by Jayne Hawke
Steeling myself, I pulled on my guardian magic and went straight for the dragon. There was a great comfort in the cold distance that descended over me as my guardian state kicked in. Wolves were being injured in the forest; I could feel it. The dragon needed to be killed.
Witches swarmed around us with short wavy blades and gleams in their dark eyes. I moved with deadly efficiency, keeping an eye on the dragon as I pushed through their ranks, slicing through flesh and bone as I did so. A neon green feather flew past my head and landed in the cheek of a tall man to my left. He hissed, a distinctly serpentine sound, and pulled the feather out of his face. A trail of hot red blood ran down his cheek and dripped off his jawline. White patches of his teeth could be seen through the hole.
His eyes were cold and hard as he turned his attention to Briar, the one who had thrown the feather. She stood strong and determined as she pulled another feather from her pocket. The priest’s lips pulled back, revealing long viper fangs. I had no idea they could do that.
The petite witch in front of me tried to sink similar fangs into my arm. My healing and magic shield were good, but could they save me from the venom of a god!? I didn’t want to find out. I yanked my arm away and twisted, looking for an opening to cut her. She moved with a soft sway to her movements. It was almost hypnotising if I watched it too closely.
I was pretty sure I was going to develop a strong fear of snakes by the time this was all over and done with.
Briar shot around me and shoved one of the marbles into the open mouth of the priest before she ran around and took out the broad witch who was trying to cut Adam down.
“Why isn’t it exploding!?” Briar shouted.
“How am I supposed to know?” I shouted back as my guardian dagger found its home in the petite witch’s throat.
The priest had pulled the marble out of his mouth and was looking at it with a look of mild curiosity.
Amy burst into the room and made a wave of her hand. Suddenly the marble exploded and I was covered in warm, rancid smelling lumps and ooze from the witches.
“Not so close to me next time!” I shouted.
The barn was quiet, given everything. It was disconcerting hearing nothing but the soft whispering of the witches and a clicking sound from the dragon. Liam, the dragon, was lying down in the middle of the barn watching idly. That didn’t seem like a good thing.
“Apophis is seeping into him!” Sky shouted.
I’d expected that to be painful, for Liam to be writhing in agony. He looked more like he was taking a nap.
Rowan hacked down to witches with dual kitchen knives Amy had apparently enchanted along with everything else in the house, making a path for me to get to the dragon.
“Where’s the fire?”
“We’re working on it!” Sky shouted.
I circled around the dragon, looking for somewhere soft to slice him open. His belly was flat against the soft sand beneath us. Hearing the cry of a dying garou outside, I took a risk and jumped up onto the great snout of the beast. I scrambled over the smooth slippery scales, aiming for his eyes.
They were the size of dinner plates, nice easy targets. Assuming I could get there. The dragon let out a deafening roar and pushed himself up into standing while shaking his head violently. I grabbed onto a small spine near the bridge of his nose and tried to drag myself closer to the eye. They’d said we had to slice him open; they never said where.
Fire bloomed all around us, and the dragon roared once more. Charred remains of witches covered the soft sand. We were getting there. I scrabbled to get a foothold within the scales and pushed myself forward to drive my dagger into the dragon’s eye. He screamed in pain as I pierced the cornea and pushed down through awful ooze that I was never going to be able to wash off.
To my dismay, he didn’t crumble or turn into ash. He tossed me off, and I landed with a thud, grateful that it was sand. The dragon thrashed and snapped his teeth at everything that came near. Rowan rolled away as the dragon almost caught him by the shoulder of his jacket.
“Fire!?” I shouted at Amy and Sky.
Sky was spinning her short swords with a look of fierce determination on her face. Amy was glassy-eyed and entirely motionless in the corner of the barn. The dragon spotted her. Sky ran at the belly of the dragon, and I followed after her. This was our chance to cut him open. Fire be damned.
I was aware of Rowan’s pouncing on Amy and sheltering her from the dragon. The siblings jumped onto the dragon’s face, distracting him, giving Sky and me the opening we needed. The dragon shook his great head, ignoring us entirely as we slipped our blades between his softer belly scales.
Sky stabbed and slashed with a ferocity I never wanted to come up against. I dug my guardian dagger in as deep as I could manage and dragged it down the dragon’s belly, yanking scales off as I did so.
Black blood streamed down onto the sand, filling the space with the scent of sand and iron. The dragon roared and tried to reach around to snap at us. We remained firmly under his stomach as we hacked and slashed, trying to reach the point where we’d done enough.
The books hadn’t been very specific.
Adam landed on his back when the dragon finally got rid of him. Briar jumped down and dragged him out of the way before the dragon could skewer him with a claw. The dragon’s belly was bloodied and full of holes, and yet he kept going.
Amy screamed something in an old language and suddenly everyone’s blades were on fire. Sky and I returned to work, thrusting our blades into the holes we’d already created. The dragon’s bellows turned into hisses before he collapsed onto his side.
Slowly, he crumpled and deflated, leaving a pile of black fabric with fine gold threads running through it.
“Did we do it?” Briar asked.
“Not yet. We haven’t found Cole or killed Natasha,” I snarled.
“Rosalyn...” Sky said gently.
“Cole is still alive, and I will not rest until that bitch is dead.”
“But, hey, at least we saved the world. Right?” Rowan asked.
I kicked at the fabric on the floor. There was no sign of life in there.
“We did. We saved the world,” Adam said with a grin.
It felt like a hollow victory without Cole at my side.
35
AS MUCH AS I’D BEEN torn between finding Cole and checking on the wolves, my duties as a guardian won out. I checked on every member of the Blue Dagger pack to make sure none of them had injuries they couldn’t heal.
Each wolf was covered in blood, some of it their own. The bodies of witches were strewn throughout the woods around us. A deep exhaustion was settling into my bones, and I knew I didn’t have it in me to decide what to do with those bodies. We needed to keep them hidden from the humans. A cluster of fresh graves, even in those woods, would raise too many questions.
“We’ll handle the bodies,” Erin said.
It took a second for the words to register. I’d been lost in my own thoughts.
“Thank you. We appreciate the help you offered here.”
“We would like to be of future help, too. You’ll need to purge the council, after all.”
I smiled. I couldn’t blame the alpha for trying to gain a little more power and security for her pack.
“We’d be glad to have you,” I said.
Erin nodded and we exchanged numbers.
“I’ll tell you what we find on the council and look forward to working at your side.”
Her message was loud and clear. I had no choice but to nod and accept her new position. I didn’t know enough people in the community, and people I could trust were few and far between.
Rowan whispered to Erin and looked at Amy. I turned away and reached out with all of my senses, trying to find some sign of Cole. He was supposed to be there. He was supposed to be the key sacrifice, and yet I hadn’t seen a single sign of a sacrifice there in the barn.
Liam had become the dragon, and there were plenty of witches, but I need
ed to think that wasn’t the end. We’d missed something somewhere. There had to be more Apophis witches. This was a distraction. I couldn’t believe otherwise. That was the only way Cole was still out there.
36
BRIAR HAD DRIVEN HOME. I was too tired, and she was over the moon to be allowed to drive a classic. At least someone appreciated my poor Mustang. Sky sat in the back, eyes closed, trying to sleep.
Soon, my head was leaning against the cool glass, and I allowed my eyes to close. We had a long battle ahead of us, and the gods knew I was tired.
I dreamt of Cole. He was vibrant and alive. A beautiful smile graced his lips and his eyes sparked with life. We ran through the forest together, and I curled up in his arms safe from the world. He would have told me what to do next. He knew how to step up and be a leader.
When I had first heard about guardians, I’d thought they were just that: guardians. Now I was coming to see that it wasn’t as easy as simply travelling to wherever garou were being attacked and putting an end to it. I needed to enter the political arena and overhaul everything. Garou had been treated as second-class citizens for too long, and now we had the Apophis influence. It was time to shrug off my fears and the old life as a simple baker.
I was a guardian now, and it was time to change the world.
THERE WAS A SUBDUED celebration when we returned home. Rowan had joined us at Amy’s request. The garou had been open about his position, and Amy wished to discuss it.
I focused on making sure we had plenty of food, and sat outside in the yard looking up at the sky trying to get my head straight. I needed to lead these people. I needed to be far more than an alpha, and I didn’t know how. There was no wise old mentor to guide me, and no Cole to lean on when it got tough.
Sky sat down next to me and handed me a tub of cookie and peanut butter ice cream. She had her own tub of brownie and triple chocolate ice cream.
“Any progress on the whole ‘gods and magic’ thing? Have you given your coven an answer?”
“No, and no.”
We both shovelled ice cream into our mouths and looked up in a comfortable silence.
“What happens if you don’t decide?”
Sky sighed.
“Then I become a torn witch. They’re very rare because everyone always chooses. It’s an honour to be chosen by two gods. Who wouldn’t be flattered? A torn witch has no magic and goes mad. The presence of two gods in your soul and mind is just too much for someone to handle for that long.”
“How long do you have?”
“I’m pretty stubborn, so maybe a year. I will decide, though. I just need to learn more about Set and get this Apophis witch stuff wrapped up.”
“You agree that this was a distraction?” I asked.
Hope flared. Sky had far more ties to all of this than I did.
“Yea. It just didn’t add up. The dragon wasn’t acting right, and where were the sacrifices? There should have been people and blood nearby. I’m not sure it was even Liam.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“I think Erin and that pack are right. We need to go to the council and start clearing this mess up from the top and work our way down. I’m worried that some of my coven have been turned by the Apophis witch. I don’t know what he’s doing to steal good witches away from their gods, but he’s doing it.”
I rolled a piece of cookie dough around my mouth while I tried to figure out next move.
“Should I just march in there and demand answers?” I asked with a laugh.
Sky shrugged.
“Works for me.”
“Cole would be horrified.”
“All the more reason to do it.”
I laughed. I still remembered the moment I had seen his smug face when I stood in that council room. He had been so pleased to have been there and seen me suffer. He was an ass, but he was mine.
“There has to be an event, or a meeting, or something where they all get together. How many are even on the council? I don’t know anywhere near enough about all of this.”
“There are four members of each section on the council. You’ll need to go to the state council; you met with the local territory council to be registered. Cole is, was, on the state council, so you’ll have an in with them. I don’t know what the deal is with the fae, but be careful.”
“I’m assuming I can’t just make an appointment for an ass-kicking?”
Sky laughed and was finally beginning to relax a little.
“No, but as a guardian, I think you might be able to summon them.”
“This guardian thing has some potential upsides.”
“You know you’re going to have to hand-pick the new council, right?”
I groaned. I hadn’t thought of that.
“Do you want to be on the council? You and Amy are the only witches I know and trust.”
Sky snorted.
“Not a chance in hell. I’m allergic to paperwork.”
“I suppose we’ll figure that out when it comes to it.”
“’One step at a time’ and all of that.”
We finished up our ice cream to the backdrop of riotous laughter and celebration inside. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Briar doing the robot and Amy doubled over in laughter. It wasn’t perfect, but I had my pack. What more could a wolf ask for?
37
Briar handed me the last Pop-Tart before she ran out the door to go to work. It was a perfectly normal morning - if we ignored the empty seat across from me and the fact I was about to demand an audience with the state council.
Sky had been called in by her coven. As far as they were concerned, the Apophis witch had been dealt with, and she had no more excuses. Amy stayed with me. Rowan had stayed late the previous night, but Amy had sent him away before she went to bed.
“What’s happening with you and Rowan?” I asked around the Pop-Tart.
“I don’t know yet. I understand his feelings and the magic involved with the life bond, but I only just met him. We exchanged numbers, and I will admit he is really hot...”
I grinned.
“I’m not going to deny that.”
“Did you mean what you said, that I’m pack?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” I replied without thought.
She smiled.
“Does that mean you’d consider bringing Rowan into your pack if I did choose to explore this life bond?”
“I’d have to speak to Erin. I don’t want to upset the Blue Dagger pack.”
Moving a beta from one pack to another felt like a huge deal. A beta was the second in command; they played a key role in the pack. A part of me would have loved to have a good, strong, experienced beta in my pack, though.
“Are you ready?”
Amy nodded towards my phone.
She’d dug out a number for the council for me. It seemed wrong to be calling them to demand a meeting, but Amy had assured me the witches would feel my guardian status.
I didn’t think I’d ever be ready, but what choice did I have?
I picked up my phone, typed in the number, and tried to remember to breathe.
“Yes?” a woman answered.
That wasn’t a good start.
“I am the garou guardian, and I am summoning the council for a meeting.”
There was a long silence followed by some hushed muttering.
“They will convene in the local council building at 4PM.”
She hung up.
So much for guardians being respected and such.
“It looks like I have a meeting with them at four.”
“That’s plenty of time for us to do some digging. I’m pretty sure that Digby, the bear shifter, is in with the Apophis witch. His clan, or whatever they call bears, became very wealthy out of nowhere a month or so ago,” Amy said as she stood.
I mentally prepared myself for a few hours of copious caffeine consumption and digging around into these people. When I heard I was a guardian, I’d pictured lots of ass-kicking
rather than politics and detective work.
“What about the witches? What am I dealing with there?” I asked as I retrieved my laptop from the living room.
“There’s an Epona witch who recently became a member. Epona is a very small goddess. It’s weird for her to have enough magic and political sway to get onto the state council.”
I wrinkled my nose. Liam had come from an Epona coven, so she was very suspicious.
“Her name’s Kyra.” Amy turned her laptop to show me a photo of her. “Be careful. She might have come from the same coven as Liam. I need to double-check.”
“What about the fae? Could they have been converted?”
“Possibly. Fae are cut-throat. They’ll side with whoever’ll give them what they want in that moment.”
I began looking into the state council and found there was remarkably little on them. A group photo taken only a week ago showed that Kyra was very young. The councilmen I’d met when I’d registered had all had a little silver in their hair except for Cole.
A snarl formed when I saw they’d already replaced Cole. A grey-eyed garou stared out at me, standing between a cougar shifter and a bear shifter.
“Rafe Webster has been put in Cole’s place on the council,” I growled.
“That’s very quick,” Amy said.
“Almost as though they knew what had happened,” I said.
Amy’s lips pursed.
“Look into Rafe; I’m not familiar with his name.”
I did a search for his name on the Grim and found it blocked. His smug face looked out at me from his profile picture, but I couldn’t dig in and get any more information. I hadn’t come across that before. Usually I could get the basics from any garou and most witches, but not him.
I began a wider search, looking through the garou registrations, and found him missing.
“He’s blocked on the Grim and not in the garou registries,” I said.