Tommy nodded. He was conflicted about this whole thing. He’d never heard of a demon demanding protection for someone before. Then again, the only thing he knew about demon marks were from tv shows. In those, it was always about murder and chaos. There was something odd going on here. The demon had scared the hell out of them all and hurt Amber, but it had seemed almost…fearful.
“We’re a half mile away. We’re going to go that way, quietly,” Amber said, pointing north, deeper into the woods.
The trio walked quietly, each of them watching the woods intently for any sign of movement. All of Tommy's senses were on high alert. He could hear people in the distance, but he couldn't make out any of the conversations yet.
The smell of smoke grew stronger as they drew closer to the house. He focused on trying to catch the scent of a person underneath it all, but no one had come this way recently.
Soon, the charred skeleton of a house was visible through the dense forest. All that was left of the house was a crumbling shell of still smoldering beams. He could hear faint voices now, and put his hand on Amber's shoulder, then tapped his ear to let her know.
Amber nodded and motioned for them to slow down. They crept in a wide circle around the house until they could see the people that were talking.
There were two men. The one Tommy had heard first turned out to be on the phone. He had long, blond hair tied back in a ponytail and wore some kind of linen suit. He looked like he belonged on a yacht or something, not standing in ash. The way he moved was graceful, unnaturally so. His skin almost glowed with health, and that was when Tommy realized what he was. He was half-angel.
They weren't common, but every single one of them was beautiful and talented. They were always models, actors, or singers. Everything they did seemed effortless, and they were even more beautiful than the elves.
The other guy was no angel, that was for sure. He wore dark jeans and a long sleeve shirt. The sleeves were pushed up, exposing strange tattoos and old scars. His hair was buzzed short making his face look harsh. He walked a short distance away from the half-angel and crouched down in front of the house.
Tommy tensed when he drew a knife from a sheath in the back of his pants. The man curled his hand into a tight fist, then drew the blade over the back of his forearm, leaving a fairly deep cut. Blood dripped into the ash and dirt as he began to chant.
Ceri grabbed Amber's arm and motioned for them to move back. They retreated a decent distance back into the trees where they could talk.
"If you want to find this girl, you have to do it now," Ceri whispered urgently. "That's a method for tracking someone. It's an insane method, but extremely effective. It will also hurt her."
"How long do we have?" Amber asked.
"Fifteen, twenty minutes tops," Ceri said, glancing back at the house. "I might be able to buy you more time, but you have to hurry. Does the demon have any idea where she is?"
Amber glanced to her left, then shook her head. "No."
“Find her, and get her to me as fast as you can. I can protect her, but I need her blood,” Ceri said, grimacing slightly.
"We have to split up," Tommy said, already pulling his shirt over his head. He knew he could cover more ground in wolf form.
"Be careful," Amber said, her eyes flashing red like it was an order.
"I will be," Tommy said before turning around to shuck off his pants. Nudity still made him intensely uncomfortable, but they didn't have time to worry about that right now.
The shift came easier every time he did it. The wolf grew in his mind as he dropped to four feet, his paws forming before he hit the ground. He shook out his fur and panted for a moment, processing the changes. The acrid scent of the smoke made his nose burn.
He turned around and saw that Ceri was already headed back toward the house. Amber nodded at him, also in wolf form now, and took off at a run. He went in the opposite direction, skirting around the side of the house, heading into the densest section of the forest.
He ran until he could smell something other than burnt, then paused to take a deep breath. He sniffed the ground, getting a nose full of pine needles, but nothing that smelled like a person. This might be harder than he thought.
Chapter 16
CERI
Ceri’s blood was boiling with rage. Amber had been an idiot. This demon had led them into extreme danger because that was what demons did. She hated that Tommy had come. If she'd known there was going to be a sorcerer here, she would have made him stay at the house.
Blood magic was one of those things you rarely saw used. There were so many other ways to enhance your magic. Sacrificing your own lifeblood to power a spell damaged you. It twisted something inside of you and left a dark mark on your soul.
The owl was perched on a branch above her. She didn't have to look up to know it was there. This was what it had been trying to warn her about. In some ways, she had been right. It was an ill omen, but if it hadn't warned her she would have been even more unprepared.
Ceri crouched behind a tree and lifted the strap of her purse over her head. She had what she needed to slow the sorcerer down. Stopping him was borderline impossible. The raw power needed to do that was beyond her without a coven. Luckily, he was alone, or she wouldn't be able to do a thing.
She lifted out her spellbook first, then her little tin of mugwort. The plant was helpful in protection against a psychic attack, which was, at its heart, what the sorcerer was casting. It attacked the natural mental protections of the target. The spell could leave physical wounds as well, depending on the strength of the caster.
Finding a decent branch nearby, she grabbed it and drew a circle of protection around herself. She added a triangle with a second horizontal line that cut through the bottom third of it. Invoking the element of air to give her strength and embrace its energy.
Most witches viewed these rituals as weak and unreliable. Her grandmother had hated them. Without a coven, and without a living sacrifice such as a pixie or other animal, it was all she had.
She crossed her legs and dug her fingers into the earth to ground herself, literally and figuratively. The magic inside her would have to be enough to slow this sorcerer down.
“Spiritus defendat,” she chanted softly. Magic welled up within her. Instead of sinking into the ground, it lifted up from the top of her head. A breeze picked up around her.
Her eyes slipped shut and her other senses came into focus. The sorcerer’s magic was hot and dark to the west. It crept through the forest like a hunter after its prey. Though it passed her by, she felt its attention turn toward her briefly, inspecting the competing magic. The sorcerer would know she was here, but he would not attack her until he’d accomplished his task.
The owl flew down and stood at the top point of the symbol she’d drawn. It twisted its head, picking at its feathers until one came loose then dropped the feather, which floated down onto the symbol. She felt a surge of energy and clarity.
In her mind, she saw her magic flare up, cutting through the darkness that pressed around her. The sorcerer’s spell shuddered. Her hair lifted off her shoulder as the breeze tickling her skin grew stronger. It was tinged with magic, both hers and the spirits. The owl was aiding her. The strength of help that was freely given could never be matched by a sacrifice ripped from the animal’s body.
The darkness around her shifted as the wind pushed against it. She continued chanting to give herself something to focus on. The wind lifted the words from her lips and carried them like daggers through the forest. Her magic cut through the sorcerer’s spell. It groaned and shuddered.
She could feel the sorcerer’s attention turn to her briefly. He didn’t falter in the pursuit of his target, but she could feel his anger growing in the darkness like a storm.
The pack bond shifted inside her and she felt a push. Instead of drawing strength from her, it was being poured into her. Amber was helping, the only way she could. A smile spread across Ceri’s face. This was the strength of
the pack, of being a shaman.
The wind howled like a hurricane, whipping her hair up into a frenzy. The trees around her strained against the onslaught. A branch cracked and snapped off the trunk, flying through the air like a missile. Her magic pushed against the sorcerer’s spell, slowing its progress and stripping away its power.
Lifting her face to the sky, Ceri poured every ounce of her strength into the battle. She would not falter. She would not show fear. She was strong enough.
Chapter 17
AMBER
It was an odd sensation to be sending the strength of the pack to one of the pack members instead of drawing it into herself. The wind buffeted Amber as she jogged through the forest. There was magic in the air, both Ceri’s and something that smelled like blood and fire.
The demon drifted beside her, glaring at the forest around them. He hadn’t spoken. Just watched. Every few minutes he’d float away until she felt a strange tug in her chest, then he’d reappear. It seemed like he was tethered to her.
A sound behind her, muffled by the wind, made her pause. The scent of metal and gunpowder had her dropping to her stomach. Splinters exploded from the tree trunk in front of her as a bullet impacted it. Her ears ached from the loud crack of the gunfire.
Not wanting to be a stationary target, she darted to the side, running as low as possible. Her first thought was that she had to get to Tommy, her second was that they were all screwed. Two more shots cracked through the air, one hitting a tree, the other striking the dirt right in front of her.
She zig-zagged as best she could, but she had to get to the shooter fast. If those were regular bullets, she could afford to get hit. It would hurt but she could deal with that. If they were silver…she didn’t want to have to draw on the pack’s strength. Ceri needed it.
“He’s moving that way,” the demon said, pointing in the same direction she was running. “There are two, I think.”
She changed directions to try to get behind him. Her heart was racing in her chest and the wolf was finally fully awake.
There was another shot. The pain didn’t register until she stumbled. Her shoulder burned and blood seeped into her fur. Growling in anger, she pushed herself to go faster. She didn’t know anything about the girl lost in this forest, but she couldn’t imagine a good reason for her to be hunted like an animal.
She ran recklessly, no longer worried about being shot. The wound hurt, but it wasn’t silver. It would heal. Over the rush of the wind, she heard the man’s footsteps. Smelled his cologne. His fear. He was right to be afraid.
The wolf pushed her even faster, thrilled to be chasing prey. The wolf’s instincts overrode her fear and worry. There were two of them. She was closing in on the first, but the other was coming up behind her.
The demon surged ahead of her and she heard a scream. She pushed herself to go faster and a man hit the dirt in front of her, scrambling on hands and knees trying to get away. The demon loomed over him, larger than he’d been even in the house. He backed right into a tree and was left with nowhere to run.
She lunged for him as he lifted the gun, aiming it with shaking hands at the demon. Her teeth closed around his forearm and the bone snapped in her powerful jaws. She shook viciously and the gun fell to the ground. The man’s head hit the tree with a crack and he fell limp.
She wasn’t sure if he was dead, and she didn’t have time to worry about it. Three fast shots rang through the air, but the other man was shooting at the demon as well. They didn’t realize he couldn’t touch them.
“Charlie!” the other attacker shouted behind them in alarm.
Amber turned and ran toward him. He swung his gun toward her as she leapt. The bullet hit her in the gut and knocked her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, but her legs were like jello. She couldn’t breathe.
“Who the hell sent a damn werewolf out here?” the man shouted as he fumbled to reload his gun.
Her body was already healing, but it was slower than she’d expected. She drew on the pack bond for one moment, just to give herself strength, then charged the man.
He locked the slide in place a half-second before she collided with him. It wasn’t a clean takedown, she’d missed his throat. The pain had been greater than she’d expected. He scrambled for a place to grab her as they hit the ground. His fist connected with the bullet wound and she yelped, tearing at him with her paws. One of his hands wrapped around her throat, holding her at a distance.
She yanked her head away, then snapped at his arm. Her teeth tore into his skin and he screamed in pain. It made him slow, and her jaw closed around his neck. One bite was all it took. His throat collapsed under the pressure. The scream abruptly cut off.
Excitement pulsed through the pack bond from Tommy as she stumbled away from the body. She could barely process it as she looked at the carnage at her feet. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she vomited as she backed away. She’d had to kill him. She hadn’t had a choice…but it was awful. There was so much blood.
The excitement from Tommy changed to fear and her head snapped up. He had found them.
Chapter 18
TOMMY
He took a winding path through the woods, trying to cover as much ground as possible. They had two hours left. He was pretty sure bloodhounds got to smell something that the person they were tracking owned before they were sent out to find them. It would have been really helpful to have something. Instead, he was just wandering aimlessly hoping to get lucky.
At the back of his mind, the wolf seemed unconcerned. It was patient. Tommy huffed in annoyance and picked up his pace. He was afraid to run in case he missed something, but he wasn’t making enough progress.
His ears twitched as he took in the sounds of the forest. It was surprisingly noisy now that he could hear for miles in every direction. Wind ruffled his fur lightly and he reveled in the cool breeze. In this form, he’d found it was easy to feel overheated.
The wind grew steadily stronger, making him pause. He looked around and saw the trees waving wildly. The steady breeze shifted, buffeting from different directions. A particularly strong gust hit him in the side and he stumbled from the force of it.
Magic tickled his nose. He lifted his face toward the sky as the wind howled through the trees. It smelled like magic, and Ceri. He hoped this meant she was winning.
The pack bond began to grow inside him like it did whenever Amber pulled on it. Ceri must be fighting the sorcerer, or Amber was in danger. He shifted anxiously on his feet, but there was nothing he could do to help except find the girl. He hoped Ceri could slow the sorcerer down. And that she could stay hidden. He knew she could probably fight way better than he could, but he still didn’t like her being alone out there.
He took off again, moving at a steady trot this time. A faint scent whipped past him and the wolf woke up inside of him, going from patient to excited. He changed direction, following where his instincts led him despite the scent fading. It wasn’t exactly human, but it wasn’t an animal. It reminded him of the strange, sulfur smell he’d noticed around the house. And the smell in the truck when the demon had been there.
He followed the trail with his nose to the ground. The wind shifted, swirling around him like a tornado, and for a split second, he almost lost the trail. A branch snapped off a tree overhead and he dropped to the forest floor, ducking underneath it just in time.
Taking off at a run, he stopped hesitating. The girl had to be somewhere in this direction. The wind was blowing so hard now that he had to lean his head down just to run.
He heard her before he saw her. She was crying and shouting curse words at the wind. He slowed his pace, creeping up slowly toward the sounds. At first, he wasn’t sure where he was, then he saw a glimpse of pale blonde hair through the underbrush. She was crouched behind a tree.
The smell of blood and burnt flesh hit him and he froze. Then he realized there was someone with her. They weren’t moving.
He ran toward the two of them, his
heart racing with excitement. Her head snapped toward him when he got close and she jumped up, her eyes going wide with fear. Slowing down to a walk, he stepped toward her trying to look friendly.
She grabbed a fallen branch off the ground and ran at him, holding it like a bat. Her long blonde hair swept behind her like a veil and he was momentarily mesmerized. Until she swung the branch at his head.
He dodged the attack and skittered backward. Maybe he hadn’t fully thought this plan through. He’d been so focused on finding her that he hadn’t thought about how she’d react to a wolf showing up.
“Get back!” she shouted again, swinging the branch at him. The harsh wind kicked her blonde hair into her face as she tried to fend him off. She was wearing pajamas and didn’t even have on shoes.
He ducked underneath it and yipped, trying to look more like a puppy than a wolf. She swung the branch again viciously. Well, that didn’t work.
Backing off, he ran behind a tree. She didn’t follow, staying in front of her tree holding the branch like a shield.
He shifted, feeling very vulnerable standing naked in the woods. “I, uh, come in peace,” he said, sticking his arms out from behind the tree. The wind was blowing so hard now he had to shout.
“Wait, you’re a werewolf?” the girl asked, lowering her weapon. She didn’t drop it though.
He peeked his head out from behind the tree, keeping himself carefully hidden. “Yeah, we were told you were lost and sent to find you.”
Her blue eyes narrowed as she brushed her hair out of her eyes. She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Who sent you?”
“Well…just someone that was….concerned,” he deflected. The demon hadn’t told them if she knew who he was, and she looked pretty suspicious. He wasn’t sure admitting it was a demon was the best move.
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