by Megan Morgan
Lorena stumbled over to Dr. Winston, her vision blurred and chest tight, nose burning from the smoke. Sirens screamed in the distance. The Wolvites were still there.
“We must find Neala,” Kendrick said. “We have to stop her.”
Lorena dropped to her knees before Dr. Winston. His sleeve was saturated with blood and ripped across his shoulder. He twitched, and lifted his head a little. His glasses were gone, his eyes bleary and unfocused as he looked at Lorena.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She felt sick, hollow, and enraged all at the same time.
She looked up at Kendrick, as tears slipped down her cheeks. His eyes burned as he gazed back at her, full of fire—a reflection, and from within.
“Yes,” she said. “Go find her, and tell her that I’m coming for her.”
* * * *
Deacon sat in the back of an ambulance, legs dangled out the door and a blanket around his shoulders. He wasn’t hurt enough to go to the hospital. The scratches and bruises, and the burn on his hand from turning on the hose, we’re already mostly healed. He just felt a might achy and out of sorts.
His body, anyway. His mind had gone to hell.
The fire was out now, fire trucks parked in the driveway and in the yard. The front of the house, which he currently faced, looked like nothing had happened. The damage was all in the back, where them fools had flung the gas around. He didn’t want to see it just yet. The air smelled like smoke and waterlogged, burnt wood.
Clem lay at his feet. He had that to be grateful for, thanks to Lorena’s fast, no-nonsense thinking.
She walked over to him from another ambulance. They’d just loaded up the doctor. Wouldn’t matter, of course, where they took him or how fast they got there. The Wolvites had signed his death sentence.
Lorena was disheveled, her face pale and her eyes red. He hated to see her cry. He wanted to wrap her up in his blanket and make it better, but there wasn’t no better right now.
“If this is irony—” she stood next to Deacon “—that he should go like this, I don’t find it the least bit funny.”
Deacon heaved a sigh. His lungs were prickly from the smoke. “Expect he always knew this could be his fate, but you’re right, it ain’t funny at all.”
He reached out to her. She took his hand, sniffing. A tear slipped down her cheek. He was too gutted right now to cry.
His cousins and Daddy were there, over by the house. They walked toward them, and Deacon braced himself. This would be a bit harsher than a talking-to.
Jack stopped in front of them. “I told you no good would come from this.” He glared at Lorena, then Deacon. “Trying to help Wolvites. Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t we all try to tell you?”
Zeke and Deacon’s Daddy stood behind Jack, silent.
“Why would you let that evil bitch in your house?” Jack raised his voice. “After what she did? After what she did to me?”
“We’re going to find her.” Lorena squeezed Deacon’s hand. “And she’s going to pay.”
“She shoulda paid already!” Jack shouted. “You shouldn’t have given her no benefit of the doubt no way, no how.”
Deacon was about to holler at him for yelling at Lorena, but she was already on it.
“I have the cure!” She jerked her hand out of Deacon’s. “When I give it to them, this will end. They’ve agreed to peace.”
Deacon didn’t precisely remember Abernathy promising that, but maybe Lorena knew something he didn’t.
“You’re going to help them again?” Jack gaped at her. “After they did this to you?”
“I’m going to make sure this never happens again, that they never set foot in this town or trouble the residents again. Don’t you want that?”
“I want them dead.” Jack spat on the ground. “I want them all run the hell out of them woods, including her. That’s how you make peace.”
“They have human forms!” Lorena railed at him. “They’re not just dumb animals. Can you live with yourself knowing that?”
“I can live with a hell of a lot, yes.” He looked at Deacon and gave a sarcastic laugh. “Don’t you want them dead too, after all this?”
“We both live here.” Lorena pointed at the house. “And Dr. Winston is my friend.” Her voice grew strained. “Even if you go into the woods and kill all of them, do you think they’ll never come around here again? Do you think others won’t come looking for vengeance? They’ll come at you forever, trying to get revenge on this town, trying to destroy it. It will go on for generations, death after death, murder after murder. I can stop that!”
Deacon’s Daddy stepped forward. “This isn’t the time to argue.” He spoke gently. “Lorena, I know you think you’re doing something good for all of us, but human forms or not, these things are monsters.”
A truck pulled in the driveway. Deacon’s Grandpa. It was gonna be a long damn day.
“I have no choice in this.” Lorena turned to Deacon. “They took away my choice when they dragged me into the woods. I have to finish what’s begun.” She suddenly looked nervous, and glanced toward the newly-arrived truck.
Deacon arched an eyebrow. She was definitely not telling him something.
Grandpa jumped out of the truck and came charging over, looking all wild and worried. “I can’t find Hazel!”
Deacon slid off the end of the ambulance. “What do you mean?”
“She ain’t at the house!”
Deacon’s Daddy snorted. “You know Mama, she don’t like being told to stay put. You check the beauty salon where she meets up with her friends?”
Grandpa shook his head. “Her truck’s still in the driveway.”
Deacon’s stomach dropped. Like he needed something else to worry about.
“Something ain’t right.” Grandpa wrung his hands. “I come home, and the house is empty, but her truck is still there and the back door was open. She ain’t out in the garden. I know she wouldn’t be fool enough to go walking somewhere at a time like this.”
Lorena gripped Deacon’s arm. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered.
“Ah, hell.” Jack stomped his foot. “You call her phone, Grandpa?”
“It’s still at the house.” He looked like he was coming apart. “I know she don’t like that thing, but I always make her promise to take it with her when she goes out.”
Lorena tugged harder at Deacon’s arm. “Come with me. I need to talk to you, alone.”
“Let’s go look for Grammy,” Zeke said. He looked at Deacon. “You comin’ with us?”
“No, you stay here,” his Daddy said. “You can’t walk away from this house right now. We’ll call as soon as we find her. I’m betting she’s just taken off somewhere like she usually does, saying to hell with the rest of us and good sense.”
They all started toward the trucks. Deacon’s heart raced. Lorena pulled him away, around the side of the ambulance.
Lorena kept her voice down. “Hazel is in the woods. She’s all right.”
“What!” he yelped.
She touched a finger to her lips. “Listen to me, I have to go back in the woods. I have to stop what’s about to happen. I have to bring Hazel back, and most importantly, I have to make Neala pay for what she’s done.”
“What the hell is Grammy doing in the woods?” He spoke in a loud, frantic whisper.
“She’s trying to cast a spell. They won’t harm her, Kendrick promised. They carried us off earlier, but not to hurt us.”
“You I understand, but why the hell did they carry Grammy off?”
“Because she got herself involved, she tried to stop them from taking me.” She took a deep breath. “I have to go back, right now. I know it’s hard for you to accept, but—”
“You gotta tell them!” He pointed to the driveway. “Before they go off on a wild goose chase trying to find her.”
“I can’t.”
“Do you know what it was like?” He grabbed her shoulders, tighter than he meant to. “When I t
hought you might be dead? When they took you and I didn’t know where you were or what happened to you?”
Caution brimmed in her eyes. He would never hurt her, but he damn sure felt like shaking her right now.
“You want Grandpa to feel that way? You want him to suffer like that? It nearly tore my guts out.”
She placed her hands on his chest. “She’s safe.”
“Tell them that.” He let go of her. “Tell them she’s just out in the woods, casting some spell for them damn things.”
The trucks were starting up. Deacon would tell them himself, if he had to.
“Then they’ll go out in the woods.” She grabbed his arm. “They’ll go with guns blazing and kill everything. Nothing will change.” She gripped his shirt in her fist. “Do you want to raise your kids here, with Wolvites around, threatening to kill everything you love? Do you want to worry about them snatching away your daughters like they took your sister?”
He stared down at her, heart hammering.
“I have to go make sure our kids have a future.” Her hand trembled. She gritted her teeth. “And I’m going to make her pay for what she did to our home. What she did to you, and to Dr. Winston.”
“They’re gonna use you up and kill you.” He could barely speak. “They’re gonna use you to get this potion, and then they’re gonna slaughter you.”
She shook her head. “There’s good ones among them, ones who want peace.”
He was at his wits end. The whole world was crashing down around him, and he couldn’t make her see reason. He was going to lose her. If she went into those woods, she wouldn’t come out this time. No peace, no assurance for the future, was worth losing her. He’d fight the damn things until the end of time if it meant keeping her safe.
“I can’t let you do it.” He clutched her wrist. “I can’t let you go after them.”
“I have to!” She looked into his eyes. “If only to get your grandmother back. We have our differences, but I’m not going to leave her there.”
“Lorena…”
The trucks were pulling out of the driveway. Would they go into the woods looking for her, the way he had Lorena?
She pulled out of his grasp. He didn’t have the heart to restrain her. “Deacon, I’m sorry.” Her eyes glistened. “I understand if you can’t condone this or abide by it. You’re free to protect yourself and your family any way you can. I promise your grandmother will come back safe.” She drew a shaky breath. “But if you don’t want me in your life after this, I’ll accept that. I know this goes against all of your beliefs.”
He wanted to die.
“I love you.” She kissed him, firm, and her lips trembled against his. “I’m going to do the right thing, I have to.” She drew back and wiped her eyes. “If you still want me when I come back, I’ll be here.”
He clutched at her as she pulled away, but she slipped out of his hands. She gazed at him a moment, then turned and started across the yard. He watched her go, helpless, cemented in place, not sure what to do.
Everything smelled like smoke. The world had caught fire and burnt to ash. He watched her walk toward the woods and disappear into them, braver than he’d ever been in his entire life, and maybe even more foolish.
“Goddamn it, woman.”
Chapter 18
Lorena stopped short, hand on her gun. A Wolvite in human form stood before her. She recognized him as one of those who had followed her and Kendrick to the house. When she’d entered the woods, she didn’t know where she was going, but hoped the first Wolvite she ran into would be a friendly one.
“Where’s Kendrick?” she asked. “Has he found Neala?”
“Come.” The tall, stoic man beckoned to her.
He took her to the camp, though he let her walk, so it took longer than she would have liked. Kendrick met her as she came out of the woods.
“Did you find her?” Lorena’s heart pounded in her ears, from both exertion and expectation.
Kendrick nodded, but his expression was grim. “We caught up to her and her friends without issue, as they were carrying Dafydd and could not move swiftly.” His eyes glittered. “But, there is a problem.”
Lorena tensed. “What happened?”
“Abernathy is on his way, and he knows what she has done. A messenger came.”
Lorena looked around. “Where’s Hazel?” She looked back at Kendrick. “Grammy?”
“She’s at the pool,” a witch spoke up. “Trying to cast the spell.”
“We’ll be okay, then.” Lorena wasn’t sure she believed the words even as they left her mouth. “We’ll tell Abernathy we have the cure, or at least the recipe. He’ll see reason. He gave me the book, after all. He wanted me to find it, and I did.”
Kendrick walked past her and motioned for her to follow. She did.
He led her to a familiar shack, the one Neala had kept Dafydd in. They ducked inside and Lorena struggled to see in the low light.
In a corner, Neala lay curled in a ball. She wasn’t bound, but she didn’t move.
Kendrick pointed at Neala. “She has to tell Abernathy she was not trying to defy him. Maybe that will stay his hand.”
Lorena barely heard his words. Just the sight of Neala made her vision go red, rage engulfing all her senses. Before she realized what she was doing, she strode forward, stalking toward the prone woman, her fists clenched. Neala jerked into a sitting position.
Lorena punched her. She’d never punched anyone in her life. The sensation of her knuckles connecting with Neala’s jaw was both profoundly disturbing and intensely satisfying.
Neala shrieked and recoiled, hands over her face. A growl sounded from an adjacent room. Lorena would go in there and punch Dafydd too, if she had to.
“Lorena.” Kendrick spoke firmly.
Lorena fought the urge to kick Neala in the ribs. She bent down to her instead.
“You set my house on fire.” Her knuckles throbbed. “You tried to kill our dog. One of your lackeys bit Dr. Winston. After you speak to Abernathy, I’m going to strangle you with my bare hands. I promise you this, witch.”
Kendrick stepped up next to Lorena. “Neala, you must tell Abernathy you are sorry, and that we had nothing to do with your actions. He will kill us all. You must bow to him.”
Neala lifted her head. Even in the dim light, a vivid bruise marred her cheek. Her eyes were wet.
“Abernathy is the reason we suffer,” she shot at Kendrick. “He is a terrible leader and he must be brought down.” She snapped her gaze to Lorena. “You stupid woman, don’t you understand the reason he gave you the book is because he could not read it himself? When you give him the cure, he will kill you. You will have no purpose after that.”
Deacon’s words echoed in her head. They’re gonna use you to get this potion, and then they’re gonna slaughter you.
“I will not let him kill her,” Kendrick said.
Lorena looked at him. His eyes glowed gold in the shadows. She wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or intimidated. She’d never had a Wolvite friend, certainly not one who would protect her life. She’d never even imagined such a thing was possible.
“Idiots.” Neala spat on the floor at Lorena’s feet. “He will kill all of us. You’re just playing into his hands, trying to placate him.”
Lorena knelt, ager rising again, and grabbed a fistful of Neala’s hair. The strands were stringy and greasy. Neala yelped.
“If he doesn’t kill you, I will.” Lorena spoke in her face. “I tried to help you, and look what you did.”
Neala squirmed. “Let go!”
Lorena did, only because she didn’t want to go any further—for Kendrick’s sake, and for her own. She might actually kill her.
Lorena stormed out of the shack ahead of Kendrick and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “Take me to Hazel, I want to see if I can help her. When will Abernathy be here?”
“Soon.” Kendrick gestured to the trees. “Come, I promise you she hasn’t been harmed.”
They emerged into a wide clearing ringed by trees, save for one spot, where a sheer rock wall rose above a small, placid pool. Lorena stopped and stared.
It was the pool from her dream.
Several witches sat on the grass around the pool. One was Hazel, who rested on her knees before the water.
Lorena and Kendrick walked over. “Any success?” Kendrick asked.
Hazel looked up. She had her hands clenched on her knees, back hunched, shoulders quivering. She looked like a tiny, frightened rabbit.
“Not yet,” a witch said. “We have all the other ingredients, though.” She held up a wooden bowl. “We only need the water.”
“I’m not a White Witch.” Hazel’s voice was as small and tremulous as the rest of her. “Please, I just want to go home.”
Lorena knelt at her side. “Have they harmed you?”
Hazel shook her head. “I don’t want to be here.” She grabbed Lorena’s arm. Her grip was weak and her hand cold. “Take me home, please. Please, Lorena.”
Lorena actually felt bad for her. She sighed and leaned forward, and dipped her fingers into the water. “I promised I would get you back safely.” She looked up at Kendrick. “Someone should take her back. She can’t help us.”
Kendrick towered over them. “We cannot take her back right now. We need all the strong ones here, for when Abernathy arrives.” He looked at Hazel. “However, you are free to return on your own, if you wish. No one will restrict your passage.”
Lorena stood up. “How is she supposed to find her way home? I couldn’t even find my way here without help.”
The other witches around the pool rose as well. Hazel remained kneeling, her head bowed.
“We can keep her safe.” The witch with the bowl walked over to Lorena. “We will hide her away in the camp until Abernathy has gone.”
Hazel jerked her head up. “I won’t stay here! I’m going home.” She struggled to her feet.