Out of the Dark

by Quinn Loftis

  "I say tried because as they were about to light the fire, he came. Like an angry, wild, magnificent storm. He tore through the crowd that had come to watch me burn to death. I thought he would kill every person there. And the ones who chose to stay, he did slaughter."

  Jen listened, captivated by Rachel's words as she imagined Gavril coming for her, saving her. Surely Decebel would do the same. While Rachel had been talking she had continued to seek out Decebel's mind but he was blocking her. She could still feel him, but there were no words or images or emotions. She didn't know what was going on with him, but deep down Jen knew that something was majorly wrong with her wolf.

  "It was in that time of intense emotion,” Rachel continued. “And dire need, that I heard his voice in my head. He saved me. And when he took me back to the pack, he claimed me. My mother told me that she had long suspected that the Alpha would be my mate. Gavril was thoroughly confused as to how I could have been in his pack for so long without there being any mating signs. Our bond only solidified after I was nearly killed.

  My mother explained that sometimes, with dormants, mating signs will only be revealed after a major cataclysmic event. These traumatic events sometimes bring out the wolf in the dormant so that she can bond with her mate. The more diluted the blood, the more intense the cataclysmic event will need to be."

  Jen rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I got front row seats to that show."

  Rachel once again looked at Jen in confusion, "What does that mean?"

  "You know how I told you that I also have a mate?"

  "Yes."

  "Well there were no mating signs until I was nearly killed. Nothing. There were only two reasons that we were convinced that we were mates. The first, my blood tests came back as inhuman, and the second, the indescribable pull that we feel towards each other."

  Rachel smiled at her, understanding etched in her face. "It took that crisis for your wolf to surface. Hard to believe, I know, but you do have Canis lupis blood, which means that you hold a wolf inside as well. It's just tucked way down deep. What mating sign appeared?"

  "We can hear each other's thoughts." Jen's smile lit up the room as she remembered hearing Decebel's voice in her mind for the first time, "I don't think I've ever wanted anything so much than to hear his voice in my head." A single tear escaped Jen's eye and made a path down her clean, soft cheek. She wanted to hear it again. Needed to hear it. But he wouldn't let her in.

  Jen wiped the tear away and looked up into Rachel's softly glowing eyes, "So then what happened, after he claimed you?"

  "It was kind of rocky at first. Alpha males are extremely possessive and can be pretty intense about their mates. He didn't want to rush things, but everything in him told him to complete the bond and the Blood Rites. After spending some more time with Gavril, it was clear to me that I loved him. That I was made to love him. We were bonded over 3 centuries ago."

  "So it's pretty safe to say that, um, these fur balls don't have commitment issues?" Jen joked.

  Rachel laughed, and the musical sound was a pleasant break from the turmoil rolling inside of Jen. The longer she was unable to connect with Decebel, the more desperate she was beginning to feel. She took a couple of deep breathes, wincing with each as her abused lungs expanded. I can do this she thought to herself even as she felt darkness pushing inside her mind where Decebel should be. She not only could do this, but she had to. Because not seeing Decebel again after finally having their bond was unacceptable to her.

  "You are thinking awfully hard about something." Rachel observed.

  "Just hurting," Jen lied, "So what happened that caused you and Gavril to hide?"

  Rachel ran her fingers through her hair and once again leaned back in her chair. She let out a deep breath and then continued her tale, "About two years after we bonded there began to be some tension among the surrounding packs. Serbia being the most volatile. The Alpha there was working with a witch."

  "I take it that she wasn't the kind of witch that was married to a dork, and was a stay at home mom who wiggled her nose to use her magic?"

  Rachel's eyebrow's rose, "Um, no. She was evil, vile, and wicked. It's forbidden for the wolves to work with witches. You see, there is no such thing as a good witch. Their magic comes from darkness and death. When the Serbian Alpha found out that there were two gypsy healers in Romania, he declared war. Any packs not willing to help him, were against him, and therefore attacked. When they came here, Gavril's pack and the Eastern Romanian pack joined together to fight the Serbia Pack and their witch. My mother was killed in that war, as were many other good people. Gavril was injured badly. I found his body on the edge of the river. I could feel the life slipping from him, because it was slipping from me as well.

  "I couldn't lift him, so I laid there and held him and waited for death. I would happily go with him, because there is nothing on this earth for me without him." Rachel took another deep breath and sat up straighter, "But fate decided that it wasn't our time. That night, a woman came to us. There was a soft glow around her and she looked like she was gliding on the ground instead of walking. Her movements were graceful and sure.

  She told me 'you cannot die at this time healer'. I asked her who she was. 'I am Perizada of the Fae. If you die, the balance of life in the supernatural world will be thrown off. That cannot happen. There must be a healer at all times. You are the only one who knows what and who she is. The next to come is not for centuries. Though others with your blood may be born, they have not been called. You and your wolf must live'. I told her that as long as my presence was known, the Serbian Alpha would seek me out. So she agreed to spread a rumor that we had died. But in realty she hid us away from the other wolves. There is a spell on our home given by the Fae. If you don't seek me out with a pure heart and pure motives, then you cannot see this home. Any person seeking to do us harm will just walk right past it. She also gave me simple Fae magic to cloak myself and Gavril's presence when we are out. So we have lived here, in silence, in hiding. Waiting. Perizada said that when the next healer came, the last witch could be destroyed. It's very possible that the very same witch three centuries ago that helped the Serbian Alpha, is still helping him today."

  Jen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Thad had a witch working for him. An honest to goodness witch. A thought donned on her then, "Why does he want a healer so badly?"

  "Healers can do several things. They know herbs that can heal. They can look inside a wolf and see what plagues them. They have connections with the Fae, and believe me you do not want to be an enemy of the Fae. But the most important and most guarded reason that an Alpha wants a healer is that she can protect a pregnant Canis lupis."

  "What do you mean protect?" Jen asked.

  "Gypsy healers don't just use herbs. There is magic in what we are, in who we are. Fate made it nearly impossible for Canis lupis to procreate, but it did give them one advantage—the healer. That's why there has to be a gypsy healer in existence at all times. Without one, the chances of a female caring a pregnancy to term is much, much, lower. Not saying that it doesn't happen, but a healer guarantees a successful pregnancy."

  "Hoooooollllly crap," Jen ground out, "I didn't even pay attention, but there are no children in the Romanian pack. I mean, none, as in zilch, nada, zero, not one iota," Jen stopped when she realized Rachel was looking at her like she had grown a second nose, "Sorry, my vocabulary tends to get out of hand when I'm stressed."

  Rachel nodded with raised eyebrows but smiled at Jen.

  "So now you know. That's why we are in hiding."

  "How did you find me?" Jen's brow furrowed.

  "Gavril was out gathering herbs for me. He heard you, and then he smelled your pain. So he came and got me. We had been watching the area because of the disturbance in the air.

  "What kind of disturbance?"

  "When you get a group of werewolves together that large, especially with multiple packs involved, the air becomes electric. It's been pulsating for the past few d
ays. I knew something was up. There hasn't been a gathering of that size in quite some time."

  "So what now?" Jen let out a breath and laid an arm across her face, covering her eyes.

  "I need to ask you, have you been communicating with your mate?"

  "I did briefly when Gavril was carrying me. But now," Jen shook her head, her voice full of frustration, "now he's blocking me."

  "Maybe something has happened and he's trying to protect you," Rachel offered.

  "No, it feels like something is ‘off’ inside of him."

  "Jen, I have to tell you that while you were in that hole, that witch that I was telling you about attacked the mansion. She set it on fire."

  Jen nearly fell off the table trying to sit up, "WHAT!" Rachel went to help her just as Gavril opened the door.

  "Something isn't right out there Luna," Gavril's face was tight with worry, "Something foul and evil laces the wind."

  "She searching," Rachel's voice was grim as she looked towards the front door. Her eyes bore into it, as if, if she stared hard enough, she could see straight through it. "We have to be careful. But we need answers Gavril. We need to see her."

  Gavril shook his head, "It's too great a risk."

  "See who? What risk?" Jen was trying to keep up, but the pain from sitting up so abruptly was beginning to make her dizzy.

  "Perizada, she will know what is going on. If what you say is true and your friend really is a gypsy healer, then she is the one Perizada spoke of. She is the one who must help me defeat the witch."

  "I can honestly say that of all the things that I could ever see Sally doing, going toe to toe with the wicked witch of the west was not on the top ten list." Jen laid back down closing her eyes once more as Rachel and Gavril looked at her with what Jen was sure had to be 'what have we just drug into hour house' faces. Yeah, well my mom asked herself that every day, healer, so it's not a new look to me. Jen was laughing at her inner monologue until she felt a light caress across her face bringing in a sharp breath. The she heard his voice as he said her name.

  "Jen?"

  Chapter 7

  Mona's eyes were closed as she stood at the edge of the forest. Night turned into day, and snow had began to fall. The cold mountain air whipped her midnight hair around her face; her body was relaxed, but her focus was relentless. While she had been casting the spells on the Romanian wolves she had felt it. A current of power. Not dark power, not witch power. It had been centuries since she felt the smooth, cool tendrils of Fae magic, but she had felt it early this morning while the moon still shown and the fire roared through the silent sky. She had felt Fae power, and beneath that was something even more subtle. Gypsy. And this wasn't a young, new gypsy like the one in the Romanian pack. This was old blood, powerful magic.

  Mona continued to send her will out into the trees and over the snow-covered mountains, over rocks, plants, dirt, and the lives of the wildlife seeking shelter there. As she sought her query, she thought back to the last time a gypsy healer was known. Three centuries had passed since then, nations had risen and fallen, civilization had grown and evolved, all manner of technology now ruled the world. But even with all those changes, some things remained the same. Gypsy healers would always be where Canis lupis roamed. She knew that Melinda's daughter hadn't died. She had felt when Melinda had been slain, felt the life force drain from her body. But not Rachel.

  Mona had searched for decades without so much as a wisp of power. She had come to the conclusion then that the Fae must have helped the gypsy and her mate out. No mere gypsy healer could stand against Mona's power. She was the most powerful witch her coven had ever seen. When the Fae came in and wiped out the covens that were scattered over the Eastern world Mona had done what any smart predator does – she took to ground to bide her time.

  The Fae had decided that the witches were becoming too powerful and needed to have their population downsized. It worked better than they anticipated. Mona knew of no others that had survived beside herself.

  After her people had been wiped from the earth, Mona had found refuge with the Serbian pack. The Alpha wanted the healer from the Western Romanian pack, wanted her bad enough to hire a witch, and by doing so isolated himself and his pack from the other Canis lupis.

  Mona had agreed to his terms. She would get him the healer and he would protect her from any foe until she could regain her power. She was still powerful, even after the Fae, but she had been cloaking herself for so long and it was draining her.

  What the Serbian pack Alpha didn't know was that Mona had her own reasons for wanting the gypsy healer. Reasons that had nothing to do with the Alpha and everything to do with making her the most powerful witch ever to walk the earth. Mona was old. She'd been old three centuries ago. She remembered things long forgotten about the supernatural beings, remembered why gypsy healers were prized not only by werewolves but witches and Fae alike.

  "Where are you, little gypsy?" she whispered. "You can't hide forever." Mona opened her eyes, scanning the forest.

  Whatever she had felt earlier was now gone. She wasn't discouraged, Mona knew that hunting supernatural prey took time. Luckily for her, time was something she had plenty of.

  As she turned to leave, she began to hear the chorus of Electric Light Orchestra's song “Evil Woman”. Mona smiled to herself. So maybe the ringtone was a little much.

  I'm a witch, she thought. Surely no one would expect her ringtone to be “Lean On Me”.

  "What?" Her words were clipped as she answered.

  "I need to know what your plans are," Thad answered.

  Mona rolled her eyes. She was so sick of answering to the wolves. But, when she finally had the healer they would no longer hold any power over her.

  "I made my move. Now it's time to let the Alpha make his. Sometimes, Thad, the best course of action is to wait and watch."

  "Fine. I expect you to keep me updated."

  "Careful, wolf. Do not think to give me orders like I am one of yours. You do not want me as your enemy." Mona ended the call just as Thad began to respond. She didn't have time to argue with the overbearing wolf. She needed to do some searching through the archives that she'd managed to keep the Fae from destroying; she needed to know who could have helped Rachel remain in hiding and she needed to find a weakness.

  Mona had plenty to do, but Thad didn’t need to know that. The thought of doing her own research brought to mind the fact that Vasile was smart. He had to be to have lasted this long and be this powerful. It only made sense that he would do his own digging, especially since the Canis lupis seemed to have disregarded witches altogether. So perhaps it was time to pay a visit to the powerful Alpha's home – after all, while the wolf is away, there's room for the witch to play.

  Mona laughed to herself. I must be getting old if something so simple is funny to me, she thought. She grinned as she swept her deep red cloak around her.

  After sending out a mental call, she waited. Soon hoof stomps became audible and a second later there stood her black-as-night steed.

  "Ahh, Octavian, my faithful friend." Octavian was eighth in his line to serve the witches, hence his name. He was a steed of old, his life supernaturally long just as the ones before him. The witches had begun breeding them further back than Mona could remember.

  "Let's go on a journey," she told him as she swung up onto his back. She didn't disrespect him with a saddle. She knew that he didn't have to serve her. He, like any supernatural being, had magic of his own. Octavian turned and headed in the direction he had come, away from the crumbled mansion and the woods that held secrets that Mona would uncover.

  Decebel took a deep breath as he waited for Jen to answer him. He didn't have to wait long.

  "Where have you been? Why have you been blocking me? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Do you know what I've been through?" Jen's questions were like a gun going off in his head.

  "Are you talking to Jen right now?" Jacque asked as she watched Decebel's eyes get bigger and
bigger.

  Decebel nodded once, then with a wrinkled brow he asked, "Does she have an off switch?"

  "We've been looking for one for years," Sally offered, "but it's a no go."

  Decebel held up his hand to the two girls as he listened to Jen in his mind.

  "Why are you acting so weird?"

  He could hear pain in her voice and wondered if he was the cause of it. "She wants to know why I'm acting weird," Decebel told Jacque and Sally.

  "Okay, Dec, you need to tell her she's talking to me…through you," Jacque instructed.

  At the same time Decebel heard Jen say, "Is Jacque around? Put Jacque on the line."

  Decebel looked over to Fane. "Are they always this bossy?"

  Fane and Sally both looked deadpan at him, and at the same time replied, "Yes."

  "Jen, I'm going to listen to Jacque talk and you are going to listen through me. I will then give her your response." Decebel explained.

  "Ask her why the hell you're calling me Jen."

  "She wants to know why the hell I'm calling her by her name."

  Jacque raised a single eyebrow at him. "Are you calling her Jen?"

  Decebel nodded.

  "Yeah, that's not what you call her. You call her Jennifer…or baby…or smart ass, and even once I think you called her a mouthy little thing." Jacque waved her hand as she said, "Moving on. Okay. So, Jen, Decebel's been cursed." Jacque waited for Decebel to pass it on.

  The girls watched as Decebel bowed his head and started shaking it from side to side. They looked at each other, confused by his behavior. Then his shoulders began to shake.

  "Are you laughing?" Sally asked, bewildered.

  Decebel finally composed himself and looked up. "She said, 'So someone else has cursed him. What's the big deal? I curse him all the time'."

  They all started laughing; not only Jen's words, but at the puzzled tone with which Decebel relayed Jen's words.

  Jacque rolled her eyes. "No, you dimwit. Cursed as in its 'Leviosa' not 'Leviosa'. Not curse as in dumb ass."