“I’m here,” said Evan. “But they’re following. I’m going to collapse the tunnel. Go. Go!”
I sprinted on, the sounds of shattering wood behind me. When the first section of the tunnel began to collapse, dust and rubble exploding every which way, it felt like the world was folding in on itself.
“Evan!” Hands pulled me after them as another section collapsed, sending splinters and soil spraying into the tunnel behind us. Ahead, I saw a faint shaft of light and I was pulled towards it, forcing my legs to run, tears streaming down my face as I yelled for Evan.
Daniel and Anders had already scrambled up through the opening, and were pulling us through. The wolves sat back on their haunches, firing themselves upwards and we grabbed their bodies, hefting them the last little bit. It was the longest few seconds of my life as I waited for Evan to appear in the hatch. Then he was sliding through, swinging his legs over the top and I threw myself at him, relieved to feel his arms wrap around me.
When I let him go, I could see we were inside a derelict cottage. Its roof had long since caved in, and the windows were either cracked and grimy or missing completely. There was evidence of fire damage everywhere. Daniel hovered by the trapdoor for the ensuing few minutes, listening to see if anyone managed to follow us through. “I think we’re good,” he said, lowering the trapdoor. We helped him move some things on top of it, bits of broken furniture and other debris that would weigh it down. Although I doubted anyone had gotten through the tunnel when it collapsed, it seemed wise to take precautions.
“Take down the barriers, Daniel,” I said, giving his hand a quick squeeze. He looked terrified.
“They’ll know. The alarm will go off.”
“And the whole house and grounds will be unprotected. Our people are fighting for us out there,” I jabbed a hand towards the house. “They need their magic and so do we.”
“Plus,” said Evan, his chest barely heaving from the run, “they already knew we were coming. That, back there, was an ambush, my friend.”
“Wasn’t me!” Daniel squeaked in terror. I reached over and gave his hand a little squeeze, not wanting him to think that we were about to gang up on him. He closed his eyes for a moment and, when he did, he seemed to relax a little, his face taking on more colour.
“Didn’t say you did,” said Evan, “but someone let them know. How far to the wall?”
“Not far.”
Étoile had picked her way across the debris and wiped a spy hole in the filthy glass. “Every light is on in the house,” she said. “I can see a lot of movement.”
“Any of it coming our way?” Evan asked.
“No.”
“Let’s go. Which way out, Daniel?”
“There’s a door over here, it leads towards the rear of the property.” Daniel led us into a smaller, and just as damaged room. Between Anders and him, they levered the door open. The wolves went first, sniffing the air. Despite Annalise’s injuries, they sprinted for the wall, the six of us following behind as fast as we could.
Behind me, fire erupted from one of Hawkscroft’s large windows and I turned away as the glass blew out. I could hear shouting over the sound of the alarm ringing, and the frantic barking of the dogs.
“Keep going,” Evan hissed. “Don’t stop for anything.”
Ahead of me, Daniel stumbled and clambered to his feet again. “I...”
“Don’t even say it, Daniel. Keep moving.” I gave him a shove forwards and he started running again, aiming for the wall Anders and Bree had just vaulted over. “There’s nothing you can do to help.”
“Except shut up,” said Étoile. She skidded to a stop in front of the wall and Evan cupped his hands together, taking her foot and launching her so she could slide over the top. Annalise and Gage sailed over the top and I heard the wet rustle of leaves as they landed. Daniel climbed over next, then I put my foot in Evan’s hands and he hoisted me up so that I was sitting on the wall. I leaned forward, swung my leg over and slid down the other side, waiting as Evan appeared over the top a moment later.
“The protections are gone,” said Daniel. “We have two minutes until the main alarm goes off and Auberon knows what I’ve done.”
“We can make a run for it through the woods,” said Anders, bending forward, panting, his hands on his knees.
Daniel nodded, adding, “The village is two miles north of here.”
Étoile shook her head. “We’re going a lot faster than that. Stella, we’re going to shimmer all of them.”
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough,” I protested.
“It’s a short trip, and you can draw some of my power.” Evan linked his hand in mine and I could feel the familiar flow of magic start to trickle from him to me as my energy levels rose. We didn’t exchange power often, but I’d had enough lessons that I knew how much I could reasonably take without weakening him or overloading myself. It was like an energy boost on the last leg of a marathon.
“What about you?” Anders asked him.
“I’ll follow. Witches don’t like the way I travel.”
“You’re not a witch?” asked Daniel, bracing himself as Étoile tutted and I shot her a glare.
“No, I’m not. Werewolves and witches aren’t the only thing on this earth, Warlock.” Evan looked down at the wolves. “You two are going to have to run for it.”
“I’ll go with them,” said Bree. “The woods like me and will let us pass easily.”
Gage wrinkled his nose. “I think he wants to know if you can keep up,” I told her.
Bree smiled down at the wolves. “Of course.”
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Where’s safest?”
“My house,” said Anders.
“Never been there. Anywhere we can visualise?” I asked, knowing we were wasting precious seconds discussing this.
“The pub car park?” he suggested.
“That’ll do.” I could create that in my mind. “Gage, do you know where to go?” The big wolf lowered his head in a nod and turned, thrusting himself forward through the undergrowth, Annalise on his heels. Bree sprinted past them, her silvery hair streaming behind her. Her speed was impressive. She must have been holding back in the tunnel.
“Let’s link hands,” Étoile said as she drew us into a circle. Daniel stood between us on one side, Anders and Bree on the other. “Close your eyes, it’ll only take a moment.” Magic flowed through us, the circuit travelling between the five of us and I felt it complete just as a huge roar echoed behind us and I stumbled forward, hands catching me. We’d been found.
“Go NOW!” shouted Evan I forced myself to stand up straight, even though there was a flash of pain that ripped through me. With a nod from Étoile, I rejoined hands with Anders and Daniel either side of me just as something punched me hard in the stomach and we flashed out of the woods.
The Rose and Crown car park was empty and still. A few cars were dotted around and the lights were off. I could hear music playing from somewhere, one of the bedrooms, and the sound of someone laughing. I felt cold, dreadfully cold and started to shiver. It was fright, I told myself, and exertion. My breath was coming quicker and my teeth chattering.
So far, only the four of us had made it to the rendezvous. Gage, Annalise and Bree wouldn’t arrive for another few minutes, at least. Just as my heart started to constrict, with the fear of what happened to Evan, he appeared next to me, perfect as always.
“You’re okay!” I felt an enormous rush of relief.
Evan nodded and grinned. Then his smile faded as his eyes travelled down.
“What’s wrong?” I looked downwards, remembering the unfortunate incident with the shape-shifter, which felt like weeks ago now. I hoped I hadn’t brought something with me. I twisted, wincing, to look over my shoulder. Nope, I looked extra limb-free.
“Are you okay?” he asked slowly.
“Sure, I’m...” I followed Evan’s eyes down. He wasn’t looking at the ground. He was looking at the da
rk patch spreading across my jacket, through the ragged edges of the torn material.
I wasn’t okay. I really wasn’t okay. Touching a finger to the centre of the dark mark, I drew it to my face. Blood. I was bleeding. That’s when the world started to get dizzy and wobble from side to side like I was on a carnival ride. I felt sick.
Evan caught me as I fell, lowering me steadily to the asphalt. I looked up at Étoile crouching beside me, Daniel hovering, looking sick. I looked up at the beautiful black sky, the pinpricks of golden stars and the moon that watched over us. Some distance away, I heard an explosion. I expected to hear sirens, shouting, but a blanket of calm seemed to descend over the deserted car park.
“I’ve been shot,” I whispered, my hands pressing over the wound in my side.
Sixteen
“We’ve got to get her inside.” Evan’s voice sounded like it was coming from under water, very faint in contrast to the sound of the blood rushing in my head.
“My house,” came Anders voice, soft and far away. Then Evan lifted me, his arms wrapped under my shoulders and knees and we were running so fast, the world became a blur around me. That was probably when I lost consciousness.
When I awoke, I was lying on a sofa in a warm room, where a white plastered ceiling replaced the dark sky. I felt wet and scared and my hands were sticky with my blood. My side throbbed horribly and I couldn’t resist letting my fingers stray to where it hurt most, yelping when I touched the soft, damaged part of my body through my layers.
Étoile crouched next to me, peeling back my sweater to see the wound and I had to mash my lips together to stop from screaming.
“Is she going to be okay?” Daniel’s voice was laced with worry. I could just see him hovering somewhere above my head, but I had to blink twice before his face swam into focus. I searched the room for Evan, found him; then my eyes drifted in search of Annalise and Gage, but I couldn’t find them. I hoped they would get here soon. I hoped they were safe.
“I think so.” Étoile said. Then I screamed as she pressed my ragged flesh, her cold hand travelling around to my back, which didn’t feel quite as bad. “I think the bullet is still inside. There isn’t an exit wound. She must have been shot just as we shimmered. Otherwise, it would have been a through and through.”
“Can you get it out?” I whimpered, tightening my hand around Evan’s. I hated to whine but I could barely think properly and everything was flickering, except it wasn’t a faulty light, it was me. Evan’s face, close to mine and full of concern, wavered in and out of focus.
“Yes,” she said. Through my half-closed eyes, I saw her grimace. She didn’t need to add that it was going to hurt.
“Can you do that thing you do, where you make me feel sleepy? I don’t want to feel it.”
“Sure.”
“Sorry for being a wimp.” I breathed in and waited for Étoile’s suggestion to seep through me once she placed her hand on my forehead. Before, when I was weak and not in control of my magic, she used her influence to knock me out. I told her and Seren to promise never to use their sway on me again and, to their credit, they hadn’t. It helped that I could block them nowadays. I let my defences down to allow Étoile’s magic to work through me, lulling the pain until I felt sleepy and distant, like I was floating away from my body.
I was only vaguely conscious of Étoile’s hands over my wound, then the bullet sliding out of my body, pushing past my flesh. Étoile’s hand disappeared for a moment; then she placed both hands on me and began to heal my internal wounds as well as the entry hole the bullet made. I couldn’t watch what she was doing, even though I was horribly numb, so I focused on Evan’s stricken face, swallowing up every last lovely look of him. Then I was out again.
When I woke up, I felt like I’d slept for days. My vision was back to normal and I took my time looking around before I even tried moving. There was a large teapot on the table and a rack of toast. Annalise and Gage were there, both in human form. They both looked like hell. Annalise had red eyes like she had been crying a lot. When she saw I was conscious, she flung herself across the room, kneeling by my side and taking my hand. She started to speak too fast and faltered each time. Finally, she just said, “Thank you.”
“For nearly getting you killed?” I croaked. “No problem.”
“For saving me, silly. Gage told me that you came here all by yourself and that you even got yourself captured because of me. I know that part obviously.” She took a deep breath, reliving the horror of the cold cellar. I glanced over at Gage, watching us and he met my eyes momentarily, before Annalise’s voice distracted me. “And getting us out of there, too,” she added, with another squeeze of her hand.
“That wasn’t me,” I protested weakly. “Daniel knew the tunnels. Evan destroyed them.”
“But if it weren’t for your note, no one could have gotten in,” Annalise persisted before rubbing her eyes when a tear slipped out. “And we wouldn’t be here now.”
Speaking of here... “Where are we?” I groaned, reaching down to where my wound had been. I was still slightly damp, and the blood had crusted my sweater and tee, soaking into the waistband of my jeans. I gingerly peeled back the stiff fabrics, straining to take a look. Étoile walked quickly around the sofa and, between Annalise and her, they helped me sit up, nestling me against the back and arm of the sofa. My wound was gone, just pink flesh and a faded white scar left, marring my otherwise flawless right side. Annalise winced at it and walked stiffly back to the chair she was occupying before I woke.
“My house.” Anders pressed a mug of hot black tea into my hand. I wriggled my toes and stretched my legs, encouraging my circulation to start moving again.
“Everyone else okay?” I looked from Gage to Annalise, then to Daniel, hunched over in an armchair in the corner, who nodded glumly. Étoile walked across to my cousin and perched on the chair’s arm, patting him softly; keeping him calm, I thought.
“It’s nice to have two arms and two legs again,” said Annalise with a little smile that tried to cover how hoarse she sounded. Someone found her a pair of baggy jeans and a shirt to wear and she looked fresh and clean, like she’d just taken a shower. Her face, hands and neck, however, were covered in angry red wounds. “Spending that much time as a wolf was a challenge. How’re you feeling?”
I tried shifting my muscles a little and tentatively raised my arms. There was no pain, just a dull ache in my right side. “Sore.”
“I’ll make you a poultice,” said Anders, “to draw the stiffness out.”
“Thanks.” I looked around, realising there was something wrong with the picture. “Where’s Evan?”
Anders gulped and looked at Étoile, who shrugged. “Hunting,” she said.
“Hunting what?”
“Whoever shot you,” she said succinctly. “He waited to make sure you were okay, then shot out the door.”
I looked at her, my eyebrows raised.
Étoile pulled a face right back. “Sorry. Too soon to make bad puns?” she apologised.
Anders passed me a blanket when I shivered and tucked it around my shoulders. Placing a bet, Anders claimed the odds that whoever shot me would live were pretty bad. Cautiously, I drew up the hem of my top and poked at the pink flesh. It was healing fast. The small scar I’d have to live with, but I was alive and that was a lot to be thankful for. Someone cleaned my wound, but my top and jeans were still encrusted with my blood. I probably stank too. “Has he been gone long?” I asked.
Anders checked his watch. “You’ve been out for two hours, so a little less than that. We’re just coming up to dawn.”
“The Brotherhood didn’t track us here?” I asked, frowning.
Anders shook his head. “Too busy dousing the fire at Hawkscroft. They haven’t come here, at any rate. We’d have noticed.”
“What about your coven?”
He smirked. “Stoking the fire.”
“Oh.” I sipped the hot tea. It tasted perfect, the way things do when you’ve had
a shock and suddenly everything seems bright and wonderful. When my stomach rumbled loudly, a hot, buttered slice of toast was pressed into my hand and I ate it in just a few bites. Although it stopped the rumbling, it didn’t stop the sick feeling I had when I remembered what Evan told us in the derelict cottage.
“Étoile, can you help me up so I can get clean?” I asked. I probably could have made it without help, but I wanted to talk to Étoile alone. I figured that what I had to say probably wouldn’t go down too well with Anders. I was grateful for his hospitality and for coming to help us escape Hawkscroft, but something was niggling at me, something that told me someone we trusted had betrayed us.
“I put more towels in the bathroom,” Anders said. “Étoile knows the way.”
“Thanks.” I started to get to my feet and Gage half stood, ready to help, but sat again when Étoile slid a hand under my arm and another around my waist. She pulled away when I winced. I was sore and tender but alive, so there was much to be grateful for. First things first, I had to get clean. While I knelt by the side of the bathtub, Étoile washed my hair. She had to shampoo it three times before it felt clean, and the rinse water no longer ran with blood. Then I patted it until it wasn’t dripping wet. Finally, Étoile took over and coaxed it into a braid. With all the gentle tugging at my scalp, I realised someone had ministered the cut on my head while I was unconscious and my headache finally, was gone. The rest of me could wait, I decided; there were more important things to attend to.
Devious Magic Page 23