A few wolves, all with glowing red eyes, crept into view. Reagan focused on Rowan’s face along with Papa’s and sent a cry for help. She only hoped they got it in time.
“Where’s my brother?”
“He’s fine. Just not ready to talk to you yet. Guess you said something bad about me. Tsk, tsk. Not a good idea. He’s never had a brother, and he’s happy with his new family. Even has his first girlfriend.” Rafe let the words hang before continuing, “But I’ll let him tell you more about it. All you have to do is come with me.” He offered his hand, palm up.
Desperate for more time to figure a way out of the mess, Reagan kept the conversation going. “Sam doesn’t know you like I do. But he’s smart, and he’ll figure it out. I’ve been told enough about what’s going on to know you won’t kill him. You need him. You need me.”
Quicker than she could react, he was on top of her. His teeth were bared but he was still in human form. She swore she saw his eyes flame red for a moment. “I could kill you right now. I have power like none of our kind has ever known, and my legacy is cemented.” Still on top of Reagan, he turned to face Madeleine. “Thanks to your sweet sister, that is.”
Madeleine transformed and launched her body into the air—the surrounding wolves reacting with their own leaps.
Reagan let loose with a feral bellow, clenching her fists and pushing Rafe with all she had. “No!” she screamed, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid seeing the inevitable clash of flying bodies. Stop! An eerie silence followed.
Reagan opened first one eye, then the other. Madeleine, Rafe, and a few other wolf buddies were suspended in the air; all of them caught in some kind of time collapse. Reagan stood, the only one who wasn’t affected by the phenomenon. Did I do this?
Just then, Rowan and Papa ran into the clearing. Both seemed stunned for a moment. Like Reagan, they didn’t seem to fully understanding what was happening. Then, Papa grabbed Madeleine, who resembled a wolf made from wax in her immobile state.
Without a word being uttered, Reagan transformed and took off, knowing Papa and Rowan were right behind her. She wasn’t sure how to get back to the cave, so she focused and hoped they would open a line with her.
Rowan, who must’ve sensed her confusion, came up to lead.
All Reagan saw was a kaleidoscope of green as they sped past the trees, and she felt the stress coursing through her veins accelerate her speed. When he stopped, she slammed into the back of him. Both of them tumbled into the cave, landing naked on top of each other as they transformed back. Eye to eye and breathing hard from their journey, she felt a flood of relief pass through her. She tossed back her hair, knowing she created a flaming red wave, and descended upon Rowan’s open mouth, kissing him like her life depended on it. More like she was grateful to be alive.
“Okay, kids, there’s a grandpa in the room.”
Noting Papa’s reaction, she became very aware of her naked body intertwined with Rowan’s and pulled back. Two very benevolent allies tossed over towels, and Reagan and Rowan quickly wrapped their bodies in the fabric. Heat spread to Reagan’s face, which she could feel glowing red from one cheek to the other.
Madeleine came up and offered her hand. “Thank you. I don’t know what you did out there. But you saved us. Friends?”
Reagan grasped the outstretched hand and shook it while being careful to hold onto the towel. “Friends.”
There was no guarantee their uneasy truce would survive, but she needed all the friends she could get right now. Especially powerful ones.
Clothed in her workout gear and starving, Reagan headed to the mess hall to get some food before the next session. Although it had only been a day and a half since the Rafe incident, she still found it difficult to concentrate. No rest for the weary, or so Madeleine said soon after their friend declaration. Armed with a steak and baked potato, and still amazed at the standard of living amongst wolves in a cave setting, Reagan searched for a familiar face. Papa, Madeleine, and Rowan were nowhere to be found, but Sasha and Ricardo were sitting together.
“May I join you?”
“Absolutely. Heard you pulled a pretty cool stunt. Care to share your secrets?” Sasha asked between bites.
“I’d teach every one of you if I thought it would end all this. Oh, and if I had any freaking clue how I did it.” Reagan was frustrated, feeling out of her league. If knowledge was power, she was a servant in the King’s court. “All I know is that I wasn’t going to let Rafe win.”
“You know several of us were with him at one point. He wasn’t always this way. He and Rowan dealt some bad blows and…” Ricardo trailed off when Sasha shook her head.
“It’s not our story to tell,” Sasha said, barely above a whisper.
Silence settled, and all three of them returned to eating their food. Within minutes, the noise level spiked. Commotion was all around them, with people coming and going and chairs sliding in and out. But Reagan could only hear the clanking of forks on plates.
“I get it, really. I’m not trying to get anyone to speak out of turn. It’s just that Papa and Rowan rarely have time to talk. Or, maybe they don’t want me to know. It’s hard to understand how things got this bad, though, without some idea of what happened in the past.” Reagan said her peace and then pushed back from the table. “See you guys around.” She carried her remaining food to the trash and deposited her tray and utensils in the big sinks near the kitchen.
With a sigh, she shook off her frustration and headed back to the workout room. Nothing helped push away her emotions better these days than releasing some endorphins. When she walked into the gym nobody was there. Determined to get started, she walked over to the equipment area and found some boxing gloves. Once they were in place, she headed to the hanging bags and let some energy loose.
“You’ve come a long way, dear.” Papa stood at the entrance, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Madeleine’s an excellent coach. Where is she, by the way?” she asked, reaching for a bottle of water and a white towel.
“Today, I wanted you to work with someone who could enhance some of your other skills.”
Before she could ask who this mysterious person was, or what skills he was referring to, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned to see Rowan in the entryway.
“Is she here yet?” Papa asked.
“Yes. Madeleine and I met her far outside of camp and then I brought her here myself. She needed to use the restroom. Madeleine is with her. They should be here any minute.”
“It hasn’t been that long since we came back from,” Reagan began, pausing in search of the right description of what happened earlier, “from the incident with Rafe.” She searched Rowan’s face for some kind of reaction to hearing his brother’s name, but she didn’t see any.
“We’re fast. What can I say?”
Just then, Madeleine rounded the corner followed by Nana.
“Oh my God, Nana!” Reagan yelled, wasting no time scurrying over and wrapping her grandmother up in a hug. Pulling away enough to see her face without letting go, Reagan smiled. “I can’t believe you’re here.” Nana always smelled of herbs, although Reagan could never pinpoint which ones. Relief and a sense of safety washed over her, and she felt like a normal teenager again—at least for a moment.
“Me either. I was quite surprised when Jed contacted me and asked me to come. Guess you showed some strengths today he thought I could help with. I’m so proud of you. I knew you had it in you. But we don’t have a lot of time.” Nana turned to her husband, with one arm still around Reagan. “I need a quiet space.”
“This way,” he said.
Rowan and Madeleine stepped aside to let Reagan, Nana, and Papa out. Turning left, they walked down the long hallway. Reagan hadn’t been in this section of the cave before.
“You ladies can work in here,” Papa said, as he entered the room and flipped the light switch. It was the library.
Every time she tried to na
vigate the intricate passageways, she became more confused—especially with rooms that had two entrances like this one. But being here made sense. It looked very similar to the same space in the previous cave.
Nana honed in on the two books Papa had shared with Reagan earlier. “I can’t believe you have this.” Fingering the front cover for several minutes, Nana finally opened it. She drew in a breath. “I thought it was destroyed. Or lost.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Your mother asked me to keep it safe. She knew things were coming to a head.” He walked over and kissed her forehead. “We’ll have some time to talk before you leave, but for now, I want you to focus on Reagan. I think Rowan explained what our granddaughter did today.”
“He did. And I think that’s only the tip of what she can do.”
“That’s what I hoped you’d say.” Papa took the two women’s hands and joined them together. “Two of my girls, working together; it would only be sweeter if my other two girls were here.”
“Susie, and Sarah for that matter, wanted to come. Rowan and Madeleine thought one would travel faster.”
“A good call. There’ll be a day when we can all sit together and be a family again. I truly believe that. But it can’t happen if we lose. For now, I need Reagan prepared. But later, like I promised, you and I can talk. I’ll need your help locating Cheveyo, like we discussed before.”
Nana nodded, and Papa kissed them each on the cheek. “If you need anything, Reagan knows how to get in touch with me. As I suspect you do.” He tilted Nana’s head up, and kissed her long and hard.
Reagan blushed and looked down, trying to give them a moment of privacy.
Papa pulled away and stroked Nana’s cheek before letting go and leaving.
“Ahem,” Reagan said to get her grandmother’s attention.
Nana, who’d been staring at her love’s retreating form, shook her head. “Okay, time to get to work. A lot of what we need is in this book. I want you to read it through and study it. It’ll be very important for you.”
Reagan had never seen such a serious side of Nana. For too many years they were kept apart. Then, when she’d finally come back into Reagan’s life, it was as nurturer and protector. Now, they needed to get down to business. She never wanted to feel as helpless as she did the other day with Rafe and his demon wolves.
“Are there spells I need to memorize?”
“In the heat of battle, a spell won’t do you much good. Although there are some we may need before this is over. I want you to trust your instincts and draw from your power. Plus, you’ll want to read some of Cecilia’s more personal notes. Now, think back to the times you’ve used magic, or a time you’ve linked with someone. How did you do it?”
Reagan closed her eyes and cast her mind to those moments. “Today I was afraid. I saw Madeleine pouncing, we were surrounded, and Rafe was so strong. I just wanted some time to think. I wanted it to stop.” Walking around the room, Reagan focused on the scene in her head. “I kept saying ‘stop’ in my head, over and over again.”
A smile spread across Nana’s face.
“Is that it? Do I just need to concentrate and think about what I want to happen?” Reagan didn’t believe it could be that easy. “So if I concentrate on a piece of Mom’s pecan pie, one will appear?” She was kidding around, trying to lighten the mood, but Nana didn’t seem to appreciate it.
“This isn’t a joke. I need you to be serious.”
“I’m sorry.” Reagan began pacing again. “This is all so much. A vague prophecy, being a werewolf, so many people depending on me.” She stopped, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I just want to go back to high school, back to a normal life: prom, graduation, shopping for my dorm room. If I could do anything, use this supposed power I have for one simple wish, I’d go back to the day before that damned Yellowstone trip, and I’d convince my family not to go.” With the last word, she fell into a heap on the floor and gave herself permission to sulk.
Nana walked over, crouched down, and wrapped her arms around Reagan. “Oh, your grandmother is getting way too old and has entirely too many pains to hold this position,” Nana said, lowering herself to the floor to sit, never letting go of her granddaughter. “Don’t you think I felt the very same way all those years ago? If it was possible to change fate, don’t you think I would’ve gone back in time and forced your grandfather to stay with me?”
Both of them stayed huddled for a little while, gaining power from each other—the power necessary to move on and do what they needed to do. Reagan was the first to break the contact. She wiped away the tears and stood, putting her hand out to help Nana back to her feet. “I need you to teach me. I won’t let this evil take anything else away from either of us. We’re going to save Sam, end this stupid curse, and be a family again. If it’s the last damn thing I do.” Reagan hit the desk with her fist. “Let’s get to work.”
“First, let me admit, I don’t fully understand your power. It’s much stronger than mine. I’ve never done anything like what you did today. But, then again, I was never in the middle of a battleground. Even your aunt, who’s studied the craft since she was quite young, has never stopped time like that.”
Reagan considered what she was hearing, but it didn’t make sense. “But I’ve never trained.”
“It must have something to do with the combination of your werewolf instincts and your natural skills from my line. Nevertheless, you need to control it. In a moment of panic, I don’t want you to do something you’d regret. All that power can go wrong. Look at Rafe.”
Reagan could only imagine the dangers of a misstep with magic, or even with her werewolf strength. What if she made a mistake? Or worse, what if she was tricked?
“Sam has been reaching out. I want so desperately to go to him, to see for myself that he’s alive, but I don’t trust Rafe’s influence over him. The last thing I want to do is watch my brother die all over again. I couldn’t bear it.”
“I would never let that happen.”
Nana and Reagan startled at the sound of a male voice.
Rowan continued, “I have one job, and one job only now that you’re here.” With each word, he walked one step closer to Reagan, concentrating on her like Nana wasn’t even in the room. “To keep you safe.”
“Maybe it’s time you told both of us what we’re dealing with. I saw something today,” Reagan started. She hesitated, wondering if she imagined it. “Papa told me some wolves never change back, that they’re harder to kill but easy to spot. He said they had red eyes.” Again, she paused. So much of this was unbelievable to her. “So seeing those wolves didn’t come as a shock. But then something weird happened. When Rafe had me pinned, I could swear I saw his eyes go red for an instant.” There, she’d said it. She searched Rowan’s face for a reaction. Instead, he cast his eyes to the floor.
“He wasn’t always that way, you know. We were so close, only twenty months between us. It was always the two of us against the world, especially after Dad died. Mom was never quite the same. Actually, she was never the same once Rafe was born. We’d often hear our parents fighting about him. My brother would start to cry, so I’d do anything to drown out their voices, to not have him hear what they were saying. One night, he was asleep, and I heard them talking. I must’ve been twelve or so, and Rafe ten.” He stopped for a moment, and pulled out a chair so he could sit.
Nana and Reagan followed suit to listen to the rest of the story.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My dad was threatening to take me away, to leave Mom with her ‘Devil spawn son.’ His exact words. My mother was crying, and all I could hear was banging. My guess now is he was packing his bags. The banging got louder and then there was a scream. I ran into their room.” Rowan looked at the desk, shaking his head from side to side and closing his eyes.
Reagan could sense he was trying to remember the image while at the same time wishing it away. Or at least she knew that’s how she felt when she tried to remember Yellowstone and
the night she thought her brother was killed. She could see the pain etched in Rowan’s face. All she wanted was to make this easier for him, so she reached across the table and took his hand.
He jerked back and stood. “My father was dead. She’d hit him with the base of a lamp. I ran to him, tried to shake him, but I was too late. I turned and looked at her, trying to understand why she’d do something like that. Her eyes were dead. Rafe must have heard the commotion, because he came running into the room. All he saw was me draped over our father’s dead body. Rafe tried to run to us, but my mother stopped him. She gathered him up in her arms like a baby, and took him from the room. I was so angry and confused. I knew my parents would fight from time to time, but…” Rowan hesitated.
“I’m so sorry,” Nana and Reagan said in unison.
“You were only a child. There was nothing you could do,” Reagan said, but she sensed her words wouldn’t help; she knew she would’ve felt responsible, too.
“Not two years later, Rafe tried to run away. My mother started screaming—an eerie scream. I think she was going mad with what she’d done. I ran into the woods after my brother, and we were attacked. I don’t remember much of the details, but we woke the next morning barely alive and quickly healing.”
“You were attacked by werewolves.” Reagan’s heart broke for everything he’d been through.
He nodded. “But we were alive. Rafe was worse off than me, so I carried him back home. I can only imagine what it looked like to my mom when she came rushing out the front door. I’m sure she thought he was dead. She fell to the ground and started screaming. I told her we were both going to be okay, and she calmed down. But over the next few weeks, she could see the changes. Rafe was more obviously affected, the changes made him more confident and angrier than before. One day, I heard a gunshot and went running up to her room.”
God, no, Reagan thought. Please don’t let it be what I’m thinking.
“She took her own life.”
Nana walked over to him and took his hand. “Oh, dear. That’s something no son, or anyone, should have to see. I’m so very sorry.”
Tala Prophecy: The Complete Series Page 23