by Abigail Owen
As they rounded the corner of the building, Ellie could see Alex practically pacing in the parking lot with Nate and Adelaide watching him apprehensively. As soon as they approached him, he said, “Where have you been? Griffin sent me a mental message that he suddenly couldn’t access your thoughts.” Alex clearly attempted to control his apprehension.
Lila and Ellie glanced at each other.
“Let’s get home first, and then we’ll tell you all about it,” Ellie suggested.
Alex looked ready to argue with her.
“Go with your sisters, Alex,” Ellie gently urged him. “I’ll be right in front of you.”
Finally he nodded his agreement and hustled his sisters and Nate into the car.
Chapter 33
As soon as they arrived home, Lila told the others about their encounter with Gideon.
Griffin looked both stunned and worried. “Why couldn’t I hear him?” Ellie heard him wonder.
Aloud she explained to him, “He seemed to be blocking your power, Griffin. Or someone in his pack was.”
“And how do you know that exactly?” Alex’s asked.
“He told me. When I tried to read his mind.”
“She also shook his hand,” Lila piped up.
Ellie shot her friend a look.
“Ellie, I suggest you explain before Alex and Griffin both have a conniption,” Hugh advised calmly.
She walked over to Alex and wrapped her arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to pull her in closer and bury his face in her hair.
“I’m fine. I’m still here,” she whispered in his ear.
He gave her a tender squeeze. “You take too many chances.”
“It wasn’t my choice to confront Gideon. He found us. I just did what I could with the opportunity.” Pulling back, she took his face between her hands and gave him a gentle kiss. She turned to the others. “Gideon wants me to join his pack.”
Everyone started talking at once, and Alex laughed, though it was a bitter sound. “Well, he can go to hell and get bent on his way down!”
“He gave me an offer,” Ellie continued calmly. “If I go with him willingly, he promises safety for the rest of you… forever.”
Dead silence.
“I’m confident in his sincerity in this offer,” Ellie added, scrutinizing each of their faces.
They all looked to Lila for confirmation, who just shrugged. “The conversation was mostly telepathic. I didn’t really hear much. He didn’t lie once during the discussion though,” Lila confirmed somewhat reluctantly.
“You weren’t intending to tell us?” Griffin half-asked, half-accused.
“No,” Ellie admitted, shifting uneasily on her feet.
“What changed your mind?”
“All of you.” Ellie nodded her head around the room. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was planning to go with him to protect you. But I realized that you’re my family now, and I couldn’t do that to you. You all deserve a choice in this.”
“If you think we’re letting you go, you’re quite mistaken,” Dexter declared. Ellie gave him a surprised look. Of everyone there, he’d remained the most distant. Even Ramsey had warmed up to her after she’d opened up the potential of his powers to him. Dexter participated, he joined in…but he always acted slightly reserved. Ellie hadn’t been sure of her position with him, so this show of support from him now meant a lot.
“I second that sentiment,” Hugh added.
“Just so we’re clear… I go with them, and we’re all safe. I stay and it’s a guaranteed battle. Some or all of us could die. Are you willing to risk that?” Ellie moved to Griffin’s side, taking his hand.
“Losing one of us is just as bad as losing all of us,” Lucy insisted, a fierce look on her normally mild face. Everyone else nodded their agreement.
Ellie’s eyes welled. For the first time, it truly sank in that she had a family again. And knowing they loved her enough to put their own lives in danger was beyond moving—it was heart wrenching. Glancing at Griffin, she saw her tears reflected in his own eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Alex put his arms around her from behind, enfolding her in a strong and comforting embrace.
Suddenly he stood up straight. Ellie turned her head to look up at him. “How were you going to join the wolves when you left us?” he asked.
She explained Gideon’s directions of where and when to meet, and a slow grin spread over Alex’s face. Griffin smirked as well. Looking at each other, the two boys started to nod, obviously enjoying some secret, silent communication.
Ellie did her best to stay out of Alex’s head, partly out of respect and partly on the assumption that he’d tell her anything important. She and the others looked back and forth, like at a tennis match, totally lost.
“That’s a lot more annoying from the outside than I realized,” Ellie burst out, arms akimbo.
Alex raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Shoe’s on the other foot, huh? Now you know how the rest of us feel… but I think I have an idea that might work,” he added smugly.
“Please feel free to let the rest of us in on it,” Hugh said.
“We’re all aware that our biggest weakness is centered on their attacking when we’re scattered. Until Charlotte can gather us all together, we’re all at risk, right?”
Everyone nodded.
“What if we attack them first? I think it could give us an edge. Especially if we attack Gideon first.” Alex grew excited. “Based on what Ellie’s said, he seems to be their leader and motivator. If we take him out first, maybe they won’t want to keep fighting.”
Hugh slowly nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I see where you’re going with this.”
“Explain it to those of us who are a little slower,” Charlotte murmured as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I suggest Ellie goes to her meeting with Gideon…” He paused, looking from face to face. “She’ll just happen to bring all of us along with her.”
Ellie worked through this scenario in her mind. “What if it’s a trap and they’re already waiting for us?”
“You said that Griffin can block Gideon’s power of sight, right?” Alex asked.
“Yeah.”
“So he won’t know about Griffin’s defensive shield, first of all.”
Griffin joined in. “Maybe. He knows about my telepathy. But even if it is a trap, if we arrive with my shield up, they won’t be able to do anything. That should give you enough time to organize, Ellie.”
“It’s better that we do this on our time, on our terms,” Alex insisted.
“And on our own ground,” Hugh added. “Gideon picked our home for you to meet at, you said?”
She nodded. Everyone remained quiet for a while, each caught up in their own thoughts.
Ellie tapped a fingernail on her teeth, a bad habit when she was thinking. “We should try to appear as we normally would had I not told you about this. Any ideas?”
Alex dragged his hand through his hair. “We should keep to our routine like usual,” he decided. Lucy, who had been making coffee in the kitchen, brought out a tray and offered him a cup. With a grateful glance, he readily accepted.
Griffin nodded his agreement and also grabbed a steaming mug, “But we should take more precautions since Lila would’ve told us about your talking with Gideon at the very least.”
“So let’s only work on the things we have been while outside. Once indoors, we can discuss a more specific plan,” Alex said.
Agreements given by all, they decided to go ahead and train for a little while. They also decided to teleport into the clearing with Griffin’s shield up just in case the wolves thought to ambush them there.
But no attack happened that night or any other night that week. They practiced just like normal. They went to school like normal. They ate dinner and did homework and played games like normal. Late at night, they orchestrated their plans for the impending attack.
Ellie’s tension level grew exponentially as
the agreed on date and time grew closer. She and Griffin had just found their new family. What if they lost them again? What if she lost Alex? Every night she fell asleep in his arms thinking about this, knowing that she couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to any of them.
****
Finally the day arrived. It seemed so strange because at first glance the day appeared just like any other, and like no other at the same time. Ellie went to school. She chatted with friends. She took notes in class. She ate lunch. She drove home. They practiced in the clearing as usual. But it all seemed to go in slow motion, in sort of a numb haze. Today she would meet her fate, once and for all. Today, she might die.
And then the time had arrived.
They gathered in the living room. Lucy and Hugh grabbed Lila and Adelaide up in a giant bear hug. “We love you girls,” Lucy choked out.
Their action started a long round of hugging. Ellie moved from person to person. Her heart felt like it got more and more full with every hug. “We will always be grateful for your joining our family,” Hugh told her quietly when she came to him. Holding back her tears, Ellie threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tight.
Releasing Hugh, she turned to Nate, Lila, and Adelaide. Nate chucked her on the arm. “Who knew that the new girl in school would end up here?” he teased gently.
“And I for one couldn’t be happier to have you as my soon-to-be sister,” Adelaide added. The four friends shared a group hug.
Ellie turned toward Griffin. They wrapped their arms tightly around one another. They spent some time walking through memories of childhood and their life together thus far in their minds. Not talking, no words, just the images and understanding each other perfectly.
Finally she turned to Alex, who pulled her onto his lap while he sat on the couch. Placing her forehead against his, they sat there. Not speaking. Just absorbing each other. They’d only just begun to explore their love for each other. Now potentially losing each other was happening too fast, too soon. Ellie lifted her head and just looked at him, at this man who had become as essential to her existence as breathing.
“Alex…” Ellie gave a deep sigh, unable to express the depth of her feelings with mere words.
He gave her that sexy half smile she adored so much and cupped her chin in his hand. “I know, baby.”
With a long, lingering kiss, they sat wrapped in each other’s arms, neither wanting to ever let the other go. With one last kiss and a deep breath, in unison they stood.
Everyone else took this as a signal. Without talking, they gathered in a formation resembling a wagon wheel with those with active powers on the outside, and those with more passive powers on the inside. Each person on the inside of the circle stood slightly sideways, hands linked, forming the spokes of the wheel.
The idea was for Griffin to shield all of them as they made their appearance in the clearing. Then, when the time seemed right, he would move his shield to the inner circle, leaving those on the outer circle free to fight without having to remove his protection entirely. He would expand the shield around individuals in the outer circle as necessary, and Ellie would tap into all the skills available to her as needed.
“Ready?” she asked.
With general murmurs all around which she took as “yes,” she tapped into Charlotte’s teleportation. Instantly, they were all standing in the clearing where Ellie had had her fight with the Vyusher wolves.
Chapter 34
Empty? Ellie felt herself deflate a little. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting. At best, she’d thought Gideon would be standing there waiting for her. At worst, she’d thought she’d appear in the midst of a pack of wolves prepared to attack immediately.
Not dropping their guard, they all stood still and listened intently. Each person scanned the surrounding area, and Ellie’s gaze swiftly darted towards the woods. Darkness had settled in, but a glorious full moon beamed its bright, white light down upon them, illuminating the clearing with an eerie glow. The surrounding woods, however, were another matter. If anything or anyone hid among the trees, Ellie certainly couldn’t see them.
Should I morph into the falcon? Ellie briefly considered, but just as quickly she discarded the idea. Can’t, need to stay connected to everyone. She was the key to their plan, but the disadvantages were far outweighed by the advantages. Their training and sparring night after night had proved that to her.
Ellie moved her focus from what she couldn’t see -- and therefore couldn’t know — to what she could know. Using Griffin’s telepathy, she started to catalog what all of the others were sensing. She took only a split second to check on Hugh, Ramsey, Nate, Dexter, Charlotte, and Lila. Each had a power that wouldn’t lend toward sensing the wolves. Ellie spent a little more time checking on the others, although she limited herself to only their thoughts, not yet accessing their powers herself.
Alex, who might be able to sense beings that he could freeze, felt nothing. Lucy, who potentially could sense the Vyushers’ intentions, picked up nothing from the surrounding area. Adelaide, who might be able to see the relationships between the wolves despite not being able to see the wolves themselves, saw only blackness in the trees. Finally, Ellie checked on Griffin.
Silence. He’s definitely searching, but not a sound. Ellie could practically feel Griffin’s frustration. She tapped into his thoughts to see what was bothering him and realized that he also couldn’t hear anything. Nothing. Not even the natural sounds of the forest around them. It was dead silent.
Tension seized Ellie’s body. Her fists clenched so tightly that Alex gave her hand a little shake.
“They’re here.” She spoke only through thought and the connection of their hands to everyone in the circle. “Get ready…”
“I’m not often surprised,” Gideon’s deep voice broke the silence. The direction he spoke from was not immediately apparent, although they all heard him clearly.
“…But I am disappointed, Ellie. A bride should willingly come to her new family.”
Ellie gasped. Gideon had never said anything about marriage as part of his offer. Beside her, Alex clenched his jaw. “She has a family already. And you are looking at her te’sorthene.”
Ellie was impressed that Alex sounded so calm. If some other chick had claimed Alex as her future husband that way, Ellie would have set her straight in no uncertain terms. And maybe even with some pulled hair or a black eye.
A brief silence descended, and then Gideon appeared before them at the edge of the clearing. He had assumed the form of a giant black wolf, massive and intimidating and gave what appeared to be a grin. Beside him stood a smaller brown wolf. His voice sounded again, although his mouth did not move. The sound seemed to come from the animal at his side. A tiny, distracted part of Ellie’s mind decided that the brown wolf must be able to project the pack’s thoughts into sound. Then his words registered… “You really think that you can fight us… let alone win?”
As he spoke, the bright gleam of eyes appeared in the blackness of the trees. First she could only see a few, golden and glowing, though Ellie couldn’t see the forms of the wolves themselves. But looking through everyone’s eyes, she could see that they were outnumbered about ten-to-one and that they were completely surrounded.
A low growl sounded in unison from the pack.
For some strange reason, the noise reminded Ellie of the rebel yell. During the Civil War, the Confederate troops used to scream in battle in unison, and it’d been a very effective means of instilling fear in the hearts of the enemy. The pack’s growl was like that. Such a sinister sound, Ellie felt it crawl over her skin and into her mind. She determinedly squashed the fear that welled up inside her. Focus, Ellie, she instructed herself. Keep your family safe.
“I think perhaps you underestimate us,” Alex called out, his confidence absolute.
“I doubt it.” Gideon’s amusement was obvious.
A rumble of agreement sounded from the surrounding pack, almost like they were
laughing with their leader. Ellie felt the circle shift, fear running through them all.
“It’s your pack that is at risk here,” Alex maintained, “not us.”
“You insist on fighting? Knowing what we did to Ellie’s very powerful tribe?”
“Well, if you’re that worried, we will happily negotiate a truce,” Alex offered with a cocky smirk.
“What are you doing?” Ellie thought at him.
“Trust me,” he thought back.
She simply nodded and used the time he was buying her to furiously search through her options.
“You have two choices…” Gideon appeared to be growing bored with the back and forth banter. She guessed that the Vyusher had never paused to negotiate with their intended victims before. “…Ellie can leave your family and join us as my wife and queen. Or you can all die here tonight.”
Griffin flashed a thought into Ellie’s mind. Whatever had been blocking him had pulled back. He continued to have trouble accessing the wolves’ thoughts because of the dynamic of the pack mind, but he was starting to pick up bits and pieces.
“The entire clan of Vyusher is here. Every single one of them,” he told her. Using Griffin’s power, she passed this observation on to everyone else in the circle.
Alex squeezed her hand, letting her know he’d received the message. She watched as he broadened his grin, seeming to deliberately taunt the Vyusher leader.
“I have an offer for you…” he called out. “If we defeat you tonight, you will never attack anyone ever again… Svatura, or humans without powers. You may, of course, live peacefully within the territory you have now.”
“An interesting offer…” Gideon gave a dark chuckle. “And if we refuse?”
“Discover the consequences at your peril.” Alex’s voice suddenly sounded as lethal as the wolves’ growls.
The pack seemed to back down, if only for a moment. Ellie felt Lila using her power to heighten emotion, building on the fear and paranoia that seemed to be inherent within the Vyusher, despite their superior numbers and fighting experience. And despite their confident bluster, now dread ran rampant and unchecked among them.