by Cloe Cullen
“You’re going to stop us with really long knives?” he asked, threatening the first guard with a smile. “Do you actually expect to stop us with those?”
“Maybe we do, mutt!” the guard hissed low, reaching for his own.
Before the guard could unsheathe his blade, Bronwen quickly broke in. “They’re called swords, Remus. Large steel weapons meant for killing. Some Vampires use them because they are weak and cowardly.” The first guard eyed her angrily, though his hand wavered on his sword hilt. Bronwen pressed the Vampire’s courage, hoping to break him soon enough. “See how quickly they reached for their weapons? That means they’re afraid of us, of becoming nothing more than a stepping stone in my confrontation with Cadogan.”
Remus stepped forward, his body rippling with adrenaline. If the situation weren’t so serious, Bronwen may have taken a moment to simply inspect the burly specimen next to her. “Why not just massacre them now, why hold back?” he asked, a deadly edge to his hardened voice.
Bronwen smiled. He was following her lead so naturally. A consequence of being by each other’s side for years. “Because I don’t have a valid reason to let loose just yet. But, if these guards keep preventing me from meeting with my fellow Lord, then I don’t know if I’d have a reason to keep myself in check…”
She could hear the viciousness in Remus’ growl once she finished speaking. Quite frankly, Remus was doing a much better job at intimidating Cadogan’s servants than she was, which was evident in the wide stares the guards threw his way. For a long moment, no one spoke, and even other Vampires came forward to see whether or not the four guards would be put under siege; none of the others came forward, which helped to sway the four guard’s decision to sigh and step aside.
“Fine,” the first grunted. “But Cadogan could have our heads for this.”
“If I have my way,” Bronwen cooed as she walked past. “Then Cadogan won’t be doing anything to you, or anyone else, ever again.”
The Vampires looked to one another in surprise as they strode inside, walking up the stone trail that led up to the double front doors. Bronwen’s chest pounded as she gripped the door handle, pulling one of the doors open and stepping into the candlelit darkness. Remus let go a breath at what lay before them. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.
One final piece of gossip that had brushed Bronwen’s ears was that the inside of Cadogan’s manor was more akin to an endless maze than a home. What should have been the entrance hall they stepped into was instead a series of three corridors, each leading off to a different part of the manor. Gazing at each in turn, it occurred to Bronwen that Cadogan truly was mad. Why would anyone, even a Lord, own a manor like this? Even Orpheus’s home had been simpler than this, the only sane part of that creature’s life.
“You choose,” Remus said, crossing his arms. “I bet you’ll have a better sense of direction than me in this nightmare of a house.”
Nodding, Bronwen took the lead, pointing at the middle corridor. “Let’s try this way.”
She couldn’t have said how long they spent stalking through the seemingly endless hallways and rooms of the manor, but after walking in vain for some time Bronwen’s skin began to tingle. A sixth sense to find others of their kind, a trait some Vampires obtained when they’re first turned, seemed to have reawakened in her. Suddenly, Bronwen’s eyes narrowed, her movements filling with purpose, now confidently choosing the right path directly to Cadogan. Remus observed Bronwen quietly as she led him through the manor, eventually reaching a single door at the end of a final hallway. From beyond the door something like the shuffling of papers tickled her hearing, and Bronwen forced her thumping heart to calm itself before entering.
Placing one hand on the copper doorknob, she glanced back to Remus, who nodded his approval. Taking a deep breath, Bronwen swung the door open, startling the lone occupant inside.
For once, Cadogan’s expression wasn’t one of anger or mockery, but one of shock. With his big red eyes wide and his jaw nearly dropping, he froze with a stack of papers in his hand. Once he rose from the couch he rested on, though, his natural glare returned and he threw down his papers onto the long table in front of him.
“Bronwen! What in blazes are you doing here?” he shouted, marching towards her and Remus. When his gaze landed on Remus, his face twisted into pure fury. “I can’t believe you let this disgusting hound into my home? How dare you!”
Remus viciously growled, stepping up beside Bronwen, just like the first time Cadogan had confronted her at the Commune, though this time Bronwen didn’t try to hold him back. “I’m sure you know why we’re here, Cadogan.”
Cadogan ground his teeth, eyeing her. “It’s Lord to you.”
“We are equals and I shall call you whatever I wish,” Bronwen retorted.
“Not to me, you aren’t,” Cadogan muttered. Observing them both, Cadogan let an exasperated grunt go and waved them off. “Whatever it is you want then, speak quickly. The sooner you leave, the better.”
He motioned for Bronwen to come forward and sit across from him as he plopped down on the couch. There was a single chair, and while Bronwen hesitated, she eventually moved forward, lowering herself into the loveseat. She hadn’t expected him to invite her to sit, let alone give her time to voice her questions. While she pondered his odd behavior, Cadogan continued to glower at her. “Whoever let you in will get a beating, mark my words,” he muttered. “Speak woman! What is it you came here for?”
“To get you to cough up Finn,” Bronwen admitted, watching as Remus fidgeted next to her. Far behind Cadogan a fireplace raged, heating the air.
Cadogan blinked up at her, his face contorted in annoyance. “What the hell is a Finn?”
Digging her nails into the armrest, Bronwen scowled, deciding to speak slowly to hide the anger in her voice. “Finn is one of the shifters come to the Blackwood to speak with the Lords...one of the bear shifters under my care. He’s missing...presumed kidnapped by Changelings...your Changelings.”
For a moment Bronwen thought Cadogan would jump at her as he leaned forward, but soon he snapped back, throwing his head back and bellowing in laughter, spittle flying from his lips. His raucous chorus of laughter went on for so long that Bronwen became infected with Remus’ antsy demeanor, her fingers brushing the leather of the loveseat, her body jerking up as she glared at Cadogan. “Enough! Tell me where he is.”
Calming himself down, Cadogan began to wipe tears from his eyes. “Now, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“How so?” Bronwen said, barely containing the fumes inside her head.
“If I wanted to hurt you, Bronwen, I’d walk through your front door and massacre you all,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “Not only are my Changelings far from your manor, but I had no hand in this Finn’s disappearance.”
What? No, he had to be lying. Cadogan was the obvious choice to be blamed for Finn’s disappearance. She was certain this was going to be some sort of trap, with Finn as the bait. Cadogan must have noticed the warring thoughts in her mind, because he sat back nonchalantly, his wicked grin never fading. “I always knew you were stubborn, but to assume that I’m the cause of all your problems? That’s rather childish, don’t you think, girl?”
Wait...what had she thought? He was the obvious choice, almost too obvious. No matter what, Bronwen would have guessed at Cadogan being the kidnapper first; was it possible that another had manipulated her? As she thought, Cadogan grumbled.
“Bah! Just leave already, if you aren’t going to attempt anything,” he shouted.
Bronwen shot Cadogan one last curious glance before rising from her chair and silently sauntering out, pulling a growling Remus along with her. There was something more to Finn’s disappearance. But who was really the culprit? If not Cadogan...grimacing, Bronwen ignored Remus’ complaints and strode forward, her mind whirling at this new revelation.
Chapter Seventeen: Remus
It had been days since Remus and Bronwen con
fronted Cadogan about Finn’s disappearance and left with nothing to show for their efforts. After Cadogan’s complete denial of having any hand in either the Changelings surrounding their manor, or the matter of Finn, Bronwen had theorized that another force was in play. A different master controlled the Changelings, someone who knew Bronwen would seek out the brazen Cadogan first.
To be honest, Remus didn’t know whether to agree with her or not. Something was definitely off about how easy it had been to blame the loudest and most obnoxious Vampire Lord, and yet maybe Cadogan was more cunning than he led them to believe. Bronwen didn’t often show her anger, but when she did it was like all she saw was red.
Every night Bronwen came to bed stiffer, her muscles knotted and her expression tense. Outside of her bedroom, she remained stoic and calm around the others, though he knew that weighed on her too. The pressure of leadership was something Remus had never wanted, his thoughts turning to the day Darius challenged his father, Ulrick, in Gray Creek. That day, Gavriel had attempted to get Remus to step up, to challenge his father, and yet he had faltered back then. Even two years later, after hardening his resolve and taking a leap of faith by coming to the Blackwood, he still wouldn’t want to take on the role of an Alpha.
But Bronwen had, she never even hesitated when she’d been asked to become the next Lord. And during the ceremony, she’d smiled and gladly taken that golden crown, the very one that she’d returned to Lord Silvan just half a week prior. Even now, with the attack on Finn and Lenna, Finn’s vanishing, and the sour mood hanging over everyone’s heads, Bronwen boldly kept going, though the stress of it all began to turn her skin paler than usual, like she was a spirit, and weary lines began to form under her eyes.
“You need to rest,” Remus insisted, for the dozenth time as Bronwen stood in the front door. She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple as Nyx and Lowell waited patiently outside.
“I’m fine, Remus, it’s not like I’ll be doing a whole lot at this next meeting. Nyx and Lowell will be the ones doing most of the talking, anyway,” she replied, going down the short steps to the earth. “Just make sure that Lenna is alright since she won’t be coming.”
Frowning like she’d just slapped him, Remus leaned against the door frame as he watched Bronwen depart with Lowell on her right and Nyx on her left, the group unspeaking as they went. Peering into the distance, Remus found the empty plains to be unsettling. Just after meeting with Lord Cadogan days ago, the Changelings had vanished like Finn and had yet to return. It was odd and too perfectly timed with their return to the manor. But just because they weren’t close by, didn’t mean they weren’t lying in wait behind a dead bush or under a few lengthy, fallen tree trunks.
He watched until Bronwen and the others were but dots on the horizon, dipping behind a hill full of dead yellow grass, and punched the door frame before walking back inside.
To pass the time, Remus wandered the halls, admiring the statues and colorful paintings lining the walls, trying to disregard the eerie silence that permeated the air he walked through. Eventually, the silence made his skin crawl, and so he strode to a window, peering out just as a familiar face ambled by.
Lenna scowled as she caught Remus’ concerned eyes, her own reflecting the frustrated cougar inside of her. Massaging the arm that had been cut up days ago by a Changeling, she sauntered off in the direction of the dead forest behind the manor. Remus pressed his face to the window, trying to follow her with his eyes, eventually lifting the lower pane to poke his head out, a stray breeze brushing his blonde curls into his eyes.
“She’s been like that ever since,” Keanu’s heavy voice said beside him. Tucking his hair behind his ear, Remus blinked at the massive shifter crossing his arms, the guy staring blankly at him. From behind Keanu, Magnolia popped out, waving happily with her long fingers.
“Where is she going?” Remus asked, leaning on the window sill, his eyes following the small cat shifter as she hopped over a broken tree.
“Well, into the dead forest, obviously,” Magnolia mocked.
“Ha ha,” Remus said, rolling his eyes at the Vampire appraising him. “You know what I mean.”
“Searching for Finn, again,” Keanu breathed. Keanu’s squinting eyes met Remus’, sending a wave of sorrow through his mind. “She won’t stop. Day after day. I’ve never seen someone care so much for Finn before…” He stroked his beard, which had recently been trimmed from a wild mess to something more neat and handsome. Glancing up at the sky, he spoke warily. “Besides me...or Jorah...or Nyx, I suppose.”
Tapping the window frame, Remus leaned forward. “Shouldn’t we follow her, before she goes too far?”
“Good idea!” Magnolia said, heading for the door and dragging Keanu along with ease. Grunting, Keanu frowned but went with her. Remus’ jaw nearly dropped at how casually Magnolia tugged on Keanu’s bulky bicep, despite being three times smaller. Vampiric strength sure was an amazing thing.
Lifting the window up all the way, Remus slipped through the opening and climbed down to the ground, shutting the window as he jogged to catch up to the duo.
They found Lenna squatting in between three trees, fingering the ground and bringing the dirt she squeezed between her fingers up to sniff with her nose. Wrinkling at the smell, Lenna recoiled and sharply rose, frowning as Remus and others approached.
“Are you here to help look?” she asked, standing rigid as she looked back to the ground. “If you are, thank you. If not, then go back to the manor and don’t try to stop me.”
“Looking is fine,” Remus said, stepping forward. “We all want Finn to come back, but we've searched these woods a hundred times now, you - probably more. He’s not here.”
“But a trail is!” Lenna squeaked. “I swear. That blood trail dried up, but I’ve found tracks of all kinds, going this way and that. Branches have been snapped, foul scents lingering in some places. There’s a way forward, a way to find him in this forest.” Lenna’s eyes went cold, her lips quivering as she stared at the ground. “I need to find him.”
“And you will, but right now you need to rest.” Placing a hand on her shoulder, Remus finally got her to look up at him. Looking closer, he noticed the dirt caking her palms and arms, the dark bags under her eyes, her strained, cracked lips and frizzled hair. A haziness hung behind her eyes, as if sleep had been eluding her every night. “I don’t blame you for how you feel...if Bronwen was taken before my eyes I’d be furious, scouring the entire world trying to find her.”
“Then why are you trying to stop me?” she said, jerking away from him.
“Because running yourself into the ground won’t help anyone, let alone Finn,” Remus replied steadily. “Trust me.”
Lenna scowled, but crossed her arms and turned from him.
“He’s right, you know,” Magnolia said, striding forward and smiling. Lenna watched cautiously as the Vampire clasped her hands behind her back, staring down at the cat shifter. “If you’re going to search, at least let us help. There’s no need to do everything by yourself.”
Digging her heel into the earth, Lenna tightened her arms and stared down. “I’m the one who let him be taken...but it would be nice to have someone along.”
“Good!” Magnolia beamed. “Then show us some of these trails you supposedly found.”
Growing red as a beet, Lenna nodded and stalked off, bringing the group to a spot where large paw prints dotted the ground, leading off in all directions. Standing over the circle of prints, Lenna pointed out the pairs she’d observed. “Six in all, similar to the amount that attacked Finn and I,” she said. Crouching, Remus got low to sniff the ground, his nostrils filling with the grimy smell of dirty wolves and cougars. He counted the tracks, six in all, just like she had said.
“Definitely Changelings,” Remus said. “I could recognize that musky smell anywhere.”
“They’re fresh too,” Keanu observed, kneeling next to Remus, Magnolia peering over his shoulder. “See how deep the prints are?”
“And three go this way,” Lenna said, pointing off to the side where three pairs converged and traveled off down a slope. “We could follow these, find out where they lead.”
Keanu nodded. “If the prints are this deep, that means they’ll remain in the ground a while longer. We could have enough time to discover where these prints lead.”
Suddenly, a branch snapping in the distance perked up Remus’ ears, causing him to shoot up and stare into the distance. The rest of the group froze as their eyes adjusted to the black shape crouching and sneaking forward in the distance, its feral smell twisting Remus’ face into a snarl. As the black shape suddenly darted forward, instinct overtook Remus and he surged forward, shifting into his blonde wolf and colliding with the cougar midair, falling to the ground and scrambling to his feet as he roared at the chuffing cougar.
With one roar from the cougar, more Changelings appeared around them, six in all, a mix of wolves and cougars. Remus’ senses went wild, his eyes darting in every direction trying to take in everything. At a glance, he spotted Keanu and Lenna shift as well, their clothes ripping and falling to pieces around them. But he didn’t have more time to gaze around, as the first Changeling leaped forward and chomped down around his front paw, causing Remus to cry out in agony.
His paw inflamed as blood splattered to the ground, and Remus was suddenly smacking the Changeling’s jaw with his free paw. The Changeling roared as it let go of Remus’ ankle, slinking back as a wolf slammed into his side, sending him flying into the soft bark of the dying trees around them. He fell, scrambling to move out of the way as the trees groaned and swung down to slam into the earth, the impact raising a dust cloud. Hacking in the dust cloud, Remus peered back the way he’d been thrown to spy Keanu’s big brown bear form swipe at two wolves, while Lenna and Magnolia fought off one cougar and the bear.