by Kali Harper
“I need you guys to go back. There could be another—”
I zoned the rest of Lance’s conversation out, my stomach rolling as I tried to stand. Ida was right there with me, helping me to my feet and holding me steady when the entire world shifted to the right. I never fell, but the world continued to shift. After closing my eyes and taking a handful of breaths, I didn’t feel any better.
“Maybe we should get you home,” Ida offered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as she slowly guided me over to Felix’s truck.
“I can fly—”
“Oh no you don’t,” she told me, taking my broomstick as soon as I summoned it. “We can do this the old-fashion way.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive,” I told her as she helped me into the passenger seat.
“Don’t have to,” she said with a shrug.
Lance came around the car then, placing a very tired Sammy in my lap before closing the door.“Take her straight home,” Lance ordered, leaning in my window as Ida climbed into the front seat. “I mean it.”
“Where else would we go?” she asked, rummaging around for the keys and finding them under the visor before dangling them between us. Turns out not even Max bothered to confiscate them.
“What about Joe?” I argued. Keeping him in a cage was one thing, but I was pretty sure the other wolves could smell him as well as hear him whenever he howled.
“I can keep him calm,” Maggie said, hovering to the back of the truck.
“Never mind. Maggie’s got it.”
“Get her home,” Lance said again. “Once you do, I want you both to stay there. Don’t let her leave.”
“Goodness, child, you’d think this was my first time keeping an eye on a newly awakened witch,” Ida said as she put Felix’s car into gear. “Why do you think I locked you in your room most of the time?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “Trust me. I have everything under control.”
Apparently pleased with her response, Lance stepped away from the truck and watched us go. I kept an eye on his tiny figure in the mirror, his eyes never leaving mine until Ida turned the corner toward home. She turned again, and as silence fell between us, the cab of the car warmed. This isn’t the right way…
“Ida…”
“I won’t tell if you don’t,” she said, her eyes on the road in front of us.
We were going to find Marcy.
Chapter Fourteen
Good thing Ida knew where she was going. I’d never been to Joe and Marcy’s house before. Out of the entire town, they were one of the few couples who didn’t throw barbecues in the summer or take part in most of Emberdale’s events. At least I didn’t think they did, but that was before I had magic, so I was terribly out of the loop. Maggie, on the other hand, had come this way before, going on about when Joe and Marcy had first moved in together.
“It was terribly sudden,” she said from her place in the back of the truck. “Marcy moved to town, and not a week later, she moved in with him.”
“I almost moved in with you,” I reminded her, thinking of when I’d first arrived in Emberdale.
“Not the same thing.”
“They were in love,” Ida said, turning into a parking lot behind the row of townhouses. “She’d moved here to be with him. I remember Joe going on and on about someone he’d met online.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” I decided, staring at the townhome without opening my door. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to walk that far. The front of the house was narrow and had a set of steps with a sidewalk leading out to the driveway where Marcy’s car was still parked. “Looks like she didn’t go into work after all.”
“Or the town meeting,” Ida added, getting out of her side of the car before coming around to mine.
The area was eerily quiet, the other driveways free of cars, kids’ toys, or anything else for that matter. It seemed as though everyone had received Max’s summons except Marcy.
“Do you think she’s still here?” Ida asked.
“Her car’s here,” I said. “Where would she go?”
Ida shrugged and opened my door, fixing the strap to her purse before placing her hat on the dash of the truck. Her red hair spilled in long tendrils across her shoulders, catching fire when the sunlight hit it just right. Of all the people in town, Ida was one of the most interesting ones I knew.
I didn’t think as much when I first met her, but her dyed hair made an impression I’d never forget. While Maggie let her hair go gray, Ida colored her own. The vibrant color matched her personality perfectly.
I’d never had the heart to ask, but I sometimes wondered what happened to Lance’s dad. He’d never mentioned him. In fact, no one in town talked about him for as long as I could remember.
“Ida,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Did you ever marry?” Okay, so it was a bit direct, but I couldn’t help my diarrhea of the mouth when I was this exhausted.
Her smile was weak and almost forced. “Once upon a time, yes. Lance kept his name out of respect.”
“What happened to him? I don’t mean to pry, but—”
“Lance is a closed book,” she said with a nod. “These are things you should be asking him, not his own mother. The subject of his father is one we don’t see eye-to-eye on. One of the only things, in fact.”
“I guess I’ll have to,” I agreed, studying our surroundings.
My breath caught when something moved out of the corner of my eye. It was dark and quick, and when I finally focused on it, my heart jumped. There, wearing the same clothing as the day before, was Marcy. Her sleeves were torn with fresh blood along her right arm which she held close to her chest.
She hurried down the sidewalk, her eyes downcast as she made a beeline for her car, not even realizing we were there. Ida grabbed my arm and gave it a squeeze. I nodded but didn’t say anything, my eyes on Marcy and her hair which was in complete disarray. By the look of things, she hadn’t slept in days, the dark circles under her eyes terribly noticeable against her pale skin.
In her other hand, she pulled a rather large piece of luggage, the wheels clacking against the sidewalk as she dragged it along behind her.
Getting out of the car with Ida’s help, I left Sammy in the cab to sleep. “Marcy?”
She stopped with a start, her eyes going wide once she realized who we’d brought with us. Joe couldn’t see her, but he’d obviously smelled her, whimpering and turning circles in his cage as Marcy did a double-take.
“Are you okay?” I asked when she didn’t answer, closing the cab door behind me.
“Where are you going?” Ida asked, her eyes fixed on Marcy’s luggage.
“Well, where do you think?” Marcy stuttered. “This place is crawling with wolves. I’m doing what any sane person would do.”
“Did he bite you?” I asked, closing the distance between us and stopping short of touching her as she took a step back. “Marcy, it could be infected. Maybe you should have—”
“And let you cage me the same way you’ve done to him?” she cried, gesturing in Joe’s direction. “Joe doesn’t deserve this—to be caged like some kind of animal.”
“I never said the wolf was Joe.”
The bit of color drained from her face, her eyes as wide as they could go as she reached behind her, catching herself before she could fall. “Wait, I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant.”
“Careful, Astrid,” Maggie warned, appearing beside me. “You’re too drained to handle something like this.”
I shook my head and pushed her concerns to the side, never taking my eyes off of Marcy who, at the moment, was acting like a cornered animal. She looked everywhere but at me, her grip on her luggage so tight, it looked almost painful.
Keeping my voice level, I dipped my head until I could see her eyes. “Joe’s in quarantine, I swear. Once he’s away from the elixir for enough time, he’ll shift back.”
“Elixir?”
“Someone thought it
would be a good idea to put a Lycanth Elixir in the water,” I explained, my chest tightening as I spoke.
“Oh,” her face fell. “Who would do such a thing?”
Looking from her to Ida, I already knew. “I think you know. You may be running, but it isn’t from the wolves, is it?”
Her eyes darted between me and Ida. When she spoke again, her words came out in a growl. “Let it go, Astrid. Let him… let us both go.” There was a glint in her eyes. “He doesn’t deserve to be caged like that, even if it is what you say.”
“A man died because of him,” Ida said, stepping up beside me and crossing her arms over her chest. “And you’d know this if you bothered to show up to the town meeting.”
“Ida,” Marcy said as she dug in her pocket for her keys, wincing from what appeared to be a very nasty bite along her arm. The bite was deep and required stitches, but the edges had already started to heal.
“Marcy, how long have you had this?” I asked her, holding out my hands to inspect the bite.
She jerked her arm away and immediately cried out when she did. “Don’t touch me!”
“Okay. Okay.” I held up both my hands and took a step back, motioning for Ida to do the same. Behind us, Joe howled, forcing a chill down my spine. “See? He’s worried about you. Do you have a place to stay?” I asked, keeping my voice level. “If it’s this house you’re worried about—”
Marcy didn’t hesitate. “No! No, that’s perfectly okay. I have a f-family waiting for me until this all blows over.”
Looking from her to Joe and back again, I couldn’t help noticing how she held herself. She was nervous. More than that, she was afraid, but not of us, Joe, or even the town.
“You put it in the water, didn’t you?” I finally asked, having suspected it when I first noticed her luggage.
She bristled and gripped the handle to her bag as her face twisted in pain. She held the same expression I’d seen on Max before his shift. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she growled, clenching her jaw as she did.
“Yesterday you told me you eavesdrop sometimes.” I took a step toward her, then another until Ida was behind me. My legs refused to work, but I wasn’t about to let her leave. “You told me about a prank Dillon was planning.”
“Let it go, Astrid,” Marcy said again, a flash of gold appearing in her eyes.
Squaring my shoulders and standing as tall as I could, I looked down at her. “You knew about the attacks on Kyle’s cows because you heard Lance say something about it on his phone. This was after Joe was bitten by a stray, which, according to you, had been checked out. You also overhead Dillon and the Henderson kids talk about the best way to spread something in town, which probably means you also heard them talk about the Lycanth Elixir.”
“So what? People talk,” she said, doubling over with an audible crack.
“You did it to protect him, didn’t you? You knew he was infected, but instead of telling someone and getting him in trouble, you kept him safe. You kept him home.”
“Astrid,” Ida said, placing a hand on my shoulder, “maybe we should call Lance—”
The sound of nearby sirens cut her off, and as they did, Marcy released the luggage and ran at us. I had just enough time to place a shield around us, one of which broke in a matter of seconds. Ida was thrown to my right as Marcy pinned me to the truck, her eyes glowing.
Dark spots crowded my vision as I tried to shield myself again, but already over my limit and with Sammy still worn out, all I could do was watch and listen.
“Why, Marcy?” I gasped for breath. “Why risk your time here to protect him? He could get help. He could’ve gotten a charm from Harris.” I coughed when she pressed hard against my chest. “By hiding his shift and the one who infected him, you’re responsible for his actions. For your actions. Someone is dead because of what you did.” I drew in a painful breath as my lungs burned with fire. “Do you want to be held accountable for one more?”
She pulled back, scrambling away from me. “Astrid, I…” She was staring at her hand. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Who infected Joe?” I asked as I struggled to remain conscious. “If they’re still out there—”
“You haven’t figured it out, have you?” She almost laughed, leaning in close so only I would hear. “I bit him. It was me. There, happy?” She waited until I met her gaze. “And I’ll do the same to you if you don’t keep your mouth shut.”
I swallowed hard, expecting her to attack me again. Instead, she ran to the end of the street and flagged Lance down, rambling off some nonsense about me and Ida and why we were here. A wolf was mentioned, but the details on what she said were lost to me as I closed my eyes, sweet darkness enveloping my mind.
“Astrid,” Lance’s voice sounded far away.
“Don’t let her leave…” I managed, “she’s the one.”
Lance ordered someone to watch after me. A minute later, I was floating, carried in someone’s arms.
“Easy.” It was Ivan’s voice, his deep rumble a welcomed surprise over the one I’d just faced. “Don’t move. Lance has it covered.”
“Ivan?”
“It’s okay,” he said in a low whisper, putting me into the back of a nearby patrol car along with Ida. “We’ll get you two checked out, then you can go home.”
“Sammy,” I coughed. “He’s still—”
“I got him right here.” This time the voice belonged to Kat who sat to the other side of me as Ivan closed the door. “Don’t ever go off like that again.”
“Kat?” My head was swimming. Where had everyone come from?
“When Lance came back to tell me Ida was taking you home, I lost my mind,” Kat explained.
I managed a small laugh but didn’t bother opening my eyes. “Thanks for watching out for me.”
“It’s a good thing I did. What happened to your neck? It’s red,” she said, poking at the tender flesh.
“I got on Marcy’s bad side,” I admitted, feeling extremely foolish for doing so.
“And she protected me,” Ida added, placing a hand on my knee.
“You can thank her later,” I heard Ivan say, probably from the front seat, “but before you do, I’d like to get you both checked out.”
“No hospitals,” I rasped, “or vets,” I added when Sammy stirred in my lap. “We’ll be fine—”
“Lance’s orders,” Ivan told us both. “And this time, there’s no running after criminals.”
“I’m done. I swear.”
“Where have I heard this before?” Kat asked, gently rubbing my arm.
“No more,” I repeated, leaning my head back as blood pooled and throbbed behind my temples.
“We’ll see.”
After promising not to use magic for two whole weeks and going in for a follow-up, Kat took me home along with Sammy who was given the same exact orders. No wards. No nothing.
“How am I supposed to protect—”
“Lance will have officers posted outside the house at all times,” Kat told Sammy, reaching across the console to scratch behind his ears. “Of all people in this town, you both should know better. What is it with you going after trouble?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea,” I said, watching the scenery outside as I fought to keep my eyes open. “Ida was the mastermind this time. I was only there for the ride.”
“And instead of calling for help, you went after Marcy.”
“I didn’t realize she was a wolf, Kat,” I said, not looking at her. “Not at first, anyway.”
The bit of information I’d managed to get from Ivan and Lance wasn’t much, but then, I guess it didn’t matter. According to Lance, Marcy had kept Joe home until she could get his shifts under control. The one thing she didn’t count on was his wolf’s hunger being so extreme, he broke out of the house with his magic and went after whatever he could find.
Fortunately, he only went after Kyle’s cows, and we still had no idea who killed Davy Mills. Whoever did, they were o
ut of their own minds. I hadn’t had a chance to ask, but I had a feeling because of the stunt she by pulled by putting the Lycanth Elixir in the water, Marcy would be charged with murder as well as spreading an infection all throughout town.
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Kat said as she pulled into my driveway. “You’re lucky we got there when we did. Well, would you look at that?”
Lifting my gaze, I smiled when I saw not only the officers responsible for watching after me for the next handful of days until Sammy regained his strength but Lance and Ida as well. Lance was still wearing the same clothes as before, his injured arm sporting a blue sling. He said something to Ida, kissed her on the forehead, then released her before coming around my side of the car.
“No detours,” he said, helping me get out. “That’s just the way I like it.”
“She did ask for coffee, though,” Kat said with a laugh when she joined us, taking Sammy in her arms who nuzzled under her chin. The poor guy, I almost felt bad for him.
“Joe will be absent for a few days, so you’ll have to get your fix somewhere else” Lance informed us, opening the front door to Maggie’s old place and ushering us inside.
“He hasn’t shifted back yet?” I asked, releasing a sigh once I had a chance to sit on the sofa and kick off my shoes. Man, it felt good to be home.
“Not yet,” Lance said, draping his jacket over the back of the chair and sitting across from me. “Felix is still making cages for those who are left, but the elixir wasn’t our only problem. Max was bitten by one of the wolves, so our shifter count might have to increase a bit unless we can reverse it. He wasn’t the only one, either.”
“Joe,” I said, a pang of regret hitting my chest.
“Bitten by Marcy,” Lance said with a nod.
“Wait,” I said, sitting straight up, “I thought it was the other way around. I saw the mark on her arm.”
“Did you see the raised edges and how they’d already healed?” When I nodded, Lance continued. “Many shifters heal at an alarming rate. Marcy didn’t say a word when I questioned her, but Joe told us everything. According to him, he came home the other night to find her shifted in the living room. She hadn’t expected him home so early and, caught off guard, they got into a huge fight about her hiding the truth from him.”