Language is a barrier, but he cocks his head. He can by the way the emerald slivers in his eyes sparkle. He moves and I see the tattoo on his back. “Ren?”
My voice breaks the connection. He is gone, and the centuries move forward again at lightning speed. My stomach churns as the rapid images fly past me. I close my eyes, but it doesn’t help. In fact, I feel like I’m drunk and the world is spinning.
“Ruby. Ruby!”
My grandfather’s voice pulls me out of the vision. I drop the wolf’s paw and stagger to a spot a few feet away, trying not to toss up my dinner.
“Are you okay?” Poppi asks weakly.
Teeth clenched, I nod but don’t trust myself to speak yet. The wolf nudges my side, as if apologetic for the rough ride.
Lenore caws and I glance at her. She’s staring toward the hill.
“You must go now.” Poppi points at the wolf and then to the distance. “He’ll take you. Stick close to him.”
“Take me where? Who’s up there?”
“Someone in danger.” He leans his head back on the rough trunk, his eyes struggling to stay open. “This ground belonged to their ancestors and is still sacred, but the killer has defiled it. We need to make this right.”
I push from the tree I’m leaning on and stagger over to him. My vision continues fading in and out, the blinding light seeming to have damaged my eyesight.
“I just need to sleep…” he murmurs.
“Do not pass out.” I gently tap his wrinkled cheeks and this revives him a bit. I’m scared he’s in shock and I have no herbs to treat him.
Retrieving my phone from the cape pocket, I use an app that sends a beacon to my family with the location. Reception here is spotty, but I place it on Poppi’s lap. “Keep this on you. Cinder and the others will be here soon. If you can, try calling Robyn and tell her what happened.”
“Be careful,” he mutters. “The wolf will protect you, but don’t underestimate what this killer will do.” He points at the sentries on either side of him. “One of these two will bring Cinder when she arrives.”
Reluctant to leave, but knowing I have to, I get to my feet and study the wolf who’s ready to go. His—her?—dark eyes entreat me to trust what my grandfather has said. “Nonni’s never letting you out of the house again, you know.”
Poppi’s lips tweak in a fatigued smile. “More likely she’ll insist on coming with me next time.”
“True. I may have to put her in a cage.”
“She’s a good woman.”
I pat his leg. “I’ll tell her you said that.”
I follow the leader, seeing Lenore gently landing on his back. The wolf doesn’t seem to mind.
With his immense size, long strides, and natural agility, he flows through the trees like water. I’m sure his ability to see in the dark doesn’t hurt either.
I’m breathing hard in my attempt to keep up. Shadowing his path isn’t easy. He’s in a hurry and doesn’t look once to check if I’m falling behind. The fog seems to encircle him, and water drips onto my head, running down my face and the back of my neck.
Teeth chattering, I don’t hear the sound of bubbling water in the distance at first. It’s only when I stop for a moment to check our surroundings that I pick up on it.
We’re a ways from the river, but this may be an offshoot. About fifty yards ahead, I see a clearing and an odd glow.
Running once more, I catch up to the wolf and bird as they slow. I’m so close to my guide, that when he stops dead in his tracks, I nearly topple over him.
Jostled from her perch, Lenore knocks the light from my hand as she takes flight. The beam goes out when the flashlight hits the ground, throwing us into shadows.
I freeze as I hear a woman’s voice, one I’ve come to know over the past few days. I hide behind a massive oak with low hanging branches. Twigs snap underfoot, and she goes quiet for a couple of tense seconds. Only when she starts talking again, do I let out my breath.
The wolf eases in next to me and I put a hand on his scruff. I part the moss that hangs like a curtain in front of my face, and watch as the soft glow of two lanterns illuminate the scene in front of me.
Wagner is tied up, hands and feet bound. He’s woozy, his back to the hard side of the limestone hill. The scent of blood and animal musk fills the air.
There’s a black, yawning cave entrance to his left, and a candy wrapper lays on the ground at his feet.
Rain coats everything, soaking through his jacket and vest. His hair is plastered to his face, his boots muddy. Jenny emerges, night vision goggles on top of her head. She carries a camera.
“You won’t…get away…with this.” Wagner’s speech is slurred. He can barely keep his eyes open.
Jenny places the camera on a tripod hidden behind a manufactured pile of stacked branches and rocks. She carefully adjusts a knob, then piles more moss and sticks over the equipment. “Of course I will. I’m about to be the most famous paranormal investigator the world has ever seen.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
In the moonlight, I notice another grouping of twigs and rocks only two feet from the oak tree. A second camera is hidden there, moss draped across the top.
I step close and look through the lens, realizing she has set the stage for whatever it is she intends to record tonight.
Examining the equipment, I locate the red record button and push. The area is lit only with the lanterns and the video may turn out grainy, but it’s worth a shot.
Wagner struggles against his bindings, cursing and muttering. They hold fast.
Jenny disappears once more into the cave. I can see the remnants of an earlier fire, a few other camping items strewn about.
I knew it. They were hiding out here.
She returns with a bucket, and begins tossing pieces of red meat all around him. She’s baiting a trap.
“The wolves will come, and I’ll document the whole thing,” she says with her normal upbeat voice.
She throws several chunks on Wagner’s lap and legs. He tilts his body to slide them off, but they stick to his wet clothes. “You won’t get away with this.”
“Won’t I? So far, I’ve done a bang up job of casting the spotlight you’re always so desperate for right on you. You should be thanking me. Your memory will go down in history for the show.”
“Jenny… You can’t…” His voice fades in and out. “Please…”
She ignores him, continuing to bait the lure. “With some artful cutting on the darkroom floor, I’ll have good footage of the werewolves tearing you apart. The video will go viral. Your fans will be so upset seeing those supernatural beings ripping you to shreds, but they’ll eat it up. The other deaths will be blamed on the weres as well, regardless of what the medical examiner’s report states. Our followers will believe it’s a cover-up by the cops. They’re so gullible.”
The wolf raises his head and meets my eyes. I see the strong intelligence and wisdom in his gaze, exactly like I’ve seen in Ren’s.
This is definitely one of the shamans, and he understands what’s being said and done. He’s urging me to stop this before it goes any farther, but I have no weapon outside of my flashlight.
I need a spell. But which one? I’m a healer, not a warrior. I’d need to touch Wagner to put a strong enough protection bubble around him, and most of my other tried-and-true magick is for curative situations only.
“How did you…drug me?” Wagner topples over onto his side. The raw meat disengages this time, his face only a few inches from the wrapper.
Jenny snatches up the torn white packaging and shoves it in her pocket. Then she picks up some of the meat and places it on him again. “It’s amazing what the taste of sugar can cover. A little muscle relaxant dissolved into a syringe and stuck into the center filling. Piece of cake. Or should I say candy?”
Her snicker is chilling.
“No one is going to believe you,” Wagner insists, but the fight has definitely gone out of him. He doesn’t even try to move. “You can’t
get away…with three murders.”
She takes the bucket and returns it to the mouth of the cave. Chuckling under her breath, she sprays a mist into the air. “I didn’t intend to do it this way, but I know how to actually run a business. I’m not an idiot like you and Brady.”
The owl hoots again; the rain falls harder.
I smell a renewed whiff of musk. She’s trying to attract predators to this spot, and I fear she’s about to be more successful than she realizes.
Do something!
I comb my memory for any spell that might disable her. I used to be able to freeze small things such as animals, but I haven’t practiced in years. I only did it to try and save them from harm, but feared the shock of making them immobile was too much for the tiny creatures.
Plus, it never worked on people, outside of Belle when she was an infant. Boy, did Mom lay into me about that.
“You were so busy competing against one another,” she continues, “you couldn’t see the golden opportunities right in front of you. After you ran him and Luther off, I knew I was going to have to save this team if we were ever going to be big enough to go international.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought…we were friends.”
She snorts and tosses the spray into the bucket. Then she scans the scene, determining if it needs anything else. “Brady and Luther kept sticking their noses into all of this, and you were too busy focusing on what they were doing instead of seeing all of the possibilities for us to become famous. Now, I have the chance to reunite the Caught on Camera fans with our PIT followers. We’ll have one huge base, and I’m going to be in charge.”
This gets a rise out of Wagner. He attempts to push up onto his hands and knees. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Let me…”
Jenny uses a booted foot to kick him back down. “Stop moving. You’re screwing up my scene.”
He groans and stays put.
There’s a rustling in the forest across the way, and I fear wild animals are coming to discover the source of the fresh meat and musk on the night air.
I sink my hand deeper into the wolf’s scruff. Lenore has disappeared, but I know she’ll come to my aid when I need her. “Help me now. We must protect this man.”
The wood walker takes a step forward, and so do I, brushing aside the curtain of moss.
“Sorry to crash the party,” I say, shivering. “But this game is over.”
Jenny jumps, startled. I have no idea how to incapacitate her and save Wagner before the animals attack, but it’s all up to me now. “Untie Wagner, right now, and let him go.”
Her eyes go wide and focus on the giant wolf at my side. “What are you doing here? Is he…?”
“You attacked my grandfather, and the wolves alerted me you were about to do worse.”
“You are a witch! I knew it.”
“If you don’t want me to curse you, I suggest you do as I say.”
She takes a step in retreat, holding out a hand as if to stop me. “I didn’t want to hurt your granddad, and I don’t want to hurt you, Ruby. This has nothing to do with you or your family. I actually like you. You need to back off and leave me alone.”
I might have liked her, too. “Sorry, I can’t do that.”
“We could be friends. I could give your shop some air time, make you and your sisters stars. Just think about it—witches running a soap shop while they’re making potions and casting spells in the other room. People will love it!”
“I don’t want to be famous, Jenny, especially not at the cost of a man’s life.”
“You’re not seeing the big picture. It’s simple justice. Wagner is a jerk. He hurt a wolf the other night, trying to get it to attack him so I could film it. What kind of human being does such a thing? He deserves to die.”
Her logic was easy to follow until you turned it around on her. “You’ve killed two men, and for what? Fame?”
“That, and money. But again, they deserved it. They’ve been duping folks for years. Manipulating people and hurting innocent victims.”
Does she not realize I heard her telling Wagner her plans?
“You know, maybe you’re right.” Changing tactics might be my best option. “Why don’t we go back to Enchanted, warm up, and you can explain how this fame stuff works.”
For a long minute, she studies me. I stand my ground and let her. Then she wags a finger at me. “You almost had me. Well done. I really do like you.”
She turns her back on me and rushes into the cave. Now what is she doing?
I hurry to untie Wagner’s hands, hoping she stays gone until I can figure out how to get him clear of here. The wolf whines and stands guard next to us.
Wagner glances at me with relief. “Thank you. Please…you have to stop her.”
The wolf’s low growl sends fresh goosebumps down my back. I look up to see Jenny returning, a look of fierce determination on her face.
She’s carrying a large pine branch, wielding it like a baseball bat. It’s stripped of needles, but covered in pointed, very sharp barbs.
Stomping toward us, she raises it. Calling on my magick, I prepare to throw my hands out and yell, “Freeze,” but as I jump to my feet, I trip over Wagner’s leg.
My weak spell misses and strikes the wolf. I hear a yelp before he’s paralyzed.
The blow from the limb misses me, but ducking I slip on the wet ground. Falling, one hand lands on a piece of raw meat, causing me to slide off-kilter.
“Nice job on the wolf,” Jenny says, raising the pine branch again. “That’ll make things so much easier.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I roll quickly to the side, but the wood still makes contact with my shoulder.
The pain rips a cry from my lips. A new, deep-throated growl comes from the edge of the woods.
“You won’t get far,” Jenny tells me. “I wish I didn’t have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Wagner motions at me to duck and I do, the branch whacking the ground. Lenore screeches somewhere high in the trees.
The leader of the pack has regained his feet, but he’s bleeding like me. Lenore flies down and lands on his back, her beady eyes watching Jenny’s every move.
“This is going to make great TV,” she says. “After I cut out a few parts.
She raises her arms. The wolf leaps in the air. Lenore flies up as he tackles Jenny and they both go down.
The second wolf steps from the trees' edge into the clearing, lowering his head and revealing his fangs.
I know him. He stalks toward me, and the hair on my arms stands at attention as our eyes meet.
Somehow Ren has escaped his cage, and come to defend us.
The first wolf bites Jenny through her pant leg. Lenore perches on her head, digging her talons in. Jenny screams.
I watch Ren, his massive paws moving quietly, but quickly, across the forest floor. Jenny gets the upper hand and smacks the attacking wolf in the muzzle. The giant beast stumbles and falls.
Lenore lands beside him as Jenny scrambles to her feet and looks to be ready to hit him again, but Lenore flaps at her face, trying to scratch it and she swings wildly.
“Don’t you touch my bird!” I rush her, my injured shoulder screaming in protest as I grab the branch and she wrestles me to the ground.
Leaves and sticks tangle in my hair and clothes. Lenore stands on her, squawking. She headbutts me, causing stars to flash in front of my eyes, but as soon as she rises, her whole body flies up into the air.
Ren has attacked.
Wagner shouts, Jenny curses, and Ren barks and snaps at her. He clomps onto her ankle and she yelps. He shakes her leg as though it is a bone he’s ready to snap in half.
“Get it off me!” she demands.
“He’s not an it.” I twist the limb from her hand and see the blood stains on it. With all my might, I throw it as hard as I can. Pain lances through my shoulder and down my back at the action, causing me to suck in a breath. My vision nearly blacks out a
nd I stumble.
She scrambles, trying to get away, and then attempts to kick Ren like she did the other wolf. “He’s going to kill me!”
“Just desserts,” I mutter, blinking through the blackness tingeing my vision. Bracing myself on the boulder, I use it to balance.
I have to stop Ren. While Jenny may deserve to be torn apart by a wolf, Ren could never live with himself if he hurt someone. “Whoa, buddy,” I say to him, holding out a hand. “You can release her now. Your job here is done.”
Jenny claws at the ground, debris flying as she grapples to break free from his teeth. “Help me,” she pleads at me. “Help me, please.”
“Thank you.” I have to reason with Ren, reminded by a red blinking light that we are on camera. I pray he’ll listen. “I can handle it from here.”
His eyes snap at me, the reflection of the lamps making them glow blue. His lips pull back farther and his low growl makes my stomach drop.
He has no plans to turn her loose.
She kicks out again with her free foot and catches his jaw. He makes a noise in his throat, but doesn’t let go.
She strains her arm toward me, plain fear on her face. “Do something!”
Ren chomps down harder and jerks her leg, dragging her away.
“I can’t let you do that,” I say as I step forward to grab her bicep.
She manages to yank on my skirt, tugging me off balance. I fall beside her and she clutches at a chunk of my hair, shaking my head. The darkness threatens again.
“Let go of me, you supernatural freak,” she swears at Ren. “I know what you are, and I will prove it. Release me, or I’ll kill her.”
So much for wanting my help, she simply wanted to use me to get her way. I jam an elbow hard into her ribcage and she gasps, letting go. “No one dies tonight,” I tell her.
A gun goes off.
Lenore screeches. We all flinch and look to the south. Poppi is there, along with my sisters. The two wolves I left to guard him whine as they stand like sentries on either side of him.
It’s good to see my grandfather up and moving. I was worried about a concussion, and although he’s a bit pale, it seems my cape has done its job.
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