"I don't want to keep my distance." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, my skin tingling under his touch.
"You could get hurt."
"So could you."
"It's not your fight." He didn't say anything, but I could see his mind working.
"I'll make it my fight."
My eyes traveled over his face, looking for a clue. "Why would you do that?"
He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "I want to be there for you, help you when you are in need." I cocked my head and he continued. "When I'm with you, I feel something I can't explain."
This was the strangest post-date conversation I'd ever had, not that I'd been on that many dates. "Why don't we date, and get to know each other? You can help me fight battles later."
The corners of his mouth tipped up. "That will do for now. You are a charming woman."
His fingers brushed the underside of my jaw, tipping my head up. With his eyes locked on min, he laid a chaste kiss on my lips.
"Michelle?"
I licked my lips, and swallowed. My mouth didn't want to work. "Yes?"
"You can count on me to help you."
"I need to take care of my own messes, they are my responsibility." I couldn't pawn my problems off on someone else. It wasn't right, and right now my problems couldn't be solved by anyone else. They needed a witch. Other witches weren't exactly beating a path to my door, eager to take my place as occasional hero and punching bag.
"You aren't alone. You have acquired an impressive array of guardians."
"What guardians?" I wasn't acquiring anything of the sort. Even if I did, I hadn't tried to acquire them and I didn't know how to use them.
"There is the indestructible dinosaur in the yard. The forest is very attached to you. Landa and Mander are no small force. You recruited a flock of gargoyles. That doesn't factor in your mother and father or me. I'm sure there are others."
"Oh. I hadn't thought of it that way." When he put it like that, it started to sound like an army. But why would I need that many protectors, or an army?
"Learn from the old man, look around and see what you have."
I gazed into his lovely eyes, and nodded in agreement. His hands framed my face and he pulled me in for a leg melting kiss.
"Good night, Michelle. Thank you for spending time with me tonight. If you need me I am but a shout away." He was back in his room before I could say anything. In a daze I walked to my room.
*******
It didn't talk long for the daze to pass. The magical evening couldn't stand up to my guilt. Amber was out there.
Checking my phone, I found a message from Tiffany. No news.
I dug around on my night stand. I had one last trick, but first I had to find the paper. After looking in the drawer, on top, under the loose change, and behind the clock I was stumped. It had to be here. Kneeling down, I checked behind the table legs. Nothing. I took a step back. Where else could it be. I'd moved everything…but the lamp. I picked up the lamp and there it was, hiding under the base, the tiny piece of paper with ten numbers scrawled across it.
Before I could second guess myself, I dialed the number, wishing Baden had given me more information. The phone rang and I crossed my fingers. This was my last hope.
"Hello?" A deep voice, with an Irish accent came across the line.
"Hi, this is Michelle Oaks. I'm a witch, and a friend of mine told me you might know something that could help me recover my friend who's been abducted."
His voice warmed, "I know who you are. This is Liam. Who gave you this number? It isn't the one I left with you."
On the bright side, Liam had expressed his willingness to help me in the past. On the other hand, he had been at the lodge this morning. "Baden, the weretiger who lives here, gave me this number when I asked him if he knew why Adder had taken Amber."
"Who's Amber?"
"Amber's one of my best friends. She's a werepeahen, and a few nights ago she was abducted. The shifters she was with at the time blamed it on werewolves, and odds are that means Adder."
"So, that's who he has. I can tell you she's unharmed, and safe for the moment. I can't say how long she'll be safe, as Adder has gone quite mad."
"She's safe? Thank the earth." I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. The rest of what Liam said sank in. "Mad?" That was bad. Amber wasn't powerful, or a fighter. She wouldn't be able to defend herself against an angry werewolf.
"Yes, he murdered his father, and I think he's working for someone. Adder couldn't have killed Simon without help, magical help. He wasn't a good enough fighter, and he was terrible with pack magic. When Simon died there were signs that magic had been used."
If Adder had killed Simon, there was no one standing between him and the rest of the world. Amber was being held by a man feared by strong and tough shifters. A mad wolf was scary. A mad wolf with magic was terrifying. "What kind of magic?"
"I don't know. It wasn't pack magic, and it didn't feel like any magic I've felt a witch perform."
Werewolves weren't sensitive to magic. They had to be near it to feel it. "You were there? How did Simon die?"
"I had a meeting scheduled with him. I walked into his office and found his body. There was a single stab wound to the chest. Without magic, it shouldn't have been a fatal wound. There was an odd energy around the body, magic, but not a type I've seen before. The body was still warm and stunk of Adder. I left because there was nothing I could do for him. I would've reported his death to the police, but Adder couldn't find out I was meeting with his father."
"Why not? Wolves meet. There's nothing wrong with that."
"There is when Simon was planning on stepping down and handing the pack to me. He was tired of being the alpha. We agreed to do a ritual fight, in which he would surrender. He thought Adder would challenge me and I'd deal with him. I came here at Simon's invitation because the alpha of my last pack was happy in his role, and I had no desire to challenge my father."
"From what I've heard Adder isn't a popular man."
"I know, and I've petitioned the council to let me take over a hostile pack, but until they agree, there's nothing I can do without risking their wrath. My life isn't worth that. I want to help but I'm not willing to die to help a bunch of wolves that can't help themselves."
"Fair enough. Do you know where Adder is keeping Amber? I need to get her back."
"That I can help you with. He's in a big house off of Clear Creek Road. If you go down by the cemetery near the Baptist Church, you'll see a rustic house with well-maintained pastures. That's where he's living. She's in a bedroom off the living room."
"How do you know that?"
"I have allies in the pack. They want her in a safe location as much as you do, though they can't do anything without risking their lives." Liam paused. "Michelle, you're a good lass. Adder would enjoy hurting you. He's not right in the head. If you tell me when you're going after her I might be able to protect you. I'm not at the lodge right now, but I'll be back later."
"Thank you for helping me, for telling me she's safe, but it isn't your job to keep me safe. I'll keep in touch."
Liam sighed, as if he could tell that I'd lied. "Be careful. There is more than a rogue werewolf at work; Adder had help killing Simon."
I thanked him again and got off the phone. His last words kept playing over in my head. Adder had help. That had to be the evil in Ellijay. A crazy werewolf was bad, a crazy werewolf with a powerful and evil supporter was a new level of scary.
*******
Seconds after I hung up the phone, someone knocked on the door.
"Just a minute," I hollered.
I opened the door to find Tiffany, with a stun gun in her hand.
"May I come in?"
"It depends. Are you going to use that on me?" Friends don't electrocute friends.
"I wasn't planning on it."
I stepped out of her way, and closed the door behind her.
"Sit," I pointed at the dining room
table. She sat, stun gun resting on the table. "What are you doing here, late at night, armed with that?" That was as polite as I was going to get under the circumstances.
She tapped a foot on the ground, eyes locked on the table. "You said you'd take matters into your own hands in twenty-four hours. It's been thirty. I've been worried sick, checking in with the police, doing anything I can to find her. You've done one silly spell. When are you going to do something?"
"That's what this is about?" I demanded.
Tiffany looked at me and nodded.
"Let's get something straight, I've been working my butt off since she was taken."
"That's a lie."
"What did you say?"
She leaned on the table. "I said that's a lie."
"What makes you say that?" I knew what she was going to say, but I wanted to hear it.
"You went on a date."
I nodded. "Yes, I did. I went on one bloody date, because he asked me. And you know what? I liked it. It was nice. He was nice. And unlike the last guy I went on a date with, Elron doesn't have a reason to spell me or recruit me. I felt guilty too; guilty because I was safe and having fun. If you'd been nice, we wouldn't be wasting time with this conversation, and I'd be telling you what I found out about Amber."
Tiffany had the grace to look ashamed. Then she opened her mouth and that grace went out the window. "What about Amber?"
Nope, not ashamed at all. I resisted the urge to jump over the table and strangle her. Ignoring her question, I continued, "Since you interrupted my sleep two days ago I've battled a dinosaur, family issues, death threats, examined the bodies of children, looked at a badly decomposed body, negotiated with gargoyles, and had a date. I'm grateful that you kept up with the police investigation, because I couldn't. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, and that you felt alone. I'm sorry you think I don't care about Amber. Trust me, I care. Are we good?"
"I think so." Her hand left the stun gun. "What do you know about Amber?"
"I just found out where Amber is being held."
"Are we going to rescue her?" Tiffany perked up.
Silently, I counted to ten. Tiffany was a friend, a hyper-focused, grief crazed friend, and I wanted us to be friends after this. She deserved my patience, even if it was in short supply tonight. "We need to talk about it. There's more at work than meets the eye."
Her breath hissed out from behind clenched teeth. "I've done all the chit-chat I'm capable of tonight."
"Unknot your panties. This isn't small talk. My source said Adder is holding a woman who fits Amber's description. There is a catch, Adder has a silent partner, one who's powerful enough to hide and evil enough to kill kids." I relayed the information as blandly as I could, not wanting my emotions to influence her choices.
"I don't like the sound of that."
I crossed my fingers; maybe the reasonable and logical side of Tiffany was coming out to play. "You shouldn't. If we go after her, we will be dealing with Adder, any guards of his, and maybe this mysterious evil."
"You're a witch. That has to count for something."
Shaking my head I answered, "Maybe from a distance, but up close I'm no match for a werewolf."
"Oh, what do we do? I want to help her."
"Option one: we wait until morning and I tell the nice detective what I know. Assuming it's enough information for them to act on, we cross our fingers, and hope they get her back with minimal collateral damage. I doubt my information will be worth much. Wells isn't going to be impressed by information I got from a guy, who got it from a guy."
"When you put it that way…"
"I know. It's worthless. Wells said only one bird mentioned smelling werewolves, and the rest won't talk to him. On paper, you heard someone say Adder, which the police can't verify, and I have a second-hand tip."
Tiffany's shoulders dropped. I felt her pain. We would sound like lunatics. Even if Wells wanted to believe us, on paper we wouldn't be credible.
"Option two," I continued. "We go after her. If we do this, it could be the two of us against Adder, his wolves, and his mysterious backer. Besides the obvious risks to life and limb, we'll be risking criminal charges and jail time." The part of me that wanted to save Amber was ready to blackmail Tiffany into helping me. The rest of me was announcing how dangerous and stupid it would be to invade Adder's territory.
If this conversation had taken place before I looked at the bodies of children, I would've been adamant that this was a job for the police. Instead, I had a feeling that I needed to be there. I needed to get a look at Adder and his silent partner.
"Let's do it."
I laced my fingers together and leaned forward. "I was hoping you'd say that. When do you want to do this?"
"Now."
"Now?" My eyebrows shot up.
"Yes, every minute that passes is one more she spends at his mercy. Besides, I doubt Adder likes overnight company, so there won't be as many guards."
*******
"We should've waited until morning," I whined, memories of my last nighttime battle shaking my confidence. I didn't want to be scraped off the pavement, or carted off in an ambulance again.
Since we got in the car, my butt-kicking, brave, heroic persona had gone into hiding. It was easy to be angry, determined, and bold when I was sitting at home. It was harder to be those things when facing the unknown and pointy teeth.
"Well, we're doing it now, so shut up about it and finish draping yourself with charms," Tiffany replied, not taking her eyes off the road.
"Hey, you hauled me out of my apartment without any time to prepare. I've got my wand. This is not prepared." Though, preparation hadn't helped with my last nighttime battle. Chain mail would've been a good idea. It could protect against teeth.
"You said less would be better, remember? Something about Adder's partner having magic. It would be better if you didn't bring charms. There was something about preventing others from using your own charms against you."
"Yah, thanks for reminding me why I'm going into battle naked." Note to self, buy chain mail when you get home.
"You've got your wand."
"And that might be a bad idea. I'd rather not end up with it sticking through a body part because a rogue wolf thought it would be fun."
Tiffany didn't bother to reply, which was probably for the best considering my mood. It wasn't often I was threatened with electrocution, rescued damsels in distress, battled werewolves, or played hero. If I was extra lucky this would go better than last time. I'd had my fill of hospital beds.
Werewolves were dangerous, resilient, and smart. Trolls weren't blessed with intelligence. We needed back up that could go toe to toe with a werewolf. I grabbed my phone and started dialing.
"What are you doing?" Tiffany asked.
"Calling a guy who might be able to help. Now hush." The phone started to ring.
"Hello?" A voice rumbled.
"Liam?"
"Ya found me, Lass."
"I'm going after Amber. If you want to be there, we'll be at Adder's house."
"That's not the brightest idea, Michelle."
"What did you think I was going to do with the information?" He sighed. "I know it's a bad idea, but she needs help."
"Alright. I'll try to help. If nothing else I'll take the pack when he's arrested. If he attacks you, killing him will be justified. That would make the council happy."
"If we can, we'll have the police arrest him. Otherwise, we will play bait."
"Good girl."
We both hung up, and I ignored Tiffany's silent plea for information. She'd heard enough to get the idea. Besides, Liam didn't want me telling anyone about him, so I couldn't answer her questions without betraying his trust.
"Alright, we're getting close. Do you still agree with the plan?" Tiffany asked.
"Yes, this is the best plan we have," I said.
The plan was to park the car by the side of the road near the driveway to Adder's house. Then we were going to cr
eep through the woods until we found the house, at which point the details got fuzzy. As Tiffany had last described it, we would grab Amber, get back to the car, and drive like mad to the police station. I still hadn't figured out how we were going to explain rescuing her, assuming we made it to the police station.
"Are you sure you can't think of a better plan?" I asked.
"No, you vetoed my other plans because they were worse than this one." She pulled the car off the side of the road.
To be fair, I doubted there was a good plan when crossing paths with an unhinged werewolf and an unknown evil. Even with days to prepare, there isn't much I'd do differently given the current information. "True. Let's get her back."
Tiffany tugged on my arm. "This way."
I followed her into the woods, shivering. Even with my jacket it was cold. I wasn't a fan of cold weather, but smells didn't travel as much in the cold. We needed every advantage against a werewolf's senses.
After pushing my way through a pine tree, climbing over two fallen trees, and dodging thorny berry bushes, I slipped my wand into the wrist sheath. I figured it was better off attached to me, than dangling from my fingers while I beat my way through the backwoods of North Georgia. If I couldn't get to it later, I'd reevaluate.
When we got to the stream I knew it wasn't my lucky day. Slipping down the bank was bad enough, but I got water in my shoes and fell face first into mud on the other side. Tiffany pushed through it like she was part nymph. I wiped the mud off my face, wrinkling my nose at the smell. This wasn't spa mud that would improve my complexion, but smelly farm mud. Luckily, it didn't get in my eyes. Giving my feet a half-hearted shake, I resigned myself to being cold, wet, and miserable. A few minutes, and three holly trees later, I started to see lights though the woods. Tiffany stopped, and I nearly ran into her.
"What?" I hissed.
"The house," she answered.
"Okay, what now?" Leaning to the side I could see the front porch. I had all sorts of bad feelings about trying to sneak into Adder's home. I really hoped I wasn't going to be giving a wolf a dental exam.
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