Wolf Ridge- Complete Series

by Jayne Hawke

  “I can do that.”

  “You’re a witch from out of town, and we’re just doing a little study. Nothing to catch any attention.”

  Sounded great to me. I didn’t want to be near any more witches than I had to, and I certainly didn’t want to try and talk to one.

  Amy took a deep breath as she turned the engine off. She was tense and entirely focused on the building before us. I didn’t think I’d seen her quite so wound up before, and this was far more than going up against the Apophis witch.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I’m wearing a glamour, too. I’m already banned from the building.”

  I laughed. I had to. The situation was so ridiculous that if I didn’t laugh I’d cry.

  “Is this better or worse than when we crept in after hours?”

  “I’m not sure... “

  Amy chewed on her bottom lip as she gripped the steering wheel in a death grip. Her usual bold spark seemed to have dulled some. There was a jitteriness to her that I was unfamiliar with. We hadn’t known each other that long, but she’d always been a bold, kind, steady witch. She’d been becoming my anchor, and yet in that moment she looked as though she were being consumed from within.

  I got out of the car. Our glamours had a time limit on them. Figuring out what was wrong with Amy would just have to wait. We were there for a reason, and I needed to focus on that.

  As far as I was aware, we were looking into Apophis’s magic and the god himself to try and get some clues about where he’d taken Cole. And how to get him out. That didn’t seem too difficult. I knew that Apophis witches were illegal, which made me question why the witch council hadn’t come down hard on him far sooner. The sensation that we were missing a large part of the picture wouldn’t leave me. None of this was quite adding up.

  “Witches can feel each other, right? The same way garou can feel other shifters?” I whispered.

  “Yea,” Amy whispered back.

  “So why hasn’t someone stepped in with this Apophis witch before? How has he gotten this far?”

  Amy wrinkled her nose.

  “The witch community is far more corrupt and broken than those on the council would have you believe. There’s a pretty façade put up for the rest of the supernaturals, but within it is a dark and broken world.”

  I wished I could have been surprised. It sounded as though the community was far more corrupt than I could have imagined, though, to allow an Apophis witch to go as far as to become an avatar for that god. If I remembered my Egyptian mythology correctly, Apophis would swallow the sun and plunge the world into darkness and chaos. The witches had told me that an avatar for the gods would have the magic of a minor god. So, while the witch might not be able to swallow the entire sun, there was a pretty good chance he’d be able to plunge the U.S. into darkness and chaos.

  Amy led the way to the front entrance. Everything about the place set my teeth on edge. I knew that I shouldn’t be there, that I didn’t belong. In the darkness, there had been a weirdness to it, but in the broad daylight I could feel the wrongness. It must have been the magic disguising it, but there was something about the appearance that my eye wouldn’t settle on.

  The more I tried to focus on the simple building, the more my eye slid off it and my feet tried to carry me far, far, away. The glamour clamped down harder on my insides and I tried not to gasp and draw attention to myself. It wasn’t the pain so much as the sensation of the glamour being a living breathing thing hiding within me.

  We walked quickly through the front door and into an entrance far grander than the one we’d used last time we were there. Gone was the high-school chic. This was more akin to a top-end conference building. Shiny marble coated the floors and the walls had a soft cream sheen to them with flickers of gold. The sense of not belonging almost overwhelmed me. Holding my head higher, I followed Amy past the guard, a delicate-looking woman that I had no doubt could take my head off without a thought. The witch couldn’t have been more than five foot, but my instincts screamed at me to run and hide. I didn’t dare look at her.

  Garou did not belong in that place, and I became more and more aware of that with every breath I took within the confines of that space. It felt as though eyes were watching every tiny movement I took. When I stepped foot on the bottom of the stairs, I had a sudden horrifying feeling that someone nearby could read my thoughts.

  Swallowing the ridiculous fear down, I told myself witches couldn’t do that. I had no idea if it was true, but I needed my focus to be absolute for Cole’s sake. Allowing that place to drive me out, or worse drive me mad, would not get him back.

  Amy led the way up the broad staircase that led to the library proper. To my dismay, the interior was positively bustling with witches. I’d been quietly hoping that perhaps they’d be away with their covens, or dancing naked around a tree or something. This whole being here semi-legitimately thing wasn’t looking quite so good any more. Admittedly, the sneaking in plan hadn’t quite worked out, but at least I hadn’t needed to pretend I was a witch.

  “We have just under an hour,” Amy whispered.

  I was realising just how little I knew about witches and witch magic as I looked around at the library before me. Witches were clustered around the small tables that I didn’t remember being there before. More of them wandered down the aisles and gossiped about the gods. I was completely screwed if one of them wanted to talk magic with me. They could fit what I knew about witch magic into a thimble.

  I sighed and looked around at the mass of bookshelves. There were tens of thousands of books in there, and we had to find the right ones. There must have been a system there, but I had no idea what it was. I looked around for a handy sign saying ‘ways to defeat the Apophis witch this way’ but I didn’t see one. There could well have been one woven into the magic that thrummed throughout the place.

  Amy took my elbow and led me down along the left edge of the room. The shelves were humming softly, a delicate tune that was almost familiar. I wanted to pause and listen to it, but something told me that would end in pain. Everything about that place seemed designed to keep my kind out.

  “They wove siren magic into the wards,” Amy whispered.

  That seemed cruel and unusual. From what I knew of sirens, I guessed that meant I would be called to touch the wards thus giving myself away, and then I’d either be locked into place by the beautiful song or have my eardrums burst by the awful sound. I couldn’t quite remember how sirens worked.

  Frowning, I realised that meant sirens existed; they must have been a form of fae. There were so many types of fae that I had no clue about. When this was all over and done, I was going to set aside some time to really research the magical community and how to defeat all of them.

  We stopped in the dark corner of the library and stood before a shelf that was far taller than I was.

  “So, what exactly am I looking for?” I asked Amy as I scanned the titles before me.

  Most of them weren’t in English, which made me suspect the interior wasn’t either.

  “Anything on Apophis.”

  “Do you happen to know how to spell his name in hieroglyphics?”

  Amy, being ever prepared, pulled out her phone and showed me exactly that. She remained tense, with her mouth pressed into a thin line. It bugged me to see her usual effervescence gone.

  We split up, taking half of the bookshelf each. I began at the bottom, scanning along the leather-bound covers looking for something recognisable. Amy worked next to me in an efficient and methodical manner. She ran her fingertips over the bindings of the books as she scanned their titles with a look of deep concentration on her face.

  I didn’t dare touch the books until I finally saw one with a mention of Apophis in English. The library was putting me on edge and I didn’t want anything more to do with it than I absolutely had to.

  “Apophis is a dark god. They don’t like keeping too much information on him,” Amy said.

  �
�I thought this was the library with all of the witch information?”

  “It is, but you need special access to get into the restricted stuff.”

  “How do we get there?”

  “We don’t,” Amy said tightly.

  “Why not?” I said, not willing to let this go.

  If that was where the information we needed was, then that was where we were going to be.

  “Because we don’t have the time to try.”

  “And why would you be interested in Apophis?” a bright and peppy voice asked.

  I held in my groan. Why couldn’t people mind their own business?

  “We’re studying the broader pantheon,” Amy said without looking at the other witch.

  She kept her focus entirely on the books before her and spoke in a flat disinterested tone. I hoped the witch would take the hint and leave us alone.

  I pulled down a thick book covered in deep tan leather. The title had been embossed long ago and a scent of age and dust wrapped around it.

  The peppy witch just stood there watching us. The desire to growl and chase her off grew with every moment she remained there.

  “You’re being creepy,” I finally snapped.

  “I don’t recognise either of you,” the witch pushed.

  “We’re from out of town,” I said sweetly.

  My attempt at being sugary and sending her away with sweetness was failed before it had begun. I shouldn’t have snapped at her, but my temper was running short.

  “Oh, how wonderful. Which covens do you belong to?”

  The young witch looked positively gleeful. She even did a little clap of delight. We were doomed.

  “Ma’at and Odin, now if you wouldn’t mind...” Amy said pointedly.

  “Odin, I hadn’t heard of any Odin witches being in the area.” She looked at my hands as I picked out another book. “I don’t see the runes on your hands.”

  Of course there was something missing. I didn’t blame Amy. There were limits, and we didn’t have time to cover every little detail. I needed to think on my feet and send this damn witch packing before she figured out we didn’t belong there.

  “I thought I’d be a little different,” I said with a grin.

  The witch put her hands on her hips, and I knew I was done for. She didn’t believe me for a second. It looked as though witches didn’t think for themselves. I should have known that. They were bound to literal gods, and gods weren’t all that flexible in the myths. There was a lot of smiting and awful vengeful stuff.

  “Odin is not a forgiving master. I don’t believe he would allow a witch to go against tradition,” the peppy witch said.

  I turned to really look at her. She was in her late teens with perfectly coiffed blue-black hair and dark brown eyes. Her dress was simple and expensive, if the tailoring was to be believed. I pursed my lips and held my wolf in check.

  “Are you daring to question what Odin has said to me?” I asked with a sweet smile.

  She faltered. The corners of her eyes creased for a moment while the cogs whirred in her mind. There was a chance I was going to get away with this after all.

  “Are you, yourself, an Odin witch? Have you dealt with him to understand his wishes, desires, and plans for his witches?” I pushed.

  Maybe I was going too far, but I needed her to leave us alone. We hadn’t managed to crack open one single book yet.

  “Well, no, but I have studied a lot.”

  I snorted.

  “Odin is known to love his runes and the markings they leave upon his witch’s skin. They also help them channel and focus their magic, while providing quick and easy communication with him.”

  I took a step closer to her, feeling my inner predator rise as her confidence weakened. She was suspicious, but she was also doubting herself. I needed to give her a good firm shove to send her packing.

  “I ask again. Do you dare question my understanding of my god? The god who chose me to work with him and enact his will upon this world?”

  I wasn’t entirely sure if that’s how witches worked. They didn’t really open up about that stuff, but it was the impression Amy had given me.

  “Well, no, but-”

  I held up my hand.

  “We’re busy. If you’ll kindly find someone else to pester with inane questions...”

  She huffed and turned to stomp off. I gave it five minutes before she returned with someone senior to check us out. I should probably have handled it differently. Amy had been quiet as she gathered books into her arms and quickly flipped through a couple more. She didn’t even look at me or acknowledge the potential trouble we were in.

  Amy grabbed a couple more books and I stretched up onto my tiptoes to pull down another slenderer book. It was the first one with a title in English, so I took a risk. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, I stuffed it under my jacket. They weren’t going to miss one book, and it could give us the information we needed.

  The peppy witch was going to be back soon and the glamours would run out not long after. We weren’t going to have the luxury of time spent sitting quietly at a table studying.

  “Time to go,” I hissed.

  Amy frowned at me when I finally pulled her out of her internal world. Her arms were loaded with books, and she flipped through the one on top. There wasn’t a sign of English there, and her eyes had the slightly glassy quality that came with her using some of her magic. The hieroglyphs stretched across the cream pages in beautiful technicolour. Amy’s eyes scanned back and forth as her mouth pinched further before she began flipping through the pages again.

  I grabbed onto her elbow and nodded in the direction of the peppy witch who was now approaching us at a quick pace. This time she had a trio of older stern-looking witches behind her. The white-haired man looked as though he had condemned a few people. There was a coldness to his eyes that spoke of a personal experience with death.

  Amy glanced at the witches and quickly stuffed the books in her arms back onto the shelf. I did the same, with all bar the one under my jacket. We hurriedly made our way down the aisles, weaving around witches studiously reading their books and making notes in delicate script.

  The four witches were closing in on us despite walking with a calm collected pace. The humming from the magic became something more. A high-pitched whistle started, and we darted through the door out into the hallway outside of the main library. The whistle sliced through my head, giving me a headache that blurred my vision.

  Amy hooked her arm through mine, and we jogged down the stairs. The front door was within sight. We were only twenty or so feet away.

  The whistling became a wailing, and Amy’s eyes went wide.

  “Run!”

  6

  THE BOOK FELT LIKE a great weight that increased with every step. To my horror, a darkness began to form at the edges of the room and slowly writhed its way towards the front door. We were so close. Just a few more steps.

  My feet felt as though someone had filled my boots with concrete. The front door was almost within grasping distance, and I was being dragged down towards the floor. Digging deep, I pulled on my wolf side and my guardian magic. The chestburster within me clenched tight on my chest, but strength came from somewhere and I could throw myself out of the front door.

  Gulping down air, I stumbled forward when I was suddenly free of the extra weight. Amy yanked on my arm and I ran after her towards the car.

  “You took a book,” she said with a laugh.

  Her eyes danced with happiness, and she looked like the witch I’d come to know. Everything about her was brighter and bouncier at the realisation I’d stolen a book.

  I half fell into her car before I pulled it out.

  “They have some heavy magic around that place,” I said, slumping into the seat.

  Amy shot away from there with her foot pressed hard against the gas. I felt the glamour release from my chest, and suddenly I felt like myself again. My wolf side surged forward, and I closed my eye
s, embracing the feeling of four legs and fur for a moment. The shift didn’t take hold, but it felt so good to be entirely myself again.

  “So how much trouble are we in?” I asked as I glanced at Amy.

  She chewed her lip. Deep creases of concern formed around her eyes, and she gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter.

  “Well, we won’t be able to get near the library again.”

  That sounded like it could be a pain later down the line, but it could be a lot worse. It wasn’t as though we were welcome there anyway, and we weren’t having much luck getting the information we needed.

  “It’ll depend on a lot of things. As I’m a solitary witch and you’re a guardian, they might choose to shrug it off, or they could try and drag us before the witch council. If they do that, they could slap a hard sentence on us.”

  “What sort of sentence?”

  “Bind our magic for a few years.”

  I reflexively snarled.

  “Let them try,” I growled.

  Amy patted my arm.

  “As a garou, you don’t fall under their rules. You shouldn’t be punishable by them.”

  “They will not bind you either. You’re pack.”

  She gave me a warm smile and visibly relaxed. Still, the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  “I’ve never been anyone’s pack before,” she said softly.

  “Don’t worry too much. We’ll figure it out. There has to be some loophole somewhere,” I said with confidence I didn’t feel.

  I was still unsure just how much we could trust any of the councils. If they were working with this Apophis witch, they’d use this as a chance to get us out of the way. My wolf side pushed that we’d just make them submit and leave us be. Amy was pack; that pulled her away from the stupid witch laws. She was one of us now.

  I OPENED UP THE BOOK I’d stolen from the library expecting a wealth of information. Hope had bloomed within me; this was going to mean we could get Cole back that afternoon. My pack would be complete again.

  The words within turned to squiggles that kept moving around the page taunting me. I frowned at the paper and flipped through the pages, hoping it was just one or two weirdly enchanted pages.