Revenant

by Patti Larsen

  The door to the room bursts open, Piers flying through, face frantic. “Charlotte!” I glance up, startled by his appearance. Viveca lurches to her feet and lunges for him.

  “Piers!” I cover him with power, shoving him to the side as she flees out the door and is gone. “Damn it!” I have to go after her, finish the fight. But as I try to pass, Piers grabs me, pulls me back, his sorcery quieting my wolf, reverting me to human shape. I snarl at him for his presumption, but he pulls me to him and hugs me before I can give him hell.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” His voice chokes in fear. “We thought...” He doesn’t finish, leaning back to stroke hair from my face.

  “You idiot,” I say, though the force of my anger is gone, partly because I’m so scantily clad and aware of Piers’s attention. “I could have finished Viveca.”

  “No time,” he says, turning and gesturing, a black tunnel opening beside him. Only then do I feel the pressure of Enforcer magic coming toward me. “Tallah’s holding them off, but we have to go.”

  We’re about to step through when the mind I love touches mine.

  Charlotte—

  Sage! I reach back, resisting Piers who shakes his head, fear returning.

  “We need to leave now.” He tries to force me toward the tunnel, but I let him feel Sage.

  “He’s close.” Very close. And, from the wavering feeling of him, the way my wolf reacts to him, he’s changing. Sage is finally changing and I’m not there to help him.

  Piers grits his teeth, then nods. “Show me where.”

  The tunnel wavers, the blackness rippling as I connect the touch of Sage with Piers. This time I go eagerly, leading my friend toward the man I love. I stumble out of the tunnel into the dark night, in the California hills, to the feeling of Sage and his wolf becoming one.

  “This will draw the Enforcers,” Piers says. “I’ll lock him down as best I can, but no promises, Charlotte.”

  I’m running already, following Sage’s touch, reaching for him with my heart, my mind. He embraces me, his soul altered, flickering between man and wolf.

  Charlotte! Tallah’s voice reaches me, but it’s faint. Piers is doing his job. I can’t hold them off forever. The Enforcers are coming, then. Let Piers take him somewhere.

  No, not this time. This is my job. I stop abruptly, Piers running into my back. I ignore him, my magic gathering, reaching for the veil. Sage is close, but not close enough, I won’t reach him by foot before the Enforcers track us down. There’s only one way.

  I reach behind me and take Piers’s hand. “Hang on,” I say. And tear open the veil.

  ***

  Chapter Thirty

  This time, I don’t step into the veil at all, but through the gap cleanly, as though Syd herself made the way. I feel my power drain from me as I do, the fire element in my soul feeding the cut in the veil. I know Syd said my wolf is tied to fire, and I wonder if this is the cost of having such power—losing it to the space between planes.

  No matter, I’ll pay it, no matter the price. I sag against Piers as we exit the other side, his strong hands holding me up. We’re in a small grove of trees at the base of a hill and when I turn around to look, I see the faint flare of blue fire miles in the distance.

  “Nice job,” Piers says. “But we still have to hurry.”

  I turn and stagger toward the feeling of Sage, so powerful now. I had thought him strong when he touched me before, but I had no idea what strong was. What is he becoming, the man I love, that he has this much magic as a revenant?

  I trip over a root, almost fall, but for Piers, and finally spot Sage. He’s crouched by a tree, and he’s not alone. A small pack of timber wolves circle him, panting and whining, their alpha turning to watch me approach. They don’t interfere, but I feel their concern.

  Sage looks up, his eyes lost to the wolf, his mouth pulled forward into a muzzle. He whines softly, his pain coming through, though his magic surges in waves so strong I know Piers won’t be able to mask him for long. I hurry forward, falling to my knees only feet away, knowing I can’t interfere beyond offering him energy for support. His body is lost to the change, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

  No, not stop it. But I can do the opposite.

  “Piers,” I say, tightening my jaw against my fear, “mask this the best you can.” I don’t wait for him to question what I am about to do. Because if he does, I’ll join him in asking if I’m insane, and what’s happening to Sage has to be over quickly.

  I pour what magic I have left, the strength remaining me, into Sage, feeding his wolf. “Finish it,” I say. “Now.”

  He shrieks into the night, his body shifting, twisting, clothing tearing from him. His skin morphs into wereform, bones rearranging. Fur grows thick and black on his hide. His ears perk, shining white teeth flashing in the moonlight as his scream of agony turns into the howl of a wolf.

  Blue flashes of light surround us, but it’s too late. Sage is changed. More than changed. His power settles around him, the werewolf he’s become further along the path to pure lupine than any I’ve ever seen. And still, he is shining and beautiful and pure. He’s not a revenant. Sage is something else entirely after all.

  I look up at the Enforcers the moment Tallah and her coven appear in their own flares of blue light. A full shield drops around us, blocking us from the black-robed warriors of the Council. She blazes with power, jabbing a finger at a familiar face as Pender slips back his hood, sad eyes on Sage.

  “You will not!” She pushes him back in a flash of magic. “They are under my protection!”

  A hand falls on my bare shoulder, the touch of Piers stopping my protest. They will hurt Tallah for her disobedience, harm her coven. I can’t let that happen. But Sage has padded closer, his black paw settling on my shoulder and the darkness of a sorcery tunnel is already engulfing me.

  Blue power slams into the tunnel. Not harming it, but feeding it. I feel the flames swell in answer. But it throws Piers off, enough we are tumbled from the other end and into a dark parking lot, almost crashing into the side of an SUV.

  “Come on,” Piers says, dragging me to my feet. I grasp for Sage, see he’s still in wereform. He seems incredibly calm and composed, despite his furry self, and the power wafting around him. Piers leans into the SUV, popping open the driver’s door, slipping behind the wheel. I pull open the back, stuff Sage inside, closing it behind him before circling the car. Piers shoves open the passenger door and I join him in the front, to give Sage space. He’s huge, hulking with his shoulders pressing to the ceiling, though his wolf eyes laugh at me, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

  “This isn’t funny,” I tell him, while he laughs in my head.

  No, Charlie, he sends, as if from a great distance, this is awesome.

  The tires squeal as Piers pulls out of the parking lot, an attendant waving frantically at us.

  “Way to steal a car without being noticed,” I say with a dry cut to my voice, shivering a little as the air conditioning blasts my near-nakedness with icy breath.

  “Didn’t have a lot of choice,” Piers grates back through gritted teeth. “The Enforcers will be here any second.”

  Let them deal with the cops, I guess. “Can’t you just take us out of here?”

  Piers shakes his head, taking the corner too tight onto a side road. We seem to be somewhere outside Los Angeles, if just barely. A look out my side mirror shows the city stretched out behind us as we drive into the dark night, up a steep road surrounded by hills and scrub trees.

  “Mum’s here,” he says, his anger finally reaching me. “She tracked me, the bitch, despite my attempts to keep her out. And she’ll follow us wherever we go.”

  Damn it. “I could try to open the veil again.” The very thought makes me weak. But I have Sage, his power. He’s much stronger than I am right now, probably enough to move us through the veil.

  “You think I haven’t thought of that?” Piers draws a deep breath, panic in his voice. �
�They know what your magic feels like now, thanks to Mum.” He slams his hands on the steering wheel. “She’s been playing me all along, Charlotte. I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “I’m a liability and always have been.”

  “It’s not your fault.” I cover one of his hands with mine. “You’ve been a huge help. Thank you.” We would never have made it this far without him.

  Piers relaxes a little. “We’ll just drive for a bit,” he says, “stay low. No magic use.” He looks in the rear view mirror. “Get me, wolf boy?”

  Sage grunts softly, unable to speak he’s turned so far. I worry, but he’s not in full wolf form, hovering in well-advanced werewolf shape, so he’s still in there, at least.

  “You have to get through to Syd.” Piers glances at me. “She’s your last hope.”

  “Demonicon.” I shudder at the thought, but Piers is correct. “We have to get off-plane.”

  He nods. “Once you’re gone and everyone calms the hell down, maybe we can salvage this. Prove Sage isn’t dangerous.” He looks back again, through the mirror. “Are you?”

  Sage chuckles, a half-wolf, half-human sound.

  “I take that as a no,” Piers says. “Let Tallah and me deal with Caine and Rupe. Prove that they were made. Get them out of our hair, at least. Then deal with the rest of it. Syd will keep you posted and bring you back when everything’s decided.”

  I hate leaving things to others. It goes against my entire nature. But we’ve done all we can. And now Sage is turned, there’s no way I’ll hide him from the Enforcers—or other werewolves—for long.

  Fire flares behind me, the heat of it making me jump. I spin as Sage rumbles a growl to find Zoe Helios perched on the bench seat behind him. She stares at him, though she doesn't seem as afraid as I figured she would be, before turning to me. Piers lets out a sharp bark of protest, the car swerving a moment before he pulls it back under control.

  “What the bloody hell!” His white knuckles stand out from his grip on the wheel.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, leaning forward toward me, not flinching from the fact I’m in my bra and underwear. She doesn’t even seem to notice. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But I had to talk to you again.” Desperation ages her. “It can’t be true, what you said, about the Light One. The Dark One.” She shakes her head, fingers grasping for mine. Her skin is cold, flames flickering behind her dark eyes. “It can’t be.” But she sounds like she’s not protesting as much as mourning what she thought she knew.

  “Piers, Zoe Helios. Zoe, you already met Piers. And this is Sage.” She nods to my sorcerer friend behind the wheel, then to the werewolf beside her as if he’s of no consequence. “Zoe seems to think Syd is the bad guy.”

  Piers snorts a nervous laugh. “Only if you piss her off by hurting someone she cares about.”

  Zoe’s eyes never leave mine as she leans closer. Her hand is suddenly hot, fire under her skin as she holds me in place. “I’ve seen you and the ones around you my entire life,” she says. “I’ve watched your story unfold. But I was told you were for the Dark. That everything you did—everything you are to do—will mean the end of the world.”

  “Whoever told you that,” I say, calm and strong, “has been lying to you, Zoe.”

  She flinches. “That doesn’t matter,” she whispers, looking away. When she lifts her gaze to me again, the flames roar in my mind, scorching the edges of my consciousness. But I stay with her as she speaks. “I see a future for you, Charlotte Girard, Sharlotta Moreau.” I start when she speaks my other name. “A future you must avoid at all costs.”

  “Why are you helping me?” My fingers are on fire, but I won’t let go. “I thought I was the enemy?”

  She sighs out fire, lost in the flames. “I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she says. “So I offer this warning. Do not go home. No matter what anyone tells you, what you hear. You must endure, and you will. You are more than strong enough.” I’m burning up, she’s killing me with flame, but I must hear the rest. “You could avoid the coming trauma, but if you go home now, the werenation will be enslaved once again. Forever.”

  Zoe pulls away, crying out as I scream from the pain of the fire. But when I look down at my hand, it’s fine, unblemished, and the connection to my mind severs, leaving me intact. Zoe

  pants, steaming, in the back seat, the flames still in her eyes.

  “Heed me,” she says. “Or see the end of your people.”

  I lean toward her. “I need to know more.” What is happening at home? The memory of Caine’s little comment about my grandfather makes fear spike in my heart. “Tell me more!”

  Zoe shakes her head, the flames gone, her hand fumbling for her lighter. “I’ve told you all I can,” she says. She hesitates one last moment, staring at Piers before striking the flame and disappearing into it, gone in a flash of fire.

  ***

  Chapter Thirty One

  I spin on Piers, terror taking hold. “What is she talking about?” I grasp at his arm, almost causing us to go off the side of the road. Piers swears softly and shoves me away while Sage growls in the back seat, anxiety rising with mine.

  “Leave off, Charlotte.” My sorcerer friend’s face is grim.

  “You know what she means.” I sink back into my seat, fear clawing at my insides like my wolf trying to escape. “Tell me.” He’s quiet, so quiet. I hit him with all my strength, my human strength, and he shouts in pain.

  “Stop it!” He glares at me. “Just stop it.”

  “Tell me.” I glare right back.

  Piers shakes his head, running one hand in a shaking gesture over his hair. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I tried to keep it from you. There’s nothing you can do, not if you want to save Sage.”

  “Tell me.” For the third time I order him, this one in a whisper.

  Piers draws a trembling breath. “Your grandfather is in prison. Awaiting execution.”

  No. What? Why?

  “He refused to declare you a traitor,” Piers says, Sage groaning in the back seat. “He tried to block the pursuit.” He glances at me, almost shyly. “Caine used his reticence against him, leveraged him off the throne and into a cell.”

  “Was there a battle?” Piers might as well have punched me in the chest.

  He shakes his head, blond hair slipping over my bare leg. “Caine convinced the others to denounce Oleksander,” he says.

  My teeth squeak as they grind together. “Then his dethroning isn’t legal,” I say. “Were law dictates he can only be overthrown in battle.”

  Piers shrugs. “Whatever the truth,” he says, “your grandfather isn’t king anymore.”

  Oh, yes, he is. “You’re certain he’s still alive?”

  Piers’s hands slip on the steering wheel. “He was the last I heard.”

  Why would Caine keep Oleksander alive? My wolf latches on to logic and reason to protect me from my fear. I’ve put my grandfather in unspeakable danger, assuming he would be fine without me, that he would weather even this storm. I didn’t think for a single moment Oleksander’s position and life would be at risk.

  Piers grunts softly. “He still has some time, if Maks and Isabelle have it right. A few days, anyway. Caine is waiting for others to gather.”

  He called a pack meeting? We didn’t even do that when Oleksander took the throne. “There’s only one reason Caine is calling such a gathering.”

  Piers doesn’t answer as I savagely kick the dash of the SUV.

  “We have to go back.” I can barely breathe. “We have to go to Ukraine and free my grandfather.” This is all my fault. If Oleksander dies…And Caine, on the throne, convincing the pack meeting he should be the next wereking…

  “That doesn’t matter,” Piers says. “And if your little friend is to be believed, going back is the last thing we should do.”

  “Caine.” I sob his name. “Caine will be wereking.” My heart is crumbling inside me, breaking into so many pieces it will never recover, because I have done this. I have given
over my grandfather to his death and my nation to a revenant who is owned by a sorcerer and a despicable witch.

  “Charlotte.” Piers reaches for me. “Listen to me.”

  But I can’t hear him, there’s nothing to hear. I’ve betrayed them all when I only wanted to save one man. The man I love.

  Sage howls in the back seat, his power rippling and it takes me a long moment to realize he’s not reacting to my pain. I turn toward him, heart crushed, to see him struggling, clawing at his face as his power continues to flex.

  “Charlotte, control him!” Piers swerves as Sage hits the back of his seat with his full weight. The SUV tips dangerously as the front end skips across the pavement. I throw magic at Sage, trying to contain whatever is happening to him, but it’s too late, I’m too late.

  Sage’s power explodes outward, sending the car spinning into the ditch.

  Metal screams, twists sideways, sparks flying as I lurch forward and then back, head impacting the glass window before rocketing forward first then back and into the head rest. Metal screams protest, rubber bursting from the strain, the scent of charring plastic and over taxed steel an assault as much as the blows I take.

  Darkness sucks away the edges of me.

  The SUV thuds to a sudden halt, tipping on its side. I crash into Piers, then the roof as it turns over, then the other side. Piers hangs from his seat belt, unconscious, blood running down his face as the wreck comes to a halt. The back door wrenches from its hinges as Sage tears it free and leaps into the night.

  My head aches, though my wolf is already healing me. I can’t leave Piers, but Sage is out there and something terrible is happening to him. I have caused so much hurt and loss already, what’s one more life on my hands?