The Wolfborne Saga Box Set

by Cheree Alsop

  “Gross,” Isley whispered. “What kind of people are these?”

  “Bad ones,” I replied.

  “Yes,” Madam Anna said from behind us. “The sooner we can leave, the better.” She glanced back. “Mrs. Stein?”

  “I’ve got it,” Virgo’s mother said.

  She stepped forward and began to chant in a language I didn’t recognize. The runes that had been engraved around the door began to glow a deep gold color. Mrs. Stein said something else and the glow left the door and headed around the house.

  “That way,” she said with a satisfied nod. “Stay together. I’ll lead.”

  Virgo followed closely behind his mother. The witches came up next, with Isley, me, and Professor Shipley last. We crept through the shadows led forward by the glowing trail. The tall grasses and weeds behind the house gave way to trees. Sweeping branches shielded us from the worst of the rain. We followed the trail to where the trees grew older and wilder. Most of the underbrush was crowded out by the low-sweeping pines and gnarled oaks. It was there that the sound of chanting met my ears. My muscles tensed and my knees bent in preparation for any need to defend our party. I had no idea what we would come upon, but instincts told me it wasn’t going to be good.

  The smell of blood was thick enough to leave a metallic coating on my tongue by the time we reached the clearing. Sticks tied together in strange symbols hung from the trees we passed under. The lessening light of dusk made the setting feel even more ominous, as did the cloying scent of the bodies of birds and bats hung from many of the branches.

  Mrs. Stein crouched behind a stand of bushes. We joined her and my breath caught in my throat.

  Runes had been burned all around the clearing in eerie, glowing circles. A crudely-made table held the carcass of a goat whose entrails were spread around in a sickening display. Past the table stood a multitude of figures in black cowls and robes. They swayed back and forth chanting in time to the one on a stand leading them. His head was bowed and he stood over the form of a woman wearing burlap. Her hands and feet were tied with thick ropes; her eyes were blank and the symbols that had been drawn on her face looked as though they were made of blood.

  “Kristin,” Professor Shipley whispered at my side.

  The man with the bowed head switched to English and said, “We prepare this space for the raising of Brickwell’s dead.”

  His followers repeated the words in monotone voices of both male and female.

  “Seven days of the required animal sacrifices have prepared this clearing for the ultimate joining,” the man continued. “I raise the souls to do my bidding. The power of the woman beside me will enhance my own and enable the raising to be performed on a mass scale.”

  The sound of the professor’s footsteps turned my head. I sucked in a breath at the sight of him running past the table toward the coven. I took off after him.

  “Professor, no!” Mrs. Stein shouted.

  The figure on the platform lifted his head. His cowl fell back to reveal a man with a dark beard and mustache. His eyes sparked first with irritation at the interruption, and then with recognition.

  “Hello, Rosy.”

  I glanced back to see Mrs. Stein fall back several steps with her hand to her mouth. “C-Clay?” she said.

  “Dad?” Virgo echoed.

  My mouth fell open.

  Virgo took a step forward, but Madam Anna grabbed his arm. “That is not your father,” she said in a haunted undertone.

  Tears broke from Mrs. Stein’s eyes and fell down her cheeks. “Clay, why? I thought you were dead?”

  “I was,” he replied in a voice that sent a chill down my spine. “I was dead to the truth, but the coven has helped me see the error of my ways.” He smiled a twisted smile. “And now I can help others see the light as well.”

  I slipped around the end of the rows of dark coven members after the Professor, but he ran with a speed that surpassed even my werewolf abilities. The sight of his wife in danger pushed him forward. I cut toward the stand in the hopes of staving him off.

  “No,” Mrs. Stein said. “That’s not the light. It’s darkness, Clay. Can’t you see that?”

  The man’s lips fell into a frown. “I knew you wouldn’t see it my way. You always were so opinionated about what was right and wrong.”

  “Raising the dead is wrong,” Mrs. Stein said. Her voice shook and hopelessness showed in her eyes when she wiped her tears with the sleeve of her dress. “You know it is. Find it in you, Clay. Please.”

  His dark eyebrows drew together and he said, “I am no longer Clay. I am not one. We are the Circle, and we do what is best for this world.”

  Professor Shipley had made it around the rows of dark coven members who watched the exchange with impassive expressions as though such an interruption wasn’t worth their concern. He climbed the platform and lunged toward his wife with his hands outstretched to untie her.

  “Kristen!” he yelled, followed by, “Mempho menumbre accuto!”

  Clay pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it at the man. Professor Shipley put his hands up, but the warlock squeezed the trigger anyway. I dove at Shipley and knocked him behind the platform as the gun fired. Shrieks sounded. The impact of a bullet in my side threw me after the professor.

  “Stop!” Isley yelled.

  I opened my eyes to see a light flooding the clearing with such brightness that even the numb coven members ducked their heads. I could barely make out the brilliant form of the girl from whom the light arose. Whispering a breath of gratitude for the distraction, I grabbed the professor’s shoulders and dragged him from the clearing and into the trees.

  “Zev—” he began.

  “Run!” I told him.

  Holding my side, I followed Shipley back through the trees to where the witches waited. Mrs. Stein’s expression of denial was mixed with one of abject sorrow. Virgo held his mother, his own eyes filled with pain. The witches watched them both with sadness.

  I reached them under the cover of Isley’s light which kept the dark coven at bay for the moment.

  “What are we going to do?” I demanded.

  “We can’t do anything,” Madam Anna said. At my stare, she concluded, “This is Madam Rosy’s mission.”

  A glance made it clear that Virgo’s mother was in no position to make a call.

  I made the decision for her. “We need to get out of here. Get back to the vehicles. Now!”

  My order came out a bit harsher than I intended because of the pain. The bullet might not have been silver, but it hurt like a swarm of angry hornets.

  Stunned, Madam Anna and the others herded Mrs. Stein and Virgo back toward the house.

  “Follow them,” I told the professor.

  “But Kristen—” he began.

  “Go!” I growled through clenched teeth.

  The professor nodded and ran after the others.

  Isley was using a power she didn’t understand; it was only a matter of time before the dark coven realized it. I ducked as low as I could and crept back through the trees toward the girl. When I finally got a good look at her, terror gripped my chest.

  Her eyes were as white as her hair, and light streamed from both of her hands. A strange little smile touched her lips as though the power was enjoyable. To me, it was the opposite.

  Everywhere the light touched felt as though it was facing the full force of sunlight at a point closest to the sun. Scalding heat brushed against my bare arms and face. I cringed and had to force myself to keep moving forward. The sight of the dark coven cringing as well wasn’t lost on me. Madam Henrietta had said my soul was one of darkness. It was from Madam Onie’s teachings in her book of witchcraft. The reality that my darkness was at all related to the coven’s made an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

  “Isley, we’ve got to go,” I whispered.

  When she looked down at me, the brightness of her eyes made me shield my face.

  “Go?” she said in a tone that was soft and breathy.
/>   “Yes,” I said. “We need to get the others out of here. Let’s go.”

  The corners of her lips lifted in a wistful smile and she nodded. “Alright, Zev.” The light faded from her body.

  Light still glowed beneath my eyelids when I closed my eyes to get my bearings. Shouts of awareness and alarm filled the clearing from the coven.

  Isley merely watched them as though unaware of our danger.

  The leader of the dark coven’s eyes narrowed. “Stop them,” Clay commanded. The witches turned to face us.

  “Isley, we’ve got to go,” I said.

  When she didn’t move, I swept an arm beneath her legs and caught her shoulders. Her arms wrapped my neck and I took off running. Dozens of footsteps echoed mine as I darted through the underbrush and across the unkempt yard.

  Gratitude at the fact that Virgo had the truck running and pointed down the road was seconded by the sight of Professor Shipley waiting for us in the back. Madam Anna and the others had already left in Mrs. Stein’s car.

  “Go!” I yelled to Virgo.

  I handed Isley up to the professor and barely had time to pull myself into the bed of the truck next to the pair before the warlock’s foot hit the gas. The sound of protests rose behind us as the tires kicked up dirt and rocks. I lifted my head just high enough to ascertain that we weren’t being followed. The lack of headlights on the dark road behind us filled me with relief.

  “Thank goodness,” I said, laying back.

  “What happened?” Isley asked.

  The moonlight from the nearly full moon reflected in the confusion of her gaze. The rain had slowed to a slight patter that caught in her hair like drops of gold.

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Professor Shipley spoke up before I could. “I tried to save Kristen.” His head hung. “I promised them I wouldn’t, but I couldn’t leave her there! She was in danger.” He turned his gaze to me. “I thought the spell would work. You have to understand!”

  I moved up to a sitting position against the side and patted his shoulder. “I understand. They won’t blame you.”

  “They should,” he replied. “I put everyone in danger. I got us shot at.”

  “You got me shot,” I said with a touch of humor despite the pain.

  His eyes widened and he stared at me. “You’re shot?”

  I nodded and held up my other hand so he could see the blood that covered it.

  “Zev, I’m so sorry!” he said. He scooted to my side and pulled my shirt up. His face paled at the sight. “You took this bullet for me. It should be mine.”

  I shook my head. “It would have killed you.”

  “But not you?” he asked.

  I winced at a throb of pain and said, “No. It wasn’t silver. But it hurts,” I admitted wryly.

  “You’re bleeding a lot,” Isley pointed out.

  I followed her worried gaze to the puddle of blood that had formed where I sat. I looked back up at her and my vision swam lightheadedly.

  “Maybe too much?” I suggested.

  The moon wasn’t doing its normal job. The silver that prevented me from phasing into wolf form must have also inhibited my healing abilities. It had worked on my hand earlier, but maybe the wound was too great?

  “Let’s me get a closer look,” Professor Shipley said.

  I lifted my shirt up higher. The hole at the front of my left side oozed blood. I twisted to the left with a surprising amount of pain and saw an exit wound.

  “The bullet went straight through,” the professor said. “At least there’s that.”

  “And it wasn’t silver, or I’d be dead,” I replied tightly.

  “But you’re not healing,” he pointed out. “If you lose much more blood, you’re going to be in trouble.”

  “What are you talking about?” Isley asked. “Of course he’s not healing! He needs to see a doctor.” She hit the back window to signal Virgo and shouted, “Zev needs to go to the hospital!”

  The truck slowed down immediately.

  I shook my head. “There’s no way. I can’t go to a hospital.”

  Virgo pulled onto the side of the road and threw open the tiny window behind his head.

  “Did you say Zev needs a hospital?”

  “Yes,” Isley said.

  “No,” Professor Shipley and I replied at the same time.

  The professor met my eyes and I could tell he was thinking the same thing. If they tested my blood, which they would to check for my blood type, iron levels, and other things, they would find out I wasn’t human. I could only image the fiasco that would quickly follow.

  I shook my head again firmly. “I’m not going to a hospital.”

  Virgo threw the truck into park and tried to climb out through the window. The attempt to force his shoulders through the small space left him stuck about a third of the way out.

  He didn’t appear to notice his ridiculous predicament. His eyes traveled from the puddle of blood to my side and widened. “Zev, you’re bleeding bad!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. I need a solution that doesn’t land me in a hospital.”

  “Why?” Isley demanded. “Are you wanted or something?”

  Virgo spoke up before I could. “He’s on unapproved leave from a military branch so secret he won’t even tell me about it.” He shot me a look as if frustrated by my secrecy. I had to give him credit for his acting skills. “If they find out where he is, he’ll be sent back.”

  Everyone turned to me. I made a show of clenching my hands into fists and glaring at the metal truck bed. “I’m not ever going back.”

  The silence that followed my words filled me with guilt. I hated lying. Perhaps it would be better if I told Isley the truth. But then she would hate me and be afraid of me. If we needed her the way the witches said, I couldn’t let that happen. The voice in the back of my mind whispered that they weren’t the ones I was worried about. I didn’t know if I could live without her.

  My gut twisted at the thought. I shouldn’t fall for anyone. I hadn’t exactly realized when the protectiveness I had felt toward Isley had turned into something deeper. My hands clenched into true fists. I wouldn’t hurt her, even if her light side burned me.

  “That’s it,” I said.

  “What?” Virgo asked first. “You can’t just bleed out in the back of my truck.

  “No,” I replied. “We can cauterize it. Burning it will stop the bleeding and I’ll have time to heal.”

  “But how will you….” Virgo’s voice faded away and he looked at Isley. He spoke again without glancing at me. “Zev, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

  Isley turned from him to me. “What is he talking about?”

  “You can do it,” I told her. “You have the power to burn me.”

  “Don’t remind me,” she said. “It’s not a very nice thing.”

  “But it may save my life.”

  She stilled at my words.

  The seconds of waiting between what I asked and her answer felt like hours as my blood oozed past my fingers and dripped to the puddle that was growing larger beneath me. I told myself I had the time to be patient, but I wasn’t so sure that was true. The darkness at the edges of my vision wasn’t from the night, and the whooshing sound in my ears was getting louder.

  “I saw what they did to you,” she said, breaking through the hum.

  At my confused look, she pointed to the burns that were visible beyond the hem of my raised shirt.

  “They tortured you, didn’t they? That’s why you don’t want to go back.”

  It was another lie. I had earned every one of the burns and scars that marred my skin.

  I was about to shake my head when Virgo said, “Yes. They did. He doesn’t like to talk about it. Are you going to help him?”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but Virgo’s glare made me close it again.

  Isley let out a small breath and nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

  Chapter Ten

  “I don’t want t
o hurt you,” Isley said in a voice just above a whisper.

  Virgo and Professor Shipley held a tarp above us that they had found behind the seat of Virgo’s truck. The sound of the rain striking the top made me think of the water that trickled down the side of the cave in the training room of the Lair. I swore I could hear the shouts of werewolves goading each other in the fighting rings, the grind of a whetstone across a blade, and the yell of pain from someone who hadn’t blocked or dodged in time. I told myself it was just the loss of blood that made me hear it, but my body tensed anyway, ready to be a part of the fight.

  I shook my head to clear the hallucination and said, “I’ll be fine. Do what you need to.”

  She looked down at the wound, then back at me. “Just put my hands on it?”

  I nodded. “And channel the light like you did at the dark coven’s circle.” A thought caught me and I said, “Just a little bit, though.” I wasn’t sure I could stand a lot, especially given my current state.

  Isley’s lips pursed together and she put her hands on either side of the wound.

  I held still despite the pain of her touch.

  She was the one who winced. “Sorry,” she said, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “I didn’t think it would be so warm.”

  “The blood is flowing straight from his body,” Virgo pointed out. “Of course it’s warm.”

  “Quiet,” Professor Shipley told him. “You’re not helping.”

  To my surprise, the warlock didn’t spout back a sarcastic response. That let me know more than anything just how worried he was about me. I didn’t know whether to feel touched by all of their care or irate that I was causing such problem.

  “Go for it,” I told Isley through clenched teeth.

  She closed her eyes.

  “Don’t kill him,” Virgo said.

  The sound of an elbow hitting ribs met my ears and a few drops of rain fell on my face, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Isley. Her pale, beautiful features went soft as though she was asleep. The crease of worry that marked her brow smoothed out, and her eyebrows relaxed. The barest hint of a smile touched her lips.

  I had never seen a face filled with such peace. If light could do something so beautiful, it couldn’t be that bad for me, could it?