“What do you want?” I asked trying desperately not to show my fear but my own voice betrayed me as it cracked. He laughed as the others snarled and hissed behind him.
“I admire the fact that you think so highly of yourself to assume that I would want something from you.” He chuckled. “But I’m sorry to say that this visit isn’t about me. Boss’s orders. He wants to see her personally.”
“Why, what does he want with her?” His group of pups growled at my outburst.
“You ask too many questions.” He stated as he began to walk backwards pulling Cordillia with him. The pups separated to let him through and I watched in horror as they disappeared into the woods and out of my sight. I wanted to save her, to run after her but the mob that stood before us was more than I, we, could handle. We watched as each of them moved out of our sight, never taking their eyes off of us and one by one they vanished into the brush.
We stood there quiet and still as the realization of what just happened set in. I wanted to be angry, I wanted scream but something still within me wouldn’t let me. Somehow deep within myself, I knew this wasn’t the end, this wasn’t over and we would find her. I turned quickly and quietly, brushing past Logan and Matt as I stormed back toward the house.
“Ethan-”
“Don’t.” I growled without stopping my stride. I nearly ran into the cabin and packed my things without a word or second thought as to what it was I needed to be doing. I finished quickly and slung my bag over my shoulder. I had meant to go into the living room, sit down and collect my thoughts but somehow I managed to find Cordillia’s room instead. I dropped my bag at my feet and sat down at the foot of her bed, my thoughts swirling and flowing faster than I could label them.
I had failed her that much I was certain of. I had promised to protect her and instead I let her get taken. There was nothing I could do without getting killed in the process and yet even knowing that I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had failed.
“Ethan,” a calm and beautiful voice shook me from my daze. My attention shifted from the holes I had created in the bedroom wall to Sam’s comforting smile. Something about it warmed me and as she sat down next to me it became easier to breathe.
“I was right there,” I muttered as she simply listened. “She was right in front of me and there was nothing I could do.” I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes as Sam wrapped her arms around me. “What are we going to do?” I begged as I sobbed into her chest. She patted my back gently and held me tight.
“We’re going to get her back that’s what we’re going to do.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked as I pulled away from her and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“I can’t, Ethan, you know that.” At least she was being honest with me. “But I can promise you that we’ll try.” I looked up at her and smiled weakly. I hoped she was right and that by some miracle Cordillia would be alright and for the moment my hope seemed to be enough to keep my desperation and fear at bay.
“James made some calls,” she spoke softly as she turned her body to face me. “He said there have been sightings of Malik in Washington, near Seattle.” I looked up at her and a feeling of hope crossed over me as I looked into her eyes. “Matt and Logan are getting the car ready. We have friends in the area, we’ll try and catch up with them there.” I nodded and stood, pulling her in for a hug as I did.
“Thank you so much,” I whispered into her ear. “I don’t know what I would have done without you guys.”
“It’s okay, Ethan.” I could feel her smiling against me as I held her tight. “We’re family it’s what we do.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as I squeezed her one last time. She patted my back as I let her go and grabbed my bag from the floor. I threw it over my shoulder and offered her a smile as we walked out of the cabin together leaving behind the memories and pain that filled this place. As I stepped out into the front yard I saw a familiar sight waiting there to greet me. Matt leaned against my truck and a smile filled his face as my eyes lit up.
“You fixed her,” I nearly shouted as he stood and walked over to me.
“Damn right we did.” He laughed as I walked around and looked her over. She was beautiful and in the midst of all this mess I was happy to have her back. Matt threw me the keys as I happily opened the door and threw my bag onto the passenger seat.
“I can’t believe this.” I shook my head as my friends surrounded me and one by one they wrapped their arms around me. Matt stood in front of me, the last to embrace me and it was strange that someone so gruff could have a soft side as well.
“Alright.” He smiled as he let me go. “Now that the hallmark moment is over let’s get the hell out of here.” He chuckled as he followed Sam and Logan into a small gray Trans Am that somehow seemed even smaller parked next my hulking red truck.
I slid into the driver’s seat, relishing in the feel of familiarity as I closed the door and ran my hand along the wheel. I sighed as the passenger door creaked open and James climbed in hesitantly.
“I hope you don’t mind if I ride with you,” he spoke nervously as he placed his bag at his feet.
“Not at all.” I smiled as I put her into gear, backed out of the old dirt driveway and followed Matt out of the reservation and onto the open road.
Leaving the reservation filled me with a sense of peace and relief as we traveled north to what I could only hope was the end of all this mess. I never was one to believe in destiny but here I was in the middle of a war I never knew existed, ready to fight and ready to do anything I needed to fix the mess I had caused. For a moment I found myself wondering if something good could come out of all of this and in that moment I caught myself feeling hopeful.
A centuries old battle, A mythological race and Ethan Harlow, a cashier from Barstow California that had more in store for him than what the average life had to offer. I chuckled to myself as these thoughts crept into my mind and filled the silence that surrounded me.
“James, can I ask you something?” I broke the silence which seemed to startle him. He nodded and looked over at me. I still couldn’t imagine someone like him being something like me. He was somehow too sweet, too young to be caught up in all of this but despite my impressions we were here none the less. “I was just wondering, how you deal with all of this?” There was a long pause as he played with his fingers nervously.
“I don’t know, I guess I never thought about it,” he muttered. “I was never really good at being human. I was shy and quiet...”
“You still are.” I smirked.
“True.” He smiled back. “But I guess now there’s something more to me. Back then I was bullied a lot and I got hurt real bad. I couldn’t stand up for myself and there were more than a few times I really thought about suicide or just running away.” His expression changed to one of sadness and for a moment I felt bad about stirring up his old memories.
“You were at Harvard right? On your way to being a lawyer?” I asked hoping for a chance to get to know him better.
“No, not really,” he muttered. “I was a Psychology major. I don’t know why I decided to study the human mind but it called to me.”
“So what happened to you?” I asked as we passed the sign announcing our departure from Oregon and into Washington. Freedom, for what it was worth. At least the reservation was as far behind us as it could be. James shrugged and stared at his hands as the truck quickly went silent again. “Sorry I don’t mean to pry, if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine.”
“No, no it’s not that. It’s like I said I don’t really think about it and it’s been a while since anyone’s asked me.” He paused for a few moments. “I was leaving the library one night, it was dark and I took the long way back to the dorms. I was walking behind our building and this thing came out of nowhere and attacked me,” his voice wavered as he told me his story. “I tried to fight it but it was bigger and stronger, you know that.” I nodded as he looked down. “Some of the
bigger guys that usually picked on me ran it off. When I woke up I was in the ICU and I tried to go about my life as normal after that. Actually I didn’t think anything strange had happened at first. My temper was worse but I hadn’t changed yet so I honestly didn’t know.”
“How did you find out?” I asked hoping that it wasn’t the wrong question.
“Well there was this guy named Taylor that used to pick on me a lot and one day he pushed me down on the ground and started ripping up one of my thesis papers. I lost control and I changed there in front of everyone.”
“Hell, man, that’s rough.” I looked over at him. “What happened to him?” James paused and bit his lip. “He’s not around anymore is he?” I asked already knowing the answer.
“He was in the hospital for a few months, a coma but he never woke up and eventually he just slipped away.”
“I’m sorry, man,” I said looking over at him. His face didn’t hold the type of remorse that I had expected.
“It’s okay, I was upset about it for a long time and I never went back to that school. It took a long time for me to come to terms with what I had done but Sam told me that he had been picked up for rape a few times and assault on his girlfriend. I guess that made me feel better about the whole thing.” I nodded and offered him a smile.
“So you were like a hero and you didn’t even know it. That’s not so bad.” James chuckled lightly.
“Yeah I guess you’re right,” he spoke softly bringing a small sense of joy to the dim dark night. I followed Sam’s car for what felt like an eternity, hoping we were on our way to a place of peace, a sanctuary in the middle of hell. Not that things were really all that bad but all things considered you wouldn’t have to ask me twice to trade it all in and go back to the way things were. A crappy job, a shit hole apartment and my sister home safe and sound. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t give for a blessing like that.
“We’ll find your sister.” He offered just as the thought crossed my mind. I turned to him and smirked.
“What is it with people and answering questions I haven’t even asked yet?” I laughed as I turned my eyes back to the road.
“You were thinking about her?”
“I’m worried about her, of course I was.” I smiled.
“I was just trying to make you feel better, I’m not psychic or anything.” He smirked.
“Have you ever met one?”
“What, a psychic?” He shook his head as a slight laugh escaped him. “No, I haven’t but I’ve met people who say they have.”
“I guess nothing is completely out of the question huh?”
“No I guess not.” He sighed, his eyes fixated on me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I shrugged.
“What’s your story? I know Sam turned you but what happened?” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a quick second.
“I was on my way home from work and a couple of guys mugged me. I didn’t have my wallet on me so I, like an idiot decided to fight back.”
“I’m guessing that didn’t turn out well.” I smirked and shook my head.
“Not even close. I got stabbed.” I added as I looked at him quickly. He sucked in a sharp breath.
“Ouch.”
“To say the least.” I chuckled. “But this thing...” I sighed and shook my head. “Sam, she came out of nowhere and rescued me. She killed one of them, I know that but I think the other just ran off.”
“And then what?”
“I don’t really know, I don’t remember much.” I didn’t want to tell him about the voice from my dream. Talking about how we became werewolves was crazy enough but adding disembodied voices to the conversation was a little too much for me. “She bit me, I remember that and then I passed out. I woke up about a week later in the ICU, Cordillia was reading to me.”
“That’s sweet.” He smiled. “What was she reading?”
“I don’t remember.” I smiled and shook my head.
“At least someone was there when you woke up,” he added quietly.
“Who was with you?” He shook his head and stared down at his feet. “Oh, I’m sorry.” James shrugged and leaned back in his seat.
“Don’t be. My mom ran off with some guy to Florida when I was three and my dad sent me to live with my grandma. She passed away right after I got accepted into Harvard.” He smirked lightly and looked up at me. “She got to see the best day of my life, at least she wasn’t around to see where it took me.”
“Yeah,” I smiled absently. “I guess you’re right.” James turned himself toward the open window and I kept my eyes on the road as I followed behind the little car. There wasn’t anything else to say and in some small way the comfort of silence felt nice as we pressed on, putting as much space between us and our nightmares as time would allow.
Chapter Fourteen
Following close behind Sam’s Trans Am, I had no clue how far we were going or where we were headed, the only thought that went through my mind was how far away we were from the last place I saw my sister alive and a part of me couldn’t understand why. Why were we traveling so far away from the last place I heard her heart beat in her chest?
“So what’s Sam’s story?” I asked in an attempt to distract myself. James looked up from his book and shrugged lightly under the running glare of the streetlights that passed us at record speed.
“She doesn’t talk about it much,” he spoke quietly as he marked his place and set the old leather bound book on the dash. “Even I don’t know too much.” He smirked shyly. James was the computer of the group, if there was information to be had he was the one to find it and knowing he couldn’t dig up anything on the dark haired mystery woman really meant something.
“Well, what has she said?” I asked curiously. It wasn’t that I wanted to push him but I was curious about the woman that made me and I didn’t want to go back to driving in silence.
“Why does it mean so much to you?” I smirked and shook my head slightly.
“No reason but she made me, I kind of want to know who she is,” I explained. It wasn’t entirely a lie.
“Fair enough.” He shrugged. “From what I know, she’s from somewhere around the early eighteen-hundreds. She hasn’t said exactly when but I know she was a kid during the war of eighteen-twelve.”
“Jesus, you’re kidding?” I spoke in amazement.
“Nope, didn’t she tell you that we don’t age?”
“Well yeah she mentioned it but that doesn’t mean it’s not a little shocking to hear things like that.” I laughed lightly. James smiled and leaned back in his seat.
“No I suppose not. I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve gotten so used to it that it doesn’t even bother me anymore.” I shook my head and smiled. I couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t end but as it stood I would eventually have to learn to live with it or end myself when I got bored of it all. Not a comforting thought either way.
“Well how old are you?” I asked quickly.
“Honestly, I don’t really remember anymore.” A smile crossed his lips as he spoke, “Let’s see I enrolled in college in I think nineteen fifty three...”
“How old were you then?” I hadn’t meant to interrupt him but judging by the grin he was wearing he didn’t seem to mind.
“Twenty or twenty-one, I’m not sure,” he answered quickly, happily.
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