by MJ Caan
This new form gave him the speed and dexterity to reach the gray wolf before he was able to sink his teeth into my throat. He was close enough that I felt the spray of saliva from his jaws when they snapped shut as he came to an abrupt stop. He howled in real pain as Cody latched onto his tail and haunches, hauling him away from me. He spun, lunging for Cody’s neck. Cody was ready for this, and his humanoid form, while not quite as strong, still gave him weapons that he did not possess as a lupine.
One jet-black hand stabbed forward, grabbing the wolf by his neck. Cody’s claws dug in as he lifted the beast and slammed it to the floor. He threw his weight on top of the struggling wolf, exerting more pressure on the creature. He placed his other hand on the gray wolf’s jaw and pressed his head into the floor. Once he had it pinned down, he leaned forward, opening his jaws as wide as possible, and clamped onto his prey’s throat. I heard a horrible sound of muscle, tendon and bones snapping as Cody reared back, bringing half of the creature’s neck with him. Arterial blood sprayed Cody, the walls, and the ceiling as the wolf’s body began to spasm in its death throes.
“No!” came an anguished scream from behind Cody. It was the woman I had sent crashing into the wall. She was on her feet, one hand braced against her ribcage, the other holding her blade. The knife was no longer aflame but was instead steel gray. Before I could warn Cody, she hurled it at him, and the blade buried itself in one of his powerful thighs. He howled in pain, arching his back and throwing his face upward at the ceiling. For a horrible moment I imagined that was what he would look like if he were outside, baying at a full moon. He reached one bloodied hand down and grasped the knife by the hilt. With a savage twist, he pulled it out of his leg and dropped it on the floor. Instantly, the woman held out her hand, and the blade flew back to her yet again. She faced us, knife in hand, her eyes narrowed in hate as she took in the form of her dead wolf.
I still didn’t have anything to throw at her, but in the time it had taken Cody to kill the gray wolf, an idea had come to me. I removed the silver belt from around my waist, holding it in the middle so the two weighted ends dangled at equal lengths toward the floor. I poured my magic into it, charging it, and began to whirl it over my head. Rather than the usual bluish magic that infused objects that I charged, the belt took on pure-white glow as the magic was magnified by the innate nature of the silver threading.
Just as the woman took a single menacing step toward us, I hurled the belt. It spun and crackled through the air, wrapping itself around her neck bolo-style. Unlike most of the objects I charged, I felt a tactile connection to the belt; I could actually feel the woman’s neck beneath it. I held my hand up in front of my face, palm toward me, fingers splayed open. I concentrated and closed my hand into a fist quickly. The belt responded in kind, constricting with the same force with which I closed my hand. There was a sickening gurgle as it tightened suddenly around my assailant, cutting deep into her flesh and nearly severing her head. She slumped back against the wall, her head at an awkward angle against her shoulder, eyes open and unseeing yet somehow they still focused on the two of us.
I stood next to Cody, shocked and amazed at what I had just done. I held out my hand and willed the belt to return to me. It unwrapped itself from her neck and flew back to me, the white-hot magic searing off the residual blood before it reached my hand. I began to rewrap it around my waist, and I looked up into Cody’s eyes. He was breathing hard as he stared over me, his yellow eyes flickering all around my face. I reached up and tentatively placed one hand on his heaving chest, reveling in the feel of his silky black fur. Slowly I felt his form Shift, the hair retreating back into his body as he once more became the man I was becoming accustomed to standing at my side.
“That was… very intense,” he said through deep breaths.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “How did you do that, Cody? You took on the form of a true werewolf.”
“Honestly, I have no idea. That wolf was getting the better of me and I just needed a way to get the upper hand, so I willed myself to start the transformation back into a man but then stopped halfway. I was in complete control the entire time. I assume I have you to thank for that?”
“I wasn’t sure, but I hoped that’s how the spell would work. It gives you control over your Shifting and allows you to maintain your memories and thoughts in either form.”
I stepped from behind the table to survey the damage. “I’m going to try a tracking spell to see if—”
“Allie…” Cody said from behind, cutting me off. “I don’t feel so good.” I turned in time to see him place one hand on his head, the other on the edge of the table to balance himself.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I raced to his side, trying to steady him.
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice thick and groggy. “I feel like my body is on fire and I’m having a hard time focusing my vision.” He looked down at his naked thigh where the knife had wounded him. While there was no blood, the skin around the wound was red and swollen. Spidering outward from the spot where his flesh and been torn were jagged black lines that were slowly spreading across his thigh. He looked up at me questioningly and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could speak, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed naked on the floor.
25
“Cody! Cody!” I said, dropping to my knees to shake him by the shoulders. He was very still and I began to panic, thinking that he was dead. But then I saw the slight rise and fall of his chest, and I reached out two fingers and placed them along the side of his neck, feeling for a steady, yet faint, pulse.
“Okay, not dead,” I said to myself. “He’s not dead, just unconscious. So what do I do?”
I reached out, drawing on the only thing that I had going for me right now: my magic. Placing both hands on his chest I slowly focused my energy into him. My magic spreading through his body, thick and warm and searching. I was not exactly sure what I was looking for, but I prayed that the magic would know. And then I felt it. It was as if my magic was suddenly funneled to a narrow passageway and then hit a brick wall. Probing harder, I commanded the magic to break through the barrier, but when I began to exert force I could feel Cody’s body stiffen beneath me in response. Whatever was going on, his body wasn’t reacting in a positive manner to my deeper probes.
“Stop; you’ll kill him,” I heard a weak voice say. I turned my head, looking around for the source, and could see Dr. Garner sitting propped up against one wall, one hand stained in blood as it tried to cover the open wound in her chest. Jesus, how was she not dead?
“But it feels like he’s dying,” I said.
“That’s because he is,” she said. “But he’s dying slowly, and there is a way to help.”
I rushed over to her side and kneeled down to examine her wounds. I tried to move her hand from her chest, but she shook her head emphatically.
“No,” she said. “It’s too late for me, but I need you to listen closely.” She was racked by a coughing fit, and even more blood was coming out of her mouth with each ragged breath. “Listen to me. The source of the poison that’s killing Cody is magical in nature. The fact that he’s a supernatural is the only thing keeping him alive right now, but eventually that won’t be enough to stop the poison.”
“Tell me what to do,” I pleaded.
“In the last cabinet on the wall behind the exam table, top shelf, there are some preloaded syringes of high doses of adrenaline. Inject a full syringe into his heart. That, combined with his own nature, will help his body to fight off the poison. But that will only last for so long.” Again, she was overtaken by a fit of coughing, and this time when she opened her eyes I could see that she was drifting away. Her breathing became shorter as her eyes began to cloud over. “You have to get him to the Falls… That’s the source of the black magic they infected him with.”
“But what do I do once I get there?” I said, batting away the tears that were filling my eyes.
“That, I can�
��t help you with,” she coughed. “I’m a vet, not a witch. Once you get there, it’s up to you. Listen to me…” She grabbed my sleeve in one bloodied hand and pulled me close as her voice faded ever softer. “He’s a good boy. But remember, not all wolves were raised by the hand of a good man.”
“What? What do you mean?” I said, looking into her face. There was no reply, and the blank look on her face told me that she had nothing left to offer. I reached up and gingerly lowered her eyelids. Tears, wet and salty, flowed down my face. This was a good person, not a supernatural, not a member of the Fell. She was just a woman that wanted to do the right thing, and had died as a result.
There was nothing more I could do for her, but hopefully I could still save Cody. I rushed over to the cabinets and flung the door open. On the top shelf I found five syringes, each individually wrapped in its own plastic sheath. I tore one open and removed the protective cap from the needle as I stepped over to Cody. He was not moving, and his breathing seemed even shallower than before. I looked at the syringe in my hand and then his chest. I had no idea what to do, but then I remembered that scene from Pulp Fiction that freaked me out when I was younger.
I squatted down, straddling Cody’s form, my knees to either side of his waist. I placed a hand on his chest, feeling for the faint heartbeat. As soon as I located it, I raised the syringe above my head, one thumb on the plunger. I knew if I thought too long about it I wouldn’t do it, so I took a deep breath, plunged it into his chest, and depressed the syringe, emptying the clear liquid into his body.
Nothing. I had expected a Thurman-like reaction in which he would suddenly sit up, gasping for air. I waited a second, wondering if maybe I needed to use a second syringe, when I suddenly noticed his eyes open and begin to flutter. He took in a very deep breath, and I slid off of him, awash with relief.
“What happened?” he asked, sitting up.
“That bitch poisoned you,” I said. “The knife was coated in some type of mystical poison. I just gave you a shot of adrenaline that’s working with your body’s own immune system to fight it off. But I don’t know how long it will last.”
“How did you know to do that?” he asked.
I pointed over to the form of Dr. Garner propped up against the wall. Cody just nodded, and I could see his eyes well up.
“What now?” he asked.
“Right now we go up to Singing Falls,” I said. I stood up, reaching down to haul him to his feet. I was careful to make sure that he was steady before letting go of his arm. “She told me that is the source of the black magic that infected you. It seems like all signs lead to the Falls. I think it’s time we deal with whatever’s up there once and for all.”
26
There was one last thing I had to do after I helped Cody to the car: I needed to burn that house. I wasn’t sure if Dr. Garner was a good woman or not, but in the end she had helped us, and I didn’t want someone finding her body and rummaging through her life. Plus, I had to make sure that the other bitch and her wolf were dead. They certainly looked dead, but I was beginning to realize that maybe dead to a supernatural wasn’t really dead at all.
The house was big, and I wasn’t sure I could manage to create a fire that size. But it was also old, mostly wood and probably asbestos. Fire was fire; I only had to get it going and then it would give in to its own hungry nature, consuming everything around it. I walked back up the drive just until the structure was in sight. Then I concentrated, mentally picturing the four corners of the house and commanding them to light. Before long, the entire house was engulfed in bright orange flames that lit up the night sky. Even if there were neighbors to see the conflagration, by the time the fire department arrived there would be nothing left.
I made my way back to the car and strapped myself in behind the wheel. Something told me that Cody knew better than to argue about who was driving. I eased onto the highway, made a U-turn, and headed back to town and the road that would take us up to the Falls.
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” said Cody, “but maybe we should wait for your aunts to get back to town. Or at least give them a call and see if they can come back now.”
I gripped wheel tighter and shook my head. “Not an option. I only have a few adrenaline syringes left, and we have no idea how fast this poison is working in your system.”
“So if Dr. Garner was correct and we’re about to walk into ground zero, shouldn’t we have some backup, if nothing else?”
“We just took out a witch and a werewolf,” I said. “Plus, I just burned down a four-thousand-square-foot house. I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves and whoever or whatever gets thrown at us.” The truth was, I was feeling pretty cocky. Each time I used my magic it was getting easier for me. I could now feel it humming inside of me, waiting to be called up and set into motion. I looked over at Cody as he sat rubbing his temple, his head leaning to one side. “You okay?”
“Just a headache,” he said. “I feel cold, like I’m starting to get the chills even though the AC isn’t even on in here.”
“It’s called a fever,” I answered. “You’d know that if you had ever been sick like every other normal child in America. It’s a sign that there’s some type of infection in you and your body is trying to fight it off.” He didn’t say anything, only turned to gaze out the window as I pressed hard on the accelerator, urging the car forward even faster.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. Cody stopped me before I could turn into the lot at the base of the Falls.
“Not here,” he said. He told me to keep going forward, and we made a right onto a dirt road I’d never noticed before. He told me to stay on it until we came to a circular gravel clearing with wooden railroad ties bordering it. I killed the lights and let the car creep to a stop at the edge of the clearing. “This is one of the access roads that medics and other first responders use.”
“Is this closer to the Falls?” I asked.
“Much closer. The trail leading to the Falls is a lot wider and easier to manage. We don’t advertise this one because we need to keep it clear for emergencies.”
I convinced Cody to let me give him a shot of the adrenaline before we got out of the car and made our way to the path. He may not have been at peak strength, but I still needed him focused. I wasn’t sure what we might be walking into, but I was sure that I didn’t want anyone to know we were coming. I created a small ball of blue magic and dropped it on the path in front of us. This way, the light that was given off at our feet was limited; just enough to keep us from tripping over stray roots and rock clumps, but not enough to be seen from a distance.
“So where exactly are we going?” Cody whispered.
Good question. No real plan and no destination, I thought to myself. “Well, both my aunts and your father mentioned a series of caves that run behind the Falls. There had to be something in them that attracted the warlock, and by extension the wolves. So I say we try to find those caves, and when we do we’ll probably get our answer to what’s going on.”
“Easier said than done,” replied Cody. “I know those caves. As a kid we used to play there. Some of the older kids would use them as a hideout to smoke, drink beer, and bring girls into. The problem is, those caves are labyrinthine; there are probably dozens of them crisscrossing through the mountainside. How do we find the right ones?”
“How else?” I said, smiling at him in the dim blue light that shined up on our faces. “Magic.”
We were soon greeted by the loud crashing of the Falls and the melodic pings coming off the rocks as water cascaded down the face of the cliff and emptied into the pool below. I suddenly felt uneasy as I remembered the last time we were up here. Looking back, it started to make sense. That Bear Shifter and his keeper did not just happen to stumble upon Gar and me. They were here for the same reason Cody and I were. Either they had been looking for the cave, or they had just exited from it.
We stopped when we reached the edge of the pool. I closed my eyes and
concentrated, stretching out my arms, willing the shimmer of magic at our feet to flow up and gather around my open hands. Then I reshaped the mystical energy, breathing a tracking spell into it. I figured the easiest way to find the right cave was to target the highest concentration of ley energy in the area. Once I set the magic to that task, I dropped the ball of light and watched as it stretched out like a glowing python to wiggle its way around the rocks to the back side of the falls.
“Come on,” I said. “So much for stealth. Whatever’s in there will see that thing coming, so we might as will be prepared for anything. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” he said as we followed my little magic snake. “My heart is racing and I feel jittery, but I guess that’s to be expected considering you lit me up with a syringe full of adrenaline.”
We ignored the back spray of the Falls and hugged the slick rocks as we followed my tracker into one of the openings between the granite. It was a tight squeeze, but soon the passage opened up, and we entered the mouth of the cave proper. I paid close attention as my tracker stopped, seeming to curl up like a rattlesnake about to strike as it pulsed blue light in the darkness. Then, it seemed to make up its mind about which to go, and struck off through a passageway to our left.
Cody was right: we passed in and out of a half-dozen passageways and I started to wonder if we’d be able to find our way back. We were deep enough that even at midday it would still be pitch black in here. What if my magic faded? What if we got lost? No. I banished those thoughts from my mind. If I had to summon another tracker to lead us out of here, I would. Of course, that would mean we had to survive whatever we were walking into…