by KM Lowe
“Yes. We’re unsure of who or what talents the witch holds. There’s wards around the camp they’ve set up. We’ve tried to break them with very little luck.”
“Okay. Well, maybe I’ll try a simple looking glass spell. If I can get a feel into what’s happening in the camp, how many there are, how many casualties, it’ll give you a better understanding of what you’re up against.” Stracey looks around us all, and I do the same to see everyone looking at her. “What?”
Jasper wraps his arm around her. “Will you be able to break the wards?”
“Probably. I won’t be breaking any wards until I know what you all face. You need to be prepared for whatever fight is coming your way. I won’t lose any of you.”
Why do we always have to fight? Why does it have to come to a life or death situation? I’m getting sick and tired of fighting to survive. It doesn’t matter where we were, what we’re doing, or who we’re with, we always have some hurdle to overcome. It just so happens that each hurdle is bigger than the last.
“I like you already.” Ashley addresses Stracey, smiling. “Let’s get started, because if they take any more humans, I’ll have to go oriental crazy on their asses.”
“Are we going to stand back and let the women take charge?” asks Callum, causing Ashley and Stracey to turn so quickly that I get whiplash looking between them.
“Jasper, really?”
I want to laugh at Callum’s outburst, but the situation is too serious. I don’t see women as any different to us, but I can see why some shifters would. They live by the rule that a woman is there to cook, clean, and look after their pack. If I was ever lucky enough to find my mate, we’d live an equal life. Markus and Lisa do okay, and it works out in the pack’s best interests.
“What do you want me to do, Callum? We can’t do anything until we have a clear picture of what’s happening. Stracey is the only link we have to that information. Ashley seems touched by this situation. Am I right?”
“I don’t like what they do to innocent people. I care about this town. It’s been a second chance for me and my family. We’ve made a life here. Why should that stop because wolves and bloodthirsty vampires want power?”
“Nice to know what you think of us,” says Callum, sitting down.
Ashley’s anger and frustration at Cal is evident. “Do you kidnap, rape, and torture young girls?” Lelland stands in front of Ashley as she makes her way around the table to Callum. “Well?”
“No. Of course not. But you’re a bloodthirsty vampire. You’re no different.”
“Yes, I am! I won’t stand by and watch more people die at their hands, or paws, or whatever they use. If you want to keep breathing, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.”
I expect Jasper to step forward and take control of this situation, but it’s Stracey who leans over the table and gets into Callum’s face. “Stop winding her up. We’re all here to help one another. I need this table cleared of any items. I’ll use this space for any magic I need to do. It would help if you weren’t making enemies out of alliances, Callum.”
“Will they know you’re doing this looking glass spell?” Jasper asks.
“Possibly. If they have a powerful witch on their side, he or she could have a security spell in place. Much like our wards we had around the camp. If that happens, I won’t be granted access.”
“They do have a spell around the perimeter. None of us can enter,” says Lelland.
“Was it just vampires that tried to cross the barrier?” Lelland nods. “They might not be expecting a pack of wolves to descend upon them. It may be a vampire block, pretty much the same as stepping over a threshold uninvited. You’d be locked out with a barrier. Maybe. I’m just guessing at the moment. Let’s see how I get on with the looking glass spell. If that works, maybe we could go up the mountains with the wolves, just to see if they can cross over. If they can’t, it will take a little longer for me to grant you access.”
“What do you need to do this looking spell?” asks Callum.
“Looking glass spell, Callum.” Stracey’s patience looks like it’s wearing thin as she rolls her eyes at Callum. “All I need is some candles and a scrying mirror.”
“A what? What’s one of them when they’re at home?”
Everyone chuckles at Callum apart from Stracey. I’m just glad that he asked the question because I’ve never heard of one. I’ve been around magic when I lived with my father, but his witch was fucked up.
“Seriously? Don’t they teach you anything at that council?
“I’m no witch. I’m not into that hocus pocus gibberish. That’s why you’re here.”
“A scrying mirror is an ancient mirror. The black scrying mirror, or magick mirror, is a powerful psychic tool. It can bring the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability and can act as a portal to other planes of existence. Scrying is the ancient art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating on an object, usually one with a reflective surface, until visions appear.”
“I have the very object,” says Lavina as she backs out of the room. “Lelland, grab the candlesticks from the main room. We have plenty of spare candles in the store cupboard.”
Stracey turns into Jasper’s embrace and I take this moment to get up and look out of the window. Just with the glimpse of woodlands, my wolf is whining and prowling. Shut the fuck up, I say to myself, hoping that my wolf gets the point. He’s never misbehaved like this before. Never. We usually have some level of understanding with one another, but not right now.
“Here we go.” Lavina rushes through the door with an antique mirror. I have never seen anything like it before, but it clearly means a lot to Lavina with the way she holds and caresses it. “Will this work? It was my grandmother’s. Lelland got it for me when my grandmother passed. I always knew it would come in handy.”
“It’s perfect, Lavina. Let’s get started.” Stracey smiles.
Stracey places the mirror on the table, while Ashley continues to light and place candles around the antique mirror. “While I’m doing this spell, I’ll recite a chant from the Goddess. I’ll need everyone to be quiet, and no one interrupts me, no matter what happens.” Stracey glares directly at Jasper as she speaks every word.
“I promise. If you can promise that you know exactly what you’re doing, and you won’t put yourself into harm’s way to protect others.”
“I promise. Now, let me begin.”
I fucking hate magic. I detest it with a passion. Again, it’s because I’ve been brought up with a terrible experience where witches and magic did bad things. I know Stracey is different, but it still doesn’t stop my mind wandering off to different memories.
“Goddess Gaia, I call upon you. Grant me the sight through my charmed mirror with thy blessing. I wish to see into the camp surrounding the Meadow Mountains. Grant me my wish.”
I never take my eyes off Stracey. I try to concentrate on her face, but her hands are hovering over the table and I know her hands will yield a lot of power if she ever needs to use it. It feels like an eternity as we all stand around silently.
“It’s no good. They’re either blocking my magic, or they’ve got a spell to block any magical currents flowing through the camp.”
I knew it was too good to be true. Nothing can ever be simple.
“I thought you said they can’t detect your magic.” Callum speaks first.
“They shouldn’t be able to tell where it’s coming from, but they can block anyone trying to interfere with them. Unless…” Stracey turns to face Lavina. “How far are the mountains from here?”
“The foot of the mountains is roughly three miles from here, but the actual climb could be another three, four miles.”
“We could be too far away. They could be expecting you to try something. If they have a powerful witch on their side, they could have a block on your house. No magic would leave these walls. Hence why I got nothing but a white fog. Maybe we could go closer.”
“No way. Absolutely not.
You’re not going near that pack,” says Jasper, folding his arms over his chest.
As wolves, we’re protective of the people we love. His wolf will be going crazy at the thought of his lover being in harm’s way.
“The foot of the mountains will be enough. We need to do this, Jasper. How can you get any closer without this information? How can you be safe? You and I can take a walk out there with one of your vampire friends. The quicker we go, the quicker we can be back, and you guys can work on a plan to get out there.”
As much as I know what Jasper must be going through, Stracey is right. She was sent out here to do exactly what she’s doing. We can’t keep her locked up here. We need her power. We need her.
“Stracey is right,” says Ashley. “I’ll come with you. Jasper, I know how you feel about Stracey. I know how hard it is to see her here, fighting with us, keeping up with us. I went through this with my husband when I first turned. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t as strong as you and me.”
Jasper doesn’t stand a chance with them, because they’ll just go off on their own. We have to support them with this decision.
When Jasper relents, everyone sighs with relief that we’re moving forward with this mission.
We needed answers. Quickly.
Chapter 14
Kevin
Jasper, Stracey, Callum, and Ashley have left to go to the mountains. I stay back with Lelland and Lavina. I sit on one couch while Lelland and Lavina sit on the other. Not a word leaves our mouths the whole time.
I close my eyes, and my wolf jerks me awake. I’m losing control of the beast. I jump to my feet and pace over to the window.
“Kev, are you okay?” asks Lavina. “They’ll be okay, you know.”
“I know. It isn’t that. My wolf is acting up. I don’t know why, but it’s driving me crazy. I’ve felt like it since we sat in the conference room at the headquarters, but it’s getting worse. Just now I…” I shake my head and run my hands through my hair. I close my eyes again and a beautiful chestnut wolf shows in my head. My wolf is dancing around, looking for any way to get out.
“Kevin.” A hand on my arm makes me jump. “Talk to me,” says Lavina. “I want to help.”
“I can’t control my wolf.” I look at her then Lelland. “I don’t even know what’s going on. I thought at first it was because Jasper and I were locked in cells for two days, but I was out last night. I hunted with Callum before we returned.” I clench my hands into fists and watch them shake.
“Let’s get you a drink. See if that helps. Take a few deep breaths in and out. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Lelland steps forward and takes his wife’s place. I hear the car pull up outside and I was never so glad to have Jasper and Callum back. I need to talk to them before I do something crazy.
“Here. Drink this. Lelland, go.” I take the glass of whisky from Lavina and down it in one. That’s not me; I hate whisky. I feel the burn down my throat and it’s welcomed. Anything would be welcome just so I don’t feel this turmoil.
I hear the commotion coming from the other room and I place my glass down and follow the chatter. I stand in the doorway. “Jasper.”
He turns to me. He must notice something in me and stands, still clutching Stracey’s hands. “What is it? Kev. Talk to me.”
Stracey comes out of her trance and she tilts her head to face me as well. All eyes on me is making me worse and I pace more.
“I feel something. I’m not sure what. Ten minutes ago it started. I’m fighting to keep control. My wolf wants to overtake.”
Stracey stands and walks over to me. She looks pale and just as disorientated as I do, if not more so. She places one hand on my heart while the other rests on my cheek. “Calm,” she whispers.
Warmth floats through my body and my wolf calms slightly. It’s still acting like a dickhead, but my attention is focused on Stracey’s eyes.
“What did you do?” I ask nervously.
“I just calmed your heart down. About ten minutes ago, I saw…” She trails off and looks away from me. Disgust is written all over her face. Possibly even fear.
“You saw what, Stracey?” My anxiety picks up again and she isn’t answering me fast enough. “Stracey, what did you see? Tell me!”
“Girls. Lots of girls. They were in bad shape. Real bad shape. Some were possibly even dead. If they weren’t, they might as well be.”
My wolf howls. My body shakes. My fists are clenched, nails digging into my flesh. I need to feel anything other than this angst and turmoil. Even if it’s pain.
“What does this have to do with the way I’m feeling?” I pull at my hair and move away from everyone. I’m kind of terrified of being around everyone at the moment, because I’ve never faced this with my wolf before.
“Could it be…?” Lavina stops and lifts her hand to rub her temple. “Could it be that Kevin’s wolf is on edge because he senses his mate in need? She could be close by.”
The room falls silent. I swear I can feel the blood drain from me. My legs are shaking, yet my wolf is silent.
“It’s possible,” says Jasper. “You need to keep calm until we figure this out. If your mate is near, we’ll find her.”
“Do you hear yourselves? We’re here to rescue girls from a pack of filthy fucking mutts! We’re not here to find me a mate.” I raise my voice and continue pacing. A mate. Fuck right off with this shit.
“I think we need to charge in there. There’s enough of us to take them on. We can’t keep skirting around the issue.” Ashley steps forward. “I can’t stand by and let this happen for one more day. You heard Stracey. Even if we get any kids out of there, they’ll possibly never be the same again.”
“I agree.” Stracey stands beside Ashley and faces Jasper, Lelland, and Lavina.
I take my hat off to them for standing against what we all know Jasper would want. But right now, this problem seems to be escalating. I might not have the knowledge members of the council have, but I’ll always follow my gut.
“Sorry, boss.” Callum steps up beside Ashley and shakes his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with the ladies. We’re all more than capable of doing this. We attack just before sunrise. They’ll be expecting us at night. If anything, morning will knock them off kilter.”
The element of surprise sounds good.
“I didn’t agree with Ash before, but I do now. We didn’t know what we faced before. We have an idea now,” I say.
One by one, we all join with Stracey and Ashley. I take my place beside them proudly. The women are onto a winner with this one, and I’ll do anything just to get five minutes’ peace from my goddamn wolf. I’m thinking, in my wolf form, my beast will be happiest.
Jasper turns his back and walks over to the window. He was back to the tense, uneasy guy that’s been making an appearance the last couple of days. I hate that this mission is bringing out this side of him.
Jasper’s phone rings in his pocket. “What’s wrong, son?”
My hearing immediately picks up the word ‘son’ and I take a step forward. Markus wouldn’t be calling for nothing.
“Yes, why? What’s going on?”
I can’t pick up Markus’s tone from the phone, but the more I stand here waiting to know what’s going on, the harder my heart pounds.
Jasper turns to face us. “Yes. No. It doesn’t mean anything. But I think I know why Lisa had that vision. Kevin is with me now. He’s safe and well. We’re dealing with a mission at the moment, and a cave may be involved.”
What did Lisa see in these crazy visions? I swear some of these visions are going to cause her to have a heart attack one of these days.
“Sure.” Jasper holds out the phone to me and I take it with trembling hands.
“Hello?” I say wearily.
“Kevin. I’m never so glad to hear your voice,” cries Lisa.
“Hey. Calm down. What’s going on?”
I try to keep my nerves and turmoil locked away, becaus
e my sister is clearly an emotional wreck as it is. “I had one of those visions. I swear they get worse, Kevin. I thought you were dead. I felt everything. Your pain. Your anger. Then nothing.”
I rub the bridge of my nose. I wish I was there to comfort the one person who means the world to me. “Listen, I’m absolutely fine. I promise. Nothing is going to happen to me. Just get some rest. It must be late at home. I’ll call you when I get a chance.”
“Okay. I love you, Kevin.”
“I love you too. Is Markus there?”
“Yeah. Do you want him?”
“No. I just didn’t want to leave you alone without anyone with you. I’ll speak to you soon.”
“Okay. Bye.”
I hang up the phone and take in a deep lungful of air. I catch the last of the conversation between Jasper and the guys. I can’t say that my head is on the mission at all. Between my wolf acting up, and now knowing about Lisa’s vision, I can’t help but feel like something bad is going to happen. We’re all doomed.
Whatever we have facing us is going to be a battle and a half. I just hope there’s no truth in my sister’s vision. I couldn’t bear to never see her again.
Chapter 15
Kevin
I’ve spent the last couple of hours outside. I can’t bear to be stuck in that house anymore. The constant whining was vibrating and echoing around my head. I know we’re reconvening in the next ten minutes, but until then, I’ll continue to pace up and down Lelland’s driveway. I’m far from at peace out here, but I’m a lot calmer than I was before. If I stayed inside that house, I’d have ended up tearing someone’s head off. The walls were closing in around me, and my anxiety was through the roof.
I pick up footsteps inside the hallway and decide if I don’t go in now, I’ll never go. I enter the house just in time to follow Jasper and Stracey into the dining room where everyone seems to be meeting.
“Good. We’re all here,” says Lelland as he stands at the head of the table. “Let’s get started.”
If I was meeting him for the first time right now, I think I’d be terrified of opening my mouth. His face is like stone. His eyes are different. They’re not dark like they have been. They have a hint of orange through them. He clearly means business.
