No Crones About It

by Amanda M. Lee

  Drake sent me a questioning look, fearful.

  “He’s not dead,” I reassured him with a whisper. “You said not all the pack members would fight with Flint. I’m only interested in hurting those who fight against us.”

  He nodded and turned forward. “It’s only a few more minutes.”

  “Then we must be silent,” I warned. “It’s very important now.”

  No one argued.

  The more sentries that appeared, the more dangerous it became to knock them out. Instead, I resorted to another spell.

  “Don’t let them see,” I murmured. “Keep them blind. Let us be.”

  Gunner’s hand moved to my back as we continued walking. It was almost as if he could sense the weariness pervading my soul. The more energy I expended the less I had in the tank for the final fight. “How much longer?” he finally hissed to Drake.

  “We’re here,” Drake replied, inclining his chin toward a rock wall. There looked to be an opening in the back, a cave. “Raisin will be in there ... with Flint.”

  “How many others?” I asked.

  “No more than four or five.”

  He spoke loud enough this time to cause one of the female pack members to jerk her head in our direction. I made up my mind on the spot.

  “Go.” I gave Gunner a shove, sending the magical veil with them, and then stepped out from the protective curtain. He fought the effort, tried to move so he could stand with me, but Rooster obviously understood what I was doing and kept a firm hold on him.

  The second I became visible the pack members started yelling and circling. The other members of my group were beyond the circle they formed, so they were safe and they had a clear path to the cave.

  Gunner desperately fought Rooster, but he couldn’t call out to me because Marissa had her hand clamped firmly over his mouth. Drake joined in the effort, and between the two of them kept Gunner from struggling further. The last thing I saw was his desperate gaze before he disappeared into the cave.

  I focused on the pack members. My magic was split until they made the decision to drop the veil. I had to keep funneling power in that direction to give them their best chance. We had too much riding on this to fail now.

  “Hello, ladies and gentlemen,” I drawled, hoping bravado would win out over most of them. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

  One of the men — he was absolutely huge — stepped directly in front of me and glared. “What are you doing here? This is protected land. You weren’t invited in.”

  “Sure I was. Flint sent the invitation himself.”

  The man was taken aback. “I ... he did?”

  Obviously, in this particular case, brawn didn’t translate to brains. “He did. He wants me to join your pack.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s a moron.” I saw no reason to lie. “He thinks he can harness my powers for himself. I have news for him. That’s not going to happen.” The veil was still up. They were still in hiding. Why? They should be moving by now.

  “Well, I’m sure you won’t mind if we ask him about it,” the man supplied with a sneer. “We have security protocols. I’m sure you understand.”

  I absolutely understood. I also couldn’t let anyone enter that cave. That would cut me off from my people. I couldn’t have that.

  “Listen, I need you guys to back off.” I was tired, like “go to bed for an entire weekend” tired. I was also out of patience. “I don’t have time for you guys. I don’t know if you’re evil or just confused. It doesn’t really matter, though. I’m going after Flint and you’re not going to stop me.”

  “We’re not going to allow that.” The man was adamant. “We’ll protect Flint with our lives.”

  A low murmur went through the crowd and I could hear the dissent.

  “I don’t think the others agree with you,” I countered. “Believe it or not, I don’t want to hurt you. I only want Flint. He’s taken something very valuable and I want it back.”

  “What has he taken?” This time it was a woman who spoke. She looked to be in her twenties, but the exhaustion permeating her gave the impression she was much older. “We need money.”

  “It’s not money. I wouldn’t have risked this for money. It’s a girl. He took a teenager and I’m going to get her back. That’s not up for debate. You have no say in that. The only thing you have a say in is whether I take you out to get her back.”

  “A girl?” The woman furrowed her brow and glanced around. “Did anyone see Flint bring in a teenager?”

  Most of the pack members shook their heads, seemingly bewildered. Several, though, looked grim. I focused on them.

  “The rest of you need to go,” I ordered. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t want to hurt you. I meant it, but I will kill you if I have to.” My voice sounded strained. I would wear out quickly if they didn’t step out from the shield. “Don’t force me to kill you. It won’t make anybody happy ... and it won’t stop anything. Flint is going down.”

  The woman held my gaze for a long beat and then lifted her finger and pointed ... away from the cave. “I won’t stop you. In fact, I wish you well. If you kill him, make it hurt.”

  “Arabella,” the alpha male in front of me groaned. “You can’t just abandon the cause.”

  “This isn’t my cause, Dorian,” she replied with a shrug. “Besides, he’s already lost. If you can’t see that, I feel sorry for you.”

  Arabella started for the trees, most of the shifters following. Only three remained; Dorian and two others ... and they were all huge.

  “I guess you guys are the idiots, huh?” I heaved out a sigh. “Well, let’s do this.” I clutched my hands into fists, causing Dorian to smirk. “You think this is funny?”

  He nodded. “You can’t take us. You’re barely standing.”

  He wasn’t wrong. Still, I wouldn’t give up. “Looks can be deceiving.”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” Dorian took a menacing step in my direction and I braced myself for battle. It would be easier to use magic — in any other situation, I would have — but I was afraid that if I unleashed my power now that I would cause the veil to flicker. If that happened at the wrong moment, all would be lost.

  Dorian clearly didn’t have a problem fighting a woman, leading with a roundhouse punch directed at my face. I easily sidestepped it while gripping both my fists together and slamming them up into his chin. His eyes went wide and rolled back into his head as he fell backward with a thud. He turned out to be easier than I thought. The other two wouldn’t fall for the same ploy.

  “You guys need to back off,” I ordered, my head going light. I couldn’t last much longer. Instead of lessening the power I was pooling into the veil, I doubled it. The magic might be able to last a bit longer even if I fell here. It was all I could hope for.

  “We’re not going to back off,” replied one of the men, a blond with a large scar on his cheek. “We’re taking you down ... and then we’re going to take that magic for ourselves. Screw Flint. You’re the big prize everyone wants, so we’re taking you.”

  “Well, great.” This was the end. I couldn’t maintain my energy level much longer. “Bring it on.”

  He stepped forward, mayhem written all over his features, and he almost looked gleeful about what was to come. “This is going to hurt.”

  I had no doubt, and braced myself for oblivion.

  And then it happened. The veil broke ... and all the remnants of the magic I funneled into protecting my friends rushed back into me. It wasn’t a full charge, but it was more than enough for what I needed.

  The man advanced, his hands outstretched, and I lulled him in. I acted weak, as if I was going to fall down. I gave every impression that I was going to tumble, and then I recovered when he overreached.

  “This was a huge mistake,” I hissed, grabbing his arm and twisting as hard as I could. I funneled some of the magic I’d regained into the move and the sound of breaking bone filled the air, followed quickly by an agonized c
ry.

  “You broke my arm, you ... !”

  I ignored his griping and slammed my foot into his face as he dropped to the ground. He was out quickly, which left only one more.

  I was definitely feeling better, but the momentary rush wouldn’t last. All I had to do was hold the final guy off long enough for Rooster and Gunner to finish their mission. They could easily take out Flint and whatever comrades he kept close inside the cave. Their battle would ultimately be easy, which is what I wanted.

  “It’s just you and me,” I offered.

  The last wolf looked conflicted.

  “You can still run,” I offered. “No one will ever know that you were bested by a girl.”

  That was probably a mistake. The remark only doubled his resolve. His eyes filled with fire as he turned back to me.

  “Me and my big mouth,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Well, you’re just as dumb as the others. I should’ve seen that coming. You guys couldn’t even claim a normal IQ collectively.”

  He let loose a howl and tore toward me. I raised my hands, uprooting the nearest tree and sending it crashing in his direction. He turned at the sound, which allowed me to slam my fist into his face. He was hit with two weapons at the same time – one much bigger than the other – and crumpled to the ground. He didn’t as much as twitch after.

  “Well, that was entertaining,” I wheezed as I listed to the side, my hand immediately grabbing one of the branches from the fallen tree to hold myself up. “That didn’t go too poorly.”

  I was going to pass out. There was no fighting it now. I only hoped that I didn’t crash into the tree and inadvertently take out an eye while collapsing.

  “Scout!” Gunner’s arms were around me from behind as I started to fade, his breath ragged. “Are you okay?”

  His eyes were filled with concern, the mark of violence on his cheek telling me he’d participated in a fight of his own, as he lowered both of us to the ground. “I’m okay,” I lied. “I’m great.” I sent him a thumbs-up.

  “You’re a moron.” He kissed my forehead and cradled me against him. “I’m really mad at you right now.”

  “I know.” I closed my eyes. “Is Raisin okay?”

  “She’s fine. She’s actually excited about what happened. She thinks it’ll be good motivation for a chilling performance for her play.”

  “That’s good.” I meant it. “Sarah?”

  “Not here, but Flint gave Drake her location before ... well, before it was over.”

  So he was dead. That was good. “Who killed him?”

  “Drake. We couldn’t stop him.”

  “Did you want to?”

  “No. Flint had it coming.”

  “Yeah.” I rested my head against his chest. “I really need a nap. You won’t think less of me if I take one here, will you?”

  He chuckled, the sound like a warm blanket as I began to slip under. “No. I’ll take care of you. Sleep. I’ll buy you the biggest, most expensive dinner in history as long as you wake again.”

  I realized he was still afraid and tried to comfort him even as the blackness swooped in. “I will. This isn’t the first time this has happened.”

  “That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  His lips were against my forehead. “I certainly hope not.”

  That’s the last thing I heard before I slipped into dreamless darkness.

  Thirty

  I woke to birds chirping, a cat purring, and snoring in my ear. I took a moment to test my muscles by stretching and cringed. I was sorer than I thought, the physical fight combining with the magic overload to make for one wickedly painful morning.

  “Ugh.”

  “Shh.” Gunner ran his hands over the back of my head and drew me close. “Go back to sleep.”

  I had to swallow a laugh. He didn’t exactly look as if he was prostrate with worry. “What time is it?”

  “Bedtime,” he murmured.

  Instead of asking again, I turned to study the clock on the nightstand. It was almost ten, which was unbelievable. I’d slept for a good sixteen hours. “I don’t want to sleep my life away.”

  I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. The pedestal fan on the floor was pointed directly at my face and blew my hair, which was clearly too much temptation for Merlin, who pounced.

  “Hey.” I snagged him around the middle, ignoring the way he wriggled to escape. “You need to chill ... and we also need to have a conversation about the toilet paper. You need to knock that off.”

  Merlin didn’t look impressed with the suggestion.

  “I mean it,” I added. “This is my serious face.”

  Beside me, Gunner chuckled and wrenched open an eye. He looked much better than the last time I’d talked to him. “Your serious face, huh?”

  I nodded solemnly. “This cat is going to start following the rules.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or no more catnip.”

  “You’re strict.” He leaned forward to kiss me, but I immediately pulled away. “Oh, don’t even think about pulling the toothbrush thing. I can’t take it.”

  “I’m serious about that rule. I’m not breaking from it no matter what.”

  “Even though you almost died yesterday?”

  That was a gross exaggeration. “I didn’t almost die. I passed out. There’s a difference.”

  “And what do you think would’ve happened if you’d passed out before you took out the shifters? Do you think they would’ve just left you on the ground and gone on their merry way?”

  It was a fair question ... one I didn’t want to answer. “I don’t want to talk about me.” I meant it. “I want to know what happened in the cave. I passed out before I could hear the story.”

  “It’s not that great a story. From what I understand, most of the action happened outside the cave ... which is why I think you sent us ahead and remained behind. You knew that would be the case.”

  If he expected me to deny it he was about to be massively disappointed. “I knew that Flint would fall. He wasn’t smart enough, or strong enough, to take you guys on. He was a coward, and cowards are always easy to beat.”

  “You shouldn’t have stayed outside alone,” he chided. “You should’ve kept me with you.”

  “Raisin needed you.”

  “You needed me ... and I need you. I don’t want you to ever do that again. I don’t care what stakes we’re dealing with.”

  We both knew I couldn’t agree to those terms, so I decided to change the subject. “Did Drake find his sister?”

  Gunner nodded, his fingers gentle as they brushed my hair from my face. “She was less than an hour away. Marissa and Bonnie went with him. It was an easy takedown.”

  “And Sarah?” I was almost afraid to ask.

  “She’s been through a lot,” he replied simply. “I think it’s going to take some time for her to come around. She’s terrified. Flint traumatized her in ways I think we can imagine but won’t want to accept.”

  That’s exactly what I was afraid of. “Is Drake staying here?”

  “For the time being. Whistler is hooking him up with a job at the bar and Rooster is giving him one of the Spells Angels cabins for a bit. I don’t know for how long, but it’s what they both need for the time being.”

  The information was what I needed to hear. “That means he’ll be around.”

  “Yeah. He knows you have questions. So do I. I’m not telling you your business, but it might be best to give him a few days to recover. I wasn’t there, but my understanding is that Flint was keeping his sister in a cage — in an actual freaking cage — and he fell apart when they found her. He’s emotionally vulnerable right now.”

  “Who wouldn’t be? I won’t go after him right away. But I’ll want answers, and I won’t forget that.”

  “I know. I hope he can give them to you.”

  “But you don’t believe he can.”

  “I don’t kn
ow what to believe,” he clarified. “The thing is ... Cyrus lied to us. He knew more about Nexus than he let on. Flint basically let that slip before he died. He was laughing like a maniac when he admitted that he killed Fred — er, I mean George — in that clearing. Drake might not have been with him, but Cyrus was. My father confirmed it after the fact. That tissue found under George’s fingernails? Yeah, it matched Cyrus.”

  I pulled away enough that I could tip back my head and stare into his eyes. “Are you serious? We need to get to the hospital and question Cyrus.”

  He stopped me before I could climb out of bed. “He’s gone, Scout.”

  “He died? I thought he was going to make it.”

  “He’s not dead, at least as far as I know. A contingent of wolves led by a woman named Arabella checked him out of the hospital following his surgery. They disappeared while my father was helping us with the cleanup at the cove.”

  “Arabella?” I propped myself on my elbow. “She took the other wolves away when she realized there was going to be a fight. I thought she was a friend.”

  “Drake thought the same thing.” Gunner hesitated before continuing. “We don’t know that she took Cyrus to help him. It’s possible she took him to finish what Drake started.”

  That hadn’t even occurred to me. “Do you think that’s possible?”

  “I don’t know.” He moved his hands to my back and drew me close. “Stay here with me a little bit. Not all of us slept for sixteen hours. It was after three when I got into bed.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “Helping my father dispose of the dead shifters’ bodies. It’s not as if we can publicly bury them.”

  That made sense. “What about Drake? Your father isn’t going to arrest him for shooting Cyrus, is he?”

  “I don’t believe so. He’s not happy, but he understands what Drake was trying to do.”

  I wasn’t even sure what Drake was trying to do. “How was killing Cyrus going to get him his sister back?”

  “Drake believed that the other wolves were loyal to Cyrus rather than Flint, which turned out to be true. Drake thought that once Cyrus was dead the other wolves — many of whom were abused by Flint — would join with him and they would be able to torture Flint into telling him where Sarah was. It kind of worked out that way in the end. Instead of shifters to help with the torture, though, he had us.”