by Laura Hysell
“The timespan. The magician who set this up isn’t very good,” Declan added with a smile. “I can adjust the time frame significantly, if you wish.”
“Good to know.” Jed turned toward Hugo and said, “Arrange a meeting.”
Hugo nodded in ascent and said, “When?”
“As soon as possible, but I need to deal with something else first.” He glanced at me, then back to Declan.
“Several hours, at least,” Declan said simply.
Jed frowned and turned back to Hugo. “First thing in the morning.”
After Hugo left, Jed turned to John. “I’ll need you to keep watch outside this room. Let no one disturb us.” John frowned but said nothing as he climbed the stairs. My heart beat frantically in my chest. “Mark, you and I will also have to leave in a few minutes.”
“I’m not leaving Izzy,” Mark stated, tightening his grip on my hand.
“You must, in order for the magic to work,” Declan said with a shrug, as though it were common knowledge.
“Magic? What magic?” I asked.
“To unbind you from that blade,” Declan replied. “Didn’t Jed explain it to you?”
“I thought we were going to talk about this first?”
“That knife has been helpful to you, but it is time for you to be released from it. It was never meant to be wielded by a werewolf.”
“What does that mean? What are you going to do?”
“We seek to remove all bonds within the blade,” Declan said as he motioned to the taller man. He opened a bag I hadn’t noticed he was carrying, and pulled out a large book bound in leather. “This book contains the original binding ritual. We are going to reverse it.”
“We’re going to try,” the red-headed man said with a chuckle.
They can’t reverse it, Aidan said softly.
I’ll try to convince them. I wanted to reassure Aidan, but his voice cut in again.
No, it’s impossible to reverse. They warned me when I agreed to it.
“Declan, I don’t think you can actually reverse the spell,” I began, but he cut me off.
“We have done extensive research on this since I first saw that dagger you carry. I have found a way to unravel the spell and sever your ties. It is not healthy for you to be attached to that thing, especially now.”
“What do you mean, especially now?”
“He means your werewolf bonds,” the taller man said, his accent so thick I could hardly understand his words. “You are coated in magic, head to toe. It winds around you like ropes.”
“But what about Aidan?”
“Aidan?” Declan frowned, casting a glance toward Jed. “You mean the voice that speaks to you through the knife?”
I nodded and said, “He has helped me more than you know.”
“The man who was Aidan died a long time ago. You hear a memory.”
Memory? How am I a memory if I know the present? Aidan grumbled as he rattled off a string of cuss words. He switched languages and continued his grumbling.
“Izzy, you need to say goodbye to him. It’s far too dangerous for you to have this magic tied to you. It is a danger to the Pack,” Jed said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I understand how you feel, and I didn’t make this decision lightly.”
“You didn’t even ask me,” I returned.
“This affects the Pack,” Jed stated harshly, before he softened his tone. “I truly am sorry. Make your goodbyes.”
Tears filled my eyes. They weren’t giving me a choice. I could argue all I wanted, but they weren’t even listening. Jed would do what he thought best, for the good of the Pack. “What if I leave the Pack?” I asked.
“Izzy,” Mark began, but I held up a hand, stopping him.
I looked directly at Jed when I spoke. “If I am no longer part of your Pack, then you can’t make this decision for me. How do I leave?”
“You would give up the Pack for this voice? This knife?” he asked incredulously.
“Aidan is as much a part of me as Mark is.”
“Tell them,” the shorter man whispered.
“No,” the taller man replied.
“Damn it, tell them.”
“Tell us what?” Jed asked, turning his piercing stare on the two men.
“I don’t think the spell will work,” the taller man muttered thickly.
Declan turned to look at the two men, his arms crossed. “What do you mean you don’t think it will work?”
The tall man took a deep breath and opened the book, turning to a page he had marked and pointing at something in the margin. “There. See.”
Declan took the book and shook his head. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“What is it?” Jed asked.
Declan turned his pale eyes toward Jed and answered. “There is a note about undoing the spell. It’s in a different hand, and barely visible. It could be nothing.”
“What does it say?” Jed insisted.
“It says ‘Reverse the blood, there is no end.’”
“What does that mean?” Mark, who had been so quiet, asked as he stepped forward. His hand still gripped mine, as though afraid to let me go.
“We don’t know what it means,” Declan said, glaring up at the taller man. “Ivan is reading too much into it. The language is ancient and some words can be confused.”
“End could also mean death,” Ivan added.
“And reverse could also mean bind, or unbind, or return, or a hundred other words. The writing is barely legible. The language is ancient.”
The tall man, Ivan, shook his head. “If you reverse the spell, it won’t work. That’s what it means.”
The shorter man piped in then. “There’s also a risk to her,” he added, pointing at me.
Declan shook his head. “I have done more research on the matter than either of you, and I am confident this will work,” he stated, turning back toward me. “There is always a risk, but the greater risk is you being linked to this knife. Even if you left the Pack, you would still be a werewolf. I can see the magic around you from Mark, from the Pack, and from the knife. They are intertwining in strange ways. Dangerous ways. Have you noticed anything odd lately with the knife?”
I spoke to Declan, but kept my eyes on Jed. “Aidan disappears for hours, sometimes days after I become a wolf. He doesn’t know where he goes, and he doesn’t even realize he’s gone sometimes,” I said. “I thought Jed was doing something to block me.”
Jed raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “On my honor, I have done nothing.”
There goes that theory. Aidan?
The magic does feel different. I’m sorry, Izzy, but maybe they’re right. You are alive and I am not. I died a long time ago.
I don’t want you to go. It feels like I’m losing my best friend.
You need the Pack more than you need me. And from the sounds of it, the Pack magic is doing something to me already.
Everyone was looking at me expectantly, but Mark was the one who spoke. “What is the safer path?” he asked.
Declan frowned and glanced at the other two men. “Considering the fact that the magic around this blade is already acting differently, I think it best to try the spell. The magic around you is already leeching into the Pack. As I said before, we can see the power binding you. It wraps from the blade to you, but it also branches off toward Mark and has started wrapping around the binding magic of the Pack I see around you. This is ancient magic; dark magic.”
“They used blood in this ritual,” the shorter man supplied. “The blood of vampires as well as the blood of the original men who wielded these blades. Blood magic always comes with a price.”
Let them do the spell. Aidan’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. I lived and died doing my best to scourge the land of vampires. Even after death, I have found a new purpose in helping you. But my time is at an end. I wish I could stick around longer.
Tears flowed from my eyes, and I turned to bury my face in Mark’s chest. Aidan, I am so s
orry. If there was another way.
There isn’t.
Aidan, do you have a last name?
O’Flannery, he replied softly. Aidan O’Flannery.
I will miss you, Aidan O’Flannery. You have been a true friend.
And I will miss you. Remember to stay true to yourself. And don’t listen to vampires. They’re evil.
I chuckled softly against Mark’s chest. I know, I know. I don’t want to say goodbye.
It isn’t goodbye, Isabella Howerton. It is until we meet again, in the next life.
Until we meet again, I replied, choking back tears.
I wiped at my face and turned back to Declan. “Alright, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. It doesn’t seem like there’s much of a choice,” I said.
Declan nodded, and the other two men began pulling items out of a bag. Jed took Mark by the arm, and they walked back upstairs. Ivan moved a chair into the middle of the room and indicated I should sit there. I moved woodenly as fear seemed to stiffen my joints. Candles were placed around me and lit, making a circle of heat that did nothing for the cold sweat already coursing down my back. I unstrapped the dagger and held it in my lap, marveling at the blade that never needed cleaning or sharpening.
The three men stood around me and began chanting words in a language I had never heard. Their voices were soft, almost melodic in their rhythm. Then they began to move, walking around me, then stopping, then moving again. The candles grew brighter, seeming to glow in emphasis as their chanting grew louder. Sweat coated my shirt unnaturally even as a cold breeze ruffled my hair. I darted a glance toward the stairs, but the door was closed. Where the breeze had come from, I didn’t know, but it blew with increasing strength, swirling my hair around me.
The chants of the three men grew louder still. The wind whipped my long hair into a frenzy, and I was forced to hold it with one hand so it didn’t hit me in the face. The shorter man stood in front of me, his eyes wide as he continued his chanting. His eyes darted to the other two men, and I felt a renewed fear. Something was wrong. The men shifted again, turning until Declan stood before me. He took the knife from my lap and unsheathed it, holding it out with the blade toward me. The other two men took my hands, pressing them on either side of the blade until the sharp edge pierced into my skin. They held me there as blood dripped down my hands and onto my lap. My hair flapped around me, blocking my vision. The men continued their chanting, when suddenly the wind stopped and the candles flickered out. Their words fumbled to a stop. At my feet, one candle still glowed with a strange orange light.
I held my breath, waiting and watching. The two men slowly pulled my hands away and held them palms up. They were covered in blood, but I felt no pain. Declan set the dagger back in my palms, and it flared with a blinding light before looking like an ordinary knife again. Declan stepped back, his eyes going to the candle still burning at my feet. He picked it up and blew on it, but it didn’t blow out. He tried again, and again, but the candle didn’t even flicker. He touched the flame and winced, pulling his hand away quickly. He held it up to me, and I tried to blow it out as well, but nothing happened. I touched the flame with my finger, but there was no pain and no warmth to it. Declan’s strange eyes widened in surprise, and still the candle burned.
He took a deep breath and set the candle carefully on a table. “Something went wrong,” he said quietly, his voice sending a chill down my spine. “Something went very wrong.”
I said it wouldn’t work, Aidan said suddenly, his voice surprising me and causing me to jerk.
Aidan, you’re still here!
Yes, but something is definitely different. Strange. I’m not sure what they did.
“It didn’t work,” I said aloud.
Declan shook his head and looked at me. “It partly worked. The power of the knife no longer binds around the Pack, although it is still tethered to you. And it looks… stronger.”
“Stronger? Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“Get Jed,” he said, turning to the shorter man with his spiked hair.
The man ran up the stairs and came back a minute later with Jed and Mark both trailing him. Mark immediately moved to me, worry clear on his face at the sight of blood in my hands. Jed moved slower, taking in my hands, the blood, and the strange candle that continued to glow, yet didn’t flicker.
“Is the voice still there?” Declan asked me.
“Yes, Aidan is still here.”
“It didn’t work?” Jed asked, looking from me to Declan, the frown on his face deepening with worry.
“Can you hear Aidan?” Declan asked.
Jed turned toward me, and I reached out to Aidan. Say something.
Something, he returned with a chuckle. Obviously, I’m meant to stay right where I am.
“Has he said anything?” Jed asked and I nodded my head. “I can’t hear him.”
“So it did sever the connection to the Pack,” Declan replied, “but it did not remove Isabella’s connection. We must study this and see what went wrong. May we stay?”
Jed nodded immediately. “Yes, I already have two rooms ready for you.”
“That will suffice. Ivan and Brody can share a room. Please lead the way,” Declan added.
Jed nodded and led him up the stairs while the other men packed up the candles and books. I stood and walked toward the still glowing candle, taking it in my hand. Warmth spread down my hand as soon as I touched it and the blade in my other hand glowed in response. “I think the candle should stay with me,” I said as I looked at the shorter of the two magicians, who must be Brody.
The man looked at me and nodded, running a hand through his bright, red hair. “I think you’re right. For now,” he added, frowning at me. “We did warn him.”
I nodded and replied, “Yes, you did. I’m glad it didn’t work.” Brody shrugged and shoved the remaining items into a bag.
Candle in one hand, dagger and sheath in the other, I climbed up the stairs and ducked into my bedroom. Mark followed on my heels, his hands held out as though to catch me should I fall. I set the candle on the side table and strapped the knife back to my thigh. The blood on my hands had grown sticky. I walked to the bathroom to clean up, but Mark followed behind me.
His lips touched my ear and I stopped as his voice whispered to me. “I can still hear him.”
“Aidan?” I inquired, and he nodded. “You could hear him before, too.”
I walked into the bathroom and scrubbed the blood from my hands. Aidan was still there, which made me happy, but worried too. Mark could hear the knife, but Jed couldn’t. When my hands were clean, I inspected them. There were no marks or injuries, just smooth skin. Mark still towered behind me like a shadow, and I let him. I felt uneasy about the whole thing, despite what I had said, and his presence was always a comfort. Cleaned up and suddenly exhausted, I returned to our room and flopped down on the bed. Mark laid down on the bed beside me with his arm wrapped tenderly around my waist. I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting sleep pull me down until I drifted off to the sound of Aidan humming cheerfully.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The morning meeting was held outside behind Jed’s house, because there were simply too many people to squeeze into the house any longer. More delegates from different Packs across the country had been showing up at a staggering rate, their tents pitched around Jed’s land. As with most meetings, there was also a large supply of food. The kitchen alone was big enough to cook for a Pack, but it couldn’t accommodate the startling numbers of wolves, so volunteers had set up cooking stations in the lawn with a variety of camp cook stoves each frying a different item. When I had asked Jed about all the food, he said that werewolves were more agreeable when they were fed. I couldn’t argue his logic, so I joined Vanessa at a large barbecue grill to help cook potatoes.
Aidan was once again loud in my head, singing and humming merrily as I cooked. I didn’t recognize any of the songs he sang, but most of them were light and happy sounding. Some of the more repetitive,
catchy ones I found myself humming along to.
Despite the circumstances regarding why so many wolves were at Jed’s home, the atmosphere was pleasant and relaxed. There were a few groups who kept to themselves, but a larger number mingled and chatted amicably. A semicircle of benches and chairs had been formed around a makeshift platform. Finished cooking, Vanessa and I grabbed plates of food and sat down on the grass near the front of the stage.
Mark had been gone before I woke up, but I could feel him moving toward me. It was an odd sensation, and one I hadn’t actively pursued before. I turned around and watched for his approach. Jed led a small group toward the makeshift structure with Mark, John, and Hugo close behind him. Declan walked beside Jed, wearing black slacks and a white button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. It was a casual look for him. Dark sunglasses perched on his nose, shielding his eerie gray eyes. The other two magicians, Ivan and Brody, were already seated on a bench behind me with matching sunglasses. They were dressed alike, in jeans and navy-blue polo shirts.
As Jed stepped onto the platform conversation ceased and everyone moved closer to the stage, taking seats where they could. While I had been under Henri’s control, Jed had held other meetings similar to this, but much smaller in size. Some meetings I was allowed to attend, while others were deemed too important for me to hear about until the situation with Mark’s vaccine was cleared up. Vanessa had been filling me in on what had transpired while I’d been gone where she could. Mostly, it was a lot of arguing. She had cued me in to details regarding the various wolves scattered around, and what their prime objectives were. For the most part, everyone was in agreement about the vampires. They needed to be stopped, but how to do so was the bigger question.
Jed cleared his throat and looked around at the gathered men and women. “As you all know, we have a growing vampire problem. We have made some great strides in combating this so-called vaccine, but we simply don’t have the resources left to make a big enough dent in the problem. Two steps forward, my friends, and three steps back. We have Packs working diligently to produce our vaccine, Hope, and spread it to the humans we can. There are several bands of humans working with us to that end. But as fast as we work, the vampires work faster. They took us by surprise with this vaccine, and before we knew it, half the population of humans was under their control. In addition, vampires have started additional experiments on us!”