Wolf of Sight

by Quinn Loftis

  “Maybe he won’t have to,” said Peri. “Thad, what’s it going to take? The veil to the In-Between is far from here. Give me logistics.”

  “Very well. It appears that the spell requires five wolves, each chosen from a different pack, to enter the veil and travel all the way through it. If they survive, they will exit here, the spell will be broken, and the draheim veil will open.”

  “Five wolves for five healers. Gotta hand it to, Volcan. He certainly has a penchant for poetic justice,” said Crina.

  “That’s one way of looking at it,” said Peri.

  “Sounds simple,” offered Aimo. “We go in, we go through, we come out. Easy enough.”

  Adira laughed but there was mirth in it. “Simple, but brutally effective. You have no idea, wolf.”

  “Well, explain it to me then,” said Aimo.

  “To all of us,” said Antonio. “I’ve heard of the place, of course, but I’ve never been there.”

  “People don’t go there,” said Peri. “They are sent there. Generally, they don’t come back.”

  “Maybe the only one here who’s ever been to the In-Between should explain it,” said Thadrick.

  Sorin looked up from his hands and realized everyone was staring at him. Elle squatted next to him and placed her arms around him. “It’s okay, Sorin.” She spoke through their bond. Sorin could feel the comfort she was pushing through to him. He couldn’t receive it. All he could think about was that place and the horrors he experienced there, most of which involved her. In the visions, if Elle wasn’t being tortured or killed, then she was always in the arms of another man, enjoying it. Sorin couldn’t take that again. He didn’t even want to think about it, much less describe it to the others.

  “I know it sucks, Sorin, but these wolves need to know what they’re up against,” said Peri.

  Sorin shook his head.

  “Surely, it can’t be that bad,” said Bannan.

  “It’s worse,” croaked Sorin.

  “How?” asked Antonio.

  “Imagine you have a mate, Antonio.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, imagine if I have my way with her right here in front of everyone.”

  Antonio snarled and lunged. Elle held up a hand, knocking him back down on his rump with an invisible force.

  “Enough,” said Peri.

  Sorin rose to his feet. He looked at Aimo, Bannan, and Antonio. “And imagine your mate enjoys it. Imagine her begging for more from another man. You want to experience that, Aimo?” The wolf didn’t respond. “What about you, Bannan?”

  “But it’s all in your mind, isn’t it?” Bannan asked.

  Sorin shook his head. “Nope. It’s as real as you and me. You will see it. You’ll close your eyes and try to shut it out, but still, the visions will be there. You’ll cover your ears, but you’ll still hear the sounds. You’ll hold your nose, but you’ll still smell the scents.

  “And after that, worse visions come. Maybe your mate is raped and murdered. Maybe your loved ones are all killed before your very eyes. You won’t know you’re hallucinating. You’ll believe in your hearts it’s real. You’ll suffer pain and loss. And then it will repeat all over again. You’ll beg for it to stop but it won’t. That is what the In-Between is like.

  “Sounds like a great place to build a summer home,” said Adira. No one laughed. “Tough crowd,” she said after a few minutes.

  “I won’t go back there,” said Sorin.

  “Damn right, you won’t,” said Elle, taking his hand. She spread her feet apart and stared at the others, daring anyone to defy her.

  Peri sighed. “No need to make a decision right now. Let us all return to my house and regroup. We will gather everyone and then make a determination as to what must be done. Elle and Adam, if you will flash with these wolves, I need to take Thad with me. We will meet you there shortly.”

  “Where are you going?” asked Adam.

  Peri smiled. “The Little Shop of Horrors. Thad is about to take a stroll down memory lane.”

  ***

  Heather stared at herself. She held up her hand. The vision she saw through Kale’s eyes held up a hand. She furrowed her brow. The figure in front of her furrowed its brow. Heather had never gazed into a mirror before, but if she had, she would’ve known this was similar, though not exactly the same as Kale’s point of view was a little higher because he was taller than her. She tilted her head and began staring at herself, watching as she leaned closer and closer to Kale. He leaned forward and placed a kiss to her lips. Heather yelped and leaned back.

  “Stop that!”

  “What?” he asked.

  “That was weird. It was like I was kissing myself. Hold still.” She reached out and grabbed his face on either side with both of her hands, pulling him close again. She turned her head left and right, examining herself. She narrowed her eyes, then opened them wide, then narrowed them again. She pouted her lips. She stuck out her tongue. She opened her mouth, looked inside, and said, “Aaaaahhhh.” Heather closed her mouth again then released Kale. She stood up and he followed. Slowly, she turned in a circle, examining herself. Heather saw long blonde locks flowing down her back. She saw big brown eyes and a girl who was very, very short. She’d known she was short, of course, because she constantly found herself reaching up to feel the faces of other people, but looking at herself from Kale’s perspective, she now realized just exactly how short she was.

  “So, that’s what I look like, huh? Should I be impressed?”

  Kale shook his head, which was disconcerting to Heather as her newly acquired field of vision shifted without warning. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I mean … am I … ya know … pretty?”

  Kale chuckled. “You are the prettiest lass on earth.”

  “Have you seen all the women on earth?”

  “No, but I’ve seen a lot of them, and I can’t imagine one better looking than you.”

  “What do you mean you’ve seen a lot of them?” She narrowed her eyes on him, though she couldn’t see out of them.

  “I don’t mean a lot, a lot. I just mean … you know … you walk around, you see people, that’s all. Women make up half the population. It’s hard to avoid them.”

  “Well, since I’m the only woman I’ve ever seen, I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. This is so cool,” she squealed. “Can you, like, look in a mirror or something?”

  Kale patted his pockets. “Sorry, I don’t usually carry around a mirror with me.”

  Heather growled. “I want to look at you.”

  “I can do that, sorta.”

  “What do you mean, sort of?”

  “I can send ya an image of meeself, lass, but it won’t be exact.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, a person doesn’t exactly know what they look like, do they? I mean, ya look at yerself in tha mirror, but it’s kinda hard to remember every detail, ya know?”

  “I do not,” she said, deadpan.

  He chuckled. “I guess you wouldn’t. I’ll do me best.”

  All of a sudden, a picture of pure masculine perfection filled her mind—or at least what she’d imagined as pure masculine perfection when such things were described to her. She saw a man with dark hair, green eyes, and a red goatee set upon a broad chin. “Wow,” she breathed.

  “Is that a good wow?” he asked.

  “That’s an un-freaking-believable wow. You’re hot.”

  “I appreciate that you find me attractive. I was a bit concerned that when you were able to see through my eyes you might not find me attractive.”

  “You knew this was going to happen?”

  “No, but like I said, I knew it’d be possible. And I figured I’d at least be able to send you images of what I see. I wanted to surprise you. But I didn't perform the blood rites with you so that you can see. I did it because I love you, Heather, and I want to be with you more than anything. You're my mate. One
of these days when this is all over, we’ll go back to Ireland and have a house full of pups. I can't wait to show you my home country. It’s so beautiful. Everything is lush and green. You're going to love it.”

  “I can't wait to go there with you,” said Heather. “And you needn't have worried about me being attracted to other men.”

  “That’s probably because you've never seen a man before. Unfortunately, now I'm going to have to keep you separated from every other man on Earth just in case you find one that you think is better looking than me.”

  “As long as you’re there, I don’t care. Lock me in a castle if that’s what you want. My father did like to call me Rapunzel when I was little.”

  “Rapunzel’s got nothin’ on you, lass.”

  “Kale, can you show me some things? I want to see everything.”

  “As you wish,” he replied. He turned from her and began walking forward, pivoting his head slowly so his mate might take in as much visual input as possible. She stepped up beside him and they marched in lockstep, Heather using his eyesight as her guide as she deftly, though slowly, got used to walking by sight instead of by feel.

  “Okay, stop,” she ordered. He did and she also stopped a beat later. “Look up.” Kale complied. “I assume this humongous thing in front of me is a tree.”

  “You assume correctly.”

  Heather said nothing for several moments. The tree was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Okay, so it was one of the only things she’d ever seen. Still, the sight of it caused tears to form in her eyes. Colors. There were colors everywhere. She never imagined there were so many colors. The tree itself held so many shades of green—a color she’d only heard of but never seen—she couldn’t believe it.

  Heather stepped toward the tree and extended her hands, almost tripping and bumping into it because she was guiding herself with Kale’s eyes. She ran her hand along the rough bark, something she’d done so many times in the past. This was an oak. She knew exactly how the bark felt on many different kinds of trees because she’d felt them all on her own property. But now, she knew what an oak tree looked like.

  “You don't understand how many times I've seen a tree like this by feeling it with my hands and now I can actually see what I've been feeling all these years. It's just so…”

  “Overwhelming?” he offered.

  “Yes, overwhelming.”

  Each leaf of the tree seemed itself to be a smorgasbord of greens colliding and overlapping each other. She reached up and wiped the wetness off her cheeks. The action was surreal. She didn’t see her hands as they approached her eyes. She only saw herself through Kale’s eyes reaching toward her own face. The process took a bit of getting used to, and she accidentally poked herself in the eye once, but she was beginning to figure it out.

  Heather began to laugh.

  “What's so funny?” asked Kale.

  “I'm laughing because I've always wanted to see, and now, I'm seeing myself seeing. It’s just a strange sensation. I don't know how to explain it.”

  “Got it. You know what's even stranger to me?” he asked. “When I look through your eyes, I see darkness. Absolute pitch black. I get to experience what you've experienced your whole life. It makes me feel closer to you.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you so much for this, Kale.”

  “This wasn't my doing, mot. This was the Great Luna.”

  “And I’m forever grateful. I need to see more. Look down.”

  He did and she breathed, “The ground.” The healer looked long at the dirt beneath her feet. She bent down and scooped up a handful. The earth had such a familiar feeling. She’d scooped up so much of it in her lifetime, feeling it, seeing it. She knew exactly how all the different soil types around her farm back in Texas felt. To most people, dirt was dirt. Not to Heather. Everywhere she went, the dirt felt different in its own subtle way. The dirt of the fae realms was soft and loamy. She imagined a person could grow almost anything in it if they were so inclined. She stepped close to Kale and held the handful of dirt up in front of his eyes, staring. He chuckled but she just gazed at it, gaping.

  “It’s just dirt, my love.”

  “It’s amazing,” she replied. “What kind of brown is this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. What kind of brown? Light, dark, sandy, beige, hazel, chestnut, chocolate, khaki, desert, red-brown, coffee, caramel? WHAT SHADE OF BROWN IS THIS?” She brandished the handful of dirt at him, almost hitting him in the nose with it.

  “Uh, I’d call that … light brown, I guess. I’m not the best with culurs.”

  “What do you mean you’re not the best with colors? Can’t you see them?”

  “Yes, I can,” he replied. “But culurs are kind of a … chick thing. I mean, to a bloke, brown is just brown. The nuances are lost on most of my gender.”

  “I want to know them all. Let’s look at something else,” she said, dropping the dirt and wiping her hands on her coveralls. She took a step to her left, off the path into some tall grass. Dutifully, Kale followed. Heather reached down and plucked a blade of the grass.

  “More green,” she said.

  “Once again, mot, you are correct. I have to confess, Heather, this isn’t exactly how I imagined spending the first few moments after performing the Blood Rites with my mate.”

  “And how did you imagine it?”

  “With you and me wrapped in a tangle of sweaty sheets.”

  “Oh … OH! No … that’s just … eww.”

  “Eww?? What do you mean eww?” he asked.

  “When we do … that, I’m going to be looking at myself … doing that. I don’t think I want to see that.”

  Kale burst out laughing. “That would be weird. I don’t think I’d want to see myself doing that either. I’ll close my eyes.”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” she said. “I’m sure some type of … arrangement could be made. For now, I’m still looking at things.”

  “I have an idea,” he said and grabbed her hand. “Follow me.”

  “No,” she replied. “I’ve been led around my whole life. I want to walk without someone guiding me for once. I’ll walk beside you. But kind of keep an eye on the ground in front of me. If you look off at bird flying by, then I’ll have to look at it, too. You know what? Scratch that. I do want to see a bird and everything else possible. If you do see a bird, look at it so I can see it.”

  “We’ll take it slow, lass, and look at everything we come ta’. How’s tat?”

  “Great,” she replied. They began strolling arm in arm down the wooded path, which soon opened into a clearing. Wildflowers of every color swayed in a strong breeze on either side of the trail. Heather gasped when she saw them. She fell on her knees in front of them, picking them one by one and holding them up to Kale’s face so she could examine them. “What color is this?” she asked.

  “That one is yellow.”

  “And this?”

  “Purple.”

  “It’s so pretty. What about this one?” She held up a wild daisy.

  “That’s white,” said Kale.

  “White?” Her brow furrowed. She held the flower up to her arm. “I thought I was white.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked. “You are white.”

  “I don’t look like this,” she said examining the bright petals laid against her pale skin.

  Kale laughed. “No, your skin isn’t exactly white, it’s more of a … peach color.”

  “So, I’m not white? I’ve always been told I was white.”

  Kale laughed more. “No, no, no. You are white. But that doesn’t mean your skin is necessarily white. White is just a term used to describe the race of people. We’re also called Caucasians, of course.”

  Heather held her arm up to his. “Our skin tones are very similar,” she said. “Are all white people this color?”

  Kale laughed again. “Not ev
en close.”

  “Did I just hear you say I was a peach color?”

  “Yes, I would say that’s a good description.”

  “So, I’m the same color as a peach? That’s strange.”

  “Uh, actually, no. Peaches aren’t really peach colored usually. They’re more of a reddish and yellow mixture.”

  “I had no idea colors were so confusing,” said Heather.

  “Neither did I until I started trying to explain them.”

  Heather looked at clothes through Kale’s eyes. “And these overalls are blue?”

  “They are.”

  “What color is your shirt?”

  He looked down. “This is black.”

  “Okay, before I make any assumptions and look like a huge idiot in front of my friend later, tell me this. Stella is black, is she not?”

  “She is,” said Kale.

  “But I bet you’re going to tell me she isn’t the same color as your shirt.”

  “She is not.” He smirked.

  “Then what color is she?”

  Kale scrunched up his face. “I’m sure you’ll see for yourself, but I would say she is kind of a … chocolate color.”

  “Chocolate! Again, with the food. Well, I have no idea what color chocolate is, only that it tastes delicious.”

  “We’ll get you some later, love.”

  “Oh, I wish I could see your face.”

  “If you would quit asking me questions and come along, then you might.”

  “Okay, okay.” She grabbed him and held him by the arm. “You're not leading me. I'm just holding your arm because that’s what mates do. They walk arm in arm.”

  “Right,” he agreed.

  They walked for a few minutes, slowly and surely. All the while, Heather fought the urge to stop and gaze at every rock and stump along the path. Soon, they came to a fork. Kale turned his nose up and sniffed.

  “This way,” he said and pulled her along the right-hand lane. “There's water close by.”

  Soon, they came to a large steel-gray lake. Sunlight glinted off the surface and Heather had to stop.