by T J Green
A sudden pain in her head made her stumble and fall, and Josh returned to her side, nuzzling her hand. A voice filled her head. Avery, it’s Alex. Can you hear me?
Relief flooded though her, and she answered in her mind. Yes! Where are you?
Somewhere in the garden. It’s dark. I can’t get out, but I feel the earth beneath me, and can hear the trees. It’s like I’ve been blinded.
Have you seen Piper?
I can hear howling, but that’s all.
I’m coming. Stay with me.
She rose to her feet and sent out a witch light, illuminating the trees and a path that ran behind the house. She was sure now that no one was here. They had planned this to delay them, keep them here all night if necessary, all in order to miss the challenge.
Bollocks to them. They would not win.
She sent out light after light, floating around the garden, and then decided to cast a finding spell. Alex’s scent was all over her, and she was wearing his scarf. She quickly cast the spell and a small, blue light appeared out of the air; she followed it across the garden.
She hadn’t gone too far when Piper appeared, snarling on the path ahead of her. Oh no. Not again.
But this time, Josh intervened. As Piper leapt at Avery, Josh leapt at her, and the wolves collided mid-leap. They hit the ground, a snarling, tumbling mass of teeth and fur.
As soon as she had a clear shot, Avery sent of couple of blasts of pure energy at Piper, and like Josh, it seemed to shock her out of whatever spell had confused her. She whined as recognition flooded through her and both of them turned and headed off across the garden.
Alex. Can you hear us? Avery again communicated to him in her head. She could feel his presence, and his worry.
You’re muffled, he replied. As if you’re overhead.
You must be underground, she reasoned. They probably have a cellar or a basement. Can you see anything yet?
Something is binding my magic. I can’t spell anything, other than to speak to you.
A howl disturbed Avery’s attention, and she ran towards the sound. Josh and Piper were pawing at the ground, raking back dirt, and Avery joined them. They were at the back of the garden, next to an old shed, and Avery could see metal gleaming beneath the dirt.
“I hear you!” Alex shouted audibly from beneath her feet.
Relief flooded though Avery and she called to the wolves, “Stand back. I’m going to try something.”
Avery used elemental air to move the earth, wielding it like a shovel to push it out of the way. As she dumped it to the side, she saw a hatch in the ground, like an old air raid shelter. Magic sang from it, crackling around the edges. “Alex, I’ve found a hatch. It’s spelled shut. Bear with me.”
She could feel a combination of Earth and Fire magic. The Earth must be giving Alex that suffocating blanket feeling that was blinding him, much like El’s curse had. She tried a few different spells, attempting to break through whatever was holding Alex inside, but nothing worked. She sat back, thinking for a moment. El’s sword wielded Ice Fire—maybe that would do it.
“Josh, Piper. I need the sword in the back of the car. Can you get it?” Josh nodded and loped off across the garden, returning within a couple of minutes, the blade between his teeth. Avery shouted, “Alex, if you can feel anything, make for the edges and crouch down.”
She held the sword, activating its magic by sending a shiver of fire along its blade, and then pressed the point to the tin panel and felt the crack of magic. She cast a banishing spell at the same time as she plunged the sword through the tin as if it were butter. As soon as it punctured the metal, a pop sounded and Avery was thrown backwards several feet, leaving the sword in the metal. Josh changed form and took over, dragging the sword through the metal as sparks were thrown around them. An oily black cloud seeped out of the jagged tear, and he stepped back, coughing. Avery whisked it into the shed and sealed it in. Again she used her magic to peel the metal back and she peered in and saw Alex crouched on the floor about eight feet down, arms over his head. She called out, “Need a hand?”
He looked up and grinned. “I need many things right now, but getting out of here would be good.”
“If it’s all right with you,” Josh said, shivering, “I’m changing back to wolf form. I’m freezing my ass off.”
“No problem,” Avery said. By the time she’d turned back to Alex, he was already dragging himself out of the hole in the ground, and Avery extended a hand, giving a final pull.
“Are you okay?” she asked, checking him over for injuries.
He tied his hair back in a half-ponytail, and rolled his shoulders as if ready for a fight. “Fine. Just pissed off. If they’re going to throw stuff like that at us, we’ll be in trouble later.”
“We’ll be fine,” she said, giving him a big hug. “We just need to get more creative. We’re a great team, remember?”
“I remember,” he said, stealing a quick kiss. “Now, let’s get out of here. I feel like Indiana bloody Jones.”
Once they were safely back in the car and headed back into Ambleside, with the heating turned up full blast, they decided on their next step.
Josh was mulling over their options. “It’s pointless going to Cooper’s. We may well find the same problem, and we’ve wasted over an hour already. But, maybe I’ll call my mate, Evan. I’d like to see what he thinks of all this.”
“One of the Shifters who supports you?” Avery asked.
“And he fancies Holly,” Piper said, raising an eyebrow. “You may find him more willing to help than you think, Josh.”
He groaned. “He fancies her. It’s not bloody Romeo and Juliet.”
“You have no romance in your soul,” Piper chastised him.
“Neither has he,” he answered.
“I like this plan,” Alex said, grinning. “Where to?”
“Keswick. The centre of all things Wolf in Cumbria.”
“Is it?” Avery asked, feeling she was learning something new every second.
“That’s where Castlerigg is, and where Cooper lives, as well as a few other Shifter families.”
“But you’re right, there’s no point in going to Cooper’s place,” Piper said, adamant.
“Why’s that?” Alex asked, twisting to look at her in the backseat.
“We may find ourselves trapped at Cooper’s forever. He lives in what’s near enough a bloody castle. We could end up in the dungeon.”
“A castle?” Avery said, incredulous.
“Yep. With security.”
With that, Avery’s stomach emitted a large growl. “I have a small request. Before we do anything else, let’s go to the pub. I’m starving, and sick to death of sitting in a car and eating motorway service food.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Josh said, finding a parking space on the side of a busy road. “And then we plan our attack.”
17
The Unicorn Inn was a small stone building painted white, tucked in the middle of a row of shops along a one-way street.
They headed inside to find a cosy pub with a low-beamed roof, a long wooden bar, an array of local beers, and a gin display. There were a couple of spare tables, and once they had drinks and ordered food, they headed to the table in the corner, glad of the privacy.
Now that they were inside in the warmth, their experiences in the Devices’ garden seemed like a nightmare.
“The good thing is that at Castlerigg, they won’t be able to plant booby trap spells,” Josh said, cheering up as he sipped his pint. “The whole pack will be there.”
“But they could try to stop us from getting there,” Piper pointed out. “The road is remote.”
“Not if we time it right,” he answered.
“How long to get there from here?” Alex asked. It was already nearing eight.
“Half an hour. But we’ll leave as soon as we’ve eaten. Which reminds me, I’ll call Evan.” And with that, Josh slipped out to make the call.
“What’s Keswick
like?” Avery asked Piper, her expression already returning to her normal scowl.
“Busy, old, and full of tourists most of the year. It’s popular with walkers.”
“And Shifters,” Alex added.
“Yeah, those too. There are forests, moors, lakes—all wild and remote, if you leave the towns far enough behind.”
“And the stone circle is close?”
Piper nodded. “Just out of town.”
They paused while the waitress delivered their food, just as Josh returned looking pleased. As soon as she left, Alex asked, “Good news?”
“Very,” Josh said, grinning. “Evan and another couple of mates have decided to help.”
Piper looked suspicious. “Who? And how?”
“Ollie and Tommy.”
Piper frowned. “Tommy is a brawler! He just wants a fight.”
Josh pointed his fork at her. “Exactly. And so do Ollie and Evan. I pointed out that Evan may actually stand a chance with Holly if he can get Cooper out of the way.”
“You used Holly as bait?” she asked, outraged.
“No! Not like that,” he said, looking equally outraged. “Will you shut up and let me finish?”
Piper grimaced and waved him on while Alex and Avery watched, amused.
“It turns out that in the last few months, Cooper’s been pressuring them and a few others to support his business, whilst threatening theirs.”
“What is his business?” Alex asked.
“Real estate. Don’t ask me the details, because I have no idea. Anyway, they’ve had enough and with this latest incident with Hunter, and they have finally decided it’s time to act.” He turned to Alex and Avery. “If you can control the witches.”
Avery looked at Alex with a smirk and then turned back to Josh. “I can’t guarantee control, but we can probably work something out. But what’s your plan?”
“Hunter will fight Cooper. I need to tell him he must submit once he’s got a good way into the fight—we have to get to him to let him know—and then I will challenge, as will Evan, Ollie, and Tommy. All at once. We tell him we take him on, one at a time. He can’t beat all of us. Whoever beats him becomes Alpha. He will have to capitulate.”
Avery felt the faintest stirring of hope within her. “Until he capitulates to what?”
“Everything. Keeping his nose out of other people’s business. His claim on Holly. His bullying tactics. He only remains Alpha if he agrees to those terms.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Alex asked.
“We fight,” Josh said, shrugging. “And he will lose.”
“Bullies don’t like to be cornered,” Alex said softly. “And he has the Devices to render you impotent.”
“Not in the open, in front of everyone. Everyone knows they support him, but have never suspected them of manipulation using magic. The Devices have, in fact, sworn to us many times that they would never subvert our will or Cooper’s leadership in that way.” Josh was looking excited now as his plans began to take shape. “Wolves are swift and deadly. The Devices can’t watch their backs all the time. They know they have to keep us sweet. They will need to agree. And you need to bind them to it.”
“We need to what?” Avery asked, almost choking on her drink.
“Bind them. You can do that, right?”
It was Alex’s turn to smirk. “We know all about binding.”
A sudden memory of a spell flashed into Avery’s mind as Alex spoke. “We can use a word binding.”
“We can?” he asked, confused.
“Trust me. It’s tickling my brain. I need to check my grimoire.” She was itching to leave the table right then, but she forced herself to finish her meal and listen to what else Josh had planned.
“Excellent,” Josh said, carrying on regardless. “We’re heading to Evan’s place in Keswick. We can leave the car there and walk to the stone circle when we’re ready.”
Alex asked, “Do we enter the stone circle with you, or loiter undercover nearby?”
“This fight will be witnessed by pack members and Devices only,” Josh said, tucking into his pie and chips. “But the circle is surrounded by stone walls, so you should be able to hide behind one of them. At the right time, we’ll call on you. Sound good?”
“And that means you can monitor them in case they decide to use magic anyway,” Piper added, buzzing with anticipation. “But you’ll need to disguise your scent, or stay a long way back. Wolves, even in human form, have a strong sense of smell.”
“No problem. We’ll think of something, won’t we, Avery?” Alex said, winking at her.
“Nothing a cloaking spell won’t solve,” she answered. Despite her worry, she was curious to see a Shifter meeting, especially in a stone circle. Then she asked something that had been on the tip of her tongue all night. “Do you fight as wolves or humans?”
Piper answered, pushing her plate away. “Humans—most of the time. By mutual agreement, the last time Cooper and Hunter both shifted at the same time. It got ugly. That’s why Hunter was injured so badly.”
“Which brings me to my next point,” Josh added, reaching forward for his pint. “For the last couple of days, he’s kept a low profile. Rumours are he was pretty badly injured himself. We didn’t see it because we fled. Only the ministrations of Rose Device have helped him so quickly. That’s another reason he can’t fight us all. He’s not fit enough.”
“So why fight now?” Avery asked, incredulous.
“Appearances are everything,” Josh said. “Especially to an Alpha. And he thinks he’ll only have one challenger to fight. He’s in for a big surprise.”
***
The group followed the A591 to Castlerigg Village, and then on to Keswick without incident. It was a small market town on the northern end of Derwentwater Lake. They passed through its quiet streets, and then scoped out the area around the stone circle before going to Evan’s house, so that Avery and Alex could get a feel for the place.
The night was getting colder by the minute. Castlerigg Stone Circle lay at the bottom of Skiddaw and Blencathra hills. It was situated on raised ground, and the wind rolled across it relentlessly. A crescent moon rode high above them, and the sky was filled with stars. Dew lay heavy on the ground and soon it would frost. Already patches of white sparkled in the muted light, and snow speckled the hilltops above them.
The circle itself was large, formed by 38 tall, misshapen standing stones that went back millennia—at least 5,000 years. On the way, Avery had Googled it, fascinated by its history. There was a break in the stones on the left of the circle, indicating the possibility of a ceremonial entrance, and a small rectangle of stones in the centre. Like many stone circles, it was believed to have astronomical significance, as well as burial purposes.
Piper was right. Low stone walls edged the surrounding fields, including the one the stone circle was in. They discussed their approach and the best place to stand, and then Josh turned the car around, heading back along the lanes and snaking through the outskirts of the town, before finally drawing to a halt outside a small stone cottage at the end of a row of identical cottages. It backed into a small copse—the perfect place for a Shifter to live.
Josh bounded up the path, Piper behind him, but Alex and Avery reached into the boot for their magic supplies, and then stood for a moment, looking over the street. The air was crisp, and the hoot of an owl drifted across the still night air. Nothing else stirred.
“Are you sure we can do this?” Alex asked Avery, his hand resting slightly on her arm. “I don’t want a war with the Devices.”
“I’m sure. I don’t want one, either. If I work this properly, we come to a truce. A mutual binding that will satisfy both of us.”
“I don’t think I want to be bound to them.”
“It’s not that kind of binding,” she said, smiling up at him. “Come on inside and I’ll explain. I’m really hoping there’s some kind of hot toddy waiting for me.”
The front door was still partially o
pen, and they entered a small, narrow hall. Shutting the door behind them, they headed to the light at the end of the passage, and found five people clustered around a fire burning fiercely in a huge, old-fashioned range. A mismatched series of armchairs and an old, worn sofa battled for space around it. The other half of the room featured a very old kitchen that probably hadn’t been updated since the 1950s.
Josh looked up and caught their eye. “Hi, guys. Let me introduce you to the troops.” He indicated the three very large men in the room. Now this is what I thought Shifters would look like, Avery thought.
Ollie was tall with an athletic build, short-cropped hair like Josh, and pale hazel eyes. Evan was average height, wiry and lean. And well, Tommy was just huge. He looked exactly like what Piper had called him—a brawler. He had shaggy brown hair, a full beard, large muscular arms and legs, and piercing baby blue eyes, which were most disconcerting. Those baby blues were frowning, his sleeves were rolled up, and he looked ready to take on anyone.
After quick handshakes all around, Tommy resumed his conversation in a broad northern accent. “I swear I’ll rip his head off, given the chance. I will not let Holly get trapped by that bastard. I’ve had enough of him. He thinks he’s better than the rest of us, and I can put up with some stuff, but not this!” He banged his fist on the range, and Avery jumped.
“You don’t need to rip his head off! Just threaten to. He won’t want to fight you, Tommy. In fact, I’m surprised he’s even attempted to rope you into his crap,” Josh said, trying to calm him down.
Tommy looked slightly guilty and glanced away, into the fire. “He might have something on me.”
Josh looked at Ollie and Evan, and then back to Tommy. “Like what?”
“Just a bit of under the table selling of building supplies.”
“Don’t tell me you nicked off Cooper’s site?”
Tommy scratched his ear. “It was a small error on my part. It won’t happen again.”
“He’s threatened you with the police?”
“Might have,” he said sheepishly.
Josh frowned. “So why the change of attitude?”
