by TJ Green
Tommy caught him looking and said, “And what will you do, pretty boy? Here to tame the witches?”
“You don’t tame witches,” Alex said drolly. “They’re not wild animals.”
“Well, that Alice needs a leash. Mad cow. Interfering in our business.”
“So are we, but I gather that’s okay?”
“It depends what you’re going to do,” Tommy said, assessing Alex with an even gaze.
Avery could feel Alex’s power building. If Tommy didn’t watch his mouth, he’d find his tongue bound.
Piper intervened. “Oh, shut up, you great pillock. Alex and Avery are here to help.”
He looked at Piper, frowned, and then laughed. “You’ve always got a big attitude for a little thing.”
“And you’re full of shit. Shut up.”
Avery laughed out loud, and that set everyone off.
“So,” Josh said, after wiping his eyes, “can someone give me a bloody drink before we have to traipse up to that place in the freezing cold?”
Evan grinned and headed to a cupboard in the kitchen, bringing out whiskey and glasses. He poured and handed everyone a shot, before turning to Alex and Avery. “So, what’s your plan?”
“We’re here to stop Alice from using her magic to either confuse or glamour you, or to influence the fight,” Avery said. “We’d like to be there in the circle right at the start so they know we’re there. It will make our life easier, and yours. They won’t tamper because they know that we will know.”
Tommy shook his head. “No way. The pack won’t allow it.”
“In that case, we work behind the scenes to prevent them from interfering in the fight. But at some point, we’ll have to reveal ourselves.”
“Why?” Ollie asked, speaking for the first time.
Alex explained. “Anything Cooper promises you could be subverted by the Devices at some point. You could have nasty accidents, your businesses might fail inexplicably...” He shrugged. “Anything might happen. If Cooper agrees to your terms, you need to demand proof the terms will be abided by, and that’s when Josh or Piper have to invite us in.”
Ollie looked suspicious. “And how will you manage that? They have influenced things for generations—we all know it. It’s an open secret.”
“We offer a reciprocal binding,” Avery said. “We agree never to interfere here again, and they agree not to break their word by attacking you or seek revenge on us. They have violated Sanctuary already. Hunter can demand terms, and so can we. And the Cornwall Covens will support us.”
“And that will hold how?”
“By magic. Binding spells are exactly that. They can be used in all sorts of ways—to bind someone’s magic, tongue, actions—but also they can be used to maintain trust. And we will bind their whole family, No loopholes.”
“I don’t like magic,” Tommy said suddenly, glaring at them. “I don’t trust it.”
“So trust me,” she answered.
“How will we know you’re there?” Evan asked.
“We’ll be cloaked, but I promise you we’ll be there. We won’t let you down.”
Ollie sipped his drink. “Tell me about the binding. Can anyone do one?”
Alex frowned. ‘What are you thinking?”
“If something goes wrong. Can we do one?”
He nodded. “A blood oath. All witches will abide by that. It’s the oldest and strongest binding there is—outside of actual magic. But you must make your terms very clear.”
“Good to know,” Ollie said, nodding thoughtfully.
Avery stood and knocked her drink back, shook her head at the sharpness of it, and then turned to Alex. “Let’s get out of here and prepare. Can we use another room, Evan?”
Evan ushered them to a small front room, muggy with central heating, and as soon as they were alone, Alex shook his head. “I don’t like this. There are too many variables.”
“I know, and obviously Ollie thinks the same. But what other options do we have?”
“We can get in the car and leave them to it.”
“You don’t mean that,” Avery said, looking incredulous.
Alex sighed. “No, I guess not. But I want an advantage. I have another idea.”
Avery raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“We protect these guys with a charm, so they can’t be influenced by Alice.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Alex grinned. “And I think we offer them a strength potion.”
“Really? Isn’t that a bit, well, cheat-y?”
“Do we trust them to allow a fair fight?”
“No.”
“So we really are just evening the odds,” Alex pointed out.
Avery grinned, too. “Well, when you put it like that... And we need something strong for the binding.”
Alex nodded. “Bindings like this work best with something sympathetic. This place backs on to a wood. What about using ivy?”
“Excellent. You get it, and I’ll start preparing the rest.”
18
It was close to 11:30pm and Avery stood with Alex overlooking Castlerigg, cloaked in shadows. They had left Piper and Josh in Keswick so they could make their own way to the circle with the other Shifters.
Avery looked up at Alex’s strong profile that at the moment, only she could see. His hair was tied back in a half-ponytail, and his jacket collar was high around his neck. It was freezing, but she had once again whispered the warming spell that enveloped both of them. It felt like they were the only people in the world.
She thought back on what he told Josh in the car, when he said he’d do anything for her and anybody else he loved, and she desperately wanted to ask him if it was true. She half-wondered if she’d imagined it, or if she’d exaggerated what he meant, because she realised now, looking at him under a huge sky full of stars and the faint crescent of the moon, that she loved him and needed him to love her. Desperately so.
Just as she was summoning her courage to ask, a sweep of car headlights in the distance caused Alex to look away, and she followed his gaze. Two men made their way to the stone circle. They were just barely visible as black shapes against the grey of the night sky and the faint line of the stone walls. One raised his nose to the sky and turned in their direction for a second, and then turned away.
Alex stiffened next to her. “They can smell us.”
“No, they can’t,” Avery reassured him. “We cloaked sight, smell, and sound. And we’re downwind. He can smell something, but it’s not us.”
The men walked to the very middle of the circle and huddled together, talking. Alex pulled her arm. “Let’s get closer, then.”
They edged away from the stone wall and trod silently across the grass, stopping when they were a few meters away. The wind carried the gruff male voices to them, and for a moment, Avery struggled to understand what they were saying. Their accents were so strong, but as she got used to the cadence of their tones, she started to understand the conversation.
“Alice will be sure they arrive last,” an older man said. “She doesn’t want him to get sympathy from the others.”
“And Holly?” A younger man spoke, but he was bearded and had a wool hat on so Avery couldn’t see his face.
“She’ll be here. She needs to understand this is the way of the pack.”
The younger one laughed unpleasantly. “She should know that already. That’s why she ran.”
“She won’t run tonight. Alice will see that Cooper wins, and that Holly promises herself to him.”
“What has Alice arranged?”
“Some potion or another.” The older man shrugged. “Nothing too obvious, but it will give him the edge. Hunter injured him badly the other night, though he’s kept it quiet. But he has to act now. Others are restless. Hunter has been busy on the phone, seeking support, and he’s getting it.”
Ha! Vindicated. Avery turned to Alex with a sly smile.
More voices broke the silence, and they retreated quickly
, watching as others arrived in groups of twos and threes. They all gathered in the centre of the stone circle, until eventually—over the next ten minutes, Avery estimated—there were about 30 Shifters present, and other than three or four women, including Piper, they were all men.
The clear, ringing tones of a bell sounded from beyond the stone circle, and a tall man led a group into the middle. It must be Cooper. He carried himself with arrogance and command, and everyone turned to him as he arrived. The change in the energy was interesting. Avery sensed both excitement and dread.
Behind Cooper, Hunter and Holly were escorted between Alice and Jeremy, and behind them were another woman and three men all carrying long poles. The woman bore a distinct resemblance to Alice, and Avery guessed it must be Rose, her daughter, the one who’d been helping Cooper to heal.
As soon as everyone was present, Cooper turned to Alice. “Please seal the circle.”
Immediately, Alex and Avery realised what was happening. They were watching from the walls at the edge of the field again, and if she sealed it before they reached the stone circle, they would be locked out and unable to help in any way.
Alice acted quickly, drawing her Athame out, and went to the ceremonial entrance, where she started to walk around the back of the standing stones, chanting the spell to consecrate the ground.
Alex and Avery raced to the far side of the stones, stepping inside far enough to remain away from the Shifters, but also well enough inside that Alice wouldn’t stumble over them. Thank the gods Castlerigg was big.
Alice passed them by, her expression calm with a hint of triumph, as if she had already won.
Within another minute the circle was complete, and with the sound of wind through grass, a veil fell on the outside world. Josh looked around nervously, as did Piper, clearly worrying about whether Avery or Alex had made it, but there was no way to reassure them right now.
The three men who had entered last walked around the perimeter, placing out the torches they had brought with them. Once they were all in place, Alice lit them with a clap of her hands, and they flared into flames. Everyone’s features came into focus, revealing expressions of worry, confusion, or excitement. Avery’s unease heightened. She felt she had stepped into some kind of primeval gladiatorial arena.
Cooper spoke, his deep voice carrying in the clear night air. “Welcome. Tonight we finish what began two weeks ago, before Hunter was dragged from our midst before the fight was complete.”
A rumble of laughter came from a few members, but not many. Most just watched Cooper with stony gazes.
He continued, “The rules remain. Hunter must defeat me to become the new Alpha. I will not yield. I want to make it clear to everyone that he has to kill me to do so. I, however, will not demand death.” He turned to Hunter, his eyes cold. “You only have to yield to me and promise fealty.”
Hunter was bristling with anger and determination, and he didn’t flinch as he looked at Cooper. Avery wouldn’t have imagined he was recently so grievously hurt had she not seen it herself. He looked fit and eager to fight. “And if I don’t yield?”
“Then it will be a fight to the death,” Cooper said, smiling unpleasantly.
Josh stepped forward from where he had been hidden within the circle of his friends, Piper behind him. “I would like to speak to my brother before the fight.”
Cooper looked at him, surprised, as did Alice and the other witches. “I was not sure you would return after running away,” Cooper sneered.
“And miss watching my brother win?” Josh said, baiting him. “No chance. Now, I believe I can speak to Hunter.”
Hunter’s hands had been tied up until now; Cooper leaned forward, pulled a large knife from a sheath on his belt, and cut the ropes. “You have two minutes to talk some sense into him. And don’t think you’ll be able to pull the same stunt as last time.”
While the rest of the pack formed a circle around what Avery presumed would be where they fought, Josh and Piper took Cooper and Holly aside.
Alex pulled Avery up on one of the smaller standing stones that formed the inner square, well away from the edge of the circle, allowing them a view of the fight. Alice and Jeremy looked around Castlerigg with narrowed eyes. They might suspect they were there, but they didn’t know for sure, and there was nothing they could do now.
Within minutes, the mutter of conversation fell silent, and Hunter and Cooper stepped into the makeshift fighting ring, both wearing only jeans. Their feet and chests were bare, and the flickering light revealed that both had livid red scars. After formal bows from each, the fight began.
It was bloody and brutal, a mixture of punching, kicking, and martial arts. The pair were evenly matched. They traded blow for blow, and several times it looked as if Hunter had the upper hand, with Cooper stumbling back over uneven ground. But he always got back up again.
By now both were bloody, lips were split, and one of Hunter’s long scars, barely healed, had already opened up and was bleeding again. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and Avery noticed that several Shifters had taken on distinctly wolfish features, their eyes ringed with yellow fire.
Avery grimaced as Hunter sustained his biggest beating yet, and as he fell to the floor, Cooper kicked him in the ribs before he could roll away.
“Submit?” Cooper asked with an evil grin.
“Never,” Hunter grunted before launching at Cooper again.
Avery whispered to Alex, “Why doesn’t he submit now?”
“Because he’s trying to wear Cooper out. If he takes him right to the edge before submitting, he’ll struggle more in the second challenge.”
Avery nodded and looked away. This was horrible and brutal.
The fight went on and Avery could hear grunts, thumps, and brutal cries, and then a gasp from the Shifters as a crack resounded.
Avery reluctantly looked, and saw Hunter lying on the ground, more blood than man, holding his left arm.
“Yield?” Cooper asked, triumphantly standing over him, and also dripping with blood.
It was clear that Hunter could not continue to fight.
Hunter nodded, pain visible in every movement, and someone ran forward, helping him to his feet to hobble away.
Cooper surveyed the crowd. “Is anyone foolish enough to challenge again?”
Despite being bloodied and bruised, with a thick lip and cuts to his face and the rest of his body, Cooper looked like he could keep going, and the crowd fell silent long enough for Cooper to grin as if he’d won. But then Evan stepped forward.
“I challenge. Same terms, same conditions—which means that if I win, you relinquish your claim on Holly.”
The light in Cooper’s eyes dimmed for a moment. He risked a glance at Holly’s mutinous face, and then he nodded. “It seems like some people don’t know when they’re beat.”
“And it seems you don’t know when you’ve been rejected,” Evan shot back, fists clenched at his side and a snarl starting in the back of his throat. “Why don’t you act like a gentleman for once in your miserable life and revoke your claim on her?”
“I’ll revoke my claim when she has the nerve to reject me.” He looked at her once more, but she remained silent, and once again he looked triumphantly at Evan and the other Shifters. “Anyone hear a rejection, then? No, I thought not. Now, let’s get this over with.”
Cooper wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and stepped back, inviting Evan in. And then the next fight began.
Evan was shorter than Cooper and Hunter, and his fighting style was different. He was wiry and fast, and managed to get a few quick punches and throws in. But Cooper drew on an inner strength, and soon had the upper hand. But he was tiring, that was obvious. He took a second longer to recover after blows, and a second longer to stand, and his wounds opened up even further.
Avery watched for only a short while before turning aside. “How can you stand to watch?” she whispered to Alex.
“Because one of us ha
s to. I’m making sure the Devices aren’t using anything, and so far, so good. Just the potion.”
But Evan didn’t push his luck too long. He made sure he was bloodied and bruising too, and that Cooper was breathless, lasting just long enough to look convincing before he yielded.
Cooper’s victory stance was more unsteady this time, but he threw his head back as he snarled out, “Anyone else?”
Cooper’s supporters were moving through the crowd, and heads were dropping. It was clear some were intimidated, despite Cooper’s weakness, and were genuinely terrified of him. Others, however, had clearly had enough, and some of the older Shifters who were too old to challenge successfully looked around with an anticipation that wasn’t lost on Cooper or the witches.
“Do you think my time has come?” Cooper asked defiantly. “Because I don’t think anyone else has the nerve.”
Ollie stepped forward. “I do.”
Cooper narrowed his eyes at him, and then at the half a dozen Shifters gathered behind him, and he looked wary.
“Taken leave of your senses, Oliver?”
“Come to them, more like,” he answered as he peeled off his shirt to reveal a muscled physique covered in tattoos.
Alice stepped forward. “Cooper should have a break first.”
“No, he shouldn’t,” Ollie said, glaring at her. “These are the terms of challenge, Alice. You know that. Don’t interfere.”
Avery felt her magic start to manifest as Alice prepared to retaliate, as did Alex next to her, but Jeremy laid a hand on her arm.
“We will not interfere,” he agreed, and shot Alice a warning glance as he pulled her back to the edge of the watching crowd.
At this point, Avery expected Tommy to step forward, too, to warn him that he would challenge next, just as they had planned, and offer Cooper a chance to release Holly now, but that didn’t happen. They were going to push him to the brink.
By now the atmosphere in the crowd had shifted, and it was clear that whatever the outcome many had thought there would be tonight, it actually might prove to be very different. It was as if a thrill of electricity ran through everyone, and the energy in the circle spiked in anticipation.