He was almost there. So close. “Meredith!” Silas ran for her, swerving to avoid the widening crater.
She looked up, tears in her eyes. “I love you.” With a twist of her torso that made her scream from the pain, she threw Laina into his arms. Silas caught his sister in both arms.
And then Meredith dropped into the void.
Chapter 27
“Meredith!” Silas transferred Laina into Jason’s arms, thankful his brother was close behind him. He ran to the edge of the crater, a foolish move considering the ground was still shaking. But what was love but a fool’s errand? He peered over the side.
Panaal was gone, disappeared down the bottomless pit before him. The earth stilled. Thankfully, the crater stopped expanding, its hunger seemingly appeased by being fed the Book of Flesh and Bone. Even the wind gave up its campaign against him. Charred rock steamed from the crater, a dozen small fires burning below, giving off the smell of sulfur and burning flesh. He called her name into the bottomless expanse. “Meredith!”
“Silas?” Her voice was barely a whisper. He searched the rocky edge. There—pale fingers gripping black stone. “I can’t hold on.”
He didn’t hesitate. Scaling the rough surface, he found a tiny ledge only half the width of his body near her fingers. He gripped the wall with one hand and lowered himself, stretching his body to reach her.
“My legs aren’t working right. He did something to me.” Her voice was hoarse, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Reach for my hand.” He could see her fingers slipping, her knuckles sickly white with the effort of hanging on.
“I can’t.”
“Goddess help me,” he prayed, then repositioned his anchored hand on a rock closer to her. At this angle, he might be able to reach her, but he’d never have the leverage to pull her back up. Still, he had to try. Digging his fingers in, he stretched himself out—
—just as she lost her grip. She dropped, her arm brushing his fingertips until, by some miracle, his fist closed around her wrist. Her weight threatened the hold he had on the crater wall.
“You have to let me go and pull yourself up,” she sobbed, tears flowing.
“I can’t,” he said.
“You can. If you let me go, you’ll be strong enough. You’ll survive.”
“I can’t. I can’t survive without you. I can’t do it alone.”
“Of course you can. You made it down here alone. You can climb up alone.”
“Not this. Life. I can’t do life alone. Not anymore. I need you, Meredith.”
“Silas…”
“I love you. I refuse to let Alex take one more person from me. Not you. Not this time.”
“Oh, Silas.” She dangled helplessly from his hand and glanced at the eclipsed moon. In moments the full moon would be fully exposed again. He would shift back and lose his grip. “I’m not sure we have a choice.”
“I’m not letting you go. We either both get out of this crater or we both go down together.”
“Eh-hem,” Jason called from the edge of the crater. “No fucking way am I becoming alpha. Hang on, brother. Laina’s awake and checking the truck for some rope.”
“Hurry, brother. This isn’t as easy as it looks.” A brown blur appeared behind Jason’s head. “Jason, look out!”
Jason turned, but what now appeared to be a giant eagle did not attack. She coasted around his head and swooped down the rocky side of the abyss. Before Silas could react, she’d swept Meredith into her talons, carrying her to safety. Silas breathed a sigh of relief to see Meredith on solid ground.
Fingers aching and limbs trembling, he heaved his weight upward, perching on the tiny lip of stone to rest. He could do this. He could climb the rest of the way. Digging his fingers in, he tried not to think too much about how easily he could fall. Hand, hand, foot, foot. Repeat.
Jason reached for him, lying on his belly at the edge. “Just a few more feet, Silas. You’re almost there.”
Laina appeared at his side, reaching down for him as well. “No rope, but I found this.” She dropped a hacked length of seatbelt to him. Silas lifted himself another six inches and wrapped his hand in the black strap.
“I’ve got it!” Silas said.
Jason grabbed the strap and helped Laina pull. “Hang on, brother. We’ve got you.”
“Ow!” A searing pain lassoed Silas’s ankle. His gaze darted toward his leg to see a tongue of fire originating from the pit below, wrapped around his ankle like a whip.
“Hang on, Silas!” Jason yelled. He and Laina strained to pull him up.
The tongue pulled harder, the burning, tugging pain threatening his hold on the strap and wall. “I can’t hold on,” Silas said.
With a high-pitched cry, the eagle soared back into the crater, snapping at the fiery whip and slashing it with its talons. The burning thing slipped off Silas’s bare ankle, receding into the pit below. Silas dug his toe into the side of the crater, and with everything he had left, climbed. Jason’s hand landed on his shoulder, hoisting him over the lip of the crater.
And then he was in Jason and Laina’s arms. They huddled together in the kind of group hug only experienced in the most desperate of times, the type with tears and the blubbering of words that are forgotten the moment they are spoken because the feelings are too intense to be described in any language.
Silas was alpha. He’d saved his family. He’d saved his pack. And he wept openly like a child. And then, with an intense pain that bubbled along his spine, Silas gave himself over to his wolf, his brother and sister shifting beside him.
Silas became human again at the edge of the wood. He blinked into the sunrise, the night before coming back to him. Alex was dead. Nickelova was dead. And Meredith was both innocent and alive. He turned over to find Laina shifting back a few yards away.
“Are you okay?” he asked her when she was human again.
“Better. I think the shift helped. Alex did something to my head before. Everything was hazy, but I think I’m okay now. I’m just worried about the baby.”
“We’re going to get you help,” he said. “Where are Jason and Meredith?”
“I’m here,” Jason said from behind him.
Silas stood and searched the area, sniffing the air and following her scent. He found her near the crater, curled next to her mother.
“Silas?” she said, a worried expression on her face. “I can’t move my legs. And there’s something wrong with my mom.”
“Too many times,” Olivia murmured beside her.
Meredith stroked her mother’s hair back from her face. “She needs a doctor.” With her hand on her mother’s forehead, she looked at Silas. “She’s shifted too many times, too close together. She’s running a fever. If we don’t get her help, she’ll die.”
Silas nudged Jason. “Take Olivia. I’ll carry Meredith. We need to get them to the truck and get help.”
His brother froze. “An hour ago she was trying to strangle me.”
“Alex was controlling her,” Meredith said.
With a sigh, Jason scooped Olivia into his arms. “Yeah, it looked that way. But I’ll trust her when I have proof. Everyone’s a hero when they’re trying to save their own scrawny necks.”
Meredith cast him a pleading glance. “Please, take care of her. She didn’t know what she was doing.”
“Give him time,” Silas said as he gathered her into his arms.
Meredith leaned her head against his chest. “I don’t know when Alex poisoned her, but I do know my mother wouldn’t have helped him of her own free will.”
“The pack will need answers, but she’ll be treated fairly,” Silas said. “I’ll make sure of it.” He watched Jason load Olivia into the back of the Suburban and hoped the woman would live long enough to receive a fair trial.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “And thank you for saving mine.”
“Bingo!” Jason yelled from the Suburban. He held up two cell phones. “Look what
I found in the glove compartment.”
“Any charge left?”
“Ten percent.”
Silas helped Meredith into a seat, then dialed Polina.
“Silas? Are you all right? I’ve been doing locator spells nonstop,” Polina’s voice cracked with emotion.
“Alive and well, my friend.”
“Where are you? I haven’t been able to track you using magic.”
“Then you’ll have to settle for technology. I’m sending you my GPS location now. Phone’s almost dead, but we need your help. And tell Gerty to call Bojingles. We’re going to need medical attention. If she can provide transport, we’ll take it.”
“She’s here with me. Logan and I will be there as soon as he can lock onto your location. Gerty too.”
“Good.”
Polina whispered something in the background. “How careful does Gerty need to be? Is Alex nearby?”
“He’s dead. Nickelova too.”
There was a pause as she took that in. “What happened to the book?”
“It’s gone.” He stared at the crater. “I think it’s gone for good. You and Grateful are going to want to see this. By the way, how is Grateful?”
“She’s fine. It’s a girl. She named her Skyler. Sky for short.”
“Tell her congratulations, and I forgive her for going into labor while the world was ending. We stopped that from happening, by the way.”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible. Sounds like you have one hell of a story to tell.”
He looked out over the steaming sinkhole that, for all intents and purposes, led directly to hell, and chuckled. “You have no idea.”
Chapter 28
It was with some level of disappointment that Silas found himself again in Bojingles Fae Hospital. He’d spent so much time here in recent months the staff addressed him by his first name. Thankfully, this time, it was not him in the bed, although that might be preferable to watching Meredith go through the healing process.
“The doctors say I may always walk with a limp,” she said, her red hair bunching up on the pillow. “Alex broke a vertebra in my back and it compressed my spine. It could have been worse. The fire lily juice has healed the bone and my nervous system, but because it happened when I was in fox form, they couldn’t get the alignment quite right. One hip is slightly off.”
“Will you need a cane?” Silas asked. “Because if you do, I want to get you one with a skull and flames.”
“I won’t need a cane.” The hint of a grin broke through her annoyed facade.
“Well then, I guess you’re not broken enough to replace. I’ll keep you.”
“How kind of you,” she said flatly.
Silas folded his arms and leaned back in the chair next to the bed. “I talked to Manahan. Explained everything. You have your job back.”
She gave him a warm, authentic smile. “I’m your partner again?”
“It seems so. You’re not disappointed, are you? I could convince him to find you another assignment if you’re sick of working with the likes of me.”
“No. I’m good.” She met his gaze and this time her smile came at him at full force.
He cleared his throat. “I had a chance to talk to your mother.”
“She’s awake?”
Silas nodded. “She’s having a procedure done this morning, but I’ll take you to go see her later if you want.”
“Yes, please. What did you find out?”
“She says she was tracking Alex. She wanted her revenge as much as we did. She’d been in a deep depression since your father was killed and felt like she needed to take matters into her own hands when Alex resurfaced. Unfortunately, Alex captured her and infected her with sulfralite. She admitted to stabbing Laina and posing as you to finish Soleil off when she was recovering from her gunshot wounds here in the hospital, although she says she only did so because she was under Alex’s control.”
“Did you ever figure out about Soleil and the heart?”
“Yes. Your mom posed as Grateful and gave Soleil the idea of obtaining the heart for me. Soleil must have figured out it wasn’t the real Grateful. That’s why she was trying to get the heart back. Only, she assumed the shapeshifter who had posed as Grateful was you.”
“I shouldn’t have shot her. That’s what Alex wanted.”
“You didn’t know. And let’s face it, if you’d hesitated, I’d be an extra crispy corpse.” Silas rubbed his chin. “Was it you I chased from your house after Soleil died, or your mom?”
“Me. I’d figured out my mother was the one helping Alex when I saw the remnants of her shifting on the floor of Soleil’s bedroom. I wanted to give you a clue. I left the pictures for you to find, so you’d know what she looked like.”
Silas rested his elbows on his knees. “You know she’ll have to remain in custody until she can be tried. I believe Olivia will be cleared eventually, but the law is the law.”
“I know. I feel lucky she’s still alive. I still have a mother. That’s something to be thankful for.”
Silas could hear the tinge of empathy in her voice. He didn’t have a mother or a father anymore. But he did have a family, and she was absolutely right. “Yes, it is.”
“You’ll be happy to know I saved the world without you,” Silas said, as he walked into Grateful’s maternity room later that day.
His friend opened her eyes and adjusted herself in the bed. “Silas! Thank the Goddess you’re okay. I’m so sorry—”
“Oh please, Grateful. What could you have done? Even you can’t magically stop a baby from coming… wait, can you?”
“No. Believe me, I tried. I went into labor the moment I arrived at Polina’s. It wasn’t pretty. Rick had to bring me to Bojingles because I was coughing up bubbles with every contraction.”
“Bubbles?” Silas laughed.
“Not funny. Then the lights kept going out. It was crazy.”
“I guess the goddess wanted her born yesterday.”
“Today. She arrived just after midnight. During the eclipse.”
He handed her the gift bag he’d brought. “For Skyler.”
Grateful reached inside and pulled out a floppy stuffed wolf. “Awww. Silas, this is adorable.”
“Where is the little witch, anyway?” Silas asked.
“She’s sleeping in the bassinet.” Grateful pointed a hand toward a plastic box on wheels on the far side of her room. “Rick left a few minutes ago to pick up Lucas from my dad’s. We were taking a nap.”
Silas crossed to the bassinet and peaked over the edge. The babe, wrapped like a burrito in a pink blanket, blinked up at him with gigantic stormy blue eyes. “She’s awake, Grateful.”
“Oh? Bring her here.”
Silas scooped the baby into his arms, supporting her head and neck as he cradled her close. “You are a special little girl, aren’t you?” he cooed to her. “Smart. See how smart she is, Grateful? She’s already looking at everything.”
“You’re a natural with that baby,” Grateful said with a laugh. “Have you thought about settling down? Having a few of your own?”
He handed Skyler to her mother. “Thought about it. Meredith is amazing. She’s what I’ve been waiting for.”
“But?”
“But we’ve known each other such a short time and most of that time was under extreme circumstances. I want it to be right. I want to be absolutely sure that this is forever.”
Grateful stroked her daughter’s cheek and rubbed her nose against the baby’s. “Is it possible to be absolutely sure about anything? I can tell you one thing, I wasn’t sure birthing two magical children was the right thing to do. I’m still not sure there won’t be unforeseen consequence. But I don’t regret it. Not for a second. I think, sometimes, you’ve got to take a chance.”
Silas kissed her on the forehead. “Congratulations, Grateful. And thanks for the advice. I’ll think on it.”
Chapter 29
Three months later…
Under a can
opy of stars, Silas joined hands with Meredith, the heat of the bonfire toasting the chill from the evening air. Sparks rose between the trees and blended with the stars above. It was a beautiful late-summer evening, every star visible in the clear night sky.
“I’ve never been to a celestial fae funeral before,” Meredith said.
“Neither have I.” Silas lifted their coupled hands and kissed the back of hers. “It’s a privilege to be invited. The celestials are secretive about their traditions.”
“Isn’t it strange how long they waited? It’s been months since Soleil died.”
“You didn’t see what happened to her. There was nothing left to bury. According to Grateful, the fae are heavily religious about astrology. Tonight is the perfect time for this ritual. Don’t ask me to explain why. Something about the alignment of the stars. That part went over my head.”
“Where is Grateful?”
“She’s around. She’s making sure the area is secure and nothing disturbs this ritual. She told me she felt like it was the least she could do.”
“Don’t look now, but there’s someone coming our way, and her eyes are on you.” Meredith gestured with her chin.
Dressed only in a cascade of glistening stars, Astrial approached them, reaching for Silas. He took her trembling hands and greeted her warmly. She’d been crying, and Silas fought the urge to wipe her glistening tears away.
“Thank you for coming, Silas. I know for a fact that Soleil loved you deeply.”
“I loved her too,” he said. It was awkward to say the words in front of Meredith. The way he’d loved Soleil was different from the way he loved Meredith, but it wasn’t the time or the place to explain that now. Still, he noticed Meredith’s eyes dart toward the fire.
Astrial lightly touched her elbow. “Don’t fret.”
“Hmm?” Meredith’s eyes widened.
“Soleil wanted Silas to be happy. She was polyamorous and would never have kept him from you even if she was still alive.”
“Oh, uh,” she mumbled, “um, thank you.”
Vengeance: A Knight World Novel (Fireborn Wolves Book 3) Page 19
