Sunder

by Tara Brown

  She nodded, “Good, Lassie.” Oh no, she didn’t. She chuckled at her own joke.

  I gave her my deadpan wolf face. I might not have been a murderous wolf, but I imagined I could be provoked to get there. She pocketed the vials and snickered, “You know that if you touch me and project your thoughts, I can hear them. All witches can.”

  We ran across town, like Little Red Riding Hood and her wolf.

  When we got to my house, we ran around the back. I nosed the hide-a-key rock. She picked up the key and opened the door. We slid inside, staying to the shadows. She locked the door and walked behind me. I didn't smell a thing out of the ordinary. But it was hard to smell out my dad in his own house. The man lived there, of course it smelled like him.

  We had formulated the plan when Briton had assumed I was texting Judith. But it had been Liz, the only other person who would be willing to do this crazy thing with me.

  We had to act. My dad had for sure slipped across the borders of the guards before Ellie had put them up. He was here, I knew it.

  We walked silently through the dark house to the master suite they had built on the first floor for themselves.

  Liz was scared, I could smell it. But with her grandma’s magic and instant know-how, she was set. I could feel her grandma there.

  Liz placed a hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly, silently. I swallowed my fear. She cracked the door open. I half expected shit to just start jumping out at us. But it was just Judith sleeping silently. She made the odd sleeping noise, but it was a normal night.

  I didn't know where he was but it wasn’t here.

  I turned and walked to the front door. I closed my eyes and listened once more for the sound of someone in the house, besides us and Judith. Nothing.

  Liz opened the door and we both walked out. She locked it and pocketed the key. We ran across the grass. It felt like I had snuck out of my house to party, only without the fun, and I was wearing fur.

  We ran for a block before she started to have problems breathing. I let her rest a minute while I thought about it all. I could go back to Dad’s clinic, but I really didn't want to. My bravery was only going to go so far.

  Liz huffed when she whispered, “Remember Josh said Jamie is the leader of all this. Maybe his place?”

  I nodded. We ran for Josh’s house.

  When we got there the lights were on. We snuck around the back and listened as he spoke loudly to someone. He sounded drunk. My stomach was a ball of nerves, but I tried to keep it on an even keel.

  I stood on my hind legs and peeked in the window. Jamie sat at a chair with two other men and my dad. Rage and fury filled me.

  I lowered and snarled as quietly as I could.

  Liz held her finger to her lips. She looked and crouched back down when she had seen them all. She pressed her lips together. We had a plan, but suddenly I was certain it would fail. I was about to bite her and drag her home when she got up and walked to the front door. She knocked quietly. I watched from the back window as they stopped talking and got up. I cold see her in the doorway. She folded her arms. “I know my grandmother helped you before, and I want to help.”

  The men started doubting her instantly. “On the night we have declared war, a young witch wants to switch sides?”

  Damn. They were pretty smart.

  She nodded. “I do. I think the Thorlacksons are trouble. My mom isn’t going to do anything, but I will. I’ve been doing some reading of my grandmother’s books, and I think she was onto a cure.”

  Jamie grabbed her, shaking her like a rag doll, but my father tried to intervene. I got back down and rounded the corner of the house just as she drove the red vial into Jamie’s hand and pushed a small amount of venom into him. He started to shake and froth, backhanding her out of the house. She stumbled down the steps as I dove through the doorway. One of the men shifted instantly, biting down on my leg. I spun, kicking and biting his throat. His teeth sank down farther.

  Liz screamed at my dad, “THAT’S LIV!”

  My dad kicked him, trying to help me. The other man grabbed my dad’s arm and punched him in the face.

  Liz regained her composure.

  Something or someone whizzed past me, grabbing my dad and tossing him out into the yard. Liz grabbed the other vial and stabbed the needle into my father’s chest. He kicked her across the yard.

  Several men we hadn’t seen came from downstairs. They shifted on the stairs, quite badass actually. I discovered after a second, the thing whizzing around next to me was actually Simon. He broke the neck of one man, and then another. I joined him, biting and kicking. My bite did nothing but piss them off, they were all wolves. But when he got the chance, he broke their necks, knocking them out. I ran interference. For every jaw that tried to clamp down on him, I got in the way. I let them bite me. I could survive a wolf bite.

  My legs gave out as a jaw snapped down on my throat and shook me.

  Liz snarled in her own way. Suddenly, as if seeing me injured flipped a switch in her mind, she stood up and screamed pure rage at the men. Her face was swelling and her lips bleeding, but it was her eyes that caught mine. They turned molten as fiery lightning shot from her fingertips. She looked crazy badass.

  “SIMON, THE NEEDLE IS VAMPIRE VENOM!” She shouted as she zapped the wolf attacking me. He cried out and Simon got the needle and started putting a small amount in each wolf.

  She pulled Simon and me from the house with some kind of wind and instantly the house was on fire.

  She looked like Drew Barrymore in that weird Firestarter movie. She cackled and caused more lightning. She had fully lost it.

  The wolves who were still alive dragged their burning bodies from the fire. Simon injected them as they left the house, letting them die on the grass.

  I caught a glimpse of his arm, instantly howling. He looked at me and then his arm.

  A wolf bite marked his pale skin.

  Liz screamed. It was just like when she had done that crazy-ass screaming in the field. I shifted back, doing my own screaming.

  It dawned on me then, they were the same as Briton and me.

  I sat naked, clutching to Simon, a man I didn't even know. He looked bad. I did too. I was covered in ragged flesh and bite marks. The change never healed them. Probably because they came from wolves.

  Liz was sobbing, wiping the blood and spit away, chanting, “It’s not so bad. See? You’re going to be fine. It’s not so bad. You’re going to be fine.” She sobbed harder. “You’re going to be fine. Please be fine.”

  Simon lifted her chin, smiling and shaking his head. “I saved you. That's what matters.”

  I knew what I had to do. I looked at her. “Meet me at Miles’ house. I know what to do. Use your magic and get him there. It’s exactly halfway between here and Briton’s house.”

  I looked over at my writhing father. He was screaming and his bones were breaking. He would be one of us soon enough. No one deserved the pain he was in, except him. He totes deserved it.

  I shifted, screaming and writhing like a baby. Damn it, was it getting worse?

  I ran as hard as I could to Briton’s. I howled outside the window. My mom came rushing to it. I howled again. She disappeared and reappeared in the window with Briton. He rubbed his eyes from the window, staring down at me. “What have you done?” he was pissed. He was going to get a lot more pissed. I contemplated changing back to explain, but decided he would just have to figure out my Lassie routine. I wasn’t changing for anyone.

  He was out the door in a moment. I turned and ran for Miles’ house. Liz was using her magic to pull Simon down the road to the house when we got there. Briton ran to them. He picked him up and screamed into the night. I barked and howled at them. Miles and Betsy came running out, well, moving fast anyway. I ran to them, nudging against Miles. He looked terrified, but he was part old witch from one family and Betsy was part from another. They had to be able to read me.

  I put a paw on Miles and sent him my thoughts.

>   He shook his head. “NO WAY!”

  I barked and growled. If I had to change to explain, I was going to kill him.

  Briton carried Simon to the yard. “Miles, he’s hurt. He’s been bitten.” Briton looked at me and shouted. “WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO OFF AND DO SOMETHING WITHOUT ANY HELP?”

  I winced, whining a little.

  He placed his brother down delicately.

  Miles ran a hand over him. “He’s fading fast.”

  I whined and turned to Briton. I bared my teeth, feeling a sickening fear inside of me. He shook his head. “I don't know what you want.”

  Miles sat down on the grass. I growled at him, baring my teeth.

  Tears slipped down his old cheeks as he muttered, “She wants you to bite her at the same time she bites you. It will release the curse and Simon will live. Wolves and vampires will no longer be venomous to each other.”

  Briton looked at me. “No! No! We will find another way.”

  I growled. Jesus. There was no other way. I lunged at him. He shoved me back. Simon shook his head but Liz said nothing. I turned and looked at her. I whined.

  She nodded. “It is the only way to end this.” Hot tears splashed from her eyes. She knelt and kissed my muzzle. I was covered in blood and injuries still, but I hadn’t even really paid them much attention. Her hands came away with blood coating them. She cried harder. “I love you, sister—I remember you. I remember cursing them. I knew there would be a cost for the curse—I didn't know this would be it. I’m sorry.”

  I whined and nudged her. Tears were filling my eyes too. I turned and looked at Briton, hoping he would agree.

  Instead, he shoved me away again. “NO!”

  Simon shook his head, looking like he was going to die any second. I lunged at Briton, snapping my teeth.

  He looked defeated when he didn't push me away. He let me come close to him. I nuzzled my face into his arm. He reached over, running his fingers through my thick coat. Blood coated his fingers, staining my white fur red.

  I looked right into his face and whined. It was an annoying sound, but it was the one I made when I was trying to convey something.

  He nodded, lifting my paw to his lips. “This isn’t our story, Liv. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” He kissed it softly. “Never was there a kiss destined to such an end.”

  He was always saying the thing I was thinking, but this time I knew it was what I was thinking. His eyes turned red and his fangs dropped. He offered me his hand. We bit at the same moment. Suddenly I was dream walking again. I was the girl in the field. I was with him, holding his hand. He loved me and I loved him, and nothing else mattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Briton

  In the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Simon standing. He was crying and gripping to Miles who was pulling them all away from where Briton and Liv lay.

  Briton turned his face, seeing hers. She was human again. He reached his fingers across the grass to hers, clutching them tightly. The poison was paralyzing him. He could feel it. His grip on her small hand loosened. He fought harder for it. Tears leaked from her eyes. She shook her head, whispering, “I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not. I found you, finally.”

  She shuddered as the venom took away her ability to hold his hand, but he held on tight enough for them both. He was lost in her blue eyes, forcing himself to watch them until they closed.

  The cries and sobs of the people surrounding them filled the night air until it got cold and thick, and he wasn’t there in Wolfville anymore. He had been pulled away. He could smell the Icelandic air surrounding him. He had been pulled from where they lay in the grass to the past—to the moment where they had met, the first time, in Iceland.

  She had been getting water. He had traveled with his father and sister, seeking a new place to settle. Their home and small farm had been ravaged by the volcano there.

  When he first saw Liv, he didn't think she was real. She was so beautiful, so fresh and clean with her white hair and pale skin. She lit up the small river she was next to, like a magical creature from a tale.

  She was stunning. When she saw him, she smiled, even though he was a stranger. She waved at his sister, who ran to where she was standing, waving away. His sister had been Liz. She was a healer, people always liked her right off.

  The girls were best friends from that moment on. Liv’s father had been the leader of their people. He invited them to stay.

  Briton’s vision jumped ahead by years to when he lay dying in the field, holding Liv’s hand. He remembered the feel of his sister touching his chest, gripping to him. She cried and stabbed them both. His body jerked recalling the moment.

  Never had two people been in as much love, or loved as much. His sister’s curse was a product of her love for them both.

  Suddenly he was in Wolfville again, and he could feel Liz gripping to them in Betsy’s yard. It was the same scene only thousands of years apart.

  Briton’s eyes fluttered. In the flashes he caught a glimpse of Ellie. Her steely-silver eyes were focused on him like she was trying to tell him something with a look. She rested a hand on Liz who was crying and gripping her hands on him and Liv.

  Everything went dark and the feel of Liv’s cold hand in his was the last thing he saw or felt.

  The black was there and then it wasn’t. Like his eyes were still fluttering.

  The air got cold and turned white, too bright to see. Her hand was still there. He grasped harder, scared they would be separated in the blinding light. Her breath was ragged and her heartbeat rapid. He didn’t understand where they were. He could still feel the grass against his back.

  He didn’t know which life he was in; they felt the same for a moment.

  The light blaring down on them held a scream inside of it. The scream came with a flash of light and sound. It was there and then gone before he could even comprehended what had happened.

  Were they in Heaven?

  He heard a sob, assuming it was Liv, but all the light faded and it was dark again. He opened his eyes, gasping for air. Something horrid burned inside of him. There was a loud thump. It was like restarting an old clock. The first beat knocked the dust off of it.

  He heard a scream, it was a man.

  The sound made his skin crawl. He looked around, seeing the faces of his loved ones looking down on him. Another scream tore through the air and he realized it was him. The searing pain was real, as was the silence of her heart. The rapid beating of her heart and the ragged breath had left her at some point and became part of him.

  His body felt thick, trapped in a fog and heavy.

  Could it be Hell?

  Was he being punished for his many sins? He looked to the right. Liv was still there, but she didn’t move or breathe. He sat up, lifting her up into his arms. “Liv. Liv?” She was cold, cold as ice. The scream tore from his lips again as the drum continued to beat in his chest. She was gone, and yet, still owned every piece of his heart. He pressed his wet lips against hers, muttering into the embrace, “Please don’t go without me.”

  He knew what it was. She still had her whole soul. She was pure. She was the light to his dark, in their complex love.

  She was gone.

  His eyes shut, refusing to see it.

  He clung to her, tears running down his cheeks, his warm cheeks. She was burning him with the cold of her skin.

  He felt someone touching him, saying something about how she was different. Her venom wasn’t the same.

  He shook his head. How had he let her talk him into it? His venom had been potent and hers had been modified. He had murdered her and his payment for his many sins was to wait for her to be reborn again. But the beating in his once-still chest told him he wouldn’t have the lives he had once had. Something had happened. He was free of his blood lust. He was free of his darkness. She had taken it for him, freed him. He was mortal again for his sins.

  He gripped to her, refusing to
believe it, though the evidence lay right in his arms.

  Liz who was sitting next to him, looked equally distraught. “Do something!” he demanded.