by Meg Ripley
The first part of the spell was over, and Penny knew it was time for the step she dreaded the most. Adjusting the grip of the knife in her hand, she reminded herself that this was Kayla. Her best friend. Kayla had always been there for her, and Penny had no doubt that the two of them would still feel the same way about each other if it hadn’t been for that fateful night. She didn’t want to help Miguel and Tyler, but this was her one chance to finally see Kayla again. Penny wasn’t sure if she’d even get a chance to apologize, but she had to try. She had to do this right, for Kayla’s sake.
The clan members stood as stiff as zombies around the stone and the bracelet. They held out their wrists, waiting for her with dead eyes.
Penny swallowed and stepped up to the first one on her right. She could still sense Tyler’s eyes on her. Could she turn around and stab this knife straight through his heart? Maybe, if she were quick enough. But even if she killed Tyler, it wasn’t going to stop this from happening. Miguel had recruited far more members than she could’ve imagined, luring them in by dangling power in front of their faces. That clearly wasn’t paying off for them, but Penny wasn’t sure they knew that. Judging by the emotionless looks on their faces, whatever had inspired them to join Miguel was no longer of any concern.
Her throat filled with bile as she pressed the tip of the knife to the first man’s wrist. It was sharp, thank god, and it easily pierced the thin skin. Crimson oozed up from the tiny wound, which would soon join the legion of scars peppered all over the man’s arm. Without waiting to watch him turn his wrist to pour the blood on the ground, Penny stepped to the next man.
As she raised the knife once again, a vision of Kayla clouded her eyes. Penny was back in high school, standing in the locker room. Kayla had been with her during first period, but Penny hadn’t seen her during gym class. She suddenly appeared, looking sad as she rubbed her arm.
“There you are!” Penny had exclaimed, somewhat irritated that Kayla hadn’t been there during class. “Coach Long let Destiny and Annabelle pick teams, again! So of course I ended up just standing there like an idiot until Destiny got stuck with me. This is so embarrassing, and I’m tired of doing it every day.” She even remembered propping her foot up on the bench to tie her laces.
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Kayla had said quietly. “I was in the counselor’s office.”
Penny had been reaching into her locker for her bag, but she turned and dropped her arm. “Really? What’d you do?”
“No, I wasn’t in trouble. You know Jenny Bledsoe? The one who wears those baggy hoodies all the time? She’s in my math class, and I happened to see her arm when she reached up to fix her ponytail. She’s been cutting herself.” Kayla twisted her face.
“Oh. Wow.” Penny hadn’t known what to say. She’d heard of things like that happening, but she couldn’t imagine anyone doing it. “Are you sure?”
Kayla had nodded. “She was covered in scars, Penny. It was so awful. I feel bad for telling on her, but I know she needs help. I just can’t imagine anyone would want to do that to themselves, or maybe even kill themselves. I hope she’ll be okay now.”
Penny had wrapped Kayla in a hug. “I’m sure she will.”
Blinking as she brought herself back to the present, Penny felt her tongue stick to the roof of her mouth as she made another cut. These men were surviving the injuries, just as Jenny Bledsoe had, but for how long? How many times could they do this before they, too, would be among those spirits being dragged back to Earth? With a tightening of her throat, Penny realized that was just another step in Miguel’s plan. If any members of his new clan perished, he’d simply use their souls instead of their bodies.
Determined to get through this and get it over with, Penny moved around the circle. She kept thoughts of Kayla close to her heart, as always, knowing that her best friend would understand why she was doing this awful thing. There had to be some way out of it, some way to change the future, some way to make it all okay again. Penny desperately wished she had her equipment with her, just in case it would tell her something about what was happening.
Finally, after slicing six wrists, Penny returned to her place in the circle and bent down to touch the bloody knife to her bracelet. This part of the ritual, at least, was in English. She suddenly realized that there might, in fact, be something she could do to change the outcome. “Come to me, spirit. Release the shackles of the afterlife that keep you from this realm and walk among the living once again.” She cringed, waiting. Tyler hadn’t noticed what she’d done.
The circle of the bracelet filled with blue light. It shimmered and bubbled, writhing within the confines of the metal until it shot upward in a column of luminescence. Suspended in the air, the blue light began to change. Penny had only witnessed the summoning that she and Raul had spotted the other night and the one that Miguel had made her watch earlier. There was something different about this one. Energy crackled in the air and flowed through her body as she watched the light coalesce into a familiar shape.
Kayla stood on the rock, the bracelet between her bare feet. Her dark hair flowed freely down past her shoulders, blowing in a wind that Penny couldn’t feel. The spirit looked around with anger and confusion, and this only slightly dissipated when she spotted Penny. “What have you done?”
Penny took a step forward, feeling all the rest of the events happening at the park drop away as though they didn’t exist. “Kayla, I’m so sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Why would you do this to me?” Kayla wailed as she looked down at her body. “I’ve stayed close to you, so close that it’s almost as though I’ve been here, but that wasn’t good enough? Penny, how could you?”
“Holy shit,” Tyler said behind her. Penny turned to look, seeing awe on his face. No, not awe. Fear. “Penny, what did you do?”
“I did as you asked,” she ground out. It was one thing for Kayla to be angry, confused, and hurt. She didn’t know what was happening. But Tyler? “This was all your doing, so I don’t know what your problem is.”
“No, you messed it up! She’s not supposed to be able to talk to you like that! You saw the way the others were. They just stood there and waited for directions!” He gestured wildly at Kayla, taking a slight step back.
The spirit turned to him. “I remember you, but you’re not the same.”
“Yeah, neither are you. But you’re bound to my new clan now, and you have to do as I say. You need to come with me to your parents’ house, and you’ll stay bound until they convince your Alpha to surrender to us!” Tyler straightened his shoulders and thrust out his chest.
Kayla looked away from him and to Penny. “I’m not doing that.”
“Nor should you,” Penny agreed, feeling desperate. “He’s part of a new clan that’s using ancient rituals to try to take over the entire area. They’re blackmailing shifters to give up control over their packs and clans by holding the spirits of their loved ones hostage.”
“What the fuck did you do? This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!” Tyler’s hard punch landed square in the middle of Penny’s back, bringing her to her knees and knocking the breath from her lungs.
“Don’t you touch her!” Kayla’s scream was a keening wail in the night as she stepped down from the stone toward Tyler.
Penny focused on her friend’s bare foot, so real that she could reach out and touch it. Air refused to come back into her body, and she gasped in desperation. But she also smiled as she turned her face to look at Tyler, the man whom she’d once loved who was now her enemy. “I brought her back, but I didn’t bind her. She’s free to do as she wishes.”
“Shit!” Tyler’s exclamation was cut off as Kayla hauled back and slammed him with her fist. Miguel might have been a crazy man, but the spells he’d created to summon these ghosts had worked well. They were capable of creating all the destruction and chaos he wanted, but Kayla had a mind of her own. She landed another wallop to Tyler’s chest, not hurting him but putting him in his place. He stumbled backwar
d into a tree, which he clutched for dear life as he watched the ghost with terror.
Kayla wasn’t paying any more attention to him, though. She was watching the park around them. Her eyes were the same brilliant blue they’d always been, enhanced by that cobalt light of the other side that filled her now. “Something’s happening.”
“I know.” Penny pressed a hand to her head. “The people Tyler is working with are raising spirits all over the place.”
“No. Not just that. There’s someone else.”
Slowly sitting up, Penny glanced around. Much of the park was cut off from her vision by the hills and trees, but she could see the clan members shuffling along the pathways like zombies and the other spirits who’d been raised streaming toward the exits. All was exactly as she expected, until she heard a scream. A massive black dragon swooped down from the sky, fire blazing from its jaws. Penny’s guts turned to water, but then she saw the two bears and the wolf that came charging into the park after it. A panther brought up the rear, her eyes watchful. “They’ve come to help us,” she said with tears in her eyes, instantly recognizing the sleek wolf.
“And so will I,” Kayla announced. “These souls have been bound, but only because they didn’t understand what was happening. I might be able to change that.” She strode off through the grass, no longer a dead teenage girl but a warrior.
Penny had been horrified when she’d awoken to this situation, but her heart now rose in her chest, filling with hope. Kayla and Raul were fighting for justice, and so would she. Already on all fours, she pulled in a deep breath. It was painful still, but the relief that came with transitioning to her wolf made it more than worth it. She felt the power in her muscles as they shifted and changed, accommodating to a form fit for four legs. The screams that surrounded her increased in volume as her ears swiveled to catch the sounds, and her sharp teeth ran with saliva. She dug her clawed feet into the ground as she turned, ready to fight Tyler.
But he was gone.
She swiveled her furry head from left to right, wondering where the hell that fucker went. Another fiery blast from the dragon illuminated the sky, highlighting the dark clouds that were slowly rolling in. The bears and Raul charged up a grassy hill, but Penny quickly lost sight of them among the crowd of other shifters who’d taken on their animal forms. Lions and tigers swarmed the old pathways. The roar of bears shook the trees as a pack of coyotes flanked them. Wolves crept in slowly from the shadows, creeping in ever closer to the SOS Force. Penny could hardly keep track of who was who, but there were so many animals that it looked as though the old zoo had reopened and run amok.
Barreling toward the fray, Penny was stopped when the lean body of a cougar pounced down onto the ground in front of her. He opened his mouth to let out a scream, showing off his brilliant white fangs and glowing yellow eyes. Penny felt her hackles raise. She’d trained with her father many times, but the enemy surrounded her. Her tail bristled as she circled the other beast, looking for its weak point. The cougar was well-muscled, and he looked as though he’d been incredibly fit at one point, but his stomach was tucked so high up into his ribs that he had to be from Miguel’s group. The cat was ready to fight, but he wouldn’t last long.
Penny swung her hind end around to get the right angle and attacked. Her teeth sank through thick fur, and she bit down harder to get through the rubbery feline skin. Blood burst into her mouth and streamed down her throat.
The big cat screamed in her ear as he tried for a counterattack. He swiped at Penny with his back claws, scraping the thin skin of her legs but doing no real damage.
Penny bit down harder, letting her lupine senses completely dominate as she ripped a hunk of flesh from the cougar’s neck. She snarled as she spit fur from her tongue, ready to go again. But the defeated cat staggered away, its tail hanging limply along the ground behind it.
The evil clan was too focused on the center of the fight further up the hill, and no one had noticed her. Penny shot toward them, desperate to get to Raul. She could no longer see him among all the beasts who flooded the park, but the dragon was impossible to miss. She turned and darted up the hill. Raul! Her heart cried out for him.
I’m here. His telepathic reply was as clear in her head as if he’d stood next to her. Get out of here while you can, Penny. There are too many of them.
She gritted her teeth as she shoulder-checked a skinny coyote out of the way and sprinted by. I’m not leaving! And please tell me the freaking dragon is with you!
The sound that came through next might have been a slight laugh. Yeah, definitely.
We’ve got to get to Miguel. I think he’s still raising spirits, and he’s found the right spell to control them!
There was no reply. Penny waited, trying to be patient as her heart surged inside her ribcage. If he died because he’d gotten involved with her, if she lost yet another person who meant the absolute world to her, she’d never forgive herself.
I will, but please, Penny. Get out of here. Save yourself.
A running leap carried her straight over the head of a fox. Hell, no.
Something’s happening.
She ran faster, feeling her lungs burn. There! He stood with the other shifters he’d come in with, their backs against a rusty cage. Several of Miguel’s guys surrounded them, toying with them as they crept in slowly.
Penny came up behind the enemy, charging faster and feeling all her senses converge as she focused on a ratty gray tail. She was keenly aware of Raul, watching her, sending her a message that told her to leave, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Not when there was so much yet to fight for. Jumping into the air, she landed hard on a large tiger’s back. It swirled to the right, throwing her off. Penny rolled to the ground, tucking her feet in so she could sprint as soon as gravity was done having its way with her. The tiger was on her in a heartbeat, its heavy toes flexing as it sank its claws into the soft skin of her underbelly.
The weight of the tiger was instantly gone as the orange beast went flying backward, with Raul on top of it. His low growl thundered inside him and rumbled through Penny’s body as he snapped his jaws repeatedly at the big cat, dodging its teeth and sending its blood flying into the air. It fought much as the cougar had, but it didn’t have the energy to take down the hulking wolf. Raul clamped his jaws over the tiger’s throat and gnashed his razor-sharp teeth together, killing it instantly.
Penny knew there was no time to waste. She rolled over and got to her feet as she and Raul rejoined the others. You said something was happening. What is it?
Look over there. Raul gestured with his great head toward the old lion enclosure, where Penny had last seen Miguel. The man had shifted into his black bear. Several of his thugs were at his side, and Penny recognized the muted tones of Tyler’s wolf. They were defending themselves not from any SOS Force members, but Kayla.
She stood before them, blue fire exploding like an aura around her. “This is the mortal who did this to you!” she cried to the other spirits gathered behind her. “This is the one who would control you to do his bidding, who brought you back into the pain of life from the other side, who would use you to gain power!” Kayla lifted a finger and pointed it straight at Miguel.
“Fuck off!” he spat back. “You’re only here because you’re bound to me. You must do as I say.”
Kayla smiled as she shook her head. “You forget that you only tricked them into believing they were bound. A spirit cannot be tamed or bought or contained. You have no more control over us than what we’re willing to give you, and we won’t let you use us.”
Miguel stood, lifting his chin and curling his fists at his sides. His dark eyes glittered in the night as he began chanting. Penny recognized the sounds of that ancient language he’d written down for her in his effort to make her abuse these poor souls. Her stomach trembled, but she took comfort in feeling her mate at her side.
Throwing back her head, Kayla curled her fingers around two massive balls of blue flame that formed in her h
ands. She screamed into the night as the spirits rushed forward. They were tired and angry, and that was all the fuel they needed as they attacked Miguel and his closest circle.
Penny and the Force stood at the ready to fend off the rest of the shifters. She expected them to attack, to defend their leader so they could claim the power they’d gone there for. She’d already tasted blood that night, and she was ready for more. But the array of beasts that had returned to the old zoo were slinking off into the night, melting into the shadows.
It was over even faster than it’d begun. Miguel and his men, including Tyler, lay dead in the mouth of the old caves, their blood dripping over the concrete and asphalt. Penny leaned against Raul, nuzzling her muzzle against his. I’ve got to talk to Kayla.
Go ahead, mi corazón. I’ll wait for you. He retreated, but he only moved over by the picnic tables. If some of Miguel’s fleeing minions decided to come back, he would be at her side in an instant.
Penny shifted back. Her human body was tired and sore from her efforts as a wolf, but that didn’t matter as long as she got to talk to Kayla. She stretched her fingers as her claws returned to fingernails and stepped up to the ethereal being who’d led them to victory. “Kayla, I’m so sorry for bringing you back. I’ve wanted to see you for so long, but not like this.”
Kayla turned to her, the brilliant blue light around her slowly beginning to fade. “It’s all right. I’m glad I could help.”
“I don’t quite understand,” Penny admitted. “I didn’t do the binding part of the spell so you could have your own free will, but how were you strong enough to rally the rest of the ghosts?”
Kayla reached out and took Penny’s hand, sending a bolt of energy up Penny’s arm. “Because of you. I’ve been dead for years, but you’ve always kept me close to your heart. You’ve spoken to me every day, and it’s kept a connection open between us. I think it also has something to do with how young I was when I passed. There was still a lot of potential left in me, and I guess I was saving it for something good.” She smiled, an apparition, but still the same old Kayla.