“Obviously didn’t work,” Callan remarked.
“The Hunter is not the only one adept with the ancient ways,” Goldhorn said. The beast tilted his head and fixed a black eye on me. “I sense ancient magic running through your veins as well, young witch.”
“Earth magic is my specialty,” I said.
“Yes, I feel that shared connection to the land. Do you?”
I nodded.
Callan gave me a curious look. “Ancient enough to take down the Hunter?”
Goldhorn chewed another mouthful of grass. “If it is the earth that gives him renewed life, then perhaps it is the earth that solidifies his death.”
“Solidifying his death sounds good to me,” Callan said.
The ground rumbled beneath our feet and Goldhorn’s head lifted. “He approaches. I would not challenge him now if you are unprepared.”
An arrow whizzed past us, skimming Callan’s shoulder. He winced and, instinctively, began to shift. Fur sprouted all over his body and his clothes shredded. The enormous wolf took off in the direction of the arrows.
Goldhorn rounded the bend and disappeared.
The forest quaked with fear.
“Callan!” I called. The wolf was gone.
Another arrow sailed past my head. There was no way we were in any position to confront the Hunter right now. We had to get out of his range.
I heard a sharp cry and the wolf slammed on the ground beside me. I checked his body for arrow wounds until I realized that it wasn’t the Hunter that sent him spiraling here.
“You were out of range, you fool,” I whispered, burying my face in his fur.
The wolf’s breathing was labored and I wondered whether he’d been hurt when the cord snapped back into place.
“I need to get us to safety until you’re fully conscious,” I whispered.
A hamadryad appeared behind us from the trunk of giant tree. The tree was easily six feet in radius. “Come with me quickly,” the nymph said. “I can protect you.”
Together, we dragged the wolf’s limp body into the base of the tree, hidden from the keen eyes of the Hunter. The hamadryad merged with her tree once again, leaving us alone. I had no idea how close it was to sundown. Soon I’d have to find a way to alert the warden to our predicament. I hoped he and Mona were okay.
Once we were safely installed inside the tree, I stroked the wolf’s snout and his breathing grew steady. “You’re okay,” I said soothingly. “We’ll be safe here for now.” I didn’t know how he thought for one second I’d ever be afraid of him. There was simply no way. Yes, he was huge, but the wolf was a gentle giant if ever there was one.
“I know you want me to let you in,” I said. “Part of me wants to, but part of me…” I trailed off. As scared as I was to share my story, I felt safe in the bosom of the tree. Safe with Callan, the wolf.
He snuggled against me, his body warm and comforting. Everything about him put me at ease. My hand disappeared into his thick fur. I filled my lungs with courage and began to speak.
“I had a younger brother. Folant. He liked to climb. If it was tall and scary, he saw it as a challenge. I never liked to climb because the earth witch in me was too strong, but Folant didn’t have that limitation.”
The wolf groaned and shifted his body and I moved to the side to accommodate him.
“My parents left a lot of the childcare to me,” I said. “I was responsible from a young age. The day Folant fell, though, I was in school. My parents were home and he’d gone outside to find something to climb. They found him with a broken back and internal injuries that no healer could mend.” Tears stung my eyes as I remembered that horrible day. My parents’ matching expressions when I came home from school.
“The night he died, they lost their minds. My father insisted they try to return him with a spell. His only son, you see.”
The wolf flinched.
“Yes, that’s right. Necromancy. They raised him from the dead using a spell they bought from a back alley sorceress. They knew better, but they were grief-stricken.” My throat tightened as I remembered the events of that night, still vivid after all these years. “He wasn’t right--whatever they brought back—he wasn’t my brother. He was a monster. My parents knew, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do anything.” Tears flooded my cheeks. “So I grabbed my father’s sword from its scabbard.” A mangled cry escaped me. It was torture to relive the moment I plunged a sword into my own brother’s chest. “I killed him, Callan. I murdered my own brother.” Dear, sweet Folant. And I would do it again, if I had to. That was the worst part.
The wolf stared at me with solemn eyes. He understood. Somehow I knew that he would.
“My friends don’t know. My siblings don’t know either. I’ve wanted to put as much distance between my parents and me as possible. That’s why I chose to be an Enforcer of the East. I still find it difficult to look at them and not remember.”
I felt the beating of the wolf’s heart beneath his layers of fur and found comfort in its steady rhythm. We remained wrapped in silence for so long that I barely noticed when the fur dissolved and my hands were pressed against the sinewy muscle of the man inside the wolf.
“I’m so sorry, Cerys,” he said.
“So am I,” I said, and then I did something completely out of character.
I kissed him.
His lips were softer than I expected and tasted like cider and fig. His hand moved to cradle the back of my head. It felt oddly normal to kiss him, as though it was the kind of thing we did every day.
He pulled back and looked at me. “Now is probably not the best time to be naked.”
I glanced down and quickly jerked my head up. “I didn’t…I hadn’t…” I squeezed my eyes closed, mortified.
He chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t have my bug out bag with me for a change of clothes. Stupid of me.”
“I can manifest you something to wear,” I said.
“That’d be a real help. Mona will tan my hide if she sees me traipsing through the Wild in my bare skin.”
“You taste like cider and fig,” I blurted, “which makes no sense because you just taste like a man, right?” My cheeks flamed. Why did I feel compelled to tell him that?
He leaned against the inside of the tree. “I guess I never really thought about how I taste. Well, if it’s any consolation, you taste like sunshine. Explain that one.”
My heart fluttered. Sunshine was nice.
He gave me a lopsided grin. “Anything else you want to confide in me today?”
I suddenly felt self-conscious, especially with a naked werewolf beside me. I retrieved my wand. “No, I’ll just magic you something to wear. Any requests?”
“No yoga pants,” he joked. “They make my butt look big.”
I did a simple manifestation spell that resulted in sweatpants and a T-shirt. “I think your shoes are okay. I noticed them outside in one piece.”
“Yeah, they tend to survive my shifting.” He looked down at the Spellslingers logo on his T-shirt with a wry smile. “I guess this’ll do the trick until I get home. Thanks.”
“Do you feel well enough to venture outside?” I asked.
“Fresh as a daisy. Think our friend is still shooting arrows out there?”
“Hold on and I’ll tell you.” I focused inwardly on my connection to the land. A place like the Wild was easier to tap into—no buildings or other aspects of Terrene blocking me. The energy flowed through me. I felt the gentle glow of the moon. I felt life brimming everywhere my mind touched. I felt…relief—not from me but from the living creatures in the Wild. “I don’t sense him anywhere here. I think he’s gone.”
Callan’s eyes glimmered. “You’re something else, lemon drop, you know that?”
I didn’t know how to respond. I was still reeling from what I’d said—from what I’d done. “It’s nearly sundown,” I finally said. “We should go.” The interior of the tree shimmered as though heeding my request to leave. “Thank you for giving us
sanctuary.”
I fled the tree as fast as my body could move. I needed to get away, even if it was only thirty feet. It wasn’t enough—but right now it was my only option.
Chapter Thirteen
When we finally caught up with Warden Armitage and Mona at the rendezvous point, they seemed like they’d had enough of each other to last another decade.
“The Hunter was here,” Mona said.
“We know,” I said. “We took refuge in a tree.”
“Took refuge?” Mona raised her brow at Callan. “That was your response to a known threat?”
“It wasn’t his fault,” I said. “He shifted and took off. The blood bond yanked him back.”
Callan rubbed the back of his head. “Gave me a killer headache, too.”
“We met up with a lot of scared forest folk but no Hunter,” Warden Armitage said. “The poor faun we came across was ready to chuck himself in the river. He can’t take the constant state of uncertainty.”
“We got information that might prove useful,” I said.
“Thank the gods for that,” Mona said. “Who’s the source?”
“Goldhorn,” Callan added pointedly.
Mona’s eyes grew round. “Goldhorn, the legendary creature?”
“He’s not a Pokémon,” Callan quipped.
“You’re not human and you don’t have children,” Mona said. “You shouldn’t even know the word Pokémon.”
“Goldhorn dwells right here in the Wild,” Callan confirmed. “And he’s been dodging the Hunter for decades, apparently.” He repeated our conversation with the majestic beast.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he’d choose to hang his horn here,” the warden said. “Easy place to get lost.”
Mona’s phone buzzed and she plucked it from her pocket. “What is it, Michael?” She listened intently. “Okay, great. Thanks for letting me know.” She clicked off the phone and looked at us. “The kid’s awake.”
I exhaled an unsteady breath. “Can we see him?”
Mona nodded. “Yes, but we’ve got to go now before Michael informs the parents. They’ll whisk him away in a heartbeat.”
The whole way back to the League facility, my thoughts swirled around Ben. I knew he wouldn’t be able to provide us with any helpful clues, not if the dream walker had been successful, but that didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to see him walking and talking. I wanted to know that he was about to rejoin the world as a ‘normal’ young man, hopefully live a long, paranormal-free life. He deserved that much.
“You’re quiet,” Callan murmured, once we’d reached the building. “Everything okay?”
He was probably concerned about what happened between us earlier—that I was regretting my decision to confide in him. Or kiss him. Or both. And he’d be right.
“I’m thinking about Ben,” I said, a partial truth.
Callan fixed me with a serious look. “And I’m thinking about you.”
“Priorities,” I hissed. I shot a quick look at Mona and Warden Armitage. Thankfully, they hadn’t heard him.
“And you’re not one?” he queried. “Cerys…”
I cut him off with a look.
“I’ll go in first,” Mona said, oblivious to our exchange. “Get the report from Michael.” She left the three of us to pace mindlessly in the corridor.
“How were things with you two in the Wild?” Callan asked Warden Armitage.
The warden raked back his hair. “Well, two went in and two came back, so that’s a plus.”
“Not like old times, huh?” Callan said.
His expression soured. “You know that’s been over for quite some time. It’s all aggression and blame now.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
The warden leaned his shoulder against the wall. “And why would you be sorry, Davies?”
“Because it’s sad,” I replied. “You loved each other once and now it’s bitter and unhappy.”
“Love isn’t enough sometimes,” Warden Armitage said. “You’re still young. You’ll learn that lesson eventually.”
“Or not, if she’s lucky,” Callan said.
“How about you two?” Warden Armitage asked. “You seem to be getting along pretty good. No claw marks that I can see.”
Callan shifted from one foot to the other. “Nope. Nothing like that. Cerys is a fine partner.”
“She shows great promise,” the warden agreed.
Inwardly, I groaned. He sounded like Chancellor Tilkin.
“Promise? She shows a lot more than promise,” Callan said, more vehemently than necessary. My skin began to burn as I thought of his lips on mine. I pushed the image aside.
“Glad to hear it,” the warden replied. He seemed mildly amused. His phone buzzed and he scrutinized the screen. “Well, it’s been fun, but looks like I’m needed elsewhere. Pronto.”
Callan sniffed. “A warden’s work is never done, huh?”
“Apparently not.” He paused. “Give my regards to the Amazon. Tell her I’ll be in touch. She’ll love that.”
“You two are made for each other,” Callan replied.
Warden Armitage wagged a finger at him. “Don’t tell her that.”
Callan chuckled. “Why would I bother when it’s so obvious?”
“Take care of yourself, Davies,” the warden said. “You do what you need to do until the bond breaks. We’ve got you covered at the academy.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Bryn…She won’t get in trouble, will she?” Bryn acted like she was untouchable, but I knew that wasn’t necessarily the case.
Warden Armitage barked a laugh. “She got her wrist slapped. Again. But she knows the Board of Regents won’t expel her. They won’t take the risk.”
“She sounds like a barrel of flying monkeys,” Callan said.
“Bryn Morrow is going to be a pain in the ass and one of the best wardens we’ve ever seen. Mark my words.” He clapped me on the arm. “See you back soon. Alana sends good vibes.”
“Tell her thank you.” I watched the warden walk the length of the corridor and disappear around the corner.
“He seems fond of you,” Callan said.
“In his gruff way,” I replied. “Do you really think he and Mona are made for each other?”
“In a complicated way. Doesn’t mean they’ll end up together though. I told you they’re married to their jobs.”
The door opened and Michael gave us a toothy smile.
“That’s the smile of success, right?” I asked, hopeful.
“Either that or insanity,” Callan said.
“You can come in now.” Michael motioned us forward.
I rushed to Ben’s beside and was thrilled to see him in an upright position. He clutched a glass of water and his pallor had greatly improved.
“Hi,” he said. He seemed bemused by all the attention.
“How are you feeling?” I asked. I nearly reached out to touch his forehead like I used to do with my siblings.
He shrugged his narrow shoulders. “Alive.”
I smiled. “Alive is good. Do you remember anything?”
I felt Callan’s presence behind me. “Good to see you awake, buddy,” the werewolf said.
Ben puckered his lips, thinking. “There was a camping trip. Our campsite got attacked by a wild animal.”
“Ben said there were twelve of them all together,” Kendall said. I whirled around. I hadn’t even realized he was already in the room.
“Yes, twelve of us total,” Ben said. “My fraternity brothers.” His gaze drifted to his lap.
I squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry. I know how awful this must be for you.”
Ben’s haunted eyes met mine. “I’m the only survivor.”
“I’ve made arrangements for him to meet with a grief counselor,” Michael said.
“Good idea,” Callan said.
I longed to soothe Ben’s tortured soul. I had no doubt he’d suffer, even though we’d done him a kindness by changing his memories. “You survive
d because you’re strong, Ben, and the world isn’t finished with you yet.”
Ben nodded blankly and averted his gaze. He took another sip of water. “I’ve always wanted to be strong.”
My chest tightened. Ben was alive. One out of twelve. It would have to be enough.
“His parents are outside the building,” Michael said, a warning to us.
My hand still rested on Ben’s arm. I felt reluctant to release him. Callan broke the hold when I felt his hand on the small of my back. A subtle gesture that no one else seemed to notice.
“Come on, Cerys,” he said. “Ben’s got to get ready to leave.”
I reached into my pocket with my free hand and pulled out a small rock. I’d designed it with the rune for strength. It didn’t have to mean physical power. It could be used for internal strength as well.
“This is for you,” I said.
Ben’s brow knitted together. “It’s cool. What is it?” He examined the symbol, though I knew he wouldn’t understand it.
“A good luck charm,” I lied.
Ben took the rock and rubbed his fingers over the smooth surface. “It’s awesome. Thanks.”
“Have a long, healthy life, Ben,” I said, and let him go.
The four of us left Michael to deal with Ben and his parents. We moved to the neighboring room, another healer’s station with beds and jars of herbs and tonics.
“That was a nice touch,” Callan said quietly. “The rock.”
“They’re helpful to me,” I said. “I hope he finds the same.”
“Poor kid,” Kendall said. He dropped onto an empty bed. “He’s going to have a complex for the rest of his life.”
“Better than the alternative,” Callan said.
“Armitage left, I take it?” Mona said.
“Duty called,” Callan told her.
“Story of our lives.” Mona’s phone must have vibrated because she pulled it out and stared at the screen. “Son of a she-wolf,” she muttered.
Callan moved to peer over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“The lab did a more advanced analysis of the potion,” she said. “They said they have no further information. I was hoping for a breakthrough.”
Outwit: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Enforcer of the East Book 1) Page 15
