by Dana Davis
She broke the physical link with Dar and untied the Elder’s binds. The person outside was just paces away now. “I know you’re exhausted, Elder. But I need your help. You still have the Amulet?”
Siri nodded and took the gag from her mouth. Taniras suspected she’d already taken in the Energy from the strength she suddenly possessed. The Elder sat and both waited as the moving heat came closer to the wagon. A hand reached inside the blanket and flipped it up. Taniras had a fist ready but she found herself staring at yellow eyes that glowed in the darkness. Not at all the comforting color of a wolf’s orbs. Her heart pounded and her ears rang with fright. The stench of evil came through the mind link with the pack, such emptiness, an abomination, and for several heartbeats, Taniras couldn’t move.
Siri mumbled something and Croferituus threw back her head in an animal-like screech.
That was enough to shake Taniras from inaction. She prepared to pounce on the yellow-eyed woman but the head snapped to her and the evil smile stopped her in mid step. Hideous laughter came from that face and Croferituus shimmered into a large, yellow mountain cat. She screeched and bounded away with half the wolf pack at her tail.
“What happened, Elder Siri? You still have the Azure Amulet, right?”
“Yes. I felt the power leave her. She no longer controls the rest of us. Get the others freed. We can figure out what to do about her later.”
Those by the fire began to move and the wolves surrounded them while Siri untied several kin. Taniras made her way to the fire, hauled Croferituus’s partner to her feet and slammed her against the nearest wagon, causing the woman to cry out. She bound the woman’s wrists to one of the slats in the wagon then she assisted Siri.
Once everyone had been freed and the Gypsies had taken control, the remaining wolves retreated into the nearby woods. They didn’t trust people, even her kin. There had been too much hatred for them over the centuries. Wolves were feared and when people feared something, they usually tried to destroy it.
Thank you, my wolf kin, Taniras sent to the pack. They responded with howls of victory.
War begins, Dar sent. Then she became a distant voice as she joined the others of her kind.
The pack stayed with Taniras in the back of her mind, always there. Their joys, their fears, their loves, and the immense stretch of eons from the packs that ran before them. They were as much a part of her now as her own blood. Someone broke her thoughts by grabbing her from behind, and her heart fluttered at the familiar male scent.
She turned and threw herself into Snowy’s embrace, half-supporting him in his weakened state. He smiled down on her before falling to his knees, and she coddled him as though her life depended on that physical contact.
Together, they sobbed.
End of
Sage Truth
Book 2 of the Teadai Prophecies
The Gypsies and Sages have the final battle for their world in
City of Gods
Book 3 of the Teadai Prophecies
