by Clare Kauter
She shook her head. "No, I'm sure it'll heal over time. The tea should speed it up, but I won't be in tip-top shape for a good while."
I nodded slowly, taking it all in. The Dora had definitely weakened my energy, but I'd been able to hold a circle – admittedly I'd crashed pretty early on, but my energy was still working. I just felt like I'd overextended myself. Like when you do exercise while you're still sick. (At least, that's what I imagine it would feel like – I'd never been in that situation personally.)
"Would healing crystals help?" I asked. "I have a few in my bag. It's nearly full moon, so we could charge them – if the moon decides to come out from behind the clouds." I looked up at the grey sky. It was growing dark now, but the moon was nowhere in sight and the clouds were blocking every single star. It seemed unlikely that they would emerge any time soon, but we had to try something to help Daisy and Hecate out. They were no good to me in this state. If anything, they were liabilities.
She shook her head. "Time is the only thing that will heal these wounds, honey. Our best shot is to get you back into fighting condition. You still had some strength when you left the lake, and we should be able to revive the energy you lost from visiting the ether."
I nodded. "OK. Um, I'm not sure what to brew up." I thought for a moment. "We really ought to load up on garlic soon, though. It won't be long before the vampires come out."
"If they're not out already," she said. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a head of garlic and broke a couple of cloves off. She handed one to me and then made her way over to give one each to Hecate and Henry as I peeled mine. I screwed up my face, put the clove in my mouth and bit down, trying not to breathe as I knew from experience this would set my lungs on fire. I chewed as much as I could stand before swallowing, feeling the substance burn all the way down my throat.
When she returned, Daisy looked similarly displeased with the taste in her mouth.
"OK," she said. "Well, if you don't know what's going to heal you, I'll just have to guess." She bit her lip. "There are different substances that work better for light and dark magicals."
"I know," I said, wondering what she was getting at.
"But you're neither," she said. "So I have no idea what works for you."
"Oh." That had me stumped. "You've brewed a potion for me before."
"But we had a full cabinet of herbs then. Plus you told me what to put in it. I'm afraid I don't really remember what we used."
Neither did I. "Just trust your instincts. Make whatever works for you and we'll see how I feel afterwards."
She nodded. "OK."
I left her working while I walked over to see how Henry was going with the wards.
"It was dangerous of you to host that circle when your magic wasn't working properly," he said.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine."
He turned to me, tipped his head forward and gave me a look over the top of his glasses. "Really."
"OK, not fine, but I'm not dying. Besides, I didn't actually realise my magic was running low until we'd already started the circle."
He didn't reply.
"Daisy is brewing up a potion to help now, though."
"What's she putting in it?"
I shrugged. "Neither of us are really sure what will help get my energy up." I wasn't sure if I should tell him what Daisy had told me about the fact that her energy (and Hecate's) wouldn't work properly until she'd had some time to heal. He looked a little cranky so I decided to save that factoid for another time.
"Surely you have something on you that might give you a little energy boost?" Henry said pointedly.
I rolled my eyes. "I don't think it would be a great idea to whip it out now, do you? Besides, it only works in emergencies."
"Well, let's hope there aren't any of those tonight."
Our camp was near the bank of the loch Nessie had told us about, away from the trees so any intruders would have a harder time sneaking up on us. I agreed with Henry – I could do with a night of not being attacked. I needed to catch up on some sleep.
Henry continued to cast wards and I borrowed some more garlic from Daisy which I sat at the perimeter of the camp, just to make extra sure to repel any wandering vamps.
When the sun fell completely, an icy wind blew across the water towards us and we all hurried over to the fire where Daisy was brewing up the potion. Now that the tent and wards were in place, we sat around the cauldron and each took a cup of tea. Even Henry, who hadn't taken any Dora, accepted a mug of tea, warming his monkey fingers on the cup. The moment I took a sip, I felt warmth radiate through me. It wasn't just the warmth from the tea itself – whatever Daisy had put in it was working its magic.
"This is amazing," I said, gulping it down so fast that it scalded me all the way to my stomach but I didn't care – I could feel my strength growing each second. It didn't taste amazing, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. "What did you put in this?"
Daisy opened and shut her mouth, looking confused at my reaction. "Is it working for you?"
"Amazingly well," I said. "What's in it?"
"Mushrooms, herbs... The usual," she said. I caught her eye and she gave me a look that I took to mean she wanted me to be quiet. "I'll give you the recipe."
"Thank you," I said. "I'd love that."
"It's not doing a hell of a lot for me," said Hecate. "It tastes of foot sweat and dirty bandages."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
Daisy cringed and took another sip, shuddering as she swallowed. "It's pretty gross."
"There are definite notes of compost in there, too," said Henry. "Heavy on the manure."
I frowned. "Are you guys serious?"
They all gave me funny looks. "You can't actually be enjoying the taste of this," said Henry. "I admit, it's warming me up a little, but –"
"A little?" I repeated. By now the warmth had made it to my fingertips and my stomach was gurgling happily. It felt as though my bones were fizzing with magic. (In a good way, not in a dissolving kind of way.) It was like drinking a liquid Doomstone. It was so warm I could feel my skin drying my clothes. "I barely feel like I drank the Dora at all."
The others were not nearly as enthusiastic about the potion. I wondered what Daisy had put in it. Obviously not something that worked well for light-dwellers. Daisy and Hecate shuffled off to bed not long after finishing their tea while Henry and I stayed up to keep watch. I told Henry he was welcome to go to bed, but he shook his head.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep."
I nodded. "Too cold?"
"No. I can smell wolf in the air."
"Werewolves?"
He nodded. Shifters and werewolves didn't tend to get on, and although a lot of people thought they were much the same thing, in my experience wolves tended to be a lot dumber than shifters. That could just be because I'd only ever met the inbred packs that hung around Hell and hunted in the forest near my house. It was no wonder Henry was on edge. There was a noise in the distance that sounded like a howl and I hoped to hell it was just the wind playing tricks.
Now that the tea had worn off a little, even sitting by the campfire I was getting cold. I clutched my little jar of fire, trying to warm my hands again. Henry shuffled closer to me and we huddled together for warmth.
"Earlier on the bank," said Henry, "when we were in the circle..."
"Yes?"
"You went into the ether, didn't you?"
There didn't seem to be much point in lying. I nodded.
"Even after the Dora sapped your energy?"
"I didn't mean to dip into the ether," I said. "I was trying to find Alora and my concentration slipped."
He shook his head in disbelief.
"What?"
"Some people train for years to try and enter the ether and still can't manage it. Even if they do, they die or go insane because they can't get back out. And then you just bellyflop into it while recovering from dying because your concentration slips." He sighed. "What's it like?
"
I thought for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like being nowhere, but at the same time it's like you're suspended in liquid magic. You hear this voice and you can talk to it. It knows everything. It's crazy."
"How long have you been able to do it?"
"I learned after I met you," I said. "Before that I used to call out into the ether to summon ghosts and do spells and whatever, but I'd never actually seen the ether."
He nodded, fascinated. "What do you talk to the ether about?"
"What I am, mostly."
"So you do know?"
I shook my head. "Not exactly. I know I'm the king, but I don't know of what, or why I'm king and not queen or anything."
"Haven't you tried to find out?"
"Of course I've tried to find out," I snapped. "Do you know how many magical kings there are? I don't have a clue where to start. I've looked into the Doomstone plenty as well, but I still can't find out who I am. Even in Satan's library I didn't have any luck."
"I guess I thought Satan or Death would have told you."
I shook my head. "The secrecy spell still applies to them, I'm pretty sure."
"Right. Well, I'm sure you'll find out eventually."
"You know, don't you? Just like everyone else?"
He nodded. "I know. I wouldn't say that everyone else does, though. They think you can't be him."
"Because I'm a girl?"
"Partly that. Partly because you're not menacing enough."
"If only they knew."
Henry smiled a little.
"Why didn't you turn me in?" I asked.
He grimaced. "I don't like to imagine what might have happened to me if I'd done that."
"I wouldn't hurt you."
"That's not what I meant."
I frowned. I was just about to ask what he was talking about when Henry put his hand up, indicating that I should stay quiet. I frowned and tried to see what he was looking at across the campsite. Then I heard it.
The snap of a twig.
Soft footsteps.
Snuffling.
Out of the shadows and into the flickering light of our campfire stepped a wolf.
CHAPTER 19
THE WOLF STALKED around the perimeter of the campsite, sniffing the ground as he went. Henry had put a cloaking spell over the tent and surrounding area, but I wasn't sure how effective it would be against the wolf. Although he wouldn't be able to see the fire, it was still casting light over him. Would he notice or would the cloaking take care of that? What had drawn him here?
He continued to sniff around the boundary and I cringed with the realisation that he could smell the garlic. I'd been so obsessed with repelling vampires that I'd completely forgotten that not only would wolves be able to smell the garlic through any ward we threw up, they'd also know instantly that they'd stumbled across a cloaked site. Sure, they couldn't see us, but they could certainly sniff us out. In trying to protect us, I'd given us away.
I turned to look at Henry and I could tell by the expression on his face that he'd come to the same conclusion.
"Sorry," I mouthed.
He just raised his eyebrows a little and we both turned back to look at the wolf. Its fur wasn't grey and white (and slightly red with dust and/or blood) like the wolves back home. This one was jet black and larger than the wolves I'd met. Its nose was wrinkled in a threatening snarl and the reflection of the flames in its eyes as it stared directly at us made it look possessed.
I had no idea what to do. The wolf was stalking around the camp, sniffing the ground, but he hadn't seen us – yet. If he realised there was a cloaking spell there, though, that meant he could break it. They weren't impossible to penetrate, and while there were other wards up as well, once one was down it was just a matter of pelting the rest of them until they weakened and fell. It was like a suit of armour – the wards helped, but they weren't impenetrable.
Henry and I sat as still as we could, not daring to even breathe in case we made a noise. The garlic was probably masking our scents for now, but if the creature heard us move he would know for sure that there was someone in front of him. Wolves and shifters didn't get along at the best of times, and in a place so oppressively cloaked in dark magic, this wolf was likely to be even more aggressive than usual.
I sent my magical feelers forth to scope out the wolf. Now that we were out of the forest I didn't have to work so hard to feel people out, which was lucky since I still wasn't totally healed from the Dora. The second my magic passed through the ward (with no resistance, since I was on the inside of the spell), I could sense the dark energy rolling off the creature like mist off the sea. He had the same energy as the forest and the castle – the kind that felt like foil raking across your teeth. The shudder-inducing kind.
His energy gave me the impression that he wouldn't mind ripping open our stomachs and eating our entrails. I wasn't familiar with this particular kind of magic, and as such I immediately distrusted it. He wasn't a normal werewolf. He was jacked up on some sort of potion or occult ritual. My guess would be that it involved human sacrifice. You may think that that's a claim without basis, but according to my magic tutor, Satan, you should always assume the worst when it comes to people who've fortified their magical abilities. I'd made the mistake of ignoring that advice with Dick and he'd tried to kill me. Pierre was the same. This wolf was bad news. And his pack, which was presumably lurking nearby, was even badder news.
We couldn't just sit here waiting. We needed to act before he decided to howl and call all his buddies to us. I reached for my backpack and lifted it into my lap as quietly as I could manage. Henry's eyes widened and he shook his head aggressively.
"Stop it," he mouthed. "You're going to get us killed."
I ignored him and gently opened the flap and then the drawstring at the top of the bag. There had to be something in here to get rid of the intruder. I slipped my hand in gently and began to feel around. Henry's head shaking grew more frantic. My ignoring him grew more blatant. I continued to rifle. There had to be –
Then my hand slipped and two glass bottles clanked together. In the eerie silence, the quiet noise of glass on glass sounded like a gunshot. The wolf's ears pricked up and his head whipped in our direction as he began to growl. Henry's mouth dropped open in disgusted disbelief and he continued shaking his head at me.
"Oops," I mouthed.
The wolf threw his head back and howled.
Almost instantly, a thundering noise came from the nearby forest and the next moment the camp was surrounded by growling, drooling wolves. Their fur was jet black and, like the first wolf, they were massive – nearly as tall as me. They looked musclier than normal wolves, like they were on steroids. (That's what human sacrifices do for you, I guess. Although to be perfectly honest, my own murders hadn't done a whole lot to get me toned up.)
As one, the wolves ran at the ward, jaws snapping and claws slashing. There were scratches and flashes in the ward when they hit it, and I could see that already, just with that one hit, the ward was weakening. Henry stood and ran to one of the weakest points to hit it with another burst of energy, trying to keep the shield up. A nearby wolf sniffed the air and reeled back as if disgusted.
"Shifter!" the wolf spat.
Every wolf began to growl at that moment, and they all moved back to get a run up for the next attack.
"A little help?" Henry hissed at me.
"I'm trying to think!"
"Less thinking, more casting!"
Still searching through my bag, I said, "I must have something that I can use to get rid of them."
"Now might be a good time to use that Doomstone of yours," Henry hissed.
"I can't," I said. "The others are too close. They'll know it was me."
"Nessa, in this situation, I'm happy to risk it."
"Well I'm not!"
He rolled his eyes. "What's the point of having it if you never use it?"
"We can't!"
"Just tell them Ed's working with a pack of wolves and he used the stone to attack us or something! Come on!"
"I think I might have something better," I said, still rummaging through my bag. A nearby wolf clawed the surface of the ward and streaks of light bled from the place he'd attacked like blood oozing from a wound. The barrier was weakening. I needed to hurry the hell up.
"Hurry the hell up!" hissed Henry.
Glaring at Henry, I poured the contents of my bag on the ground and began to sort through them. Henry came over to help me, blushing when his hand accidentally grazed a set of my underwear. His embarrassment was endearing in a pompous sort of way, but we didn't have time for him to be so shy and retiring.
"Help me!" I hissed.
"I don't know what you're looking for!"
"It's –"
I stopped speaking as my hands closed around the bundle of herbs I'd been searching for. It was a smudge of aconitum – also known as wolfsbane. Without hesitation, I threw the whole thing on the fire.
Henry stared at me in horror for a moment. "Did you just –" Then it clicked. "Right, the smoke!"
It began to burn, releasing an acrid cloud of smoke that carried a short distance. A nearby wolf yelped and jumped back, but the air was too still for the smoke to travel as much as we needed it to. The rest of the wolves were gearing up for another joint attack. I picked up a towel I'd tipped out of my bag and frantically tried to fan the smoke, to no avail.
Henry rolled his eyes at me.
"Are you a witch or not?" he asked in disbelief.
"Barely," I replied.
He held his arms over his head and moved them each in opposing circular directions before bringing them down to point towards the fire. The smoke puffed out in a perfect circular ring like cigar smoke. The cloud reached the outskirts of the camp just as the wolves made contact with the ward and it fell.
As they were hit by the smoke, the wolves began to yelp loudly. One howled and ran away with its tail between its legs. It didn't take long for the others to follow. I steadied my breathing as I watched them retreat. After the wolves disappeared, I turned to Henry.
"Teamwork," I said. Henry rolled his eyes and began to cast wards over the camp again. I joined him in casting this time, hoping my death magic would help make the wards a bit stronger against the demon wolves from Hell.