Through the Woods

by Cassandra Johnson

  “I don’t know how well you’ll be able to get through that hold lock,” Elle told him while he used his tongue to loosen a piece of bacon from between his teeth.

  “No problem, I’ll break it if need be,” Lucas said, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair.

  With that Lucas and Gaerik left out of the back door, Elle looked down at her plate and nudged her eggs around unable to eat them thinking about what they would be spending the morning doing out in the woods with those bodies.

  For the most part, Elle tried not to think about it as she cleared the table and scraped leftover pieces of food into the trash can before she started loading the dishwasher. Last night Harriet had gotten on the landline and called up her friends –mostly women within the pack that were her age. No one seemed happy with the changes that William was making, at least to hear Harriet tell it. Elle didn’t think that it was a good idea for them to be separated when they went back to New Haven, so she asked Harriet if it would be alright if they all stayed at her house until it was over, whatever the outcome may be. Harriet seemed more than happy to have her home opened to them. For years, the house had become too much for the blind woman, but it was the home she bought with her husband the year that they were married with the help of his and Harriet’s parents. It was where Harriet raised all three of her children, who also agreed to help them. In fact, they were all fascinated to hear about the adventures their old blind mother had been on, as well as the fact that she was no longer blind. It would be the first time that Harriet would see her children, all three strapping boys who had grown to be muscular men.

  “Elle?” Charlotte spoke, breathing through her thoughts as she rinsed the dishes, the kitchen turning into a busy hive of activity as Molly and Shaye helped wipe down the table, Alex grabbed the broom, and the witches moved the chairs out of the way and helped wipe grease from the stove top. “We were thinking,” She motioned between herself and her nieces.

  “Perhaps we could place a protection spell around your house as well as Miss Pritchette’s. It will keep your homes from coming to any further harm while we’re here as well as when we leave.” Charlotte looked at Molly who was already nodding up and down vigorously. It was easy to tell that Molly was fascinated by them.

  “You do whatever you think is necessary. I don’t want people coming into my house while I’m not here, not even regular folks looking for something to steal.” Elle told her. “And I’ll also get you Julie’s information too as soon as you are finished.”

  “It’s settled then,” Charlotte said. “We will get started right now.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Marik, in contrast to his brother, he knew Gaerik was a little too interested in taking out his aggression on those bodies in the woods, and he didn’t want any part of it. He’d do it if he had to, but Lucas and his brother already had it well in hand.

  “We'd be glad to have someone watch our backs while we work.” Moonie smiled quickly. “We’ll start at Molly’s and then work our way back to your house, Elle.”

  “Okay.” Elle nodded somewhat sucking in a deep breath. “Would it be okay if I came along to watch and possibly help? I’d like to learn as much as you can teach me, I know that we don’t have time for you to teach me everything, but every little bit will count.” Elle explained.

  “No witch knows everything, Elle. That I can promise you, we are always learning.” Charlotte said, surprising Elle somewhat. The raven-haired woman seemed to be the monarch of the witches, but maybe it wasn’t like that at all.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Marik kept up with the witches and Elle easily, walking a short distance ahead of them as they made the short walk down the street towards Molly’s house. Pressing her hands into her pockets Moonie felt odd, something had been nagging at the back of her mind since the night before but there was something else as well, and now her curiosity peaked.

  “Elle, you’re going to be our forth. You’ll represent nature.” Moonie told her directing her to a corner of the house.

  “Okay.” Elle agreed walking around the side of the house with Marik never too far from her.

  While Elle didn’t know anything about witchcraft, she was determined to learn, the more she knew, the better the chance Elle had of protecting the people she cared about.

  The ceremony only took a few minutes, and Moonie and Elle were left behind to bury precious metals around the property.

  “May I ask you a question?” Moonie looked at her as she used a small garden tool that she’d taken from Molly’s porch to dig a small hole in the ground.

  “Of course.” Elle said, watching what Moonie was doing as Charlotte and Jean Louise were already taking their places at her house leaving Marik, Elle, and Moonie to finish setting up the ‘wards’ as they called them.

  “How do you think that this Levins man was able to find you and the Chalicemans all the way out here?” She asked, dropping the blessed coin into the ground before gently covering it over with dirt.

  “I really don’t know,” Elle replied looking at Marik.

  “He could have been watching us the whole time.” Marik offered.

  “Perhaps but, it almost feels too farfetched. Was there anyone you can think of that was contacted back in Connecticut that might have let it slip where your family was hiding out?” Moonie pressed, finding that the circumstances just didn’t feel right, there was something that she’d missed, and maybe that was it.

  “Not that I can think of,” Elle trailed off gently. “I mean, there was the call to my publicist Julie, but she said that she didn’t tell him exactly where in Arkansas I was. Just that I was in Arkansas. Marik?” Elle turned to look at him for any piece of information that he might have been able to add to the conversation.

  “I haven’t spoken to anyone in New Haven since before we left, except Harriet and I hardly believe that she would let something as important as this slip.” He said, brows knitting together in thought.

  “Why do you ask?” Elle wondered aloud watching as Moonie straightened and dusted dirt particles from her hands.

  “It does seem strange though, right? Neither of you were in contact with associates, and it’s safe to assume neither Gaerik or Gallen spilled the beans.” Moonie queried, her pale brows inching up into her hairline softly. “Perhaps you are right, and he had been watching you for a long time already but how would he know about this place if the information was never leaked about your whereabouts?”

  “Yeah, it does seem strange.” Marik agreed as they began to make their way to Elle’s house where the witches’ family was waiting for them, the sound of a chainsaw buzzing in the distance telling of his brother and Lucas’ work out in the woods.

  Returning to the Marshal property Elle took her place as the witches fourth, representing the earth. Shaye, Molly and Harriet stayed inside once they returned but Marik staid outside, watching them perform the protection spell again while Moonie’s questions played around inside of his mind. He hadn’t contacted anyone from home the entire time that they had been there, nor was he aware that Harriet or his brother and father had. Slipping back inside the house he found Alex in the kitchen, his cell phone in his back pocket while he straightened up the few dishes in the sink that couldn’t be put in the dishwasher.

  “I believe that the house is all squared away now,” Molly said coming down the stairs and through the living room. “Shaye and I better get on home and get everything that we need put together if we’re planning on leaving in a hurry.” She said touching Marik’s arm.

  “Would you like me to walk you two back?” He asked looking at Molly. Marik had come to really like Molly.

  “Excuse me, I think I know how to protect my Nana.” Shaye laughed shoving Marik back in a playful manner.

  Rolling his eyes, he moved forward grabbing her, Shaye was so much like a kid still, Marik hated the idea of something terrible happening to her, or to anyone else in her family. In the time they’d spent in Arkansas, Shaye was starting to
feel more like a little sister than someone that he’d only just met.

  “I know that you can, squirt.” Marik got Shaye into a headlock easily and ruffled her rusty reddish hair before releasing her. “Be careful, we don’t know who might be out there,” Marik told them before watching them leave, and those icy blue eyes turned back to Alex in the kitchen wiping down the countertops.

  “I’ll be glad to see some snow again,” Harriet said coming down the stairs with her bags. “Don’t get me wrong, this place is nice, but it just doesn’t seem like November without a couple blizzards slamming us.” She remarked dropping her bag down in front of the door. Harriet, much like Molly and Shaye had the impression that they should be ready to leave at a moments notice.

  Pulling his eyes away from Alex he turned back to look at Harriet.

  “I can’t say I agree. I kind of like it here.” Marik admitted

  “Of course, you do, it’s not hard to see.” Harriet laughed taking a seat on the couch and lighting a cigarette. “It feels more like a chilly spring here than November. I’m used to having at least two feet of snow on the ground when I am cooking the turkey.”

  “It’s a big adjustment, but I think I could live with it.” he said feeling his conscience torn as he moved into the living room and stole the cigarette from Harriet, taking a hard pull from it. “Hey, how did your kids react when you told them where you were? Did they seem upset?” Marik asked returning the cigarette to Harriet.

  “Nah, I knew that they wouldn’t be too worried about me. I know how to take care of myself.” Harriet said knocking some of the ash off the cigarette before she brought it back to her lips. “You know if I need anything I can usually count on your brother to stop by.”

  “I never imagined in a million years that you and Gaerik would have been friends.” Marik chuckled faintly, he really didn’t give his twin very much credit at all, but then Marik realized that he really didn’t know his brother very well at all.

  “Why’dja ask?” Harriet asked, turning her intent gaze on him.

  “It’s probably nothing, just something that one of the witches brought up.” He replied glancing out of one of the windows to see that Moonie was showing Elle how to bury the bless coins around the four corners of the property.

  “What’s that?” Harriet asked drawing his attention back to her again.

  “Well, if none of us have talked to anyone back home, except for Elle, she talked to her publicist a couple times but I don’t think it’s likely that she would tell anyone exactly where Elle was. She won’t even do signings because she’s so protective of her personal space. How the hell did William figure out where we were?” he posed the question to Harriet with a lift of his brows.

  Like Marik, Harriet seemed puzzled at first before her face pinched considering it before she shook her head. “There is no telling how he knew.” She said giving up the thought as Marik moved back into the kitchen taking some of the dried plates from the counter and putting them away while he looked at Alex carefully.

  Alex was young and quiet for the most part, from what Marik knew about his brother’s friend he thought that Alex still lived with his mother, nothing wrong with that. Considering Alex worked for Gaerik spying on Elle, Marik recognized that Alex was willing to perform some not so savory tasks for money which was what worried Marik now.

  Would Alex sell them out for a payday? Marik didn’t want to believe that. Alex just didn’t seem like the type, but of course, he’d been fooled once before.

  “Alex?” Marik forced himself to speak. “Have you heard anything back from your contacts?” he was testing the waters, warming Alex up slowly.

  “Well, I called my friend Dexter, he’s like the magic man of hacking skills, and I asked him if he could check out some stuff about William Levins for me. Like Dex can literally hack the traffic cameras, private security feeds all that stuff, so maybe if this guy was watching you for a while, Dexter might be able to come up with something.” Alex couldn’t promise results, but he could hope that his friend would find something they could use. “He said he would get back to me in a couple of hours. I’ve been checking my texts and e-mails every twenty minutes but every time my phone dings it’s just my mom.” Alex said handing Marik his phone to read the barrage of questions that his mom was sending to him.

  The instant Alex did that, Marik felt a wave of relief and guilt wash over him, the kid was so pure. Nodding at the latest text that popped up as he was holding Alex’s phone, it was his mother, and she’d turned text into a mother’s love letter to her child as well as a prayer over him while he was so far away from home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  “This would go a lot faster if Elle’s chainsaw weren’t completely rusted,” Lucas said his voice muddled beneath the t-shirt that he had pulled up over his nose to block the scent of rotting bodies. Grabbing the fallen body parts, he tossed them into the fire before preparing a torso that he was about to dissect into quarter pieces.

  “At least you’re using the chainsaw,” Gaerik said with a grunt as he placed his book down on a thigh and used it for leverage pulling the ax out. He was finding it difficult working the dull blade through the bone. Pulling the ax back again, he was reminded of the last time there was an ax in his hands and what he’d done with it, swinging, the blade went clean through this time, and he grabbed the limb tossing it aside. Gaerik didn’t consider himself to have a weak stomach, but it wasn’t every day that he went out and chopped up dead bodies for sport. Firewood, sure, bodies? Nope. It wasn’t part of his workout routine.

  “Too bad those witches didn’t decide to come along with us for this since they helped make this mess,” Lucas said pulling his shirt back down so that he could breathe, though it didn’t do much good since the air around them was permeated with the scent of dead and rotting flesh.

  “Yeah, guess so,” Gaerik said pulling the ax back again, swinging down into the mid-section of the body at his feet, blood splattering up and hitting him in the face though he was already covered, he felt each individual droplet soaking into his skin. “But, being one with nature they probably wouldn’t want anything to do with something like this.” He nodded, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his face off, each little fleck that hit his skin felt like insects were crawling all over him, the smell of flesh rotting covered his body like a fine mist of spring rain. Gaerik wanted nothing more than to get under a hot shower head and wash all of this off him, and the quicker he finished this sickening deed, the faster he would make it to a shower.

  “They didn’t mind killing, they shouldn’t mind cleaning it up,” Lucas said resting for a bit before he grabbed the pull cord of the chainsaw and cranked the machine up again, slicing from the neck down to the groin. “The heads were the hardest part,” Lucas yelled over the chainsaw. Before they’d started he’d gone about taking the heads off and tossing them to the side where they were already burning towards a portion of the forest that had been dug bare by the claws of the werewolves when they were fighting yesterday, luckily there was an old gas can in the shed. Lucas hadn’t been sure it would work, but once he took a sniff, he knew that the gas was still good.

  Gaerik shook his head whacking through the body and letting it rest as he watched Lucas. His shoulders were on fire from lifting the ax and putting enough momentum behind it to go through flesh, muscle, and bone. Stretching his back, rolling his shoulders he picked up the remaining pieces, carrying them over to the burning pyre and tossed them in. To Gaerik, he would have imagined that cutting their heads off wouldn't have been the easiest part --it made him wonder just how many times Lucas had disposed of a dead body. As Lucas finished he cut off the chainsaw again, looking around at all the blood that was spilled on the ground.

  “You know, it’s really a lucky thing that the witches came when they did,” Lucas commented pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and using it to wipe his hands and face though it did little good. Sniffing he tucked it into his pocket once more, grabbing the
last leg and tossing it off into the fire while he watched the flesh burning. “I reckon you’ve just got that kind of luck running through your veins, huh?” He asked.

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it lucky,” Gaerik said shaking his head somewhat as he turned away from the fire, moving back towards the tree limb he’d hung his jacket up on. He knew he would never be able to wear these clothes again after today.

  “No, I mean. Think about it.” Lucas said causing Gaerik to pause and turn around to look at him again.

  “You find Elle, this beautiful mystery woman, and she’s writing all about your kind. It would cause my head to turn, especially when she seems to know so much about our kind already, how difficult would it be to accept one of us as a partner. Then, the Council basically has a target on your entire families back and this woman, Elle just so happens to have a real-life connection to werewolves though she never knew it. Elle had guardians looking after her safety her entire life.” Lucas explained with a smirk. “Gregory never liked me much when we were kids, he just never warmed up to me. Nearly took my hand off a couple of times when we were kids when I tried to pet him.”

  “He’s very protective of Elle,” Gaerik said knowing full well how the guardian reacted whenever Gaerik seemed to get a little to close to his mistress. He called it being protective, as she should have been and while he wanted to prove himself as someone that could be trusted with Elle’s best interests, Gregory still kept a close eye on Gaerik whenever he was near, and he didn’t begrudge the guardian for that.

  “Yeah, yeah he is.” Lucas nodded placing his foot on the old tree stump he’d been using to place the bodies on top of before sawing them into pieces. “And so, you escape being killed by fire in Connecticut and run here and once more escape death.” Lucas’ features darkened as he held the chainsaw in his hands, judging its weight in his hand. “Makes me wonder how many lives you’ve got left, Chaliceman.” Yanking the cord of the chainsaw, the machine screamed to life before Lucas lunged towards him, the chain spinning dangerously close to Gaerik’s abdomen before he quickly dodged out of the way.