by Patti Larsen
“How different?” Piers pulls to a halt behind a thin line of cars. We’ve reached the border. I’m nervous suddenly, digging for our passports, handing them to my sorcerer friend while I wait for Enforcers to swoop in and take us at any moment. But Piers shows no sign of worry so I can only believe we aren’t at risk.
“He feels more like a real werewolf.” It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. I catch Sage’s narrowed stare.
“I hate to keep reminding you,” he says, voice mellow despite his glare, “but I am present and accounted for. You really need to stop talking about me like I’m not.”
I reach forward and take his hand in mine. He relaxes instantly, though I catch the glance Piers gives our connection and worry about how he’s feeling. If it’s hurting him, he doesn’t show it.
“So you think Sage is a successful revenant, whatever these sorcerers were trying to achieve.” We move forward one car length.
“I do,” I say. “Which means they will be looking for him,” I meet Sage’s eyes, “for us, too, won’t they?” Another truth I haven’t allowed myself to speak until now.
Piers nods abruptly. “Good thing I’m with you after all,” he says. He shakes the steering wheel with a surge of anger. “Damn it, if only I could just take you directly there. But Femke’s requested my mother and the Steam Union be on the search for you, too. I know Mum is keeping a close eye on me.”
“You being here could put us at risk.” Sage has never sounded so empty.
I squeeze his hand again, this time in denial while Piers sighs.
“Possibly,” he says, pulling up at last to the border station with our passports in one hand and a smile on his face for the agent. “But until that’s proven to me, I’m not going anywhere but with you two.”
I wait for the guard to have us arrested, certain Iosif has failed me, that this is some grand scheme to capture Sage again. But when the smiling guard hands the passports back and Piers drives off into Austria, I finally allow myself to release the anxiety keeping my body tense.
“We need to reach a major center,” Piers says. “And fly to the States.”
I nod. “But far from Ukraine,” I say. “How far?”
Piers releases one hand from the steering wheel and runs it over his blond ponytail, the end of it brushing over my free hand. The silk strands tickle.
“I’m thinking we’re tourists,” he says, bright and vapid. “Seeing Spain for the first time. But we need to get home for school, don’t we?” His British accent vanishes as he turns to Sage. “Right, bro?”
Sage frowns. “I’m not your bro.”
I poke my love and wink, schooling my own accent to General American. “It’s been fun and all,” I say, “but yeah. Time to go home to the good old US of A.”
Piers laughs. “Perfect.”
We’re barely ten miles from the border when I feel them. I’ve only just sat back to try to close my eyes for a while, when the pressure of Enforcer magic wakes me and drives me forward in my seat.
Piers hisses and nods without speaking. He’s felt them, too. We pull over abruptly, Piers slamming open the driver’s door while I scramble out the back, helping Sage with our bags as Piers gestures for us to hurry.
We slip into the woods on the steep road and run for cover. I glance back, see the car revert to the state we’d stolen it in, knowing that will alert the Enforcers they are on our trail. Lights in the distance pull us forward, to civilization in the form of another small town.
“We need a new ride.” Piers leaves me with Sage who pants like a dog. Not out of breath, but from intensity and worry. I grip his hand tightly, not daring to risk a touch of power to help him pull himself down from the brink of his wolf. He’s recovered enough when Piers pulls up a moment later in a shiny red sports car.
“Get in.”
I don’t care where it’s come from, or if it still looks like the one Piers actually stole. All I care about is Sage and escape. The touch of the Enforcers is still there, but focused on something, most likely the car we abandoned. I slip into the back, the tiny space barely big enough for Sage, let alone the two of us, and hold on as Piers hits the gas and peels away.
“They must have tracked the car,” Piers says, tension in his voice. “We should be okay, now.”
I’m perched in Sage’s lap, the bags squished beside us, my head pressed to the roof. He’s hot, his temperature running higher than normal, and he lets out a sharp hiss when I try to adjust my position. I brush my lips over his cheek as an apology, resisting the sudden urge to kiss him, if only to spare Piers the sight of us making out in the back seat while he drives us to safety.
I settle as best I can, flexing muscles when my foot tries to go to sleep. It’s not long before I feel them again, the Enforcers. They might not have our scent, but they know we are close and they are gaining on us.
Piers swears in three different languages before pulling over in another town. Some kind of festival is happening, streamers and balloons everywhere. We abandon the car in the back of a petrol station and hurry into the morning’s crowd of celebrants.
“Now what?” Sage’s voice is a deep growl.
“We keep running,” Piers says. “I just need to get us away from here.”
The mass of people must do the trick, because the press of Enforcer magic bypasses us and moves on. I pull on Sage, tugging him after Piers, and, within a few minutes, we’re driving again, this time in a small family van my sorcerer friend has liberated.
“Made the mistake of using sorcery to disguise the car last time,” he says as I drive after taking the keys from his hands. “This should do it.”
Sage is in the back with our bags, leaning forward between the seats as I’d done. “Or,” he says in cold monotone, “you being with us is attracting them.”
I don’t want to believe it, but Sage might be right. “You said your mother would know,” I say.
“She can’t be watching me that carefully.” The denial in Piers’s voice turns to regret. “Damn her, she’s treating me like a lure.” He reaches for the wheel, jerks it hard to the side of the road. I slam on the brakes, pull over even as he opens the door, ready to leap out though the van is only just coming to a stop. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I thought I was helping. Be safe, get to an airport.” He takes the scarf from around my neck. Pauses and kisses me abruptly. Sage snarls, but Piers is already moving again, leaning in the back to liberate one of Sage’s gloves. “I’ll lead them away, make them think you’re with me. Should give you time to get away. Dump this van, get on a train. The speed will confuse them if I fail.” Piers pauses one moment, anguish showing. “I’ll see you in California.”
He slams the door, waving me on. I glance back, seeing his tall body retreat in the rearview just before a tunnel of black opens.
Charlotte, he sends. Maybe I was wrong about Wilhelm.
And then, he’s gone.
***
Chapter Nine
Sage isn’t happy about the kiss, I can tell, but I ignore him as we pull into the next town and hunt down a train station. It’s easy enough to find. And this time, I go to the ticket booth and buy tickets.
The smiling attendant gestures at the map before me. “Where to?” Her Austrian is crisp and aristocratic.
I answer in English, my American accent firmly in place. “Spain,” I say.
“By way of Wilhelm,” Sage cuts in. I glare at him but he shakes his head. “You promised we could see it before we went home, remember?”
I’ll kill him later. The attendant hands over the tickets after I pay her. “Have a pleasant trip,” she says in heavily accented English.
We board with the other passengers, the two seats across from us empty when the train pulls out of the station. I toss our bags across, putting my feet up, staring out the window.
“Don’t be mad,” Sage says. “But if your friend has doubts, maybe we should talk to the vampires before we go to California.”
I turn to s
cowl at him. “I told you,” I said. “This is a bad idea. It will only mean trouble for everyone.”
“Maybe,” he says. “Maybe not. Remember, that Sebastian guy wanted to try to make me a vampire.” I’m startled by his words. “Maks and Isabelle told me,” he said, “while we were waiting for you.” He shivers a little, but smiles. “Not that I’m all that eager to be a vampire or anything, but if it saves us from having to go further, I’m for it. Especially if it keeps me from turning into a monster.”
I take his hand and squeeze it. Maybe he’s right. But I can only feel growing nervousness at the idea, and my intuition tells me this is a terrible idea.
“Fine,” I say. “We’ll give it a try. But if it fails…” I have no reason to believe it would, though. Vampires come from normals, just like werewolves had in the beginning.
“If it fails,” Sage says, “we go to California and see what we can find out.”
We hold hands the whole trip, though I rise once to go to the washroom. I stare at my drawn and anxious face in the mirror, gaze going to my blonde hair. I’m going to have to do something about the color before too long. I shake myself. Here I am, planning for the worst. But that’s me, isn’t it? It’s what’s kept me alive for so long. I’d almost forgotten my old training, but here it is, coming back to save me.
Sunny and Sebastian won’t be able to help. I have to have a plan.
It’s only a few hours more when the train pulls into the station near Wilhelm. Sage and I disembark, he with eagerness, me with hesitation. It’s only a few miles to Castle Wilhelm from Wolfsburg. I try not to dwell on the irony of the name.
Sage scowls unhappily at me when I pull up to the platform where I’ve left him. He eyes the stolen motorcycle. I don’t give him a chance to argue, tossing him a helmet. The big machine responds to me as I drive, pushing the speed to the limit. The winding roads are no challenge to my werewolf reflexes and I feel myself relax into the focus of controlling the heavy bike through the dangerous turns.
Castle Wilhelm is well hidden, though the entire area is named for the vampire family. I wonder if normals realize where the title comes from or that the castle itself even still exists. I have no trouble finding the turnoff, magically shielded, because I know the entrance as though born to it. I’m forced to slow, the gravel road almost impossible for the powerful motorcycle to navigate at speed. By the time we come to a purring halt at the gates to the castle, the sun has gone down again.
The third day is half over and we’re no closer to saving Sage. Or are we? It’s possible my cynicism will prove unwarranted. But when I dismount and head for the gate, Sage behind me, struggling with both backpacks, I know in my heart this is far from over.
I stagger at the touch of Enforcer magic. They are here, waiting for us! I’m a fool, I’ve walked right into a trap. But as I spin back to sprint to Sage, mouth open to warn him, two figures shudder from shadow, barely solidifying. One engulfs Sage before vanishing, the other embracing me.
“You’re safe,” Isabelle’s voice whispers to me before I’m drowned in her power.
Only a heartbeat later, I step out of the shivering shadows and onto the red carpet leading to Sunny’s throne. The queen of the Wilhelm vampire clan rushes toward me, her husband, Frank, releasing Sage and stepping back, our second rescuer.
Sunny hugs me tight, her physical coldness a clear sign she hasn’t even found time to eat. When she leans back, her face is dark with purpose.
“Come,” she says, holding her hand out to Sage as the feeling of the Enforcers grows closer, “we must hurry.”
He takes her offered fingers and we’re traveling again, this time with only Sunny. I’m about to ask her to carry us to California when we land in another throne room, this one done in blue and silver.
Sebastian waits for us, wasting no time coming forward to take Sage from Sunny. He stares into my love’s eyes while my heart begs me to speak up.
“Would you be a vampire?” Sebastian is no ordinary blood drinker, not any longer. Syd’s maji power has made him much more, able to walk in daylight, no longer requiring blood for sustenance. And a heartbeat. But he might not be able to offer Sage what he has, considering his own clan are all still in full thrall of the spirit power animating them, despite his attempts to change them. “I must have your permission to try.”
Sage glances sideways at me, panic on his face. I want to tell him to say no, this is wrong. The old prejudices between werewolves and vampires are gone, the taint of Black Soul sorcery no longer keeping us apart. But the wolf in me knows this is wrong and can only lead to more problems.
When I don’t say anything, Sage turns back to Sebastian. “Do it,” he says.
The Enforcers are coming. I can feel them all over again, this time with purpose. Sunny swears under her breath, turns to me, obviously as aware as I am.
“I should have killed him long ago,” she snarls and I remember her traitor vampire, Piotr Wilhelm. She thinks he’s alerted the authorities, and I believe she is right. “Sebastian,” she spins on the other vampire leader, “if you’re going to do this, make it now.”
Rainbow light rises from Sebastian while Sage stares, open mouthed and stunned by the view. I reach for him with my magic, knowing it doesn’t matter anymore if the Enforcers feel me. I need to support him if I can. But the power Sebastian controls rejects me, pushes me back, and Sage is left to face this transformation alone.
I cling to Sunny, half of me praying this works if it means saving Sage. And half of me hoping it fails. I want him to be a werewolf. Or human, normal. Am I that prejudiced to think I would no longer feel the same for him, were he a vampire? It will change things. He will live far longer than me, tied to the house DeWinter. And while Isabelle and Maks have found a way to make it work, vampires can’t procreate. He will never age, never die. And I will wither away.
Selfish. But true. And at the core of me I finally admit I want him to be a werewolf, if that is possible, to heal him and make him one of us. So we can be together. But I’m lying to myself if I believe that will ever happen, just like he’s delusional. I know better. He is a revenant and the best I can hope for is he won’t lose his mind. He will never be a true werewolf. Better to find a cure and return him to human, if I can. But I can’t let the whispering hope of the girl inside me go.
Enforcer power beats against the wards Sebastian has set around his castle, shaking me from my self-revelation. The shields hold, but they won’t last forever. I steel myself against the fact this is about Sage and silence the weeping child who begs for him.
The rainbow light descends over Sage, hugs him close. I hear his heartbeat speed up even more, the sizzle of the touch of his skin on the power, as though he’s too hot to be contained. Sage howls, his wolf rising in his eyes, curving his hands into claws while the magic of Sebastian’s bloodline tries to break through and make him a vampire.
I feel it fail, know he’s safe, and choke on a sob, hating there is relief in the sound. Sunny curses, unladylike for her, and hugs me tighter.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, though I’m not.
Sage staggers to his knees as Sebastian lets him go. Liquid oozes aggressively through the bandages to soak Sage’s left shoulder.
“The infection resists me,” Sebastian pants, shaking his head. “I can’t help him.”
Enforcer magic hits hard, shaking the castle. IN THE NAME OF ALL MAGICKS, a voice booms in my head. RELEASE THE FUGITIVES.
“We have to call Syd.” Sunny is reaching for her already, but I cut her off.
“No,” I say. “Bad enough I’m attracting trouble for my friends. I won’t have any of you involved from this point.”
Sebastian stands there, power swirling around him, handsome face grim. “Tell me what you want me to do,” he says. “I will go to war for you, Charlotte.”
I believe him, but I can’t let him. I rush to Sage and cradle him against me. “Just get us out of here,” I say as the wards crumble.
&nbs
p; Sunny joins us as flares of blue light appear overhead. I look up, see Andre Dumont’s angry face, a line of furious Enforcers behind him, as shadows flicker and carry us away.
Sebastian. I send his name to Sunny in a gasp.
He’ll be fine, she sends just as we are deposited back in her castle. I recognize this room, where Syd and I stayed while she was on trial. “He can handle them,” she says out loud. “But what are the Dumonts doing there?”
I had no idea, and didn’t want to know.
“I’ll be back,” she says, stepping away, already surrounded in shadow. “We’ll make this work.”
I wait for her to vanish before tugging on Sage. “We have to go.”
He nods, groggy, but with me. “This was a terrible idea.” He manages a little smile. “When will I learn to listen to you?”
I kiss his cheek, helping him to his feet, already feeling the Enforcers coming. “I don’t know,” I say. “But hell will surely freeze over.”
“Now what?” He’s pale and sweating, but he’s aware and beside me and that’s all that matters.
“We run,” I say. “And go back to plan A.”
“California.” He hobbles next to me, growing in strength, until we reach the door. I feel Sunny let the Enforcers in even as I slam up my shields around Sage and me.
“You got it, dude.” My American accent feels clunky. I’m out of practice.
Sage laughs. “No one says dude anymore.”
I roll my eyes as we slip down the corridor. I know exactly where the exits are, found them all in case I had to get Syd out. And the one I need is very close. “Everyone’s a critic.”
“Your friends.” We pause by a tapestry. I pull it aside revealing the door to the exterior.
“Will be fine,” I say. “And no matter their intent, the law is the law. They will be forced to turn us over eventually.”
“Fugitives it is,” Sage says, taking his bag from me, though I know he’s still weak. “After you, princess.”