by Morse, Jayme
Luke rubbed his palms together. “Well, I think we’re all ready to go after the Vyka soon . . . Jason, in particular. Will you be able to help us out when the time comes?”
“As long as you follow the steps we said, we’ll be there . . . as long as we can,” Nadia replied. “Just remember that you must think very hard about how much you want us there. The more we’re wanted, the easier it is for us to come.”
“Can you come for only one person if necessary?” Steve asked. “Or does our whole pack need to be there?”
“It’s possible. We’ve done it before. The only good thing about being summoned for one person is that there usually aren’t too many dark spirits for us to ward off,” Dante replied. “There have been times where there was a larger crowd that we were trying to help out, and we weren’t able to do much of anything because of the number of dark spirits that had been invoked. Their power was just so much greater than our own power, and I think there wasn’t enough faith in us for it to work.”
“I’m sort of confused,” Emma spoke up. “They’re dead, but you kill them? How does that work?”
“It’s more about killing the evil inside of them than actually killing them. Sometimes, we see the dark spirits once they become good spirits. Dark spirits can eventually become Trusted Ones once the bad is gone,” Nadia explained.
“Can they kill you, too?” Samara questioned.
“Yes. But when they kill us, we’re gone for good. When we kill the evilness within them, they get a second chance . . . if we are able to rid them of evil.”
Luke narrowed his eyebrows. “So, wait, let me get this straight. You might be able to help out, but there’s still a chance you won’t be able to do anything at all? The spirits may stay evil, and we could still die if you don’t get to them in time?”
“That is correct,” Bennett agreed, nodding his head.
“So, there’s really no guarantee that you’ll be there to help us when we need you,” Luke went on.
“Well, we might be there, but . . . no. We might not be able to do anything.” Bennett lowered his eyes to the ground.
“This feels hopeless,” Luke muttered under his breath.
“Hey, don’t be so negative. The more faith you put in us, the more likely it is that we’ll be able to help you,” Nadia said, but Samara could tell from the look on Luke’s face that he didn’t feel reassured by her words.
“There’s something else you could do to help your case,” Dante chimed in.
“What?” Samara asked, glancing over at him.
“If you can find the Vyka’s crimson candles, you could try hiding them.”
“What exactly is a crimson candle?” Colby questioned, a look of curiousness in his eyes. “I’ve never actually heard of it before now, and I’ve done a lot of research on black magic.”
“That would be because it is the one thing that black magic practitioners keep to themselves. They don’t share information about them with anyone else. You can think of it as something that only a secret society would know about,” Bennett commented. “Whoever wrote those stacks of books that I’ve seen in those boxes you brought in here probably had no personal experience with black magic.”
“Crimson candles must be purchased from someone with a divine understanding of black magic. Most black magic practitioners do not even know how to make them. It’s sort of like buying the candles from a witch doctor, if you will,” Nadia explained, sitting down cross legged on the ground and running her hand over one of the candle flames, fascinated by the glowing light against her own glowing skin.
“Crimson candles are made from a secret mixture, but they do contain blood from the members of a pack called the Abdia,” Nadia continued. “They were the first pack to ever experiment with black magic, so it is often said that they have a closer personal relationship with the dark spirits than any other pack who summons them. The Abdia are the ones who originally began to feed the dark spirits, so they will be forever indebted to them, so to speak. For this reason, they recognize the scent of Abdia blood easily, and come once they have been invoked.”
A light went off in Samara’s mind. “So, if the candle is what conjures these spirits, wouldn’t you be able to blow the candle out and get rid of them, then?”
“It would make our lives so much easier if it worked that way, but unfortunately, it doesn’t,” Nadia replied, matter-of-factly. Once a spirit has been evoked, blowing out a candle isn’t going to get rid of them.”
“Crimson candles aren’t easy to find,” Bennett explained. “They’re very rare, and their wicks are said to be time consuming to create. So, if you can get ahold of the crimson candles that they’ve been using, it will likely take them quite some time to get their paws on new ones. It could buy you some time to plan a successful attack, at the very least.”
Samara sighed. “This all sounds great, but there’s one big problem. We have no idea how to tell if a candle is a crimson candle. What do they look like?”
“That is the tricky part about this whole plan,” Nadia agreed, her light green eyes filling up with a look of concern. “Crimson candles can easily be mistaken as regular candles. They do not have any identifying features, aside from the fact that they are red.”
The sight of red candles flashed in Samara’s mind, but the memory quickly passed. “I know I saw red candles somewhere recently, but I forget where they were.”
“I know exactly where you saw them,” Colby replied knowingly.
*
When Samara, Luke, Colby, and Emma arrived at Colby’s old house an hour later, they found that the back door had been left open on a crack.
“That’s odd,” Colby murmured. Shrugging, he opened the door anyway, and led them all inside the house.
The house was dark and completely silent inside. It made it seem really lonely, and it gave Samara bad vibes.
It wasn’t until they entered Darren Jackson’s entertainment room that the familiar musky scent . . . the same scent that she’d picked up on in her own house . . . filled her nostrils.
Someone from the Vyka pack had been in the room.
As Samara hurried over to one of the closets to make sure no one was hiding in it, Colby announced, “The candles are gone.”
Colby turned to look at her, his face a shade of ghostly white. It was obvious that he’d had the same realization as Samara; Darren Jackson—and most likely someone from the Vyka—had been in the house. They’d come back to get the candles . . . probably so the Ima wouldn’t have them, but possibly because they were planning to use them in the near future, too.
“Well, I guess this proves one thing,” Luke said.
“What?” Samara, Colby, and Emma asked simultaneously, turning to look at him.
“Those candles are definitely crimson candles,” Luke replied with a shrug. “They’re the candles we need to find if we’re going to stop them.”
Chapter 18
Later that night, Samara waited for all of the wolves who were still members of her pack to arrive. Josh and Kyle had promised that they would be there, even though they’d both been absent a lot lately.
As she waited, Samara glanced around the room. Chris and Steve both sat, surprisingly silent, on one of the couches in the living room; it was obvious that Chris was keeping his distance from Emma because he was still angry at her for giving Kyana money for a cab.
Kyana had texted Chris to let him know that she’d made it to the airport safely, but he hadn’t responded to her message. He was still angry . . . and hurt . . . by her decision to leave. It sort of hurt Samara, too, but she understood that Kyana had been given a really hard decision to make—a decision she was going to need to live with for the rest of her life.
Emma and Colby were sitting on another one of the couches. Emma was showing him something on her cell phone, and he was laughing at it. Samara smiled. Even though her best friend didn’t want to give Colby a chance yet, she could tell that Emma was going to give him a chance eventually. Sa
mara wasn’t really sure what was holding her back, though.
Luke came into the room and sat down next to Samara. “They’re still not here yet?”
“No, and we’re waiting till they get here. Tonight is going to be really important,” she replied, resting her head on his lap. Luke ran his fingers through her hair, which made her feel a little bit calmer about what they were going to do as soon as Josh and Kyle arrived.
About ten minutes later, Josh bounded through the door. Getting up from her spot on the floor, Nuka went over to Josh and jumped up on him, happily wagging her tail.
Once Josh was done petting her, he explained, “Sorry I’m late, guys. And I’m sorry I’m never here half the time anymore. I’ve just had a lot going on.”
“That’s okay,” Samara replied with a smile. “I understand. We just really needed you here tonight. Something big is happening, and we needed you there for it, so I’m glad you weren’t busy today.”
“What’s happening?” Josh asked, a look of curiosity crossing his face.
“I’ll tell you all about it once Kyle gets here,” Samara replied. “I’d rather explain it to you both at the same time so I don’t have to go over it twice.”
As if on cue, Samara heard the sound of footsteps climbing up the front porch steps. The door was swung open and Kyle, followed by Linda, stepped inside.
Linda gave everyone a small wave before heading off in the direction of her bedroom, not wanting to interrupt their pack meeting. She had kept to herself a lot lately, which Samara figured was probably her way of coping.
Kyle came into the living room and, without saying a word, started to sit down on the floor. The expression on his face told her that he didn’t actually want to be there; even though his body was present, his mind was elsewhere.
“Um, Kyle, can I talk to you in the other room?” Samara questioned.
“Okay,” he mumbled, stepping into the dining room. Rising to her feet, Samara followed him.
Turning to him, she lowered her voice. “Why have you been avoiding the pack?”
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” Kyle said, darting his eyes away from her. He plopped down in one of the chairs and cradled his head in his hands.
“Then, what’s been going on with you?” Samara questioned, sitting down beside him. “It feels like you’re not even a part of our pack lately. Everyone else makes the effort to be here for everything . . . Except for Josh, but he has a lot going on in his life right now, so it’s understandable. Why haven’t you been around lately? Every time I call a pack meeting, you never show . . . and you never give me a reason you can’t be here.”
Kyle looked up at her, a pained look in his turquoise blue eyes. “If I tell you the real reason, promise you won’t get upset? I know it’s gonna sound stupid, but . . . it’s the truth.”
Samara rolled her eyes. “I can’t promise I won’t get upset. I’m already upset. I’m not sure that anything you say could make it worse. I promise I’ll stay calm about whatever it is, though.”
Kyle hesitated. “I-I met someone . . . I think it’s my mate. That’s why I haven’t been around that much lately.”
“Well, that’s great. I’m happy for you. Why haven’t I met her yet?” Samara asked, realizing this was probably why, the past few times she actually had seen her cousin lately, he seemed much happier than usual. He wasn’t just glowing with happiness, like she’d thought; he was glowing because he was in love.
“Well, that’s the thing. I haven’t brought this person around yet because it’s not a she . . . it’s a he,” Kyle said, quietly, glancing down at the table nervously.
“You’re gay?” Samara asked.
Glancing up at her, Kyle nodded. His eyes were filled with a look of worry, and she knew he was afraid that she was going to be upset over the news.
The truth was, Samara wasn’t even surprised that her cousin was gay. In fact, she wondered why she had never caught onto it earlier. Kyle always dressed nice—nicer than her, even—and she was pretty sure that she’d never heard him talk about dating or even being remotely interested in girls. He’d never mentioned finding a girl attractive before. Somehow, Samara had always chalked it up to Kyle being the type who didn’t kiss and tell, but . . . it made perfect sense now.
What did surprise her was that werewolves might be able to have mates of the same sex. She would have assumed that it wasn’t possible because it seemed like their lifestyles were meant to be old-fashioned, but apparently, they didn’t have to be straight. Samara sort of felt relieved about this; it made her happy to know that even in this world where everything was so different than what mortals went through, relationships were still sort of the same. Fate still allowed everyone to be different.
“So, that’s why I never anything about it before now,” Kyle explained when Samara didn’t respond to him right away. “I’ve still been coming to terms with it myself, and I didn’t want anyone to find out. The guys are going to make fun of me for it. You know, once they find out my mate’s a dude.”
“No, they won’t say anything like that. I promise.”
Her cousin didn’t look convinced. “How do you know they won’t?”
“Because if anyone gives you crap over it, they’ll have to deal with me,” Samara replied. “Everyone in my pack treats everyone as an equal. And for whatever it’s worth, I’m happy for you. I’m glad you found your mate. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s a guy. If he makes you happy, that’s all that really matters. What’s his name?”
“Silas. Oh, my God, Sam. He’s so cute.” A smile spread across Kyle’s face, and he blushed. “I think you’re really going to like him, too. You have a lot in common.”
“Well, I can’t wait to meet him!” Samara replied, smiling because she could tell how happy Silas was already making her cousin. “Why don’t you bring him over one night this week?”
Kyle grinned. “Okay, cool.” He stood up to leave, but he hesitated. “Um, there’s also something I wanted to ask you.”
“Ask away.”
“Silas doesn’t have a pack,” Kyle told her. “The Shomecossee kicked him out of their pack early last year because he didn’t agree with something Rocco wanted to do. It’s a long story, and Rocco sounds like such an asshole. But, anyway, since he doesn’t have a pack, I was wondering . . .” He trailed off, glancing up at her with a pleading look in her eyes.
Kyle didn’t even have to finish his sentence for Samara to understand what he was asking. “I want to meet him first before I can officially say ‘yes’, but I don’t see what the problem would be. So, yeah, he can most likely join our pack, as long as everything goes well.”
“Sweet.” Kyle beamed at her before heading back into the living room to join the rest of the pack.
Samara breathed a sigh of relief. She felt much better now that she knew what was really going on with Kyle. Now, she was going to have to break the news to the pack members who didn’t know what they were doing tonight—that they were going to break into the Masterson’s house to look for two things: the talisman and crimson candles.
She hoped they would find the candles, at the very least. Darren might not have given the candles from the Jackson’s old house to Jason, but there was a chance that Jason had his own candles anyway.
The only thing that worried her was how Josh was going to respond to all of this. Even though he was an Ima and leaving the Vyka pack had instantly made him Jason’s arch enemy, there was still a chance that he might not feel comfortable with the idea of breaking into his family’s house.
When she went back into the living room, Samara cleared her throat. “So, here’s the plan. We’re breaking into Jason’s house tonight. It’s time to give the Vyka a taste of their own medicine, but we’re also on a mission. We’re going to try to find the talisman and crimson candles.” She glanced over at Kyle and Josh. “It’s a long story that I’ll have to explain to you later, but if you see any red candles in the house, steal them.”
“What are we gonna do if the Masterson’s are home? Are we still breaking in?” Colby questioned, a nervous tone in his voice. “I mean, I don’t want to get in trouble for anything.”
Samara hesitated. She hadn’t even considered what they would do if the Masterson’s were actually home when they were there. “If we see any lights on, we’ll come back sometime tomorrow, I guess.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Josh interjected, running a hand over his brown hair. “My parents always go out on Saturday night. And Jason’s hardly ever home. At least, he wasn’t when I lived there. The coast should be clear.”
“Good. And you’re okay with us breaking into the house?” Samara asked Josh.
Josh shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter to me. If you feel this is something we need to do, then we should do it. Don’t worry about how I feel.” He paused, glancing down at the floor. “The way I look at it, they’re no longer my family. We can do whatever you want, and it’s not gonna faze me.”
Samara was about to question him, to find out if he still cared about his parents at all, when Luke spoke up. “Is everyone ready to head over there, then?”
Everyone in the room nodded, but Colby turned to Emma. “I’m not sure if you should come with us.”
Emma scowled at him. “Why wouldn’t I come with you guys? I’m a part of this pack, too.”
“You’ve never fought anyone before. It could be really dangerous,” Colby said gently. Smirking, he added, “Plus, you might get your clothes dirty or something. I know you wouldn’t be happy about that.”
Emma rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “You might be my mate, but that doesn’t mean you can tell me that I have sit out when the rest of our pack is going to do something. Sorry, Colby Jack, but it doesn’t work that way.” Turning to Samara, Emma said, “I’m coming, whether Colby likes it or not.”
Samara glanced over at Colby, who looked genuinely concerned about what might happen to Emma tonight. “Don’t worry, Colbs. Emma will be fine.”
