by Ben Alderson
The room falls silent as I try to process his words. “They didn’t come for me?”
“They came for you. As retribution for the lives lost during your escape, they want you, but they want this town, too.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
“This town was built for supernaturals, Savi. They know that, and war is coming.”
Before I can even respond to the knowledge that the hunters plan to kill every supernatural in Hillcrest, Chad and George barge into the room, not bothering to close the door behind them. I didn’t consider that they might be eavesdropping on my very private conversation with the hunter they despise. Just another stupid mistake to add to my overflowing list of mess-ups. Although, in this case, they’ve saved me the time it would have taken to clue them into a dangerous situation.
“If what Will said is true, then I am going to need your help again,” George says. “We have a camp to protect.”
“You mean, you want me to help with the boundary spell?” I ask. I don’t hide my shock. Sure, I helped with a basic healing spell, but invoking the magic needed to protect an entire community sounds like a hefty job for this fledgling.
“You can do this, Savi. Just trust yourself and trust your magic.”
“George… What if I mess up?” I whisper. I can’t be the reason the wolves are slaughtered. “If my magic fails, everyone dies.”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re stronger together, Savi. I know we can do this.”
“There isn’t enough time for you to teach me,” I say.
“I don’t need to teach you everything all at once. One thing at a time. Today, we learned about connecting, healing, and protection spells. Tomorrow, we’ll learn something else.” He smiles, and I can’t help but feel a sliver of hope ignite within me.
“You’re strong enough to do this, Savi,” Chad agrees. “We all see it. It’s time you do too.”
He’s right. They’re all right. I’m arguably the most powerful creature in existence, and I’m worried about failing? I should be excited to tap into the magic George left within me, because control over all three parts of myself will only make me a more formidable opponent. If I gain enough control, I can protect my friends, and I can finally put to rest this ridiculous ripple effect of bad decisions.
Before I can ask what George needs from me, his phone rings. The sound echoes around the quiet room, bouncing off the walls. The high-pitched jingles match my newfound cheery mood. That is, until Chad glances at the screen and what little color he has in his vampiric skin drains, revealing the true fear that lies beneath his usual façade.
Chapter Sixteen
George
I don’t recognize the number. Not as it flashes its black digits across my screen.
“Who is it?” Chad asks from beside me.
“No clue,” I tell him, prepared to pocket it. “I should—”
“Answer it, George, it could be important.”
“Of course, sorry. Perhaps it’s Elder Jane calling me to chase me down. She’ll keep me on the phone for sixty seconds so she can track me.” I roll my eyes, but there is something serious in Chad’s stare that causes me to pause. “You know who it is, don’t you?”
He doesn’t bother to cover it up. “Unfortunately, I do. Answer.”
Before it stops ringing, I quickly accept the call and press the cold plastic of the phone to my ear.
“Master Alcott, I was about to think you were ignoring me,” a soft yet deadly voice regards me. “I thank the lucky stars you decided to pick up.”
The supreme. I know the curl of her purring voice. Even though I’ve only seen her once.
“Supreme.” I keep my voice as neutral as possible. Could she hear the chatter of wolves in the background? Would she know where we are hiding and hand us over to the witches in order to cash in another favor later on?
“Not even a hello, a how are you?” she asks. I can almost imagine her sliced smile as she speaks.
“What can I do for you?” I ask as politely as possible.
“Straight to the point, just like your father.”
I almost choke as she mentions him.
“I need you to come to me this very moment.”
“Why?” I say, widening my eyes for Chad to know this is serious, though I’m sure all the vampires in this room are eavesdropping without any issues.
“Not that I need to give you a reason, but we have a… well, a rather large issue at hand, and I need your assistance. Of course, I am calling upon the favor you owe me, so I expect you are not going to question me again.” Is that a twang of stress that scratched beneath her forced calm tone?
Savi is breathless from concentration, her eyes narrowed on me. She’s listening to what the supreme is saying on the other end of the call.
“Why?” I ask again.
The supreme releases an annoyed breath. “George, we are under attack. I have information that suggests a hoard of supernatural hunters are in Hillcrest, so you will come here and help me protect my kind. That is what you owe me. Now, come.”
“But…” I look at my friends. How could I leave them? Savi reaches for Will without looking at him, as if her touch will protect him. Even Chad snakes an arm around my back. Vampires are so clingy sometimes.
“Now, Master Alcott. I mean it.”
The line is cut off. I lower the phone slowly. Will told us about a possible war, but I didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
“I can’t leave you,” I say aloud. “Not if the hunters are already here…”
“If you refuse her, George, she’ll make you pay in ways you can’t even fathom,” Chad tells me. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be protected here.”
“You sound like you are trying to get rid of me.” I choke out a panicked laugh.
“Not at all!” Chad almost shouts with urgency. “But you are in more danger staying away from the supreme.”
“Savi?” My hands are already shaking.
She smiles softly and whispers, “We will be fine. The wolves will protect us, and Will, Chad, and I can handle any army, right?” She winks playfully, but her face reflects that she doesn’t trust her own words. I appreciate her attempt to try to calm me, but I can see through her façade.
Listen to them. I am always with you. We can handle the supreme should she attack us.
“I need to go home first,” I tell them.
Savi calls out the name of a wolf she spoke with when we arrived. He rushes across the clearing toward me, chest puffed and chin raised high.
“Avel will take you to the border of the forest. That will give you enough time to go home before the supreme begins to wonder where you are.” Savi doesn’t even ask her friend before commanding him to do this.
“Are you sure? You don’t mind?” I ask Avel.
With his eyes on Savi, he says, “If this is what you need…” His skin rips, giving way to fur beneath. In seconds, he is on all fours, jaws ajar and yellowed eyes locked on mine.
“Climb on,” Savi tells me. She’s by my side now, a hand on my back, urging me to get on the back of Avel, a werewolf. This feels all sorts of wrong, but what choice do I have? There’s no quicker way than on a werewolf’s back.
“Keep everyone in the boundaries of camp, and try your hand at your own makeshift protection spell. Believe in yourself. That’s all it takes. The moment I can, I’ll return, okay?”
Savi presses her forehead into mine as I latch onto the wolf’s back. “Stop worrying. We will be fine and so will you. The supreme will not put you in harm’s way. You’re too important for that.” She winks.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I ask.
“Why? Did it not work?”
I don’t get to answer her sarcastic reply because Chad comes to me. His large, cold hands take my face, and he pushes his lips to mine. For that moment, I am lost in his kiss. It’s so warm even though the rest of him is frozen.
The wolf I sit on makes
a throaty noise to remind us of the moving world, but I ignore him, pulling my Chad in closer. Only when we both need to take a breath do we break apart.
“George, don’t be long.”
“I will try,” I whisper back to him.
I can sense his desire to say something else, but it never comes out. Suddenly, the winds roar in my ears as Avel pounces away from my friends.
I can’t work out if the tears that stream down my cheeks are because of the force we run at or if it’s the strange sense of loss I feel as I leave my friends behind in the darkness of uncertainty.
As I rush through Hillcrest toward my home, I’m thankful for the setting sun and darkening skies. There is no sign of an attack, nor is there sign of life from other supernaturals.
If an attack is truly coming, the witches will be too occupied protecting themselves to look for us. Abraxon fills my mind, and I am thankful for his company.
How do we fight the unknown? I ask him.
Without reluctance.
Good to know. I tap my forehead.
Avel leaves me at the very edge of the forest. I hop off his back and turn to thank him, but he’s already running away. I shrug it off and run as quickly as I can the rest of the way to my house.
Just as I left it, my home is silent and empty. I rush up the stairs to Father’s study. As I enter the room, I slam the door shut behind me.
“Father, the hunters are coming to attack. I am… Father?”
The room is empty. Father’s phantom form does not appear to me even as I call for him. My teeth chatter incessantly, because the air is freezing.
“Father?”
Still nothing. No response. Has he left me? Is he okay?
Yes, Abraxon says. I do not sense him either.
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach. My legs turn to jelly, and my eyes fill with tears. “He wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.”
Perhaps he found a way to pass on. He has been a prisoner for so long. He may have just given into the elation of finally being free.
I shake my head vigorously. “No, he can’t do this to me. I helped him, and he couldn’t even say goodbye?”
Abraxon is silent. He offers no apology or calming words. I am left to talk to myself. I want to scream with anger. Cry with boiling sadness. It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming. But so soon? I thought I would have time to come to terms with being alone before he left for good.
“It’s me,” I call out again. “It’s Georgie!”
Nothing. Not even his nickname for me conjures him out of the shadows.
“Georgie…” I say again, my throat dry and head thumping with a sudden pain. “It’s me.”
Silence is my enemy. I hate it. Never do I want to be left in this silence again. This house could burn for all I care. I curse this home. I hate it!
I will never leave you.
Abraxon causes a reprieve in my overwhelming sadness. Have I gotten that desperate that I rely on a demon for company?
I exit the room, slamming the door closed behind me for a final time.
“The book is missing,” I say aloud.
I thought as much.
“He couldn’t even leave me with that as a reminder?” My sorrow is quickly morphing into anger. “I am not worth even that?”
I’m sure there’s a reason your father dealt with it.
“I suppose I will never know!” I shout, banging my feet down the stairs and throwing an angered hand for the front door. My intense emotion fuels the wind, and I command it. The door opens fast, slamming into the wall and smashing the stained glass all across the carpet. I step over it, unbothered.
Careful, George. We need our energy for the fight.
I pause, taking in the evening air and looking over my shoulder at my house for what feels like the last time.
“Believe me, Abraxon. I have enough energy to fuel me. I will show the hunters just what a hurricane really is.”
Chapter Seventeen
Savi
Ever since George left to answer Ophelia’s call, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how I can release him from the supreme’s clutches. There’s nothing I want more than to relieve him of his debt to her, but now, it’s probably too late. He’s already gone.
I sink to my bottom, resting on the many rows of seating that surround the centralized fire pit. I must admit, I never expected the wolves’ sanctuary to be so… homey. The rows of identical wood cabins remind me of the many streets that form Hillcrest. Although the houses look different, most are the same old Victorian style. The main difference is the elaborate design. The homes in Hillcrest are several stories high with intricate detail, whereas the cabins here are small, basic. I suppose that’s because vampires and witches spend much of their lives indoors, whereas wolves spend as much time running under the moon as they possibly can.
I scan the area. My newfound allies are busy preparing for the winter. They’re harvesting crops for food when they’re not in their beast forms. I smile as some make eye contact with me, and a slow, comforting tingle swoops its way through me when I see they smile back. It will never not be weird that I’m one of them now. One of them yet different at the same time.
It’s interesting that some of the wolves are preparing for winter rather than helping to protect us from impending doom. The wolves live a very different life than I ever imagined. Sure, most are preparing for war, but the few who opt to prepare for the long winter ahead give me more hope than the others.
The small clearing I’m sitting in is nestled between a half-moon shaped row of cabins. There aren’t many, so I assume most share their resting place. The fire pit is at the heart of the small clearing, but only I sit at the seating that surrounds it. Everyone else is bustling, preparing for what’s to come—whether that be winter or war.
Chad is keeping his eyes on Will, who has been walking the border of the compound ever since George left. I know he fears he’ll be tracked here, and honestly, I do too. But I’ve resolved that we can’t stop what’s the come. It’s odd, but ever since I tapped into my magic, a sense of peace has settled over me. I only wish I could extend the feeling to everyone else. We cannot stop what’s to come. We can only hope for the best.
My gaze lands on my brother, who is sulking closely behind Will, who has just completed his hundredth round of border patrol.
“Honestly, guys,” I shout. I shake my head when their gazes land on me. “Maybe we should spend this time relaxing?”
In Chad’s eyes, I see his attempt to argue. He silently conveys to me that he will go wherever Will goes, and that’s that. I shouldn’t protest any further.
I shrug and return my sights on my surroundings. Wolfsbane Forest is breathtaking this time of year. We’re nearing the end of autumn, and soon, the snow will come. I don’t particularly like the cold, but I know that’s because it keeps away many tourists. Sure, Hillcrest is beautiful in the snow. The glittery flakes seem to cast the small town alight with glee. But with each winter, fewer and fewer tourists venture into the woods. And that hindered my preferred lifestyle. Of course, I know I can’t kill anymore—not with my mistakes splashed across news headlines.
The forest is glowing with shades of amber, crimson, and gold. I truly believe there isn’t a more beautiful place on earth than this little town we’re fortunate enough to call home. It saddens me that we may have to leave this place if the war against the hunters turns… sour.
Will plops down beside me, and it shakes me to think I’ve let my guard down around him so much I didn’t even realize he was approaching me. I was too busy thinking about losing my homestead. Perhaps Chad is right to be weary of Will. At least one of us is on his A-game.
I listen for Chad, and he promptly sits directly behind us, like a true big brother. I groan and toss a look of annoyance over my shoulder at him. He offers a wide smile, one that displays too many of his pearly white teeth. If he wasn’t my brother, I’d think he was a sociopath who’s d
esperately trying to look normal (and failing miserably at the feat).
Will shifts beside me and eyes Chad, who quickly turns his sketchy grin into a look of absolutely terror. He narrows his eyes, a grimace twisting his beautiful features into one of disgust.
“For Goddess sake, Chad,” I say, defeated. I know he won’t leave us alone, not without George here to distract him. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. Perhaps he’s playing the role of an overprotective brother because George is gone, and Chad can do nothing to stop or protect him. My brother has always adored his role of being the eldest child, and when our parents died, he made it his mission in life to be a better role model. I suppose that’s around the time he broke off his taboo relationship with George. With my parents gone, he took on the burden of raising me. Of course, I was nearly an adult and could raise myself, but I did covet the times spent with him.
“You know an awful lot about me, Will, and I have yet to learn more about you,” I say, trying to ignore the death-glare daggers on our backs. Of course, I know Chad is directing them at Will, not me, but we’re so close our thighs nearly brush. I’m certain the glares are hitting me too, even if by mistake.
He shrugs, and I know this to be a game of nonchalance.
“Tell me about the hunters then,” I urge. After all, if he’s not going to tell me about him, he may as well tell me about them.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he whispers. I wait for him to continue, but his gaze is glued to the sight before him. I’ve seen this very look on other faces before. His eyes are focused on the woods that surround us, but his mind is elsewhere. I’m sure this is exactly what I look like when I succumb to the memories hidden in each drop of blood I drink.
“What was it supposed to be like then?” I ask. I turn toward him, and our knees touch. A surge of electricity rushes through me, and I gasp. The noise that escapes my lips is soft yet raw with hunger. Will’s gaze finds mine, and I wonder if he felt it too. Quickly, I jerk my leg back and offer a few inches of space between us.