by Sadie Savage
“I’m only kidding,” she said. “I’ve been waiting to do this forever.”
“Do what, exactly?”
“Tease you about a boyfriend,” her mother replied. “You’ve never had one before.”
“Good news,” Savannah's father said as he walked back into the room. He sank back into the sofa next to her mother.
“We can pick the car up today?” Savannah asked.
He father nodded. “They’ll have it ready for us around eleven.”
“Thanks guys,” Savannah said and she leaned in to give them both a hug.
“You’re a good kid,” her father said, “so we figure you deserve what you ask for. And you don’t ask for much, you’ve been dragged from place to place without complaining.”
“Much,” Savannah’s mother added, and then gave her a pointed laugh.
“Your mother and I wanted to drive into town today to run a few errands,” Savannah’s father said. “We can pick up your car while we’re at it. Do you want to join us?”
“Do you mind if I sit this one out?” she asked feeling a little fatigued after her conversation with Xander.
“No problem,” her father replied. “We’ll be back around noon.”
Savannah thanked her parents again and then she went back to her room. She locked the door and sat herself on her bed with her laptop. She searched the Internet with a specific purpose in mind, to find out more about Grey Mountain and its history.
She spent an hour on the Internet, but learned nothing new. Grey Mountain as a town was relatively unknown, as far as the rest of the world was concerned, and there was little to no information about it online. The only thing she did find was a short article on old town legends, but all it did was to repeat the story of the wolf prince with a few minor details changed, and Savannah was left wanting more.
It was about eleven when Xander called. His voice was steeped in suppressed worry, and if it hadn’t been for her keen senses, Savannah might have thought he was calm and sure in the wake of everything they had to face. Given her "gift," Savannah was able to sense his trepidation, even from their distance, and she realized that their connection was growing stronger.
“How are you?” Xander asked.
“Fine,” Savannah replied. “I’m fine.”
“And the baby?”
“It doesn’t feel like there is a baby at the moment,” Savannah admitted. “The only reason I feel anything at all is because I know I’m pregnant.”
Xander was silent for a time.
“Is…everything ok?” Savannah asked tentatively.
“Yes,” Xander replied. “It’s just--”
“What is it?”
“I hate having to leave you.” Xander sighed. “When we were out in the clearing and Elvira told us you were pregnant, it felt like the world had righted itself, and we'd finally have some time to be together without worrying about anything else.”
“I know,” she said, feeling the weight of that disappointment as keenly as Xander had. “I was hoping for that, too.”
“It’s unfair--”
“We'll get that time back, Xander,” Savannah said with more confidence than she felt. “After all this over and Dominic and Marissa have been pushed out of this town we'll have all the time in the world.”
“You think so?” Xander asked.
Savannah realized he was in need of someone to support him, to give him words of reassurance and confidence. "I am sure," she said resolutely, despite the fact that she was just as unsure as he was.
“Once this is all over, we'll have time to really get to know each other. We can spend our days in the clearing, swimming, and making love. You can teach me about the history of your heritage, and I can tell you about my life as a modern day gypsy, moving from place to place without ever finding a home.”
“You’ve found one now,” Xander said softly.
“I know I have,” Savannah nodded. “And I’m never going to leave.”
“And you’re not concerned?” Xander asked cautiously. Savannah realized this was a question that had been troubling him for some time.
“Concerned about what?”
“You know I can’t leave Grey Mountain,” Xander said. “I'm trapped here for the rest of my life. I just don’t want you to feel like you’re trapped here, too.”
“I don’t feel that way,” she was quick to answer. “I’ve moved around so often that it feels nice now to know I can plant roots here and not have to worry about leaving. Besides, why on earth would I want to go anywhere without you or our child?”
Savannah could practically hear the smile on Xander’s face. “That’s good to know.”
“I’m just telling you how I feel,” Savannah said honestly.
“If you ever change your mind--”
“I won’t, but if I ever do, you'll be the first to know.”
“Thank you,” Xander said, sounding relieved.
Savannah hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should run her plan by Xander. She hated having to do things on her own without involving him in the decision-making process, but she couldn’t risk that he'd try to prevent her from doing it. Still, she approached the topic carefully.
“When Gordy, Johnny and I were talking--”
“Yes?”
“I mentioned that we should ask for help,” Savannah finished.
“There’s no one to ask, Savannah,” Xander said gently. “Another pack won't get involved, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't cross territories without joining the root pack.”
“I know,” Savannah said, nodding. “I wasn’t talking about wolves.”
“Then who?”
“I asked Johnny and Gordy if it was possible to enlist the help of a witch.”
Savannah sensed Xander’s unease grow exponentially, as did his discomfort, and she knew he hated the idea as much as Johnny and Gordy had. She realized that Johnny had been right that morning--Xander’s desperation in the clearing had clouded his judgement. If not for that fact, he never would have even thought to mention witches on that day.
“Savannah, we're shifters, we're wolves,” he said the words in a tone that suggested that Savannah was still an outsider and unable to understand the implications of her suggestion as a result. “We do not involve ourselves with witches.”
“So, you’re saying there is no such thing as a good witch?” Savannah asked.
Xander hesitated. “I have heard there are witches who are…decent,” he said reluctantly. “I've heard of those who practice magic without harming others, but it's rare.
"The enmity between wolves and witches runs deep. Just because a witch might help a human doesn't mean they'll be willing to help us.”
Savannah nodded, but she was only half listening to Xander’s words as she was busy picking up other nuggets of information from his burning aura. When Xander spoke about witches, his feeling of unease kept flitting somewhere to the southwest, and Savannah instinctively knew that this was where she'd find the person she was looking for.
“I understand.” Savannah nodded. “I just wanted--”
“To try everything you could,” Xander said, finishing the sentence for her, “and I get that, I really do, but this is not the way. We can fight our battles on our own.”
“Yes,” Savannah said, even though she was thinking about the fastest way she might possibly get up the southwest side of Grey Mountain. “When will I see you?” she asked.
“Tonight,” Xander said. “After we run our patrols.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“I love you,” Xander said..
“I love you, too,” Savannah replied.
They disconnected, and Savannah went to her window and glanced outside to see if her parents had returned with her car yet. When there was still no sign of them, she started to put together a small kit for herself. She put a map, compass, and penknife into the front pocket of her backpack. She couldn’t afford to be naïve, walking into something she'd al
ready been warned about.
Savannah didn’t want to have to do this, but she was desperate, and her visions—along with the persistent feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach—refused to subside. She needed to do what she thought was best, regardless of what Xander or the pack might think. She went downstairs taking her backpack with her, and made herself a few sandwiches, knowing she wouldn’t make it back in time for lunch.
She had just finished packing her sandwiches when she heard the roar of an engine and wheels on the gravel outside of the house. She rushed to the front door and opened it just as her parents were pulling into the driveway.
The car they'd brought her was a small, creamy white, VW bug.
“It’s not fancy,” her father said, getting out of the car as Savannah’s mother pulled up behind him.
“It’s perfect,” Savannah said firmly. “It’s so perfect, in fact, that I can’t wait to take it out for a spin.”
“Now?” her mother asked.
“You don’t mind, do you?” Savannah said. “It’s just that I’m meeting some friends for lunch in town.”
Her parents laughed at her obvious enthusiasm. “Off you go, then,” her mother said. “Have a good time.”
Savannah gave each of her parents a kiss on the cheek, and then she hopped into her car, and backed out of the driveway. She drove down the street, turned the corner, and drove until the house was out of sight. When she was far enough away, she stopped the car, and checked for directions on her local map.
She'd need to drive twenty minutes, take a left at the crossroads, and then drive another fifteen minutes to get to the base of Grey Mountain. From there, it was a ten minute hike up the hill to a small, remote cabin, the location of which had been marked on the map. Her instincts told her that she would find what she was looking for in that lonely cabin.
Chapter Six
Savannah parked the car, got out, and took a few minutes to assess the mammoth mountain she was faced with climbing. For the first time she realized how it had earned its name, as the rocks had taken on a smoky grey hue, with hints of rust and silver. It was beautiful, but daunting, and Savannah was glad she'd brought plenty of water with her.
She took a long swig from her first water bottle and set out on her hike. She'd been out in the hills enough times to be able to navigate through the terrain, but there were a few differences here and there. The trees were a little sparser, for one, so she didn’t have very much support in the way of climbing. The soil beneath her feet seemed loose in places, for another, and she wasn’t always sure of her footing. The air also smelled different in this area, as if it was thicker, and coated in a scent Savannah could not recognize.
Even when she grew tired, Savannah didn't stop walking. She climbed until the ground stopped tilting upwards and become flat and steady beneath her. The scent had grown stronger, too, and Savannah sensed she was on the right track. She was tempted to remove her hearing aid, but thought better of it. She still didn’t know if her decision to set out on her quest was very brave or very stupid.
The cabin was located farther off than she'd initially anticipated, and Savannah was starting to worry, but then she glimpsed it in the distance. She gave a sigh of relief, quickened her pace, and kept walking until she was standing right in front of it. It was larger than she'd expected, and she felt a twinge of unease creep through her body as she prepared to knock on the door.
She walked up the cabin’s creaky stairs, paused at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked before her nerves kicked in and she changed her mind. There was no sound for a few moments, but then, suddenly, and without warning, the door flew open. Savannah gasped and jumped backward in shock.
“I’m sorry, did I scare you?”
The man on the other side was tall and thin. He had long brown hair that held tinges of red, and warm, brown eyes that held flecks of gold. His features were sharp and attractive against the pale canvas of his skin. He looked at Savannah with sardonic eyes and raised eyebrows.
“I…umm…hello,” Savannah said awkwardly.
“Hello,” he replied without expression. Savannah searched desperately for his aura, but she was unable to see or sense a thing. He stood in front of her a complete enigma, and for the first time in her life, Savannah felt blind.
“Hello,” he replied in a tone that was only slightly impatient.
His eyes were keenly appraising and Savannah felt as though she were being studied. The only sense she could get was from the cabin itself, which seemed to be steeped in a mystical energy that Savannah had never encountered before, which was the only indication she was in the right place.
“I…I need help,” she stammered, feeling supremely self-conscious beneath his cool gaze.
“If you’re lost, I can give you a map back to the main hiking trails,” he said. “They’ll lead you back to the town.”
“No,” Savannah said quickly. “That’s not the kind of help I need.”
He rose his eyebrows at her again. “No?” he asked. “Then what kind of help do you need?”
Savannah took a deep breath. “The kind only a witch can give me,” she said before she had a chance to think better of it.
He held her gaze for a long moment, and Savannah wondered if he was going to laugh in her face or curse her out as delusional, but he didn’t do either. Instead, he held the door open, and gestured her inside. “Then you’ve come to the right place,” he said.
Savannah entered the cabin and looked around. It was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Deerskins hung from the walls and adorned the cold wooden floors. There was also an assortment of strange tools and objects on the tops of each of the many tables that seemed to crowd the space. The only colors Savannah seemed to register were a range of browns, ochres, caramels, and golds. Savannah had no experience with magic, but she imagined the scent on her nose was exactly what magic smelt like.
“Can you help me?” Savannah asked when he didn’t say anything.
“That depends on what your problem is,” he said. He gestured to a table at the end of the cabin. It sat right in front of a window, but the window had been covered over with an animal skin, that Savannah didn’t recognize. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
Savannah went over to the table and sat down in front of it. “Do you…live here alone?” she asked.
“My grandmother lives here with me,” he replied. “She’s getting old now, so I stay here and care for her, and she…teaches me.”
“Teaches you? As in magic?”
“Yes.” He nodded and sat down opposite her. “What is your name?”
“My name's Savannah.”
“I’m Abel,” he said. “Now, tell me how you found us out here.”
Doubts and nerves overcame Savannah, but she pushed them all down and moved past it. “I knew there were witches in this town,” Savannah admitted. “I suppose I…sensed the rest.”
“You sensed the rest?” Abel asked. His strange, hypnotic, brown-gold eyes flashed. “Does this have anything to do with the fact that you were born deaf?”
“I…how did you know that?” Savannah asked.
“Your hearing aid kind of gives it away,” Abel replied. “In any case, you’re not the only one who can sense things.”
“I can’t sense anything from you, though,” Savannah said. “I can read people’s auras, sense certain things about them, but you? You're a complete mystery.”
Abel smiled a slow, confident smile. “Witches know how to protect themselves,” he said. “We have spells that cloak us from others, but those spells don’t distinguish between those who mean us harm and those who don’t.”
“So you’re cloaked?” Savannah asked. “Is that why I can’t sense you?”
Abel nodded.
“Whom are you protecting yourself from?” Savannah asked.
His eyes grew cold, but that did nothing to take away from his handsome features. “From the monsters that prowl this forest at night,” he sa
id. “The dogs that call themselves wolves.”
Savannah felt her body grow cold and she realized that the enmity was not single-sided. She could tell from Abel’s tone that he feared and distrusted the shifters as much as they feared and distrusted him.
“What’s wrong?” Abel asked.
“I need your help,” Savannah said, fear clutching at her throat, “but I’m afraid that once you know who I am, you may not want to help me.”
Abel looked at her carefully. His eyes were hypnotically beautiful. “Tell me,” he said gently.
“I…” Savannah stumbled over her words, unsure of how to go on.
“Take a breath, Savannah.” Abel’s voice was calm. “I can tell that you mean us no harm, and for that I will trust you. Tell me why you have come here.”
“I met a boy shortly after I moved to this town,” Savannah said, throwing herself into the narration. “We fell in love, but we couldn’t be together, because it wasn’t allowed.”
Abel’s eyebrows rose again and Savannah fell silent. “You fell in love with a shifter,” Abel said as though he were not surprised.
“Yes.”
“Go on,” Abel said.
“We went before the elders to plead our case, but they refused us,” Savannah went on. “It was only when they discovered I was pregnant that they agreed to let us be together.”
“That's impossible,” Abel said.
“What do you mean?”
“The elders would never have agreed to your union simply because of a pregnancy. Unless, of course, the baby you’re carrying is a shifter.”
Savannah nodded.
She saw surprise flit across Abel’s face. “That is…unusual, to say the least,” he said. “And yet it seems your troubles are over, so I don’t understand why you need my help.”
“My union with Xander has caused some friction in the pack,” Savannah said guiltily. “One of the members, her name is Marissa, she was upset. She chose to leave the pack in order to make an alliance with another shifter from a neighbouring town.”
“I see,” Abel said. “Now that she's created a bridge, this new pack can challenge the old.”
“Exactly,” Savannah nodded. “Which means--”