Traver approached the opening, chanting softly and holding his hands out in front of him as though feeling for an invisible barrier. He stopped just at the mouth of the cave, and he waved his hands back and forth over the empty space, his words flowing faster and small beads of sweat emerging on his brow. For what seemed like an eternity, he worked to undo the weavings Issie had left behind, finally lowering his hands and inhaling deeply before dropping to one knee.
“Are you okay?” asked Nashoba, rushing to his side.
Traver nodded. “Would that my father were here. He could dismiss this with a puff of air from his lips, but he is too old and frail to risk what might lie beyond.”
“Is it safe to enter?”
“This far at least. I should go first.”
Traver accepted Nashoba’s outstretched hand and returned to his feet, allowing himself a few deep breaths before entering the cave. Their wolf vision allowed them to see quite well in the darkness of the cave’s interior, and it soon became apparent that the cave was not so deep as Nashoba had feared it might be. A dull blue glow emanated from somewhere inside, and it wasn’t long before they found the cavernous room where Issie maintained the spells that were targeted at Nashoba’s people and who knew who else.
“It’s beautiful,” whispered Nashoba, unable to take his eyes off the swirling orb of light that hovered above a crude stone pedestal.
This spell was the center of so much of the suffering his people had endured over these last years, yet there was no denying the stunning glory of a perpetual spell in its raw form like this. Shimmering light splayed out on the cave walls like moonlight reflecting off the ripples of a pond, and the spell itself was a constantly undulating sphere of light and energy that was difficult to even comprehend.
“It’s more powerful than I expected,” said Traver. He made a slow circle of the cavern room, questing about with his senses to detect any other triggers.
“I can’t believe this has been running so close to our lands this entire time.” said Nashoba.
“How did your father not feel this before? How could we not have noticed it?”
“From what Akala said, it’s doubtful the spell was here the whole time. The witch seemed to be maintaining the original version from Johnson’s land. This spell hasn’t been here long, and I suspect she moved it only recently.”
“How can you tell?”
Traver smiled cryptically. “It would be difficult to explain exactly how I know, but those of us attuned to such things have ways of knowing.”
“It’s not important right now anyway,” said Nashoba, looking around for something to smash the spell out of existence. “How do we destroy it?”
“That is what I’m trying to figure out. It seems to have layers around it that don’t have anything to do with the infertility or the specific attack focused on Akala. I can’t yet tell what they’re for, and until we know that, I don’t dare risk any direct action.”
Nashoba was listening, but only barely. His mind was drawn towards the spell sphere, and he found himself drifting towards it. In some far off part of his brain, he heard Traver warning him not to touch it, but still he moved closer, peering into its depths and finding himself unable to resist the tantalizing song that seemed to emanate from its core.
He knew it was wrong as he did it, but still Nashoba reached out towards the spell. He saw himself standing there, and he saw Traver lunge towards him, but it didn’t keep him from pressing just one finger into the shimmering blue orb of light.
Everything froze around him. Complete silence filled the cave, and Nashoba was suddenly alone. No, not alone, but removed in a layer of time that flowed adjacent to the one Traver still occupied. Nashoba could see the medicine man’s son flitting around him like a hummingbird one moment then moving as slowly as if he were mired in quicksand the next. The frantic buzzing of something on his leg registered somewhere in his brain, and after what seemed like a good long time of thinking about it, he realized that it was his phone.
Issie was on the move.
Of course, Nashoba had no way of checking his phone in his current state, but it only made sense to him now that he was part of the spell. He could feel the individual components of it like layers of an onion. Here was the part that targeted female werewolves, here was a new edition that subtly affected only those non-werewolf females who’d mated with werewolves, and here was the specific ball of hatred directed entirely at Akala. He could feel the spell that bound him in place, and he could reach out along the strings of the warning spell to feel Issie racing towards them as quickly as she could. He also sensed chaos erupting around him and was dimly aware of Traver engaging with the spell’s built-in protection system.
Within it all was the feeling that if he sacrificed himself into the spell, he could destroy it and free everyone from its grip. He tried to tell himself that Issie would just create a new spell, but the new voice in his head told him that his action would ripple out and destroy her, too. He thought long and hard about what to do, his mind on the verge of giving himself to save those he loved, but something held him back. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but the solution seemed too noble and clean to be real. It was as though the spell itself had taken hold of him and offered this way out as a last defense to protect itself.
Once Nashoba realized that the spell was attempting to draw him to suicide, it rebelled against him and sent a piercing lance of pain directly into his head. He screamed with the agony of it and was startled to realize that the spell had no physical grip on him at all. He was holding himself there entirely by choice, and it was a simple matter of stepping backwards to remove himself from the spell’s influence.
“What the fuck happened to you?” asked Traver, his previous cool demeanor falling apart completely. “I’ve been fighting this spell off for more than half an hour!”
“I’ll explain it later,” said Nashoba, gripping Traver’s arm and pulling towards the exit. “We have to go now!”
They ran for the mouth of the cave, the bright light of the sun blinding them momentarily as they blundered towards the trees. Nashoba’s vision corrected itself quickly, and he was just in time to hear the scream of rage that told him Issie had arrived.
“You filthy dog!” she cried. “I will cut off your tail and feed it to your bitch of a girlfriend!”
Nashoba and Traver shifted into wolves as they ran, and within seconds they were down the slippery embankment and splashing through the river. A wave of fiery light rippled over their heads, and they crouched low to avoid the burning heat that radiated from it.
The two wolves shared a glance and pushed on faster, taking advantage of the lull after the magical fire wave to scramble up the other side of the riverbed and to run through the underbrush much more quickly than they’d been able to manage as humans. They were back at the truck in no time at all, and they shifted quickly before jumping into the truck and peeling out of there in a great hurry.
“There’s some spare clothing behind the seat.” said Nashoba.
Traver pulled the bag out and removed a shirt and pair of pants for each of them. As young wolves they’d long ago become comfortable with the casual nudity that resulted in having transformed back to human form, but they both knew that anyone driving past them might not take it the same way. They stopped by the side of the road and changed quickly before jumping back in and racing back towards tribal lands.
EIGHT
“We should go straight to my father.” said Traver when the returned to the tribal village.
“I need to stop and see Akala,” replied Nashoba, his knuckles white from how tightly his fingers gripped the steering wheel.
“I understand that need, but my father can help us. You interacted with the spell in a very intense way, and I have not the strength to read into what you experienced. My father is the best chance we have of understanding the true nature of what plagues our people, and through him we will save our people.”
Nasho
ba pounded his steering wheel and drove on past his house and the only person he wanted to see right now. He couldn’t seem to do anything right lately, and it killed him to have to slink past everyone to try to find another answer. Every second he wasted was another moment that Akala lay abed in pain. It wasn’t enough to keep running around trying to find answers if he could never take any action. A part of him couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he should have pushed harder while tied to the spell. What if there was something more he could have done? Something more he could have given of himself?
They pulled into the closest dead end to where the medicine man lived on the edge of their lands, and Nashoba shook his head and marveled at just how close Issie had managed to set up her spell without them noticing it. They were on the far side of the village from her cave, but even still, they were only a few miles away. Nashoba could feel the pull of the spell acting on him like a beacon.
“Are you okay?” asked Traver.
“Yes.” Nashoba blinked and focused on the medicine man’s son. “It’s the spell. It’s pulling me toward it still.”
“Come, let us consult my father.”
The medicine man sat on a rock outside his simple hut waiting for them when they rounded the bend in the trail and emerged into the small clearing where a cheery little fire crackled away. A pot of water rested on the edge of the hot coals, several herbs floating and steeping inside. The medicine man poked at them with a stick and nodded to the two men when they approached him.
“Come,” he said, gesturing for Nashoba to sit beside him. “I’ve been expecting you both. I’m sorry that I sent you on a fool’s errand, but I thought there might have been something you could have done. The aura of the spell still lingers upon you though, and I would read its story if you would let me?”
Nashoba assented and dropped to his knees in front of the old man. The medicine man dipped his fingers in the boiling water and came away completely unscathed unlike any normal person might have. He rubbed the liquid over his palms and pressed them on either side of Nashoba’s head while murmuring in a version of their language so old that Nashoba didn’t understand a word of it. The heat of the man’s hands was pleasant and relaxing, and he felt a slight ebbing of the frustration he felt at not being able to do anything to help those he cared about most.
“This is something I did not expect.” said the medicine man, releasing Nashoba and settling back into his seat by the fire.
“What is it, father? What did you see?”
“There’s something about the spell that reminds me of some ancient lore, but I’m having trouble recalling the exact source. Our kind have had frequent trouble with witches over the centuries, and I don’t believe this is the first time a spell like this has been used against us. We are, by nature, a very magic resistant species, and there are only a few very specific and powerful spells that can be used to harm us. For this witch to be using them, she must have studied long and sought much forgotten knowledge to learn what she has learned.”
“Is there a way to disable the spell?” asked Nashoba.
“From what I’ve seen, none but a witch of equal or greater power could destroy that spell without Issie’s consent. She could destroy it herself, but that doesn’t seem likely after everything that’s been said thus far.”
“What if she died?” asked Nashoba, his meaning and intent crystal clear. He wouldn’t hesitate to rip out her throat and leave her to rot in the forest. It was only his fear of making the situation worse that kept him from ending their strife once and for all.
“That would not help us.” replied the medicine man. “I understand your hatred for her, but until we have a way to destroy the spell, she must yet live. There is something I’m forgetting, and I apologize, but my mind is not as nimble as it once was.”
“Could we not block the spell?” Traver had been standing silently at the edge of the fire ring, watching and listening, but now he came forward to sit with Nashoba and his father.
“I’ve tried several ways,” said the medicine man. “My power is not equal to hers in this regard. I can do many things, but I’m afraid this is not one of them.”
The old man stared into the flames and they all sat silently. Seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes stretched on, but Nashoba knew better than to interrupt a medicine man at thought. As impulsive and headstrong as he sometimes felt he was, Nashoba would not have lasted long as tribal alpha if he did not know how to be patient and bend to the wisdom of his elders. While he might have the formal position of leadership through strength and character, it was the old ones in the tribe who held most of the knowledge and lore that was so important to their people.
“There is a way.” said the medicine man after some time. “I’m ashamed I didn’t think of it before, but there is indeed a way.”
“What is it?” asked Nashoba. “Tell me what I must do and I will do it without question.”
The old man’s eyes gleamed with mischief as he turned to stare down Nashoba. “This task involves more than just you, Nashoba. How are your relations with your human woman going?”
“Akala?” Nashoba sat back and furrowed his brow. “I love her, and I believe she loves me. With everything that has happened to her since arriving here, she is scared of what it might mean to commit to me. I wish it were otherwise, but I have caused her to fall into harm’s way, and she still does not know if she wishes to commit to mating with a full-blooded werewolf.” Nashoba hesitated. He didn’t want to question the medicine man when he was clearly on a specific track, but he could little see how any of this was relevant to their current problem.
“Be not afraid,” said the medicine man. “I do not want to put her into further danger, but to draw her and everyone out of it.”
“What are you thinking father?”
“There is old magic, and then there is old magic. Issie uses a form of ancient magic against us, and I’ve been a fool to ignore the one thing even older than what she has managed to dig up. There is much power in the mating of a man and woman, but more than that, there is a ceremony that can be performed between a tribal alpha and his mate that serves as a protective bond for their people. So long as they both stand for their tribe with true hearts, their bond will shelter them from all magical attack.”
“What of the other tribes?” asked Nashoba. “I cannot in good conscience block ourselves from Issie’s attack only to leave them vulnerable.”
“Yes, that is a problem, but it can be solved if they agree to fall under your leadership. The tribes must band together as they once did, and we must present a unified front against this hateful force. Only then can we strike against her and destroy her spell.”
“I will have to speak with Akala.” said Nashoba. “Traver, can you explain this to the elders and begin the process of uniting the tribes? I trust that you will do it with all the diplomatic grace you can manage. They must not see this as a power grab, but as a way to protect us all from current and future harm.”
“Of course,” replied Traver. He didn’t hesitate any further, and ran off to begin his work.
“And now I suppose I must ask Akala to commit to me fully.” said Nashoba, more to himself than anyone else.
“Worry not, young wolf,” said the medicine man. “It is her love that burns within you that put me on this path. She is afraid, but she loves you deeply enough to become the protective bond.”
Nashoba nodded and walked solemnly back into the village. He left his truck where it was, preferring to walk on foot to give himself a few extra minutes to think about things. He loved Akala, and he’d known for some time that he truly wanted her as his mate, but was there such a thing of asking too much of someone he loved? He knew she loved him too, but still, it was a lot to ask after so little time together with so much strife that had befallen her.
“What news?” asked Haley as Nashoba approached his home. She sat on the porch with a cup of steaming tea in her hands and worn expression on her face.
�
�I don’t now just yet. Is Akala awake? I have to talk to her.”
“She was sleeping last I checked, but she’s got some color back in her cheeks and she’s in a lot less pain than she was last night.” Haley paused to read her cousin’s expression “You should be fine to wake her if it’s important.”
“It is.” was all he said.
Nashoba entered the house and climbed the stairs. It felt like he’d walked this walk a thousand times in the last few days, but this time, it was something different that made him want to hesitate and turn back, and run up at the same time. Where before he’d been angry and disappointed, he now recognized anxiety in himself. He knew he had only one real question to ask, and he feared the answer.
“Akala?” He asked quietly, brushing a strand of hair from her sleeping face.
“Mmm, yeah?” She asked groggily, opening her eyes and smiling to see him there.
“I have something very important to ask you.” He said, not entirely sure how to tackle the big question. “I wasn’t able to destroy the spell that binds you to this pain. I’m so sorry for that, but before we discuss anything else, I have to tell you that I love you more than I ever thought it would be possible to love someone. It’s been growing in me since we first met, but now I know it to be as true as anyone could ever ask for. I know there might be pressures to being the mate of a tribal alpha, but I’m asking you to accept that I will do everything in my power to guide and protect you from all that might cause you distress.”
The Alpha's Mail Order Bride- The Complete Series Page 18