unspoken concession. “Fine,” she snapped.
Together they stepped over the thin salt line, careful not to disturb it. Normally, salt lines would act as rock solid barriers but, considering the state of the room, it was obvious the wolf recognized the threat Hadley posed and fought back. Thankfully the lines were merely blurred, not broken because they were the only things confining the dark magic to the room. The minute he and Tala stepped across the threshold, the magic lunged forward with a disconcerting eagerness.
It hit their combined magic with enough force to send a shudder through his frame. Based upon her stifled grunt and locked jaw, Tala didn’t fare much better. They worked in tandem with an ease of practice forged years ago. He let her lead because this was her territory and her witch, and she knew each intimately. Proof of that came when it took her mere moments to weave their energy together and create a solid
cage, holding the hungry magic back.
Unfortunately, the dark spell clawed through Cheveyo, waking echoes of the Soul Stealer’s attack. He white-knuckled his way through the nightmares, wrestling them back through strength of will. He would not leave Tala unprotected. Bolstered by determination he turned his back on the debilitating memories and focused on what Tala was doing.
Her magic carried the warm brush of sunlit forests, the cool air of rivers curling through canyons, and the whispered song of beauty sung by those who called the desert home. He added the wildness of ocean clashing against the shore in a never-ending battle cycle, the undaunted age of forests much older and wiser than their younger cousins, and under it all, the fire still burning beneath the shelter of mountains. Their powers came together into a wild beauty with savage teeth, tearing through the sticky tendrils trying to trap them.
Bit by bit they unraveled the spell, and only as the last layer emerged, did he step in. “Tala, hold up.”
Pausing, she heeded his warning and turned to him, her normally dark eyes a pearlized white. Recognizing he was no longer dealing with just Tala, he barely choked back his snarled curse.
The Ancestors had arrived.
As a channeler, Tala became a reluctant host when the ancient power set up shop in Tala’s body so they could take part in the world. Obviously, they decided to join in this little adventure.
He didn’t flinch under her blind gaze, but he did adjust his tone to something much more respectful. “Ancestors.”
“We see you, Stalking Wolf.”
If he wasn’t expecting it, the multi-tonal voice would have freaked him out. Instead, he dipped his head in acknowledgement. “Please, be cautious, Wise Ones.”
Under the Ancestors’ influence Tala tilted her head in a strangely insectacoid manner. “What do you see that we do not?”
“A blood ward.” When dealing with disembodied beings who held enough power to snuff you out like a gnat, it was always best to err on the side of blunt politeness.
Turning her blind gaze back to the wolf, she began to slowly walk around him. When the wolf tried to lunge, she raised a hand, freezing him in mid-motion.
Cheveyo kept his wince hidden. Intervening wouldn’t end well. Instead, he held his position and waited.
Tala made a full circle and stopped in front of him.
He bowed his head. The pressure of the Ancestors presence left him gritting his teeth. He locked his knees to keep from crumbling to the floor. Weakness tended to piss them off, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
“This blood ward is not familiar to us.”
Since it was modeled off of a blood ward normally used by the demons, he wasn’t surprised. “I’ve seen it once before, or a version of it.”
“Can you undo it?”
“Not alone.”
“You wish for our daughter to help?”
“As much as I appreciate the offer, there is one with me who has held another through this. I would ask that you let me and your daughter call on him to help this wolf.”
Chay, who managed to hold another wolf through the same type of attack, was this wolf’s only hope.
Instead of answering, Tala made a humming sound and turned back to study the wolf. “What has caused such unnaturalness?”
How to explain genetic manipulation to a millennial old being? “The potion is human crafted and changes the basic nature of the two-souled.”
The air in the room suddenly became heavy, making it hard to breath. “Humans.” It came out on a hiss, but the Ancestors weren’t done expressing their displeasure. “They are never satisfied with what they were given. They just have to keep picking at things.”
He couldn’t argue the truth, so he kept quiet.
Slowly the air lightened. “We’ll leave the rest to you.”
Relief left him lightheaded. Or maybe that was lack of oxygen. “Thank you.”
“Stalking Wolf.”
At the unspoken command, he lifted his head, holding Tala’s eerie gaze. “Yes?”
“You and our daughter—” The Ancestors paused, and he waited, enduring their study. “This is a good thing.” He blinked at the unexpected endorsement, but they weren’t done. Her gaze shifted beyond him, a frown lining her brow. “The future holds many uncertain things, but one thing remains true.” That disconcerting gaze came back to him. “Survival cannot be achieved alone. Something you need to remind the Weaver of before she loses everything she holds dear.”
There was only one answer to give, so he dropped his head in acknowledgement. The obscene pressure disappeared, and he caught Tala as she stumbled against him.
“Dammit, I hate when they do that,” she muttered confirming who was back in the driver’s seat. Bracing a hand against his chest, she rested her forehead next to it. “Never a dull moment.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “At least you know they’re on our side.”
That got a small laugh. “Not sure that’s as reassuring as you think it is.”
“Probably not,” he agreed, letting her go.
She stepped back, visibly recollecting herself. “Don’t tell me, the Weaver is Raine?”
He nodded.
Tala rubbed a hand over her face before muttering, “Yeah, guess they knew all about her ability to mess around with magic.”
“Part of the whole all-seeing thing, I guess,” he agreed, shifting his attention back to the still frozen wolf. “We need Chay.”
“I’ll call Wyatt and have him go to the hospital to sit with Teagan, then we can call Chay.” Her attention went back to the wolf, and she frowned. “Will you be able to hold him?”
“I’ll do my best.” He handed her his phone. “Chay’s number,” he explained when she took it with a raised eyebrow. “And you better call Toby, find out why he’s not here looking for blood.”
Because, as an alpha, Toby should know when his wolves were in trouble. Unfortunately, Cheveyo was betting the blood ward, while not an exact match to the one he dealt with before, was close enough, which meant Toby didn’t know because the magic blocked the pack’s connection.
“Got it.” She took his phone and left because the cells wouldn’t work so close to the spell. Magic and electronics didn’t mix.
As soon as she left, Cheveyo took a moment to find an opening in which to anchor his magic with the wolf’s. Not easy, but easier now that the other spell no longer blocked him. It would be draining to hold on to the wolf, but doable. Once Chay arrived, between the two of them, they should be able to work through the ward and hopefully allow Toby’s natural connection to his wolf to do the rest.
Maybe.
Cheveyo made himself comfortable on the floor and began weaving his magic with the wolf’s.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
After making arrangements for Wyatt to replace Chay at the hospital and then getting Chay’s assurances he was on his way, Tala called Toby. After hanging up, she slipped both phones into her pockets and stood in the shambles of Hadley’s living room, wondering when the hell the woman she once called friend had turned into a sick, twisted bitch.
Better yet, why?
Growing up, the two of them were close, almost like sisters. Granted, when Tala took over as the Magi leader, they began to drift apart. Tala with her responsibilities, Hadley with hers in her new role on the Triune. But when Tala found out she was pregnant, it was Hadley she talked to, sharing her fears and worries. Then when she lost Aponi, Hadley had been there, stubbornly sticking around even when Tala managed to run everyone else off.
Thinking back on that difficult time, Tala tried to remember when Hadley stopped being there, but couldn’t pinpoint it. However, it took a couple years for Tala to clue in that the emotional distance she put between herself and others finally managed to push even Hadley away.
At first, it was snide little comments on Tala’s leadership, nothing you could take direct offense with, but they carried enough sting to make one wonder. Then H
adley began to use her position on the Triune to voice her “concerns” over Tala’s decisions. Over the years they became, for the most part, friendly adversaries.
A pain-filled canine whine made her wince.
Correction, adversaries with nothing friendly about it.
Heading back to where Cheveyo worked to save Hadley’s latest victim, Tala tried to ignore the sting of betrayal seeping beneath her guilt. Useless though it was, she couldn’t help but wonder how she missed the signs. Could she have prevented this? Unfortunately, that was a question only Hadley could answer.
Tala hovered in the doorway, the wash of Cheveyo’s magic drowning out the suffocating miasma of the lingering darker magic. At least her skin wasn’t trying to crawl off her bones now.
“Come help me,” Cheveyo said without turning.
Blowing out a breath she took a seat beside him, their knees touching. “What do you need?”
“Help with the healing spell.” His eyes were closed, his face drawn in austere lines, but the power riding just below his skin was palpable, flickering with a comforting light like the beckoning flames of a campfire on a chill winter’s night.
It called to hers, and, because it was his, she didn’t hesitate to let her magic twine with it. It curled around her spirit, warming the icy holes of doubt. Between one breath and the next, her magic synced with his until they shared the energy load needed to keep the wolf alive. Closing her eyes, she sank into it.
“It won’t do you any good.”
Cheveyo’s unexpected comment startled her, causing her hold on the magic to wobble before she steadied it. She blinked her heavy lids open and looked at him. “What?”
He turned to her, his dark eyes solemn. “The second guessing you’re doing won’t get you the answers you seek.”
Heat rose under her cheeks. “Reading minds now?”
His lips tipped down, the darkness in his eyes taking on new depth as he shook his head. “It’s the same thing I’d be doing if our positions were reversed.” He turned his attention back to the wild-eyed wolf panting on the floor, a hardness settling his face into a grim mask. “If it’s any comfort, it’s not your fault.”