The WindWard Wolves (WindWard Triad Book 3)

by Noah Harris

  “The only role you have left in your miserable existence is to be bait to bring that foul Ward out of hiding, along with the putrid spawn you and Ashley put inside him. It should have never come to this. I allowed Carson too much free reign and now we are all paying for it.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, he paid for it too. Pretty steep price as I recall.”

  The leader stepped forward. “I will ask you again, which one of you did it?”

  “Does it matter? In your grand plan, you already have all three of us dead for the act. Are you going to especially enjoy it when you kill the one who killed your protégé?”

  “I found that boy, and I raised him up from victim to crusader. It was a painful road for him, but in the end, it made him stronger. Yet, it appears my education of him was lacking. He had no sense of subtlety when I let my eye stray from him. The decisions he made while I was preoccupied were just…confounding. Allowing Keller to get away the first time was bad enough, but he continued to make rash, impulsive decisions that only created more of a mess. The attack on the highway alone…”

  “You’re telling me, that you took Carson on at some point, made him Vigil crazy, and then left him charge while you played spy?”

  The leader’s voice was dry as he spoke. “It was a little more involved than simply spying. Of course, gathering information was a priority, but it was not my main objective. Honestly, it’s been so easy working your kind like puppets on a string. So many of you wanted to believe this drivel about purity and maintaining tradition, forgetting the long history of intermingling. It was the only thing which might have helped you against my noble army. Instead, all I had to do was tell a few lies, make them all believe I was something I wasn’t, and then say everything they wanted to hear.”

  “If you have to tell lies to get what you want, maybe you’re doing something wrong,” Johnny sneered.

  “We must make do with what we have. Although I have found myself wondering if perhaps we might have saved ourselves a lot of trouble by simply acting outright. If I had not spent so much time waiting and watching, this problem would have never existed. I should have killed Keller when he was just a boy, but I did not. I could not bring myself to kill a child, so frail and scared, solely on the chance that our information was correct. I can assure you, I will not be making that mistake of mercy again.”

  Johnny’s heart thumped hard. “What do you mean? You knew him when he was a kid?”

  “I met him when he was a young boy, only a few years in the system. We knew then what he could be and some among my people wanted to react quickly, to contain the threat. I chose to wait, to see if the threat was indeed real. As a countermeasure, I enlisted the aid of another boy in the same house, Carson.”

  Johnny’s chest tightened. “The priest Kell’s talked about…that was you.”

  “Oh, how sweet, then he remembers me. He was so eager then, to have an adult, any adult, welcome him and treat him well. When my duties took me elsewhere, he was so heartbroken. I had however, ensured that Carson would keep an eye on him before I left. And he did that job marvelously, keeping in contact with Kell even after I had pulled him out of the system for more intensive training.”

  “Deacon,” Johnny whispered, remembering the name.

  “One of my many names.”

  Horror filled Johnny, as he realized just how much of Kell’s life had been a lie. The two people Kell had talked about the most, had been with the Vigil the entire time, ready to kill Kell the moment it became necessary in their eyes. Johnny closed his eyes, his heart aching for Kell, who was still ignorant and would be utterly heartbroken.

  Johnny grit his teeth. “I’ll kill you for that, and for this.”

  Deacon chuckled. “You really think you have any say in what happens to you? I have you bound up so well within yourself that you might as well be human. You and Ashley both will suffer, and your suffering will draw Keller out of hiding. And then we will clean up this mess, once and for all.”

  Still chuckling to himself, Deacon turned and walked from the room. Johnny roared in frustration and rage, hurting for Ash, and for Kell. He watched as Deacon strolled back into the room where Ash lay, barely stirring. For the first time, Johnny struggled hard against the bonds holding him in place, frantically trying to break them. Ash wouldn’t be able to last much longer under their constant assault, and eventually, Kell would feel what was happening and would be drawn out into the open.

  “Sick bastard,” Johnny hissed.

  Johnny straightened, eyes narrowing on Deacon as he fought to keep his focus from poor Ash. The Vigil and Cult leader seemed to firmly believe Kell would know that Ash was in trouble. Which meant he either knew of the connection between them or knew of a connection. And he fully expected the connection to work in his favor.

  “And that means it’s still open,” Johnny hissed.

  Hopeful, Johnny closed his eyes and forced out all sounds, even the sickening thud of another blow. Despite being disconnected from magic, there was still the hum of something deep within the recesses of his mind. Brushing it provoked a spark of pain, from two different sources. Johnny recoiled from the sensations instinctively, wondering where they could have come from.

  Carefully, Johnny realized one of the sources was Ash. Johnny winced as he felt another blow land, his pain radiating out across the connection to throb through Johnny’s body. Ash wasn’t aware of Johnny’s presence, his own mind locked in the repetition of blows and the anticipation of what was to come.

  Heart breaking, Johnny pulled away from Ash, unable to help his friend and veered toward the other presence he felt within him. Pain and fear filled him once again, and Johnny reeled, trying to understand the presence of so much emotion. When he felt Kell’s mind seething under all the emotion and sensation, Johnny dove forward, desperate to find out what was happening.

  Kell’s mind opened around him, and there came a blossom of surprise. Kell’s attention had been on someone else in the room where he lay, focusing on his breathing. As Kell’s mind shifted, Johnny could hear his thoughts as if they were being spoken right in his ear.

  “Johnny?”

  The intensity of Kell’s thought was nearly overwhelming. Johnny reeled, nearly losing the connection before he held on tight. Kell’s mind wrapped around Johnny, holding him in place and settling in. He could feel Kell’s probing questions, pressing into his mind, seeking out answers before Kell could voice them.

  “Kell, we need your help,” Johnny thought.

  Kell’s thoughts dripped with worry. “What’s happened?”

  “We’ve found the problem, or rather the problem has found us. The leader of the Vigil has been playing us all for fools for years, including the Coven and Pack both. They’ve got Ash and me.”

  Images of his predicament, of Ash’s bruised and bleeding form as he hung listlessly in the chair, bubbled up in Johnny’s mind. Kell was pulling at them, trying to understand desperately what was happening. Another wash of pain pushed through Johnny’s thoughts, and he realized it was Kell.

  “What’s happening to you?” Johnny asked.

  Kell’s thoughts bobbed and weaved, the man fighting to figure out what happened and to ignore his own pain. Words drifted passed Johnny’s thoughts, images and sounds. He could see Maya and others he didn’t recognize standing around where Kell lay. The sky outside Kell’s window was gray, pierced with flashes of light.

  “Oh God, you’re in labor.”

  Kell’s mind sharpened. “Don’t you worry about that, I have plenty of people here to help me. Who is this person in a mask holding you two prisoner?”

  Johnny felt the answer rise up and jerked it back. “A man who’s been running the Vigil and manipulating the Children. He’s the one you’ve been feeling Kell, the one who’s changing how the Vigil is operating.”

  “Carson’s father.”

  “Adoptive. He knew Carson’s history, plucked him out of the system and made him what he is. Now he’s using
Ash and I to try and draw you out.”

  A wave of despair and frustration emanated from Kell’s mind. He’d been locked inside a progressively more vulnerable and useless body for far too long. Now the two men, the father of his children, were in danger and he could do nothing to save them.

  Johnny reached out, taking hold of Kell’s mind. “Don’t do that to yourself Kell. You are carrying our children, and you are doing what you have to in order to keep them safe.”

  “But I can’t keep their fathers safe.”

  Johnny held his presence close. “Perhaps you can.”

  “How?”

  “These people have us bound with sealing magic. We can’t access any of our powers. I don’t know if they just don’t have a way to block out your connection to us, or they don’t want to because they want you to come out of hiding. Either way, our connection is still here, and we can use it.”

  Kell’s thoughts raced, running over Johnny’s own. Somewhere along the line, he began to pluck the desperate idea Johnny had conjured up. If the connection existed, perhaps it could be used to transfer more than just thoughts and emotions. It was something they’d always talked about but never attempted.

  “Your power, my body,” Johnny said.

  “I can’t give you WindWard power Johnny.”

  Somewhere from Kell’s end, someone spoke. Johnny tried to listen in with him, but caught only Kell’s understanding. Kell could give Johnny power, enough to break the sealing and release Johnny. He would be able to work magic, but he lacked the knowledge to use it properly.

  “You can’t use Blood Magic Johnny, Ash is in too bad a shape for you to go using up your body’s resources.”

  “I didn’t learn the magic I would need to bring them down Kell. The leader, he has to be a hedge witch, and if he is, the others probably are as well. I need more than just power.”

  “Let’s find Ash.”

  Before Johnny could do more than wonder briefly what he meant, he felt their combined presence shift. Carrying over the line of connection he had regretfully passed, he and Kell dove for Ash’s mind. As one, they wrapped themselves around Ash’s beleaguered consciousness, bringing him into the circle with them.

  “Kell, Johnny?” Ash asked, his thoughts clear but tired.

  “Oh Ash, I’m so sorry it was you,” Johnny thought.

  Ash shook his head mentally. “No, better me than either of you.”

  Kell’s mind burned with a sudden flux of power and Johnny felt his body jerk in his seat. Kell was getting closer to giving birth, and they didn’t have much time. His powers were fluctuating, and it wouldn’t be long before Kell was unable to help either of them.

  Kell’s mind shivered. “We need to be quick. Ash, we need your help to help both of you.”

  “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

  For all their careful planning and manipulation, the Cult hadn’t formulated any sort of backup plan or contingency. They’d firmly believed they knew how to harness everything magical and were just waiting for their victory to come sailing into port.

  They couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Johnny’s eyes flashed open, his gaze going straight toward Ash’s body. His friend was slumped over, seemingly unconscious as their captors worked to wake him up. In the back of Johnny’s mind, he heard Ash snort, amused at watching the men try to get him to move, just so they could beat him all over again.

  Then the power came, and it burned through Johnny’s body. It was more power than he thought any witch had ever felt before, and he grit his teeth against the pain. With help, he bent the power to his will, seeking out the bindings which held his ankles and wrists. The power poured into the bindings, ripping apart their spells, and burning out the restraining magic within them. As Johnny watched, runes and sigils came to life on the ropes before fading away as the rope itself burned into useless tatters.

  Smirking, he tossed the remaining pieces of rope from him and stood. Power and knowledge filled his mind as he reached out for the thick plate glass before him. His finger rested gently against the glass, which promptly exploded outward. Wrapping the power around Ash’s body, Johnny sent the shards of razor-sharp glass through the makeshift interrogation room. Men screamed and dropped to the ground as the shrapnel cut deep, the rest slamming into the opposite wall.

  Movement caught Johnny’s eye and he turned to the man leaping to bring him down. Another dose of power, and he flicked his wrist, grabbing the man in the air and slamming him into the wall with a loud thud.

  The magic came so easily. With Kell sending him power, Ash’s knowledge of how to use it being fed to him, and Johnny at the wheel, he was a force to be reckoned with. They wouldn’t have long until Kell would be forced to break their connection. The stress of labor and trying to contain the powers of the WindWard were growing harder on Kell. Johnny couldn’t afford to draw it out, even if it was a great deal of fun.

  Deacon barreled into the room, mask swiveling as he tried to find the source of the disturbance. When his gaze rested on Johnny, the aura of malice around him exploded in a fit of rage. Johnny watched the air around him, seeing it course and wave as the Cult leader drew upon magic and unleashed it. Johnny knocked it aside with a lazy wave of his hand, barely noticing as the deflected attack cracked the stone floor.

  Deacon straightened, voice still modulated. “How?”

  Johnny grinned. “Did you really think you could contain what you barely understand? This world is filled with things that are beyond your comprehension, and always will be. That was your mistake, and it will be your last.”

  Deacon dove back toward the doorway he’d come through, narrowly dodging the blast Johnny sent his way. Johnny glanced toward Ash’s seemingly unconscious body and considered where Deacon had left. So long as the man was alive, the Vigil and Cult both would be a danger to the Children, and most of all, to his family. Sparing a moment to undo the spells and bindings around Ash’s body, Johnny turned and followed after Deacon.

  Leaving the rooms they’d been kept in, he stepped into a larger room, packed with old containers and large shelving units that looked like they hadn’t been used in over a decade. Dust hung in the hair, with a thick smell of mildew and dirty water.

  He took two steps forward before he heard the sound of approaching feet. A line of men appeared at the end of the row he stood in, all armed with an impressive array of guns. Behind the row of armed men, Johnny could see Deacon’s mask, shimmering in the faint light that poured in through the dirty windows.

  “This ends here,” Deacon called, voice thick with fury.

  Johnny’s lip curled in a cruel smile. “It does.”

  More energy surged, and Johnny felt Ash’s presence rise up with it. As the row of men began to raise their guns, time slowed to a crawl. Johnny cocked his head, watching the barrel of one of the guns swing up to catch the light and then ease to such a slow speed, it appeared not to move.

  Kell’s voice rose up in his head. “Whatever you’re going to do Johnny, do it fast.”

  Johnny hesitated. “Kell, you don’t have to be a part of what comes next.”

  Kell snorted. “I was a part of it from the moment they attacked me outside my apartment. I’m going to be a part of this until it’s all over. If you think killing them will end this, then do it. I don’t have to like it to know that it has to be done.”

  “But we do it anyway,” Ash intoned, thoughts sad.

  “Let’s get it over with and be done,” Johnny said.

  Drawing upon the dwindling reserves of Kell’s magic, and his own, Johnny weaved lines of power around the weapons. He knew what he wanted to do, but it was Ash’s vast knowledge of witchcraft which allowed him to bring the spell to completion. It took only seconds by his reckoning, but for the men locked in the slow crawl, it would happen in a blink of an eye.

  The spell holding the armed men in place came down an instant later. Time reasserted itself and the guns came up in the blink of an eye. There was onl
y a moment and Johnny waited until the triggers were pulled. When they were, the guns exploded, barrel and stock bursting out in fragmentary blasts. Most of the men didn’t even have time to scream as the metal of their weapons tore through them before dropping to the ground, either dead or dying.

  A shiver ran through Johnny, and he felt Kell’s presence receding. “Kell?”

  “Sorry, but it’s time. We’ll be here waiting for you when it’s all done,” Kell’s thoughts whispered, becoming fainter with every word.

  “We’ll be there,” Johnny swore.

  Ash was fading as well, too weak to maintain the connection on his own. “Burn this place to the ground Johnny. Leave no evidence and get us the hell out of here.”

  As Johnny felt the last of Ash’s presence leave his mind, he caught sight of movement at the end of the row. Despite having been near the row of men and explosions, Deacon had managed to survive. He hadn’t gotten away uninjured though, and was dragging himself down the row, attempting to get to the end and escape.

  Sighing, Johnny followed after him, careful to not step on any of the men or the pools of blood, before reaching Deacon. Johnny stepped around Deacon, standing before him and preventing him from crawling further.

  Deacon looked up, mask askew enough that a blue eye peered out from the edge. “You haven’t won this just yet. There will be more like me.”

  Johnny crouched down, adjusting the mask so it sat properly again. “That’s the saddest thing about this world Deacon, there will always be men and women like you. People who let their hate and ignorance rule them, so much that they’re willing to burn the world down around them.”

  “Sometimes, a purge is necessary,” Deacon grunted.

  “Maybe, but I take comfort in the fact that there will always be someone out there willing to stop you. And sure, one day, someone like you will come out of the woodwork and cause trouble again. But maybe this time, we’ll be a little smarter and we’ll take care of it before it becomes this giant mess.”

  “You people don’t know how to be civilized. Without someone telling you what to do, you’ll devour yourselves,” Deacon spat.