“No offense, Anya, you seem like a smart girl,” Finn said gently. “But what could you do? You don’t have any magical powers, and you can’t change into a fierce animal. The humans who have joined Saul’s army are the first to be slaughtered whenever there’s a battle.”
“And who do you think Saul will use as pawns if he finds the other dragon stones? The humans will be the first to go, I guarantee it. I’m not going to go home and sit around waiting and hoping that the world doesn’t come to an end. Let me help you. I may be small, but that doesn’t mean I’m not fierce. I have more heart than most people twice my size, I promise you.”
Finn was surprised by how insistent Anya was being. Usually, humans ran the other direction from shifters as fast as they could. When you added in the fact that he had just told Anya that the whole world was in danger of imploding on itself, Finn had expected her to be running as fast as she could away from the Falcon Cross group. Perhaps there was more to this fiery little character than met the eye. He took a moment now to look her over again. Her hair was even messier than it had been last night. The bun she’d been wearing it in had come out in the chaos of flying. Her hair hung in long tangled waves around her shoulders, but even in that state it was beautiful. The color perfectly set off her green eyes, and her smooth skin glowed in the light of the sun. A few freckles dotted her nose, and here and there she had a scratch on her face from running so frantically through the bushes. She was a mess, but a beautiful mess.
He knew she was doing funny things to his heart. There was no sense in denying the infatuation that washed over him every time he looked at her. But thinking that she was a beautiful woman and acting on those thoughts were two different things. He could not afford to fall for her, no matter how much faster she made his heart beat. She might be brave and eager to help, but she was still human. He could not in good conscience bring a human into this war. Not after seeing what had happened to the humans who were part of Saul’s army. Humans were nothing more than easy targets in this fight, and he didn’t want to turn Anya into an easy target.
Besides, it wasn’t his decision to make. Any new clan members had to be approved by the clan leaders. Unless one of the High Council wizards or the lead dragons approved Anya, it didn’t matter so much what he thought. And he told Anya as much.
“Anya, I’m not the one who decides who is allowed to go on our missions or fight in our armies. I can’t give you permission to join us, and I can guarantee that those who do make those decisions will be wary of taking on a human. They don’t even like to allow new wizards or shifters to join us, for fear that a spy might get in.”
“You must have some sway with them, though,” Anya persisted. “Come on, you guys dragged me into this. You owe me a chance to prove that I can help. Tell them that I deserve to be part of this.”
“Anya,” Finn started to say again. He was trying to find the words to explain to her that he didn’t think he had that much sway and that, even if he did, he wouldn’t want to use his influence to convince his clan leaders to allow Anya to be part of a war that might get her killed. But before Finn could get any more words out, he was interrupted by Owen, who showed up in the forest just as silently as Finn had not even half an hour ago.
“You guys better come back to the campsite,” he said gravely.
Finn jumped to his feet, instantly alert. “Is something wrong? Did they find us again?”
“No, I think we’ve given Saul’s army the slip, at least temporarily,” Owen said. “But Peter and Knox are here. They want to discuss what to do about Anya.”
“Knox is here?” Finn said, feeling truly shocked. Finn had not seen their clan leader, Knox, in quite some time, since he had been busy helping to guard the dragon stones in Texas. If anything, Finn would have expected Noah, the second in command dragon, to show up. Even that would have been surprising to Finn, but perhaps he should have known something like this would happen. The wizards worried obsessively about humans discovering magic. Of course they would be over the top worried about a human seeing an attack by Saul’s army. Knox was probably coming to reassure Peter that everything was alright. Finn relaxed a little bit at that thought. Knox was levelheaded, and could talk some sense into the wizards. And it would be good to see his clan leader again. Finn felt excitement filling his heart as he turned to Anya.
“Come on,” he said. “The guys who can make a decision about whether to let you join the war are here.”
Anya stood and nodded, looking pleased. She wouldn’t look so pleased if she understood how hard it would be to convince them, Finn thought. Still, he felt a rush of happiness at her smile. He turned abruptly to walk in front of her, telling himself to get it together. He already knew how this story ended. Peter and Knox would listen to Anya beg for a chance to fight alongside the wizards and dragons. They would nod sympathetically, but ultimately decide that it was too dangerous for a human. Perhaps they would offer her extra protection as an incentive for her to go peaceably back to her home. But in the end, Anya would have to go home. Finn was sure of that. There was no sense in letting himself feel anything for her. And yet, he couldn’t help feeling like his heart was breaking a little as he watched her walking in front of them now. She was moving quickly, as if in excited anticipation. She thought she would be able to convince them to let her stay, but she truly didn’t know what she was asking for.
Finn glanced over at Owen, who had his mouth set in a grim line. Owen must be worried that we’re going to get chewed out for letting a human see us, Finn thought. Finn wasn’t too worried about that. He didn’t care all that much anymore. He’d been chewed out plenty of times in his life. What was once more? He was just happy that there was someone else here now to show Anya that she was asking for the impossible. Finn decided to talk to Owen about Anya, who was now far enough ahead of them that she wouldn’t hear what the men were saying if they kept their voices low. Maybe talking would loosen Owen up a bit and wipe that worried scowl off his face.
“She’s one of the most accepting humans I’ve ever met, you know?” Finn said. “I mean, yeah, she tried to run off at first. But after she calmed down and I explained more about shifting to her, she actually seemed quite curious. In fact, when I told her about the war and why we were attacked last night, she actually wanted to join our army. Can you believe that? I mean, there’s no way Peter and Knox will let her, but it’s pretty brave of her to even ask, don’t you think?
Owen did not seem impressed by this news, though. In fact, his scowl deepened. “Peter’s not going to be happy that you told her everything about the war. Did you explain about the dragon stones, too?”
Finn nodded. “Yes, but what was I supposed to tell her? We were attacked by people who obviously want us dead. There aren’t many easy ways to explain that, other than the truth. What’s with you, anyway? Usually you’re the first one to roll your eyes at the wizards and all their overly cautious rules. But you’re almost acting like you yourself think that I shouldn’t have said anything to Anya. Are you actually still worried that she’s a spy or something?”
Owen stopped walking for a moment and let out a long, annoyed sigh. Anya was quite far ahead of them now, rapidly heading back toward their latest makeshift campsite.
“I don’t think she’s a spy,” Owen said. “But Peter is freaking out about a human discovering magic, and the war.”
“That’s nothing new,” Finn said. “They’re always freaking out about that sort of thing.”
“No, but I mean, really freaking out,” Owen said. “Finn, they want to wipe her memory.”
Finn’s jaw actually dropped as he looked over at Owen. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but the only thing he could manage to say was, “What?”
Owen nodded in confirmation. “Peter’s not alone. He brought one of the most senior wizard Advocates with him—to perform the spell if they do decide to wipe her memory. That’s why Knox came all the way out, too. He’s trying to convince Peter that a memory wipe is
unnecessary and a bad idea.”
“It is a bad idea,” Finn said vehemently, finally finding his voice. “Why would Peter risk all the complications just to keep one human from knowing about wizards? One human who wants to help us, no less.”
Owen merely shrugged and said nothing. There wasn’t much to say, really. Finn knew Owen agreed that it was a bad idea, but if Peter decided that it was necessary, there would be no stopping him. The old wizard was one of the wisest, kindest people Finn had ever met, but he was also one of the most stubborn. When Peter set his mind on an idea, it was virtually impossible to convince him to change it.
Finn felt his heart dropping as he considered the possibility that Anya’s memory would be wiped. Finn didn’t know much about magic, but he knew about memory wiping. Izzy had explained it to him one night when telling him about the horrible things that Saul’s army had threatened to do to her when she had been their prisoner. Memory wiping was not itself a dark magic spell, but it was rarely used among good wizards due to its risks. Dark wizards, of course, generally didn’t care about bad side effects.
And the potential side effects were many. The memory-wiping spell was a difficult one, and only the most talented wizards were allowed to even attempt it. Peter himself would defer to a senior wizard advocate if the spell was to be performed, because the senior Advocate would actually have a small amount of experience with performing the spell. Occasionally, if a human saw too much magic and was threatening to expose the wizards to the government, the wizards would decide to have an advocate wipe that human’s memory. Over the years, a few cases of memory wiping had been carefully documented, and most of them had not ended well.
In one case, the wizard casting the spell had erased too much of the human’s memory. The human had not been able to remember anything at all for the last ten years before the wipe. The human had no recollection of his job, his wife, or even of his newborn baby girl. The poor guy had been forced to go to therapy because the human doctors thought he was suffering from some sort of mental illness. In another case, the spell had destroyed the human’s ability to make new memories, and the human could not remember any new experiences he had for more than a few seconds. And there was more than one case where the person had just gone completely, irreparably crazy.
Finn shuddered. He barely knew Anya, but he already cared about her a great deal. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to see her go crazy, or forget about her life from the last ten years. She didn’t deserve that. No one deserved that. Finn knew the wizards were just trying to protect themselves, but it seemed like such a violation of basic human rights to wipe someone’s memory for no reason other than that person had accidentally crossed paths with a wizard.
And, of course, if Anya’s memory was erased, she would not remember him. Somehow, that realization cut deeper than all his other worries. The thought of never seeing her again, and having her not even remember meeting him, took his breath away. Finn watched Anya’s rapidly disappearing back as she raced through the woods, not knowing that she was racing toward potential doom.
“I’m not going to let them do this to her!” Finn growled, anger filling his voice.
“You can’t interfere,” Owen said, although he sounded sad when he said this. “I don’t always approve of the way the wizards do things, either, but we have to respect their traditions and reasoning. They’re our allies, you know. We need them. Knox will do his best to talk sense into Peter, but you have to stay out of it and let Knox take care of it.”
“Bullshit!” Finn said. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit. Yes, they’re our allies, and we do need to respect that they sometimes have different ways of doing things. But that doesn’t mean that I have to stand by and let them do something that’s clearly wrong. Anya is a good person. She wants to help us. She isn’t going to rat us out to the enemy, and there’s no reason to risk destroying her life and memory because we’re too afraid to admit that we screwed up by allowing her to see our campsite in the first place.”
Owen, who was usually quite a fiery personality, merely shrugged in response, then let out a resigned sigh.
“Well,” Owen said. “If you want to say something to change Peter’s mind then you better hurry up and go say it. I get the impression that he was in quite a big hurry to get this ‘threat’ taken care of.”
Finn’s eyes darkened and he quickened his pace as he followed Anya back toward the campsite. “Anya’s not a threat. She deserves better than this, and I’m going to fight to make sure she gets it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw Owen’s eyes widening a bit in surprise. But Owen did not question Finn. He seemed to sense that, for some reason, Anya mattered deeply to Finn.
And she did. Finn himself wasn’t sure exactly why, but Anya mattered a lot. Perhaps more than anything had ever mattered to him before. The thought both troubled and excited him, but he didn’t have time to wonder about it now. First, he would go save Anya’s memory. Then he would sort through his feelings for her.
Chapter Eight
Anya stumbled into the clearing feeling full of adrenaline and hope, but she stopped short at the sight that greeted her. Izzy and Raven were there, of course, but neither one of them would meet Anya’s eyes. They were dressed in robes now instead of in the uniforms they had been wearing when Anya first met them, and they had brushed out their hair and washed their faces. Anya marveled at how much the simple change of outfits made them look so much more like the wizards she now knew that they were.
The truly impressive sight, though, was the three men standing near Izzy and Raven. Even though Anya had never seen them before in her life, she knew right away that two of them were wizards and one of them was a shifter. They were important men, here on an important mission. The three of them together made an awe-inspiring, almost fearsome sight, and Anya found herself dropping her eyes uncomfortably to her feet, unsure of where to look or what to say.
One of the wizards was an older man, with a kind face that was deeply etched with laugh lines. He wore a dark red robe, and a matching wizard hat that rose high above his head in a perfect point. He had a long white beard that reached down to his belly, and looked more wizardly than even his magnificent hat. He’d had his hands clasped in front of him when Anya entered the clearing, but now he stretched his right hand out to shake Anya’s. She looked up at him as he spoke.
“I’m Peter,” he said. “Head wizard of the Falcon Cross High Council.”
Anya wasn’t sure what a High Council was, but it wasn’t hard to figure out that this man was someone worthy of respect. She glanced down at his giant magic ring and admired the way it glittered in the morning sunlight.
“I’m Anya,” she said. “Anya Steele.”
The old wizard nodded and smiled kindly, and then gestured toward the wizard next to him. “This is Kirk Bryant,” Peter said. “He’s what’s known as a wizard advocate in our clan. It’s a job that requires a lot of different skills, but the main purpose of the job is the protection of our wizard clan from outside threats.”
Anya wondered as she politely shook Kirk’s hand whether she was one of those “threats.” She had a feeling that she was, and despite the smile on Peter’s face, she could feel the wizard sizing her up. She looked over at Izzy and Raven again, hoping for some sort of reassurance. This time, Izzy met her eyes, and gave a small shrug. Anya wasn’t quite sure how to interpret the shrug, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Peter was gesturing toward the man who looked like a shifter. The man must have been a good foot taller than the wizards, at least, and he was twice as muscular. He had the same green eyes and reddish brown hair that Owen and Finn had, but his hair was cropped much shorter, allowing Anya to see his ears. She was surprised to see that they had a slight elfish point to them, and she wondered if Owen and Finn had ears like that, too. Their hair was too long to see the tops of their ears very well.
“This is Knox,” Peter was saying, and Knox stretched out his hand to shake
Anya’s hand. But before Knox could say anything to Anya, a loud whoop echoed across the clearing.
“Knox! You’re really here!”
It was Finn. Knox looked away from Anya as they broke off their handshake, and Anya saw a huge smile spread across the man’s face. She glanced back and saw that Finn was jogging across the small clearing toward Knox, a huge grin on his face as well.
“Finn,” Knox said. “It’s been too long.”
And then the men practically collided with each other. They slapped each other’s backs as they hugged and both spoke at a mile-a-minute pace. Anya couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these two were close friends. Owen came back into the clearing a few moments later, and walked over laughing.
“Hey, what’s going on with this bromance, guys?” Owen asked. “I didn’t get a big hug when Knox first saw me!”
“Aww, is someone jealous?” Knox teased. “Come here, Owen. I’ll give you some love, too.”
Owen tried to duck away, but Knox was too quick and grabbed him around the neck. Knox rubbed the top of Owen’s head vigorously, turning his hair into a complete mess while Owen shouted in protest and Finn laughed. The smile on Anya’s face widened. Perhaps these men were dragons, but she had no fear of them. They were good people, who cared about friendship and honor. What more could you ask for in a person?
Anya turned and caught Izzy’s eyes again, but the woman still was not smiling. She looked nervous, and Anya could not understand why. Anya knew that the newcomers were here to decide whether she could remain with the group or not, but, surely, Izzy would not have such a worried look on her face only because of that, would she?
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