Wounded

by Maggie Walsh

  “He was with me for two years. The best two years of my life. He would help me with anything I needed. He learned how to drive when he has fourteen so that he could drive me to doctor’s appointments when I couldn’t. He did incredible in school and never caused me any grief or complained about anything once. He was always so happy,” she said sadly, “until one day when he came home from running an errand for me. He had been gone for three hours. Normally the trip should only have taken him twenty minutes tops. I was getting so worried about him when he wasn’t coming home. Then when he did step through the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

  “Why? What happened?” Maddy asked anxiously.

  “He came in and his clothes were all ripped and torn, hanging in shreds. He was covered in dirt and looked as if he were in shock. When I asked him what happened, all he would say was ‘wolf.’”

  Everyone looked to each other, giving a knowing look.

  “He went right up to his room and closed the door. I couldn’t get him to come out and talk to me, but the next morning when he came down to the kitchen, I asked him again. He told me that he decided to walk through the woods. It’s a shortcut the kids take around here to get into town. But then his eyes got this far-off look, like he was confused. He told me that as he walked along he suddenly came face-to-face with a wolf. The animal snarled at him and he tried to run from it. The thing chased him and pounced on his back and began tearing at his clothes. He said he was able to kick the creature from him and the thing cried out. While it was distracted, he got away.”

  “What happened next?” Raith asked.

  “I called the police and told them of the incident, and they came out to talk to Anthony. They put out a warning for everyone in the area about a wild animal attack and closed off the woods so that no one else could use the trail until the animal was caught, but they never caught it. A few weeks later, Anthony was complaining that his stomach hurt and he felt like his insides wanted to rip out of his body. I gave him some medicine and sent him to bed early. The next morning, he was gone. I never saw him again.

  “About a month after he left, I received a letter from him. There was no return address and he didn’t tell me where he was. He just told me that he was sorry but he had to leave for my own good. He said he needed to make sure I was safe. He told me that he loved me and thanked me for everything. He was sorry he wouldn’t be around to help me or to take care of me, but that he would find a way to check on me once in a while to make sure I was okay.

  “Every Christmas, I find a box of my favorite chocolates on the front stoop. There is no note, but I know it’s my Anthony. He is the only one who knows about my secret obsession with the expensive treat.” She ended her tale with a smile.

  “Do you think he’s still around these parts, maybe? Keeping an eye on you?” Micah asked.

  “I doubt it. It’s been so long. He’s a grown man now. I’m sure he has a job, maybe college. Well, at least I hope he does. I hate to let the bad thoughts in, you know? The ones where he’s alone and vulnerable, living out on the streets. I don’t know what happened to make him leave, but I wish he would have been able to tell me. That way, we could have figured it out together and he would still be here.”

  “Do you have any pictures of Anthony? Or anything personal he may have left behind?” Raith asked.

  “I used to, but that damn tornado took everything. Four months ago, a tornado ripped through here and wiped out this whole town. I’m sure you can still see the scars as you drive through. I only just moved back in here two days ago.”

  “We’re so sorry for everything you’ve been through and everything you’ve lost. Is there anything we can do for you? Do you need help?” Rory offered.

  Lilian gave him a sad smile. “That’s very sweet of you, dear, but I’m okay. The insurance I had on the house covered the rebuild and allowed me to refurbish it, and I have a little left over in the bank. Plus my social security checks help me along.”

  “Lilian, if Anthony is my son, and I honestly believe that he is, then that means that you are family to us as well. If there is anything you ever need, please let me know,” Raith offered and held out a business card to her.

  “Thank you, Mr. Angel, but the only thing I need before I die is to know that my Anthony is safe and happy.”

  “When we find him, we’ll let you know,” Jesse offered.

  “That would make this old bird happy. Thank you.”

  * * * *

  It had been three days since his father had come in here shooting him up with whatever the fuck that was. Three days since anyone had come in or even talked to him through the speaker. Maybe they just left him here chained up to die on this bed?

  The best part about nobody bothering him was that, for the first time in however long it had been since he had been brought here, his brain wasn’t fuzzy. He felt clear-headed. He hadn’t been able to use his gifts or shift and figured they used something to block him from doing anything, but whatever his father had shot into him to lower his inhibitions, enabled him to use his powers. Before he was given that drug, he hadn’t been able to see anyone’s aura or fate line. He was able to with his father.

  His mind felt stronger and he was sure he would be able to use his powers. Did those idiots realize that the drug his father had given him was allowing his gifts to return? Maybe that was part of their plan. Maybe they wanted him to be able to use his gifts and see what he would do. Were they watching him right now? Were they sitting there, waiting for him to make a move, and then they could strike?

  Well, he had news for them. They only knew that he could shift into another person or animal, but they didn’t know he could actually shift into any living creature. This was his chance to escape. It may be his only chance. Shelby thought about the best possible form he could take right now to be able to escape his binds and this room. He needed to be small so they wouldn’t see him. He also needed to be able to move fast once the door opened. An ant, maybe? They surely wouldn’t see him, but would he be able to move fast enough and not get stepped on? Maybe something that could fly? A bee? A butterfly? Ooh, no. A fly. Yes, perfect, he would shift into a fly. He would be small enough and be able to get out fast unnoticed.

  Shelby closed his eyes and made it appear as if he were going to sleep. If anyone were watching, they would see him vanish. He wished he could just disseminate out of here, but for some reason he couldn’t. He had tried so many times, but it was like there was something surrounding the room that wouldn’t allow it. So that was out of the question.

  Shelby knew that once he shifted, he would have to move fast. If they were watching and saw him vanish, they would be in here faster than an Indy car, to investigate. Shelby relaxed his body and drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He concentrated on his breathing and keeping his heart rate even. He focused his thoughts on what a fly looked like―its eyes, body, and legs, the little hairs that covered its body and the two translucent wings. He felt the familiar shiver run through his body and knew the shift was about to happen. The wave of magic consumed him and he opened his eyes.

  The room looked so much bigger than it had when he closed his eyes. It appeared as if he were looking at everything through the bottom of a thousand glass bottles. This was really strange and disconcerting. He couldn’t see too far ahead, but he could see almost completely around his head, a three-sixty view. That was pretty cool, but not being able to focus too far away was not something he had anticipated. This vision was like a mosaic and was going to take him a while to get used to, and the absence of color was a little freaky as well.

  Shelby fluttered the wings sticking out of his back and rose from the bed slightly. He wanted to try out his new body but didn’t want those buttheads to see what he’d shifted into. He slowly made his way over to the post of the bed where his left hand had been bound and climbed on the finial, then walked around to the back of the post. He waited a few minutes, focusing his attention toward the door, waiting to see i
f anyone would come.

  Sure enough, the door was thrown open in a rush and banged against the wall. His brothers Vlad, Vasya, and Volya ran into the room. They came to the bed and stared at it in disbelief, then began searching the room.

  “Where did he go?” Vasya yelled.

  “How the hell do I know?” Volya answered as he looked under the bed.

  “Enough, you two idiots. He’s gone. Father is going to kill us,” Vlad said.

  “Why? He’s the one who told us to leave Vasily alone and let him starve so that he would get too weak to fight.”

  “Vasya is right. Papa is the one who ordered us to stop giving him injections. Now he was able to disseminate. Who knows where he is now? For all we know, he disseminated right to King Dante and is telling him everything.”

  “Shit. You’re right. That’s probably exactly what he did. Fucking pain in the ass. We need to tell Papa and then we need to get Vasily back, and fast,” Vlad agreed.

  Vlad turned toward the door and Shelby took the opportunity to get the hell out of there. He flew onto Vlad’s back as his brother headed out the door. Thank the Gods for small favors that no one in his family believed in wearing colors. Nothing but black for these twats, so he was completely hidden on his brother’s shirt.

  Vlad walked down the hall with his other brothers following close behind. Shelby was going to fly off, find a secluded place to shift back, and then disseminate to Nicco, but then a thought hit him. Maybe he should stay right here with his brother and see what he could find out about what his father would plan now. So Shelby stayed where he was. He crawled over to a fold in the material and hid under it, but he was still able to look out and see his surroundings.

  Vlad and the others entered another room. Shelby looked around. He remembered this cold place. His father’s office. All dark woods with a deep red carpet and heavy drapes to match. The dark paneling on the walls made them appear almost black. One small lamp with a dark green glass cover sat on the edge of the desk and was the only light illuminating the room. Sitting behind the large desk, looking sinister as always, was his father. The man looked up from what he was doing and shot his sons an annoyed look.

  “Since when do you not knock before you step in my office?”

  “We’re sorry, Otets, but this is important,” Vlad started.

  “Don’t you ever come into my office without knocking first, and why aren’t you Zadrotas watching your brother?”

  Shelby snickered to himself at his father calling his brothers idiots. They really were. Not that he was a brain surgeon, but his siblings were dumb as rocks. He didn’t know how they wiped their own asses without someone showing them what to do first.

  “He’s gone, Papa. Vasily disseminated,” Vlad informed him. Vladimir’s face turned even colder than it already was. Shelby cringed back, knowing what was coming.

  Vladimir grasped the edge of his desk as he rose slowly from his seat. Even Shelby could see the man was barely holding onto his rage. He stood straight as a board, face tight with anger, and eyes glaring at Shelby’s brothers.

  “What do you mean, Vasily disseminated? It is impossible.” His father’s voice was calm and controlled, but the tick in his jaw and the vein bulging in his temple told Shelby the man was about to blow.

  “We were watching him through the monitors when suddenly he just disappeared. We ran to the room and searched around, but he was nowhere,” Vlad explained. As the oldest, Vlad was always the one to speak to their father, while the others stayed silent.

  “How many times do I have to tell you that it is impossible for him to disseminate from that room? The walls are made of steel and the door has a warding spell on it. The only way he could escape is if he shifted into a small animal and waited for you Zadrotas to open the door.” Vladimir rushed around his desk and headed for the door. “You better hope he is still here, Vlad. Find him, now!”

  “How, Papa? If he shifted into a small animal and ran from the room then he could have disseminated already,” Vlad said as he ran behind his father, his brothers close behind.

  Vladimir stopped and turned toward his sons. “Search the house for any small creature. He cannot escape this place by dissemination. I have had spells cast around the whole house. No one but me can disseminate into or out of these walls, so find him.” Vladimir sneered.

  Vlad and his brothers took off running into the room they had held Shelby in. Shelby flew from Vlad’s shirt and landed on the back of his father’s black pants. If the only one who could disseminate was Vladimir, then he needed to stick to him. His stomach rolled at the thought of being this close to his father, but Shelby had no other choice.

  Vladimir returned to his office, closed the door, and locked it. Then he returned to his desk and lifted the phone to his ear as he dialed.

  “It’s me. My incompetent sons let Vasily escape the room.” Vladimir was silent as he listened to whoever was on the other end. “Da. He must still be within the house. There is no way he can get out with your spells cast over it. We are searching now.” Again, Vladimir went silent. “Da, Comrade. I will come to you immediately. Will the Nephilim be able to detect him in his shifted form?” After another moment of silence, his father answered. “I will be there momentarily.” Vladimir hung up and disseminated.

  Chapter 3

  Nicco was flying, soaring through the air, but his vision was all fucked up. Everything was in black and white. He could see all around him, but not too far, and it looked like he was watching everything through one of those kid’s telescopes that showed everything in multiples.

  Shit, what was the name of that thing? He couldn’t remember. Cyderscope? No, Cyberscope. No, that wasn’t it. His stomach rolled as his vision picked up speed and started rushing through buildings and past cars. It stopped for a moment and he could see people walking by as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. Suddenly, he was off again. Shit, if this doesn’t stop soon I’m going to vomit. Oh, kaleidoscope. Yeah, that was it. Kaleidoscope. Everything moved by like a mosaic.

  Dante’s house came into view and the images stopped. He was staring into a window, but everything looked fuzzy. Nicco began to move slowly and something caught his eye from inside. It was his bed. He could see his bed. Whatever the hell was going on was creeping him out now. He had a feeling that someone other than him was peering into his room, but why?

  “Nicco?” He heard the voice come from inside his head. “Shit, Nicco, where are you?” the voice asked, but there was something in that voice that made Nicco’s fear both ease and escalate. He wasn’t worried anymore about whoever this was looking into his personal space, but the desperation he heard made him worry about the safety of the one who had voiced the question. Someone was looking for him for help.

  Nicco squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then opened them. He blinked a few times and his sight focused. He was at the pack house in one of the rooms in the medical wing. Dante and his mates sat beside his bed, watching him. He met his king’s worried gaze.

  “What is it, Nic? What did you see?” Dante asked.

  “The end of the vision was looking into my room at home, but it was from the outside. Then a desperate voice called to me. We need to go, Dante. Something is telling me to get home.”

  “Then let’s go.” Dante grabbed each of his mates’ hands and they, along with Nicco, disseminated from the room.

  Nicco, Dante, Dare, and Dale disseminated into Nicco’s room. Immediately, they all looked to the window but only saw the city beyond. “Well, whoever it was is no longer here,” Dare said as he walked closer to the window and peered out.

  “Shit. Whoever it was sounded scared. Now what do we do?” Nicco asked, but then grabbed his head as another vision hit him. He saw himself standing in his room, holding his head as Dante, Dale, and Dare looked at him in concern. “He’s still there. I can see us through his eyes,” Nicco ground out through gritted teeth. Dante moved to the window and began to search. “I see you, Dante. I’m looking up
at your face through the window.”

  “Maybe whoever it is is invisible?” Dale asked as he moved next to Dante and peered out the window.

  “You’re there now, Dale. I can see you. Your chest is right in front of me.”

  Dale looked down, but still didn’t see anything. Then a small speck on the glass caught his attention. “Hey, Nic. Does it look like you’re seeing us through a broken glass?”

  “Yeah. Kind of. It’s more like a kaleidoscope.”

  “What is it, Bello?” Dante asked.

  “Be ready for something weird,” Dale answered. He reached up and unlocked the window, then opened it about six inches as he kept his eyes on the speck. The black spot flew down toward the open space and flew inside. Dante jerked back slightly when the fly flew past his nose.

  “A fly? What the…” Dante never finished his sentence. A small, bright light appeared and began to grow. Dante pushed Dale behind him and stood ready to fight whatever this was. Dare and Nicco also stiffened and got into fighting stances. The light faded and a very naked Shelby stood before them. He gave Nicco a small smile and sighed in relief just before he collapsed to the floor.

  * * * *

  Dante disseminated into the pack house kitchen. Jesse and Raffy were sitting at the table near the window, sipping iced teas and talking. “Perfect. I need you two, Noah, and Aaron,” Dante said in a hurry.

  Immediately, Jesse and Raffy stood. “What is it, Dante?”

  “Shelby. He’s hurt and needs help.”

  “Okay. Raffy and I will come now, and I’ll call for Micah to send Noah and Aaron. Let’s go,” Jesse said as he grabbed Raffy’s hand and placed his other hand on Dante’s shoulder. Then they disappeared.