by Patti Larsen
Tallah! I throw her name at her with a pulse of magic. She catches me immediately.
Charlotte, where are you? I can feel her moving rapidly closer. Instead of answering, I show her Piers.
Take care of him. And then I cut her off, and leap into the back seat, out the door into the night. I might not be able to save my grandfather, but I’ll be damned if I’ve come this far only to lose Sage.
***
Chapter Thirty Two
I shift as I hit the ground, welcoming my wereshape, the strength it gives me, the supportive embrace of my wolf. I can’t cry or sob or crumble when I’m in this body. I’m strong when I’m a werewolf. The weakness of my human skin I leave behind as I race through the California hills after Sage.
He’s easy to track, I know him so well, even if his scent wasn't so strong. His energy trails behind him like a flaring beacon. I cut off as much as I can from outside touch, muffling the feeling of him with my own power, though the Enforcers, I’m sure, will find us shortly. They have to. There’s no way they can miss the pulse of what is happening to him.
And what is happening? I can’t tell, he’s too far beyond me though I’m gaining, from the feel of him ahead. He’s struggling with something as his magic shivers and shifts, almost like his body did. The ground flies beneath my paws as I push myself harder than I ever have to reach him. To be with him when whatever is coming completes itself.
I have to catch him before the Enforcers do. It’s all I can focus on, the only thought in my head while my body runs on autopilot. They might catch us, but they will find us together, Sage and me. And then, come what may.
Just please, please, if there is a Universal mind out there listening, if Creator can hear me and cares even a little, please don’t let him turn into a monster. Because if I have to kill Sage, I will die next to him.
I almost stumble over him when he collapses in a heap at the edge of a forest. He’s been running for the trees all this time, our haunt, we wolves. I help him up as he shakes, shivering and twisting in pain, guiding him deeper, smothering the outward feeling of his magic. He seems to understand, pushing it down into the earth beneath us. But whatever is happening doesn’t stop because I’m there. If anything, it draws on me and speeds up.
Sage collapses another thirty yards into the forest, whimpering, clawing at the ground. I stop and pant, watching him, dying inside. Is this it? Will he break and will I be forced to kill us both? I will not live without him. It’s been a good life, though fraught with loss and darkness. But I found the light in the end, and I cling to that. I found Syd and her family. I found freedom for mine. And I love Sage.
It will have to be enough.
He looks up at me, eyes full of agony, but without insanity. If anything, they brim with his wolf. A gasp tears from my chest as his magic shifts one last time, and I understand where it is taking him, worse than any madness, beyond the horror of a revenant and out of my arms forever.
Sage sighs as his body shrinks and reforms, the last tatters of his clothing—shredded when he took werewolf shape—fall from him as the wolf inside him takes over completely and he falls into full lupine form. He shakes himself, like a dog emerging from the water, thick black ruff a mane at his throat. I see a white crescent on his left shoulder, the scar of the bite that has, at last, taken the Sage away from me.
Where once there was my love, now there is only a wolf.
He takes a wobbly step toward me as I allow my own wolf to retreat, finding myself naked and shaking, crying at last. Sage sinks to his haunches, licking his chops before trying again. He reaches me this time, butting me with his big head, tongue sweeping across my cheek.
I reach out for him, bury my hands in his fur, my face in his mane, and weep for his loss. No longer a danger to me or anyone else, he is now a simple beast.
The man I love is gone forever.
Charlie? Am I dreaming? Imagining his voice in my head? I must be. But there it is again, stronger, clearer. Charlie.
I lean away, gaping at him, staring in shock. “Sage?” His name barely clears my lips and he licks me again, joyfully.
Hey, Charlie, he sends. This is awesome. You have to try it.
I choke a laugh, a sob, hug him so hard he whines but doesn’t pull away. “Sage!”
It’s weird. He cocks his head to one side, ears perked, dark eyes glistening in the moonlight. I can feel me, you know? But I’m a wolf. He snaps his teeth, grinning. So cool, you have no idea.
I stutter before I can get the words out, my lips to work well enough. “Change back.” Maybe this is a gift, a chance to save him. He’s not all gone yet. If he can push himself into wereform, maybe we can keep his mind intact.
Sage shakes his big head, power fluctuating. Can’t, he says. Already tried. It’s like I’m locked in here, like I was locked in my human body.
“If you stay like this,” I can’t stop crying, “you’ll lose your humanity.” Weres who take full wolf form are lost to us forever, their minds gone to the animal they become.
He shakes again, cold, wet nose on my cheek. I don’t think so, he sends. But I guess we’ll find out.
I lean into him, hand still buried in his fur. “I guess we will.” I’ve failed, but he’s still with me. Tallah mentioned shades of gray. This is definitely one of those. Any other werewolf would assume he was gone, Sage’s mind disappeared into the wolf, no matter his ability to communicate. I just have to see what this means, where this new Sage takes us. But I still have to protect him from those who would kill him for what he’s become. Still doomed to death because of the means of his creation.
Revenant. Full form wolf. The man I love.
It’s been a very long week.
Sage moves beside me, body warm and strong, his scent mingling with the wolf he’s become. It’s a good thing. I barely believe this has happened. It’s solid proof he’s still with me. The crash, he sends. Are you okay?
I gasp, lean away. I forgot all about the wreck, about my sorcerer friend trapped inside. My legs tremble as I stand.
“We have to find out what happened to Piers.” Guilt rides me, drags me forward. Sage stays with me, leaning against me for comfort, his fur warm. I shift into wereform, no longer chilled and naked, and lope back the way we came.
No Enforcers, Sage sends, our power reaching together to feel for the presence of their magic.
I wonder where they could be. How did they miss what Sage went through? I’m grateful. It means we’re safe for now. But it’s one time I wish they would make an appearance, if only to help the friend I abandoned. A blessing, I send. Hurry.
We pick up speed, reach the edge of the road faster than I expect. I crouch at the sight of human emergency vehicles, and, at last, the touch of Enforcer and witch power.
They’ll take care of him, Sage sends.
I nod, resting my forehead against his fur. Now what? I really don’t know. I came here looking for proof of Caine’s guilt, only to find he’s now wereking, my grandfather deposed. And my search for a cure for Sage has led to him becoming a full wolf.
I’ve failed far worse than I ever imagined possible.
Don’t be silly, Sage sends in a wise voice that’s all wolf. We’re not done yet, my love.
He turns, leads me away from the crash. I follow, though the defeat in my heart makes it hard to put one paw in front of the other.
***
Sage’s heavy head rests in my lap as the boxcar rattles its way over the tracks. I look out the open door over the countryside, trees and water and houses flying by. After a quick theft of clothing for me and a liberated wallet or two for money, we boarded a train heading north. We have nowhere else to turn, nowhere to go. My attempts to reach Syd by magic have done nothing, and my botched tries to reach through the veil have failed. Maybe I need fear or anger or some other powerful boost to push me through. For now, entry to the veil is lost to me.
The black wolf sleeps, grunting softly in his rest, front paws scrabbling a moment
at the wooden floor. I stroke his soft ears, tracing the white crescent of the bite on his shoulder, the only evidence remaining of what happened to him. I wish I could offer more comfort. He stills after a moment, the dream of chase over, my fear for him rising. It’s a wolf’s dream, not a man’s. Which means he’s losing himself to the creature he’s become.
Yes, he’s with me now. But for how much longer? I have no way of knowing. He is an anomaly, completely outside my experience. If he is our next evolution, does that mean werewolves are meant to be full wolves instead? But that leads me down a road I can’t accept. Like revenant lore, the legend of werewolves who have given in to the full lupine shape tell me he should have lost his humanity already. And I can’t believe my people are meant to simply allow themselves to turn to mere animals when we are so much more already.
I think of Femke and the file on revenants. What other information does she have on us that might be relevant? Science and research could say otherwise.
My heart longs to return to Ukraine, to rescue my grandfather. He stood up for me. That fact makes sobs rise in my chest, my throat tightening against them. Even after all I’ve done, Oleksander loves me and tried to protect me, choosing me over the werenation. Gratitude makes me weep silently for the dear old wolf who I thought had turned his back on me. And I’m just going to leave him there, to be killed by Caine and his people while the false wereking sells us back to sorcerers? I could go back, maybe. Sage is in no further danger from the infection that made him a revenant. I could find a place to leave him, maybe with Syd, or return to California and Tallah.
But if Zoe Helios is to be believed, staying away from home, from the impending death of my grandfather, is exactly what I must do. But can I trust her?
Can I risk not?
And what is this trauma she spoke of? Something I must endure, survive. Whatever it is, I can face it. As long as I have Sage at my side. I stroke his fur again. I will save him. There has to be a way. And this train ride, then another, linked to another, will take me where I need to go.
To her. To Syd. She will save him.
The sun rises in the east, lighting the sky of the eighth day. And I choose Sage. For now. But Cicero Caine and his little pack can watch their backs. Because I will return to my homeland. I will free my grandfather. And if I’m too late, I will avenge him in blood and fire.
###
Now, for the first chapter
in the final book of the Hayle Coven Universe
Lychos Cycle
Lychos
Chapter One
The small car smells of cat urine and spoiled milk. I ignore the stench, absorbed instead in the feeling of witch magic pulsing from the tree line before me. A secluded lane more often visited by young lovers offers shelter as I block off my magic even further, just in case.
The big, black wolf shifts beside me, whining softly as his tongue makes a noisy journey across his chops. My fingers find the crescent shape of white fur on his shoulder and dig in. Sage loves it when I scratch the scar, moaning his lupine happiness at the attention, though he is as intent as I am.
I haven’t lost him. His mind remains intact, despite his transformation. We’ve come so far, he and I, the young, normal man I loved first bitten by a werewolf, made a revenant hated and feared by my people. I watched him, in our journey to find a cure to his condition, turn slowly from human to werewolf, without a trace of the tainted darkness that is the revenant’s trademark. The very reason my people’s werelaws demand his death.
Sage turns to meet my eyes, his still the beautiful sea-green, though with the shape and depth of a wolf’s. I can see the man he is inside him still, though I was certain his humanity would be gone forever. When he finally shifted into wereshape in the hills of southern California, just a few days ago, he felt perfect to me, more perfect than any werewolf I’ve ever met. The Hensley coven leader, Tallah, had surmised he is, rather than a soulless monster to be despised and dispatched, instead the next evolution of the werenation.
I can’t help but agree with her. Though we have been unable to reverse his transformation from full wolf back to human, the typical loss of self to animal that usually occurs to us hasn’t happened to my darling Sage. I feared that was the case, that I would lose him even when I fought so hard to keep him with me. Gave up everything I loved and the duty and honor my family demanded of me, to save him. It didn’t seem fair we’d come so far only for Sage to devolve into the intelligence of a common wolf. Yes, they are brilliant, but they are animals.
My body reacts by scrunching low as I feel an Enforcer’s power slip over our hiding place. The guardians of the North American Witch Council have been hunting us since we arrived on the continent. Like her European counterpart, Erica Ployer has caved to the pressure of the werenation, agreeing to hunt us down and deliver us to the less-than-tender mercies of my fellow werewolves. So far, we’ve managed to elude them, thanks to dear friends and a lot of luck and I won’t allow them to capture us now we’re so close to ending this.
At least the Enforcers can’t see us physically, nor magically, but the impulse to try to hide is too ingrained for me to stop. Sage pants softly next to me, almost cheerful in his demeanor, like this is fun for him.
He always had an odd sense of humor, and even more so now he’s a wolf.
Wilding Springs lies beyond the trees. I originally resisted coming here—a place that feels more like home than the palace in Ukraine—in the need to keep my dear friend, Sydlynn Hayle, and her coven out of my mess. She’d been trying ever since Sage and I escaped from the clutches of my people to track me down. At least, she had been. Her touch went silent when Sage and I landed in North America, and I haven’t heard from her since.
When I first thought Sage was a revenant, I did my best to keep my friends from becoming embroiled in this disaster, to protect them from my decisions to try to save Sage. I have no idea what’s become of Tallah and her family after the coven leader so openly protected us. Nor of my Steam Union friend, Piers Southway. The last I saw of him, he was unconscious, still in the wreck of the SUV he used to carry Sage and I to freedom. I can’t think of them now, though the temptation to wallow in my worry is great.
The worst part is, I now know Sage is no danger to anyone, that he is, in fact, much more than any other werewolf could hope to be. All of this hurt and heartache could have been avoided had I only known in the beginning. Now, I need help to convince the powers that be he is not a threat and to call off the hunt for us.
Sage needs to be safe so I can go home and save my grandfather from execution.
The wolf shifts beside me, leaning in to swipe the side of my face with his tongue. He must feel my anxiety, smell it, because his mind reaches for mine, the barest touch so as not to trigger any power the patrolling Enforcers might pick up on.
We can’t sit here all night. Sage’s voice is calm, composed, the practical tone of a wolf. My own chuffs her satisfaction at his words. Any ideas?
I’ve assessed and discarded at least a dozen since I pulled in and parked here only fifteen minutes ago. It’s been a long journey from California to Pennsylvania and I’m glad to be almost done with it. I need rest—we both do—and anger grinds my teeth together, frustration that the witches in black robes watching over Wilding Springs are keeping me from my destination.
We could just call her out here, Sage sends. Syd would come in a heartbeat.
Alerting the Enforcers we’re here, I send, scratching his mane with absent fingers. My lower lip hurts from chewing on it, eyes narrowed as I grip the steering wheel with my free hand so tightly my palm cramps. Every scenario I’ve come up with puts the coven in harm’s way. If I can get to Syd and tell her what’s happened, find some neutral ground to talk to Femke Svennson, the leader of the European Council, I might be able to diffuse this enough to get Sage a pass so we can go back to Ukraine and make sure my grandfather is safe.
I’ve been warned to stay away until the time is right, whatever that m
eans. The odd young woman I met in California, Zoe Helios, claims to be an Oracle, to see the future. She warned me against returning too soon, that doing so would mean the permanent enslavement of my people. But according to Piers, Oleksander is under arrest, his execution imminent, all thanks to his support of me after I became a fugitive.
For all I know, Oleksander is already dead. But I refuse to believe it. Regardless my grandfather’s state, I will go home and ensure the throne of the werenation never serves as a seat for the revenant pretender, Cicero Caine. I shudder at the thought of the huge Californian pack leader taking his place where my grandfather should rightfully sit. I can only hope the werenation rejects him as a candidate, and that the gathering of the packs takes far longer than I need to sort out this mess with Sage.
We could just go to the council leader here, Sage sends. We both know I’m not a danger to anyone.
I shake my head. Not an option, I send. Erica Ployer might be a Hayle witch, but I’ve never trusted her. Syd’s the only one strong enough to keep the peace for any length of time. And she can be very persuasive. Not to mention she’s saved the Universe who knew how many times. The magic races owe her.
I owe her.
Another pass of power makes me snarl. Syd can’t be home. If she was, she’d be out here, giving these Enforcers grief. I’ve seen her do it in the past, back when her mother, Miriam, was Council Leader and under the control of the Brotherhood.
Thinking of them makes me even angrier and I need to focus. But it’s hard, knowing they are behind this wretched mess, if only by association. Though I have no proof of our guesses and suppositions, the general consensus among my friends is that Caine and his pack are the creation of Liander Belaisle, the leader of the fallen Brotherhood of sorcerers and that his protégé, Rupe, has been trying to recreate what his master made.
New werewolves, the first in centuries. Not since the Black Souls made us have weres been created. Only those born to our lineage are permitted to live. Our bite is viral, infectious, but only to humans, normals. Which leads us full circle to Sage and the reason we’re on the run.
