The Wolfborne Saga Box Set

by Cheree Alsop

  The man glanced back and let out a strangled cry. He jumped down the short stairs that separated the parking lot from the sidewalk and weaved between the cars.

  I jumped from the sidewalk onto the closest car. There were only a few at the college given that it was an off day, and most had parked as close as possible due to the rain. I jumped from one to the next, then threw myself at the form of the fleeing man.

  He let out a yell when I tackled him to the ground. The book was jolted from his grip and bounced across the wet pavement. I scooped it up before it could get damaged further.

  The man’s chest heaved as he peered up at me. “What are you?” he demanded. “I was the fastest on my college track team. You shouldn’t have been able to catch me like that if you were human.”

  I couldn’t help the smile of triumph that spread across my lips. “Then you figured it out.”

  His eyes widened and he pushed backwards until he met the side of a car.

  “What then?” he asked. “Vampire?”

  I gave a snort of disgust. I tracked the sound of Isley and Virgo catching up without looking.

  “You’re not a warlock,” the man said. “So what then? A skin walker? A demon? A werewolf?”

  I nodded at his last guess.

  The man looked around quickly. “So where’s the rest of your pack?” He pushed up to a standing position with his back against the car. I figured he thought having his back protected would be safer, but if a werewolf pack was there and on his trail for a reason, nothing at his back would have saved him. “Are they coming?”

  “I don’t have a pack,” I said. The pang that followed the admission was a strange one. I had never needed a pack, and I didn’t now. I was better off without one.

  “Man, you can run,” Virgo said breathlessly as he caught up to us. He shook his head. “I’ve had way too much exercise today.” His eyes lit on the book I was holding and relief chased the weariness from his expression. “Thank goodness you found it.”

  I held the book out to him. Virgo took it and tucked it into his jacket to shield it from the rain.

  “But I need that,” the man said. “Please. I’ll give you anything for it. Just let me borrow it until I find her.”

  That caught my attention. “Find who?”

  He shielded his eyes with a hand to keep the rain out of them when he said, “My wife.”

  My heart slowed. I glanced at Virgo and Isley. They both looked as surprised as I felt.

  I took a step closer to the man. He cringed back against the car. His fear gripped my heart in a fist. I held up my hands to show that I meant him no harm and asked as gently as I could, “Where is your wife?”

  The man looked at the ground. “They took her.” When he met my eyes again, his expression was one of desperation. “I need the book to know how to get her back from them. I need to save her!”

  “From who?” Virgo asked. “Who took her?”

  The fear the man felt at being addressed by the warlock made his face blanche, but when he looked at the book Virgo held, he steeled himself visibly.

  “Witches,” he said. “And a warlock, a strong one.” He rubbed his eyes with both hands. “He wants to marry her.”

  “He wants to marry your wife?” Isley repeated.

  The man nodded quickly. “That’s why they took her. There’s some sort of ceremony for the full moon. It’s in—”

  “Two nights,” I completed.

  He nodded. “I promised her I would find a way to free her, but I don’t have much time.”

  Isley looked back at the college. “Are you a professor here?”

  He nodded. “I teach Biology and Chemistry.” He hesitated, then held out a hand. “Professor Shipley at your service.”

  Virgo shook his hand. “Virgo Stein, and this is Isley Mortimer.” He gave me a wry look. “You’ve already met Zev.”

  He nodded, but didn’t hold out his hand to me. Given the state of road rash on his arms from being tackled, I couldn’t blame him.

  “Let’s go to my coven,” Virgo said. “They can help.”

  Professor Shipley shook his head. “I’ve had enough of witches.”

  “Me, too,” Isley said.

  “You’re not one of them?” Shipley asked.

  “No,” Isley replied. She looked at me. “And I’d rather not go back there.”

  I could feel Virgo’s eyes on me. I had promised to bring her back. I owed the witches for saving her life, and Virgo needed to help his mother against the dark coven. I couldn’t see a way around it.

  “What if we just go talk to them?” I asked.

  Isley shook her head, her blonde hair sticking to her cheeks. “I really don’t want to go back there. You can’t make me.”

  I stared at her. “I’m not going to make you. What do you think I am?”

  “A beast,” I heard the professor mutter behind me.

  I fought back the urge to growl at him and prove his point. Instead, I willed my heartbeat to slow. The thrill of the chase that was still running through my veins made it hard to think like a human. The chill from the storm and the smell of fear emanating from the professor were distracting as well.

  “Let’s go inside and talk,” Virgo offered. “Maybe we can find a compromise.”

  “That’s a good idea,” the professor agreed.

  I almost hoped he would run again as we followed him back to his classroom. I picked up the sneakers I had left in the hallway, and was aware of Isley’s curious look when I slipped them back on. The trepidation she felt at going back to the witches’ house showed on her face when we entered the classroom again. I couldn’t blame her at all. The thought of returning to where I had experienced so much pain didn’t appeal to me, either.

  “The way I see it,” Virgo began. “If your wife is captured by a dark coven, the only way you can get her back is with help.”

  “How do I know your coven isn’t the one who took her?” Professor Shipley asked suspiciously.

  “Because we don’t kidnap people,” he replied.

  “And I’m supposed to take your word for that?” Shipley asked.

  Virgo leaned against one of the desks and crossed his arms. “No, I guess not.”

  He looked around the room. I followed his gaze. The jars along the far counter contained strange items like a pig fetus, a frog, and an animal heart all suspended in formaldehyde. Several terrariums were interspersed with cages of crickets and one of mice.

  “You sure you’re not a warlock?” I asked the professor.

  He cracked a humorless smile. “I’m a biology professor. I guess that’s close.”

  Virgo flipped through the book he held.

  “I’ve been looking through it for clues as to why they took her now,” Professor Shipley said. “Kristen knew they would be coming.”

  “She knew it?” Isley repeated. “How?”

  The professor turned to her. “My wife’s a psychic. Her hobby is keeping in touch with the spiritual realm.” He rolled his eyes. “Especially her mother, which we could do without. She has a lot of opinions about why she shouldn’t have married a mere professor when she could have attracted someone more powerful.”

  “Did she try to hide?” Virgo asked.

  Professor Shipley shook his head. “She knew it would only be more dangerous. She said the only way for me to save her was to figure out why the warlock wanted her. She said the answer would be in the book.” He rubbed his face. Desperation showed in his gaze when he looked at Virgo. “I’m running out of time to save her.”

  As Virgo thumbed through the pages, a thought struck me. “She’s a psychic with a connection to the spiritual realm.” I repeated Aspen’s warning, “Don’t follow the Ankou.” The pieces fell together and my stomach gave a sickening twist. I focused on Virgo. “Look up the chant for raising the dead.”

  “Are you serious?” Isley asked.

  I kept my focus on Virgo. The warlock turned quickly to a section in the middle of the book and sca
nned the page. His face paled and he looked back up at me. “You’re right.”

  “What does it say?” Professor Shipley asked. He crossed to the warlock and looked over his shoulder. He read aloud where Virgo pointed. “While raising the dead isn’t recommended, in times of absolute necessity, conditions have to be absolutely perfect. A binding connection to the chanter and a psychic will improve the strength of the chant, enabling the chanter to raise hundreds or thousands depending on the strength and purity of the necessary items listed below. This chant can only be performed during the night of the blood moon at full strength.”

  Virgo took over. “It has a list of items including a mass burial cemetery.”

  He met my gaze over the top of the book.

  “Brickwell,” I said, remembering Mrs. Stein’s accounting of how the town had been built over a massive supernatural burial ground. The coven had been assigned to the town for its protection against the exact thing that was happening.

  Virgo nodded and squinted as he read the fine print at the bottom of the page. “Only a witch or warlock of the Third Order will be powerful enough to attempt this spell. Once begun, the spell can only be broken by the purest of all sacrifices. Take care to only invoke this chant if completely necessary, for the dead do not take to rising lightly.”

  “Raising the dead?” Isley said. “A blood moon? Sacrifices?” She shook her head. “I’m out.”

  “I’ll protect you,” I promised.

  She stared at me. “How on earth could you protect me against a coven like this?”

  “Because he’s a—” Shipley began.

  But Virgo’s hand closed over the professor’s arm. At the professor’s look, he shook his head. Shipley looked from me to Isley and understanding showed on his face.

  Isley didn’t notice their interaction. She was too busy making her way to the door. I followed.

  “Isley, you need the witches to help you. You don’t know what you can do yet,” I protested.

  She opened the door and paused with her hand on it. “We can figure it out after they get this under control. I’m not going to be a part of it.”

  I sucked in a breath and said what I had been hoping to avoid. “If this warlock raises the dead, it’s going to affect everyone in Brickwell. Everyone will be a part of it. It says the dead don’t take to being raised lightly, and that’s because when they awaken, all they want to do is feed. Whoever they were when they died is gone, leaving just a shell with a purely savage drive.” I held her gaze. “Isley, if they succeed, there won’t be a Brickwell anymore.”

  She fell silent for a moment. Her voice came out as a strangled whisper when she said, “And what am I supposed to do to help with that?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea,” I replied honestly. “But when they found out what you were, the witches had hope for the first time since all of this started.” I wouldn’t force her to go to them, but I had to try to convince her to do it on her own. “Isley, you may be the key to surviving this madness. Without you, we might all be lost.”

  “But I’m already lost,” she said in a voice that told of how close to tears she was.

  My heart went out to her. I went with the only chance I had left. “Isley, I need you to trust me.” I waited until she looked at me before I said, “I need you to trust the one who spilled orange Julius down your shirt and whose hair you cut despite the fact that I may be a little crazy.”

  That brought the ghost of a smile to her eyes. “A little?”

  I smiled in return. “Okay, a lot.”

  Isley looked from me to the others who waited quietly in the room. I was grateful neither of them spoke. Virgo knew as well as I did what hinged on her accepting. Whether he thought I made the right decision by leaving it in her hands, I wasn’t sure, but I respected the fact that he didn’t step on what I was trying to do.

  I knew her answer the moment she sighed. Stark relief flooded through me. I don’t know what I would have done if she had refused. Tension eased from my body at the fact that I didn’t have to make that decision.

  “I’ll go,” Isley said. She looked back at me. “But if things get too scary, can I tap out?”

  I nodded. “Definitely. And I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

  I didn’t have much power when it came to witches. It had taken one encounter at the house to get me frozen and shot. The thought that I was willingly going back there and bringing Isley to the danger with me wasn’t a pleasant one.

  “Fine. I’ll go too,” Professor Shipley said even though no one had asked him. “It’s worth it to find a way to rescue Kristen.”

  We walked back to Virgo’s small truck that was meant to hold two people and maybe a cat. The rain had lessened a bit, so I ended up offering to ride in the back to save Isley the discomfort of having to sit on someone’s lap.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be alright back there?” she asked.

  “Of course he’ll be,” Professor Shipley interjected. “It’s like a dog sticking his head out the window.”

  Virgo smothered a laugh. I glared at them both before pulling myself up the side.

  The confused look Isley shot me before she climbed into the truck made me hope the professor didn’t expound on his comment.

  To be honest, there was something very freeing about standing in the back of the truck as it barreled down the road. The rain that soaked my hair and shirt felt great. It didn’t matter that the clouds were covering the sun or that we were heading toward perhaps the most dangerous place of my life. At that moment, with my hands on the roof of the truck and the road before us, I felt unstoppable.

  The voice in the back of my mind questioned whether that was because Isley was in the truck. I smothered it quickly with a growl and focused on the road again. I didn’t need another girl getting in my head. I was obviously in no place for a relationship and Isley had already seen the worst of me.

  So why was she still around? the voice persisted.

  I pushed the thought away and focused on the scent of the rain-swept wind.

  Chapter Nine

  “If they’re right, we don’t have much time to stop the dark coven,” I overheard Madam Henrietta saying to Madam Anna.

  “We’ve got to stop them,” Mrs. Stein interjected. “It’s the only way to ensure that the evil that killed my husband doesn’t spread.”

  “But the danger…,” Madam Anna began.

  “The danger to us will spread to Brickwell if we don’t stop them,” Mrs. Stein completed.

  It was easy to eavesdrop even though the living room with the fireplace was two hallways and a kitchen from the room in which the witches were discussing their plan of action. Virgo and Isley talked quietly on the couch across from us, but Professor Shipley kept his attention on me.

  “What are they saying?”

  I glanced at him. “They’re worried about time,” I said. “If they don’t stop the dark coven, the danger will spread.”

  He nodded, his expression anxious. “And if the dark warlock weds my wife, she’ll be lost to me.” He wrung his hands together. “I told them that, so why are they spending so much time discussing it? We should be out stopping them, not sitting here having a polite conversation.”

  By the sound of the heated voices, the conversation the witches were having was anything but polite. Mrs. Stein sounded downright insistent, and I couldn’t blame her.

  “We don’t have a choice, Madam Anna. How can you even consider not intervening? Virgo was right when he said the setting is perfect for a raising of the dead. What are we supposed to do if Brickwell’s entire paranormal burial ground is summoned? We’ll never stop the dark coven then!”

  “I understand, Madam Rosy,” the witch replied. “But have you considered the danger you’re putting this coven in?”

  Mrs. Stein’s voice was firm when she replied, “I need your help and I am invoking the coven pact.”

  Silence fell over the room.

  “What’s going
on?” Professor Shipley asked.

  “How would Zev know?” Isley asked.

  I looked from the professor to her. “I, uh, have good hearing,” I said lamely. “But Mrs. Stein just invoked the coven pact.”

  Virgo’s face paled. “She did?”

  I nodded.

  He shook his head. “Then they have no choice. The rest of the coven will be called.” His eyebrows drew together in worry. “Be ready for action. My mom doesn’t do anything lightly.”

  Footsteps sounded from the hallway. We were on our feet before the witches arrived.

  “Time to scope out the place,” Madam Anna announced without preamble. It appeared her protests had no place in the face of the coven pact. Business took over where her concern had been. “Everyone stick together. We’ll summon the rest of the coven when we know what we’re dealing with.” She speared Professor Shipley with a look. “This is a scouting mission only. Can I trust that you’ll keep your head or do we need to leave you here?”

  “You can trust me,” he said quickly. “I just need to make sure my wife is alright.” At her skeptical look, he pleaded, “Please. I can’t stand not knowing.”

  She regarded him silently for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s go.”

  The dark coven’s hideout was in a small, inconspicuous cottage near the woods that bordered Brickwell. I knew not to be fooled by the cottage’s appearance and I expected it to turn into something like the witches’ magic-disguised mansion. Yet when we crept into the yard, nothing of the sort happened.

  I sniffed, but the trails of people were faint and barely discernable amid the rain that fell gently around us.

  “Nobody’s here,” I whispered.

  Madam Anna nodded. “Then proceed.”

  As I led the way to the porch, the scent of decay filled my nose. A pile of raven and crow corpses near the front door was the source, signified by their opened chests emptied of organs.