The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin
Page 9
‘Mum, she always sides with her, no matter what. She doesn’t seem to think May did anything wrong!’
‘No, well, she likes to think the best of her name sake. Please get this sorted, Em. My mum isn’t getting any younger. I don’t want you falling out over this.’
‘I don’t see how we can sort this out. I’m not in the wrong here.’
‘I know sweetie. But May has changed, really. She’s grown up a lot since you last saw her.’
‘Not enough, it would seem.’
‘Don’t be too harsh sweetie. Love you.’ She rang off after I reciprocated.
Chris was in the shower when I went back through so I went to the other bathroom and showered.
Chris had bacon on the grill by the time I was out, and we discussed our day over breakfast.
The meeting was set for that evening. Ben had arranged for his contact to gather a few vampires from the local clans who wanted war together. We would go in force as well in the hope that our strength would win out and they would back down.
‘I feel great,’ Chris said when I asked how he was doing after we’d eaten.
‘Me too. I hope we live long enough to do that all over again,’ I grinned. He laughed and nodded, his face sobering.
‘I really don’t want you in the middle of this but if your presence can deter them...’
‘I know but I’ll be fine. Plus, Shaya will have my back magically, in the event that they try anything magical.’
Chris had to head back to the warehouse to see whether they were going in alone or had back-ups themselves. I had work.
I also made a call to Graben. He needed to know weird stuff was happening and to keep regular cops away from the general area of the meeting. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially unsuspecting humans. He was more than a little surprised to hear this but then he had seen the aftermath of the werewolf kidnapping. He promised he’d keep as many people and cops away as possible.
The rest of the day was uneventful. I made sure my calendar was clear the following day, so that if anything happened, and we survived, I’d have some rest before going back to work. I also let Gracie know that I was facing danger and that if I was not in touch with her, something was wrong, and she was to go to my home and find me or Chris. She seemed genuinely concerned and I tried to reassure her that this was not a definite but a possibility.
Chris invited me over to the warehouse before the meeting and everyone had a meal together. It was steaks all round, which I found to be slightly ironic for a couple of reasons.
Chris made a toast to the pack and everyone ate. Afterwards, we readied for a possible bloodbath. Each member of the pack wore leather, head to toe. Ron told me that this was because the vampires would invariably bring silver, and it would be far less painful if it brushed the leather rather than skin.
I brought out my ruck-sack and handed each pack-member two spikes. They were the same as the steel spikes I had used to kill the three who had captured them.
‘What else you got in the bag?’ Koji asked. I shook it.
‘This and that,’ I touched my nose and he smiled back, the first smile I had seen on him. I smiled back and looked for Chris. He practically glowed, he looked so powerful. He was clearly in full battle mode. He came over to me and rested his forehead against mine.
‘If you get overpowered, get the hell out, ok? I can’t lose you,’ he said softly, wiping a strand of hair off my face gently. I took his hand.
‘I can’t lose you either and I won’t leave you to a bunch of fangers.’
‘Just...be careful.’
‘Same goes for you, big guy,’ I smiled up at him and he snorted. At least I could find the humour in the situation. He kissed my forehead before we all went to meet our rivals.
It was ten o’clock at night when we arrived at the meeting place, on the edge of the city. Everyone wanted as few prying eyes as possible and this mostly park area was perfect, well away from residential regions.
We saw Ben before anyone else. He greeted us.
‘The vampires are on their way,’
I looked around. We were meeting beside a ruin, my idea. I could tap into the stones if I needed. There were some boulders and a few rocks in the near vicinity. I was amazed at how much more of the earth I could feel. It was like my power had intensified overnight and I wondered if this would last. Frankly, the buzz I was feeling was a little frightening.
‘They’re coming, half a mile away, from this direction. At least forty of them,’ I told Chris a moment later.
‘How can you tell? Not even we can hear them!’
‘I can feel them on the ground,’ I said, not looking at him.
Shaya’s eyes bulged but she didn’t say anything. I shouldn’t have been able to do that. I wiped sweaty palms on my jeans and wrapped my arms around me. Chris stood beside me, pressing against my side, letting me know he was there. I wondered, could he feel my emotions? He read me so well!
A few moments later, a large group of vampires arrived, looking more than ready for a fight. All of them held silver weapons – or silver tipped weapons. I could feel it. The metals buzzed around me and I knew I could use that to our advantage.
At the front of the group was the vampire from the basement, one of the pack’s torturers.
‘I’m Claude. I’m here at Ben’s request. I believe you know Gustav here. He is leading this group on behalf of our friend,’ A vampire with long red hair stated. He was quite beautiful and seemed friendly enough, not as aggressive as some of his counterparts.
‘Chris, Alpha of the New York pack. I believe Gustav knows us although he wasn’t properly introduced to my mate, Emilia.’
‘Ah, the one who killed our brethren. We’ll have her for starters,’ Claude still sounded positively amicable and I knew he was a much older vampire than the rest. Everything about him was calm and he exuded a confidence that came with experience.
‘I think not. Your brethren took our pack with force and tortured us. That was an act of war and therefore their deaths are not covered under conventional vengeance pacts. We are not without power, Claude. We will do a lot of damage before anyone takes us down. We do not want war but we will be the victors if you choose that path,’ Chris was being as amicable as he could. I saw Ben’s nod of agreement. He saw that we were not the instigators here.
‘I think the time for talking is over. We have some very hungry vampires here who want to know what werewolf tastes like.’ Claude moved his arm and a wave of vampires ran at us. They stopped an instant later.
‘You really should have told them what I said, Gustav. You do not mess with an earth witch,’ I called out, as all their weapons were wrenched out of their hands, rose to eye level, facing the vampires rather than the werewolves. ‘You don’t bring a few trinkets to a fight like this.’
The vampires looked to Claude and Gustav, confusion and a little fear in their eyes. They were clearly hungry for blood but enough self preservation remained to hold them off.
‘You take another step and you all die,’ I said, voice steely. One vamp snorted. I raised an eyebrow and all the bricks from the ruin behind them rose up and smacked the rude vampire into unconsciousness.
‘You have to trust me on this, Claude. This is not a fair fight,’ Chris kept the smile in his voice from reaching his face.
Claude clearly calculated their chances and knew they were not good. He held his hand up.
‘We shall take your message to Edvard.’
‘Tell him New York and all the states surrounding us here are protected. San Francisco as well. You try for them, you die.’ The Alpha let the wolf out, just a little.
‘I shall pass that on,’ Claude inclined his head. I went over to Claude, much to Chris’s frustration.
I whispered into his ear, a warning, backing what Chris had said. Claude paled just a little as he stepped back, bowed his head and left the park, his gaggle of ghouls following.
‘What did you say?’ Ben asked.
‘Damn! That’s cold,’ Jerome shook his head.
‘We need threats that stick. I just wanted to make sure they’d follow through on Chris’s commands,’ I shrugged. ‘I don’t think I could actually do that.’
‘Will Claude be in touch after he speaks with Edvard?’ Chris asked Ben. The other man shrugged.
‘I guess so. He should let me know but they don’t always follow protocol.’
‘So is this over then?’ Pete asked.
‘I don’t think so. I think we’ve bought ourselves some time but I have a feeling other parts of the country weren’t so lucky,’ Chris sighed.
‘Oh that’s just dandy! I need chocolate!’ I announced. Jerome snorted.
‘She means it. We should stop off at a store on the way home,’ Chris smiled. He knew me so well already!
‘Really? A chocaholic?’ The werewolf asked. Chris nodded. I went to swat him. He ducked out the way, a grin tugging his luscious lips.
We went back to the warehouse and rested up. The next day we learned that Chris’s words had been very true. New Orleans was now in the hands of the vampires, as were Boston and Seattle. Other cities had fared better but in some cases at great cost.
Shaya and I decided to share all our newfound knowledge with other witches across the country we knew who would not be helping the vampires. We thought they may side with the werewolves if they were asked.
Claude in the meantime had made contact with Ben again, to warn him that Edvard was very unhappy with what had happened and had put a bounty on my head. Claude also went on to tell Ben that of all the cities in the US Edvard wanted, he wanted New York the most.
Chris had started to wonder why his Grandfather had decided to settle in the big apple in the first place, given the trouble it was causing their pack.
Gran had been in touch with me again, wanting to meet up and start over again, or something like that. I agreed. I invited her round for tea two days after our encounter with the vampires.
Gran, again, did not come alone. This time Saskia was with her. My other sister was dark to my light. She had the pale skin and eye colouring the same as the other women in the family but she had long, luscious curls that were the darkest brown without being black. She was an inch taller than me, four years younger and was the most beautiful of the three of us. That had always annoyed May a great deal.
I hadn’t seen Saskia in a long time, the same length of time that I hadn’t seen the rest of my family, but we talked and messaged a lot. I gave her a big bear hug and asked how she was. She babbled on for a minute before I interrupted her.
‘How is it that you’re in the US?’
‘I had a dream about you and knew I needed to be here, that you’d need me,’ she shrugged. She was by far the most intuitive of the Anderson sisters. I gestured for them to sit and poured out the tea that had just brewed.
‘Could you be more specific?’
‘Sorry, no. It’s in the early stages, so I can’t be more specific. I just know that you’re going to need me in a few days and that it was serious enough to make me risk jet lag,’ Saskia smiled. She had a gentle nature that had always made me want to protect her.
Being the eldest had made me feel protective of both sisters at one time but I did not want to dwell on the past right now. The future was sounding more...interesting.
‘How are mum and dad?’
‘Both fine. They miss you like crazy and swear that if they ever get some...downtime I think you call it here, then they will definitely make the trip across the water to see you. You could always come home,’ she couldn’t look at me when she said it. While my mum was very much on my side, as it were, dad was very much of a similar mind to Gran. I should get over it and get on with my life. Well, I was getting on with my life but getting over it was harder.
‘I’m guessing you haven’t heard from Lewis yet?’ I changed the topic.
‘Not a peep. I swear, that boy is even more elusive than you!’ Gran put in. Lewis was our wayward brother. No one had seen or spoken to him in years. Mum and dad occasionally got a postcard from exotic locations to let them know he was alive but that was it. We didn’t even know what he did for a living!
‘Hmm, he’ll show up sometime. He always liked his space, and loved travelling! And what about you, young miss? What’s going on in your life? Are you seeing anyone? Working?’
‘I’m working but not seeing anyone. Finally finished that novel and it sold! Writing a follow-up,’ Saskia beamed happily. She had always had the most vivid imagination as a child and was always making up stories to amuse us and her friends. She had studied English and journalism at university and was now putting that to good use.
‘So how long are you here for?’ I sort of knew the answer but wondered whether she had a deadline to return by.
‘I’m fine for the next month. I don’t think you needing me is that far off but I cleared up enough time with my agent in the event that whatever is going to happen doesn’t get sorted out right away.’
‘Ok. Really glad you’re here, Saskia. Gran, I need to ask you something. My power has ramped up. A lot,’ I told her, letting the fear slip into my voice a little. I was terrified something was wrong and I was going to implode with too much power or something!
‘Since when?’
‘A few days ago.’
‘Anything happen?’ her eyes wrinkled in humour and I knew she knew what was going on. I blushed and she let out a full blown witchy cackle!
‘Gran!’
‘Am I missing something?’ Saskia looked from Gran to me and back again.
‘Your big sis here got herself some,’ Gran chuckled as my cheeks seemed to want to melt with the heat coming off them.
Saskia guffawed and hugged me, nearly knocking her tea over as she did. Of the four of us, she was the clumsiest.
‘Way to go Em! Who is he? Can I meet him?’ she asked, just as the door went. I peeped through the hole and groaned. As if my embarrassment couldn’t reach any greater heights, Chris, Ron, Koji and Jerome stood outside the door.
I let them in, graciously accepting the hug Chris offered, knowing Saskia and Gran were hiding grins.
After introductions were made, and Gran had let us know that Saskia had been briefed on the whole existence of werewolves, vampires and other supernaturals, Chris let me know there was a bounty on my head, offered by none other than the ‘still hiding in the shadows’ Edvard.
Koji asked to speak with Chris and myself alone, so we went into my room, aware that the other werewolves would be able to hear anyway.
‘You’re now mated. I can tell that the bond has finished forming.’
‘How?’ Chris asked.
‘You didn’t want to rip Ron’s throat out when he gave Emilia a quick hug. You’ll find that you’re both a lot stronger. This will ease off a little after a few weeks, it’s just the initial magic mingling and protecting you while this bond is still fragile.
Mating has many benefits but also a few drawbacks. If one of you is injured, both of you will feel it and if one of you dies, the other usually doesn’t last much longer, so you both have to stay alive for as long as you can,’ he actually smiled at that. ‘You can sense each other, which is useful if one of you is lost or taken, and in some cases you can know what the other is thinking – not word for word but get a sense of it. I haven’t met many who can do that,’ he added.
Koji had been teaching Chris and his pack not only pack lore but pack magic as well, making the pack a more cohesive unit, better able to sense their brothers. It seemed that magic extended to mates as well as pack brothers.
‘Oh, ok. So stay safe and wait to find out if we know what the other is thinking,’ I nodded, humour tugging at my lips. Koji nodded and let us back into the living room, where Jerome stopped talking suddenly. Gran and Saskia were smiling and I wondered whet
her the weres had been sharing too much information.
‘We asked your Gran whether she knew of anything in New York that would be so special that a vampire would risk all out war for it,’ Ron said in a rush.
‘And I said I didn’t but I would look into it.’
‘Nana was here in the twenties, wasn’t she? We could ask her,’ Saskia offered.
‘Nana?’ Chris looked puzzled.
‘My mother.’
‘Your mum is still alive?’ Jerome’s jaw dropped. He seemed to realise what he had said and tried to apologise but Gran simply put up her hand.
‘It’s fine, young man. Yes, she is alive. We Reids live a long time.’
‘Reids?’ Ron asked.
‘Matriarchal family, going back many generations. Great Grandmother Reid, or Nana, is almost a hundred and looks just a few years older than Gran here. Very fit too,’ Saskia smiled fondly. Nana was an even bigger character than Gran and took absolutely no stick from anyone, especially not her daughter!
Gran checked her watch and decided it wasn’t too late to call her mother. She went into the kitchen area for a little quiet. When she returned a few minutes later, she did not look happy. She looked afraid. That was an expression I’d never seen on my Gran’s face before and it concerned me.
‘Oh dear. We appear to have a real problem,’ she announced and sat down heavily on the sofa.
Chapter 11
‘What’s wrong?’ Saskia knelt beside Gran and held the older woman’s now shaking hand.
‘You know that New York, like many major cities around the world, was built on massive collections of ley lines, right?’
Saskia and I nodded, even as the men in the room shook their heads. Gran briefly outlined that ley lines were lines of power, running along and from the earth. These lines could be tapped into by witches and mages when they needed extra power but they could be very dangerous if used unwisely, so mostly no one used them.
‘Well, along one of the stronger conduits, there’s a portal. This vampire wants that portal.’