by C. D. Gorri
Seff placed a hand on Sherry’s shoulder, wondering how he could possibly comfort her after such a treachery. She linked her fingers with his and squeezed, almost as if she were seeking comfort or support. Either way he’d give it to her. He’d give her anything she wanted if she would only let him.
She turned her luminous hazel eyes on him and smiled as if she’d read his thoughts. That smile was like a sucker punch right to his gut. She was so fucking beautiful.
Blast these leather pants, he thought as he strained against the fabric. When we’re alone again. The silence lasted only a moment before Conall opened his mouth.
“Hey, it just occurred to me, Sherry, you dated all these guys except me, huh? So, when’s my turn?” Conall grinned for a moment. Just before he doubled over as the punch Seff sent into his stomach stole the air from his body.
“Idiot,” Seff muttered, worried that he might have to hit his Packmate again for insulting his woman. Then Sherry laughed, and he knew all was forgiven.
“Oh Conall, try not to upset Seff, he doesn’t appreciate your humor the way I do,” she leaned over and kissed Seff on the cheek.
A kiss he wished was just a few centimeters to the right. She bit her lip and smiled again, her eyes promising more.
Later. Grrr.
CHAPTER 16
THE TRIP TO RAMAPO Valley Reservation took only moments as Sherry whipped up another portal. After a little begging, she also swapped Seff’s and Conall’s leather pants and pirate shirts for more practical outfits consisting of jeans and t-shirts.
Spoilsports, she thought with a grin. Maybe she’d keep that outfit handy for Seff for later. If they had a later. She hated to think how this little trip to the woods could end, but the fact was they were entering unknown territory to hunt down a powerful dark Witch with the power to almost sever the connection between shifter and beast.
She shivered in anticipation. At least Bal stayed back, she thought. She’d been relieved when with a low bow, Bal excused himself back to his guests. It was one thing for a Vampire to help you gather information, quite another for him to get wrapped up in the business of other supernaturals.
Besides, she could see Seff’s tension when faced with the other male. They were better off without him. At least, she hoped they would be.
Seff knew of her previous relationship with Bal that was the obvious cause for his dislike of the Vamp, but she wondered if it would make a difference if Seff knew that she’d only dated Bal casually.
Oh well. This was not the time to explain all that and, if she were being honest, she kind of liked it when he got all jealous. She rolled her eyes at herself. I am acting like a lovesick idiot and not the wielder of legendary power that I am. Focus.
The moon hung low in the dark sky as they walked over the graveled parking lot to where a sign proclaimed the Ramapo Reservation wooded area as protected territory. The night air was brisk even for a New Jersey spring, but Sherry didn’t mind it.
She inhaled the fresh air and smiled as she tilted her head back and allowed her senses to open. She sent magic forward into the beyond to scout the area that surrounded them.
“What is she doing?” Conall stage-whispered.
“Shh!” said Seff.
“I am looking for signs of traps or casts hidden in the forest. Do not wander off on your own, you must stay near me. The Dark Witch, or whatever he is since the readings I am getting are not at all clear as they should be, is dangerous, and these woods have been stained by his presence.”
“He is here, I feel it, and the spell is getting stronger, Sherry,” Seff clenched his jaw as he spoke.
She felt his pain and frustration through their bond. Worse than that, she felt his strength waning. Sherry opened her eyes and took in the figure of her lover. The normally robust man was slightly stooped. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, his skin color was turning grayish.
Sherry frowned. It was almost as if his nearness to the one who cast the spell was making him even sicker. They started walking through the forest, careful not to make a sound, but with every step they took, Seff’s condition worsened.
He tried to hide it from her, but after an hour of hiking through the forest at night, he was unable to keep the truth from her.
“Can you go on?” She asked, trying to keep her voice steady and smooth. It would not do him any good to know she worried.
“Of course, I’m a Werewolf you know, well most of the time I am,” he smiled weakly.
Sherry forced herself to ignore his pain. It wasn’t easy. The soul bond they shared allowed her to feel the stabbing pain and desolation that threatened to break him in two. He was in anguish, and yet he marched on. Her brave and beautiful Wolf.
She tried to feel for his beast through their connection, but it was already so faded she could barely make him out. His Wolf was silent and still, lying on the floor in that plane of reality where he waited for his human side to call him forth. He was still alive. For now.
Sherry grimaced. Every cell in her body wanted to turn around and help him, but she knew already that there was nothing she could do except find the bastard who was responsible for cursing him.
She concentrated on her magic, sending out signals, and waited. Each minute felt like an eon. Conall whined as Seff stumbled over some gnarled looking tree roots. He reached for his friend, lifting him gently before he could hit the ground. He placed him on a pile of fallen leaves and checked his pulse. Pack looked out for each other.
As a Witch without a Coven, Sherry had never had someone look out for her. She was glad she could trust Seff’s care to his Packmate while she searched out the fiend behind this. Seff groaned aloud and Sherry tensed. Conall’s eyes met hers. This wasn’t good.
“Seff! You okay, buddy?” panic laced his voice.
Sherry couldn’t help herself. She stopped her search and turned and ran to Seff’s side. Her heart hammered inside of her chest as panic settled in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t lose him. Not now.
“Seff, can you hear me?” She spoke softly as her hands traced his brow and felt for fever.
She didn’t know whether to be glad or terribly frightened as he continued to sweat and shake. Seff wasn’t hot. He was cold and clammy. His body trembled and jerked uncontrollably on the forest floor. Oh goddess, please, no, do not take him from me.
“Sherry?” His voice sounded strained to her ears.
“I am here, Seff,” she felt so useless as she said those words to him.
“Sherry, I am so sorry. Sorry I left you when I did-”
“No, we’re not going to talk about this now, you are here with me and that is all that matters, do you hear me, Seff McAllister!”
“I feel it inside me. Fuck, it’s like a knife slicing right through the center of me. Agh, Goddammit,” Seff struggled to breathe as he grasped her hand.
“The end is close. I can feel it closing in like a vice around my neck! I am sorry, I need to tell you-”
“Don’t you dare give up on me now, Seff McAllister! I swear I will never forgive you! Stay with me! Open your eyes,” but it was too late, even as Sherry begged. Seff closed his eyes. Conall whined behind her.
“No, Seff, Seff! Nooooooo!!”
He exhaled once more, and Sherry cried out as his body shook violently before going utterly still.
“Oh fuck, man! Not Seff!” Conall moaned and knelt beside his friend, head in hands.
Sherry backed up. Her eyes went wide. She tossed her head back to the night sky, invoking all her powers. Lightning struck the ground mere inches from where she sat. The wind howled, and the creatures of the forest took flight as she roared her agony aloud.
“Dewch â'm gelyn i mi,” she spoke as if in tongues, her voice on a different decibel than was normal.
Sherry trembled with unbridled fury as she called her enemy to her. She stood in the suddenly quiet forest with her eyes ablaze with fury, as she sought the one responsible for her pain. Emptiness threatened to consume her. And
with that void came the violence.
That of the Morganna Witches that had passed. Their ways were of blood and bone and vengeance. A path that she had renounced once she became both healer and teacher to those imbued with magic like herself. But that was when she had hope, now she had only a broken heart and her power. Yes, she had her power. In spades.
Her long skirts swirled around her. They began to change shape, growing thicker and shorter, molding themselves to her body until she was clad in something resembling a golden suit of armor. This war was not over.
Her eyes mimicked the bright gold as her hair wrapped itself in braids that hung down her back. Warrior style. She threw her head back and called out once more, “Dewch â'm gelyn i mi! Bring my enemy to me!”
As if the hounds of hell were at his feet, a man, cloaked in black came floating through the line of trees and into the clearing where Sherry stood. She looked once at Seff’s prone body to where Conall crouched beside him, ready to defend his fallen mate. Satisfied that he would be protected, Sherry turned to the figure in front of her.
“You’re the whore who chooses this dog over her own kind? How do you have the power to summon me?”
“Do you deny you have cursed the Wolf, Seff McAllister, severing him from his beast and ending his life?” her voice multiplied as if several beings spoke as her braided hair swirled about her head.
She raised a finger to the now cowering male sending waves of pain into him with her magic. She ignored his pleas.
“But, but you should not be able to do this!”
“What is your name?”
“I am sponsored by Valac!”
“The child-Demon? And is he here now?” she asked.
“I, I, you cannot do this. I have made tapes of shifters! I am going to out them to the world! But not before I perfect this serum!”
“The one that you used on Seff? What is the spell you used?”
“It is too late for your boyfriend! Valac assured me I was safe!”
He raged on from his position on the floor, but Sherry only smiled at him. It was not a nice smile.
“Did they not tell you who I am?” She asked as she summoned power and sent it to him in a wave of lightning.
The male Witch shook as the spell hit him. Sherry vibrated with energy as she cast her rage at him. She waved her hands over her head and sent lightning bolts to strike him from all sides.
To her surprise the Witch seemed to enjoy the attack. He cackled and threw his head back. Magic charged the air. She watched as his hands reached under his cloak and he revealed his chest, covered in tattoos of ancient runes. She recognized the Dark magic cast and she clenched her jaw.
“It matters not! I am ready for you! Now you will suffer, Witch. Valac show me your splendor!” The Witch wailed.
Sherry went flying backwards as a crackling energy shot through the ground to where she’d been standing. The air was knocked out of her as she slammed into the trunk of a large pine tree. She slid to the floor limp and dazed.
What the hell? The strong smells of ozone, sulfur, and other noxious gasses permeated the air. Bloody hell! He’d channeled the Demon!
The Witch, or Warlock, as she’d better categorized him now stood, shaking off her hold as if it were nothing more than dust. Warlocks were renowned for breaking faith with the basic rules of magic. That meant he was not to be afforded the same niceties as Witches who’d slipped up.
No. There would be no mercy here. Madness shone in his eyes and she knew he’d not grant her any either. The whites of his eyes had turned completely black. He was not even human any longer. He cackled as he ambled forward.
“I know who you are, Sherry Morgan, but do you know me? I’m a descendant of Mordred, follower of Valac! A most devoted servant of his indeed!”
Sherry’s eyes hardened to resemble diamonds as she stood gathering her powers. This was not good. Mordred had been a traitor and a downright evil bastard. The son of Morgan Le Fay, he’d killed his uncle, King Arthur, not his father by the way, and he murdered his mother in hopes of securing the crown for himself.
“That’s right,” the Warlock sneered, “We are family, dear Witch! I’ve been looking for ways to get back at your kind for decades! You see, I was not born with power. No, your descendants cursed all of my line to be born as normals to pay for the sins of Mordred! I was a nobody! A low-level scientist for a pharmaceutical company. I didn’t know anything about Mordred until I was an adult already. Then he came to me in dreams through his ties to the great Valac!”
“The dead dreamwalked to communicate with you? This is not good,” she whispered the last to herself.
“Tricking that dog, Skoll, into acting for me was easy. The Macconwood is the largest Pack in this hemisphere, it made sense I target them first. Getting to you and your boyfriend was just a bonus, Sherry Morgan.”
“You are being tricked, you would forfeit your soul for a Demon?”
“Not just a Demon. He promised me greatness and vengeance! I will not go back to my boring little life anymore! I have discovered a way to end Shifters! But first, Witch,” he sneered at her, “You must die! Or maybe I shall keep you for my own. See if that famous Morgan power will pass to our progeny?” His eyes grew glazed with greed and lust. Sherry felt sick.
“You will never have me,” she replied as she gathered her strength.
“Yes, that is a great plan I think. You will bear my child and I will out shifters and give people an easy way to kill them! I will be famous!” He made to lunge for her, but he did not finish the move as he was lifted off his feet.
“No,” a voice snarled from behind the Warlock and Sherry gasped as the man continued, “You will be dead!”
Sherry watched, her heart near to bursting as Seff appeared behind the deranged Warlock. One minute he was on two feet, the next he was on four.
His Wolf snarled as he clamped his jaws over the Warlock’s neck and shook him violently until his head flew off his shoulders. His Wolf did not relent, even as blood and gore spouted all over the place.
The body continued to twitch, but Seff finally dropped it to the ground. A vicious snarl escaped his jaws as he did so. He turned and licked his muzzle to clean it from the taint of the Warlock’s blood.
Sherry could not believe her eyes. Was it truly him? She blinked hard, but yes, Seff still walked forward to where she knelt. She sobbed as she reached out a trembling hand and touched him. Joy welled up inside her and she cried out as she ran her hands over his soft, thick fur.
“Rydych chi wedi dychwelyd ataf. You have returned to me, my love,” she whispered and hugged him close to her chest.
The Wolf licked her face, cleaning the tears that flowed freely. Then brown fur rippled and soon she was embracing skin. Seff’s skin. Her Seff. He was alive.
“I will never leave you,” he whispered as he kissed her hair and her face.
“Oh Seff, I thought you died,” she cried, returning his kisses.
“I thought I had to, but something held me back.”
“What do you mean?” She asked, not really wanting to question the gift that was him, but still needing to understand it.
“You did, my sweet Sherry, our soul bond did. I could feel it, pulling me back to my body, to my Wolf, I couldn’t go. Not without you. I love you, Sherry Morgan,” he murmured into her mouth as they kissed.
EPILOGUE
“WAIT, SO THE GUY WAS a Witch, right?” Conall scratched his head as the entire Wolf Guard and their mates assembled over pizza and salads at the manor.
“No. He was a Warlock. Conall, how many freaking times have we gone over this?” Liam tossed his crust at the older Wolf’s head and Conall snatched it out of the air before it could connect.
“I don’t mind explaining again,” Sherry said from her position on Seff’s lap. He’d scooped her up and sat her there the second they’d entered the dining room after washing up and other things.
Her pulsed raced just thinking about the way they were in th
e shower only minutes earlier. Of course, the Pack Alpha demanded they come to the dining room to share what had happened and Sherry had agreed they should probably go. After all, they had time for all that later.
He nuzzled her neck as he lifted a slice of pizza smothered in sausage and onions to her lips. She took a bite and smiled as he answered for her. She enjoyed the way they seemed to be totally in sync. No more secrets, she thought.
“Conall, a male Witch who has broken the rules of magic, mainly to not cause harm, and who practices the Dark ways and consorts with Demons is then called a Warlock. The fact that this guy only received magic as a result of Demonic possession may mean the word is not exactly right, but whatever he was, he is gone now,” Seff growled the last word.
“By the way, Sherry, thanks for saving my brother, again,” Liam said with real sincerity despite his ribbing.
Sherry squeezed Seff’s hand at the playful jibe and he readily returned the pressure. He smiled and tossed a piece of crust at his brother’s head. She kissed his cheek and laughed, loving his strength as it pulsed into her through their bond. Sherry warmed at the feeling. He was fierce and proud. And man enough to not feel threatened by her powers.
“Okay, I think I get it,” Conall continued, “But how do we know the Warlock wasn’t working for anyone? We don’t know anything about him, and we didn’t find the potion he injected you with, Seff,” Conall said.
“True, our information is limited. But we recovered this key from the body,” Seff held up a small nondescript key that he, Sherry, and Conall had found amongst the Warlock’s, er, body parts.
“Looks like a key to a bank deposit box,” said Kurt thoughtfully. His serious expression was at odds with his t-shirt. Today’s fashion marvel had a picture of a Dachshund with “do you like my wiener” written across the top in bold font.
“Could be. Why don’t you see what you can find out,” Seff tossed the key at Kurt and turned to his mate.
