I gripped the hem of my sweatshirt, ripped it over my head, and tossed it behind me. With my arms exposed, I released the power pounding through me. The skin of my arms and hands and fingers were alight with power when I finally released it from my body. My control was only holding on by a hair anyway.
Power burst from me, lifting me off the ground again as it poured out. Thick bolts of lightning bent my body back as it struck the Bonfire. A scream was trapped in my throat. My vision was going black at the edges, but I held on to consciousness with a death grip. I watched as the first bundles of twigs and branches caught fire. The scent of burning flesh, possibly mine, and sage filled my nose. The African violets, marjoram, and barberry caught fire soon after, making the smoke sweet and colorful. When the flames licked toward the sky, ten and fifteen feet into the air, I finally let go.
I hit the ground—hard. Pain lanced through my exhausted body, and I barely kept from slamming my head on the packed earth. I laid there as the smoke rushed over my body, and I closed my eyes and breathed in the healing powers. Some of my pain was eased. The trembling in my limbs stopped. I even managed to sit up. Smoke washed over me, blowing my sweaty hair back from my face.
I heard a scream behind me, something between an animal and a human. I twisted to see the beast falling away from his battle with Spencer. The beast’s body bent and twisted in unnatural ways. The sounds of breaking bones and popping joints filled the air. Spencer stood tall on his hind legs, his head thrown back as the smoke rushed over him. The red wounds decorating his beautiful white fur were washed away, and his fur moved in a liquid motion as the change went through him, bringing him back to his pale, freckled human self.
I looked away when I realized he was totally naked. That was another thing the movies always got wrong. Clothing did not survive the shift, and it certainly didn’t magically return when they became human again.
Screams and roars came from every direction as the smoke snaked through the park. A bubble of relief grew inside me, and when I opened my mouth, a sob broke free. Tears were in my eyes, and I let them fall down my face to splash into my lap. Soot from the smoke clung to my face, but I welcomed it and rubbed it into my cheeks with the backs of my hands.
Weres and people came forward out of their hiding places to stand around the Great Bonfire. They linked hands and began to sing, their faces lifted so that the light of the full moon shone on them as the smoke wafted through them, healing their wounds and weary souls.
I struggled to get to my feet, but with every passing second, the smoke eased my injuries and gave me strength. Soon I could walk toward the gathering. Two strangers parted, welcoming me into the circle, and took my raw, trembling hands. A zing of power went through me as we closed the circle, and it pulsed stronger each time a new person joined us, making the circle bigger and stronger. Our voices grew louder, and the power filling the circle fed the fire and moved between us until I was finally crying freely, happy to let my tears hit the ground.
I heard the deep breathing only an animal makes and looked over my shoulder at the biggest werewolf I’d ever seen. His pelt was a rich cinnamon shot through with auburn, and his yellow eyes were wise and tired. He dipped his head forward in a slow bob toward me, and something inside me clicked. The smoke ran over him, and he reared up on his hind legs.
The strangers holding my hands flinched, gripping my hands painfully as they watched too, but they kept their faith that the smoke would protect them. Soon Jameson stood there in all his naked glory, his body clear of any wounds. His face looked a few years older than it had just a day ago.
I pulled my left hand free of the man next to me, and we held our hands to him, welcoming him into our circle. Jameson’s warm, dry hand slid into mine, enveloping it. I could still feel the thrum of power in his body as the moon pulled on him, raising his body temperature and making his heart pound.
I’d like to say that I was mature and poised and kept my eyes up like an adult. I’d like to say that I didn’t sneak a peek at his goods because I’m an adult. I’d like to say all that, but I’d be lying.
Heat rushed to my cheeks that had nothing to do with the roaring fire. I understood that there was more than one reason why Jameson was the Alpha of the city. I brought my face up, trying to look casual, like I hadn’t been checking him out, but Jameson’s eyes were on my face. When I met his gaze, he quirked one eyebrow at me and smiled. I shrugged. I mean, what else could I do?
We turned back to the fire and breathed in the smoke, the tension in the air broken by something so immature and hilarious. I was finally able to let go and let the smoke work its magic in me. A moment later, Jameson gave my hand a squeeze before he stepped forward, breaking the circle and getting dangerously close to the flames.
The man on the other side of Jameson reached for my hand. The zing of power went through us when we closed the circle again, but we were all watching Jameson lift his hands. The moon seemed brighter and the fire hotter. Smoke boiled around Jameson, clinging to him until it was difficult to see him through the white, gray, and blue.
Over the crackle and pop and low hum of the fire, I heard the scrape of feet behind me. Twisting to look over my shoulder, I watched Weres approach the circle. Behind them, more Moon Stricken stumbled along, answering the call of fire and Alpha. Howls broke out around the circle as each wolf lifted their muzzles and sang their song to the moon. Chills ran up my arms, and I felt my kinetic power rising inside me again. When my body was almost vibrating with contained power, the smoke around Jameson rolled out with an explosion of power.
Everyone in the circle felt the shockwave pass through them, nearly knocking us to the ground. The howling chorus was cut off when the power struck the wolves. Every Were shifted gracefully, their fur washing away and their bodies gliding back into their human forms. But the beasts—the Moon Stricken—screamed in horror and pain. Their bodies contorted and snapped, fighting the magic hold over them to return to their natural forms.
It was difficult to watch. When the Weres were humans again, they looked fine—tired, but fine—but the Moon Stricken were huddled on the ground, unable to stand. When every changed being was human again, Jameson let his hands fall and his shoulders slump. I thought he would be okay, but in the next moment, he was on his knees, his back expanding with the effort to breathe.
I broke the circle and rushed forward, putting my hands on him and leaning close to his face. His skin was hot, nearly burning my hands, but his face was pale. He lifted his dark eyes to look at me, and I saw the question on his face. I looked at the Weres and Moon Stricken and didn’t see a monster among them, so I looked back at Jameson and nodded. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, a small smile pulling at his lips. He covered my hand with his and let his head drop.
I felt the tension run out of his muscles, but his skin was still smoking in the night air. I looked around and saw people running to the Weres and the collapsed people, trying to help them. They were giving them extra pieces of clothing, helping them cover up. People were even tearing down tents and canvases to tie around the naked people.
Spencer broke through the mass of people, covered in a makeshift toga from one of the tents and holding a large coat. I moved out of the way so that he could help his Alpha. The skin on my hands was red. Jameson struggled to get to his feet, pushing away Spencer’s hand, and tried to fumble with the coat buttons himself.
I came forward and gently pushed his hands out of the way. He couldn’t show weakness by accepting help from one of his wolves, but I could help him button his coat without him losing face, so I did. He gave me a small, grateful smile. The coat was long enough to cover the necessary bits, but he looked a little silly with his thick, hairy legs hanging out and his feet bare. It was kind of strange to see his feet.
“It’ll have to do,” I said as I stepped back.
“It will,” Jameson agreed.
I heard raised voices then.
Spencer stepped forward. “Alpha, the police.�
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“Took them long enough,” I said.
“They have been here.” Jameson’s face was pinched with worry. “Not much help however.”
“What do you mean?” I was afraid to ask.
“They just shot on sight.”
“Oh gods.” I covered my mouth with both hands, turning to look down the fairway. I saw my sweatshirt on the ground a few yards away.
“Yes,” Jameson agreed. “I imagine they are finally ready to talk.”
“Jameson, did you lose anyone tonight?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. Time will tell when the sun rises and they count the bodies. But I pray we didn’t.”
“Alpha, we need to get you away from here.” Spencer had a hand on his Alpha’s shoulder.
Jameson shrugged it off. “I’m the one they need to speak to.”
“You mean the one who’s going to take the blame,” I said.
Jameson and Spencer spared me a look.
I didn’t know what either man was planning, but I put a stop to it with three simple words. “I have Tollis.”
“What?” Both Weres spun to face me, their eyes wide and mouths slightly open.
I shrugged. “He attacked me, so, yeah.” I spread my hands wide in front of me.
“Excellent,” Spencer said with more enthusiasm than I had ever seen him show.
Jameson shook his head. “It won’t matter, I don’t think.”
“There are witnesses,” I said. “Once I take them to Tollis, they’ll have to listen. I’ll get them to use a truth serum on him.”
“Can you do that?” Spencer asked, earning a look from Jameson.
“If they don’t, I’ll go to the media. They’ll do it just to stop me from doing that.” I walked over to gather up my sweatshirt and shook the grass and dirt from it.
I was just about to put it on when I saw a girl huddled against a trash can, shivering. Someone had given her a torn piece of canvas to cover her naked body, but it wasn’t doing much to keep the chill of the night air away. I crouched in front of her and pressed the sweatshirt into her hands. She looked at me with tears glittering in her eyes. Her mousy brown hair was a rat’s nest, and there were streaks of blood and dirt on her face and arms. She was so damn young. I really hoped she couldn’t remember what she had been doing before Jameson broke the spell.
I suddenly didn’t want to give Tollis to the cops. I wanted to keep him for myself and string him up by his toes and do bad things to him. I wanted to dig out the spell books I never dared use and try out every evil spell inside.
When the girl had the sweatshirt on, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and handed it to her. “Here, call someone.”
“Thank you,” she warbled, taking the phone with trembling fingers.
I stood and turned my back to her to give her the illusion of privacy. I watched cops moved past me as if I were invisible. They went right for Jameson, but he was surrounded by his pack, and the cops hesitated. Half a dozen of them were holding open collars, but no one looked as though they wanted to be the first to put one on someone.
I felt a tug on my shirt and turned to see the girl was on her feet. She held my phone out to me. She wasn’t even as tall as me, but she was curvier than me, so I knew she had at least one more growth spurt in her future. I silently cursed Tollis’s name as I took the phone. With a quick thanks, she turned and started down the fairway toward the entrance.
I felt the energy of a fight building in the air around me before I turned back to the cops and werewolves. I swallowed my heart and told my stomach to stay in one place as I rushed forward. “Wait! Wait! It wasn’t him!”
“Stay back, ma’am,” one cop said, pointing his nightstick at me.
“Ma’am? Who the hell are you calling ma’am?”
“Please, stay back,” he repeated.
“No,” I said. “This isn’t the man you want. I have the man you want.”
“Aren’t you the one who lit the Bonfire?” a woman asked. She wasn’t in a uniform, but she had that “cop look.”
I nodded.
“Sir, this woman is the one who broke the spell,” she said to a uniformed man.
A balding man turned to face us. “Oh?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “He broke the spell.” I pointed at Jameson. “I just got the Bonfire lit.”
The captain looked from me to Jameson and back again, confusion plain on his face.
“The Bonfire subdued the monsters,” the captain said.
“Glad to hear it.” I said.
He jerked a thumb at Jameson. “So if this man broke the spell, then wouldn’t it stand to reason he cast it?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“How’s that?” The captain stepped forward with his hands on his hips. When he stopped in front of me, I saw he was only about half a foot taller than me. His eyebrows were extremely bushy, but his eyes were kind.
“Anyone can break a spell. They don’t have to be the caster. But I have the caster, bound in chains.” I swallowed when the captain’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. “I can take you to him.”
“Well then, let’s get a move on.” The captain stepped aside and motioned for me to lead the way.
“Right, sure,” I stammered. My pulse thundered in my ears, and I realized I wasn’t totally positive that Fletcher had done what I’d asked. For all I knew, he had broken his thrice-bound promise and killed the bastard. Not that I would blame him. But without Tollis, the blame would fall on the city Alpha, and I was terrified to think about what would happen to Jameson for these crimes. I forced myself to walk, leading the human police to where I hoped Tollis was.
Chapter 18
We found Tollis chained to one of the wagons where I’d left him, but Fletcher was nowhere to be found. I stood back among the shadows of the first two wagons and watched the police creep forward. Spencer stood in front of me and slightly to the side. I realized he was positioning himself in front of me like a guard, but before I could think about that, I heard the metallic click of a collar.
They’d chosen to collar Tollis before taking him down from the wagon. A sickly sweet and vaguely familiar smell curled into my nose. Both Spencer and Jameson sneezed violently as they tried to get the smell out of their overly sensitive noses. The chains around Tollis were silver, and they were burning his skin. You never forget the smell of burning flesh. Ever.
“Jesus Christ,” one of the closer cops swore and spat on the ground.
The officers were trying to cover their mouths and noses with the crooks of their arms while struggling to get the chains off Tollis, but it was clumsy work.
“Oh, for the love of toads,” I yelled behind my own hand. “Eximo expedio!” I flung my hand in Tollis’s direction. With a bone-jarring squeal, the chains twisted and ripped apart. Tollis’s unconscious body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
“Hmph,” the captain said, looking at me over his shoulder.
A hot point of pain ignited behind my eyes, warning me that I was using up way too much energy. That was why I stuck to potions and charms—they didn’t take anything from me. I was in dire need of a rejuvenation elixir, a long hot bath, and two—or maybe three—fingers of whiskey.
“So this is the man who caused all these troubles?” the captain asked as he bent over Tollis’s face.
A part of me wanted to pull him back. Collar or no, Tollis wasn’t a wolf to underestimate.
“I am afraid so,” Jameson said, stepping forward. His overwhelming presence was enough to make the circle of cops step back from the unconscious wolf.
I breathed a little easier then.
“Ms. Kavanagh?” Spencer drew my attention with his hushed voice.
I looked at him, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off his Alpha and the threat on the ground. “Yes?” I whispered back.
“You wouldn’t happen to know if…” Spencer cleared his throat. Only one thing ever made Spencer lose his composure, even if only for a sec
ond.
“Oh, sunnovahobgoblin!” I cursed, spinning and looking toward the festival. “Ronnie.” I glanced back at Spencer and saw the same worry etched on his face that was pounding through me. My legs became cement as I realized I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to leave. Not knowing if Ronnie was alive or not made the small prick of pain in my head blossom into a black hole of agony.
“Let’s get him up,” the captain said.
“Thank the gods,” I whispered, realizing they were getting ready to move.
I felt the energy humming off Spencer’s body. He, too, was desperate to go search for my missing friend. I prayed wherever Ronnie was, we’d find Joey too, but if I had to, I could leave Spencer to look for Ronnie while I looked for the bubblegum-pink pixie.
“Should we use these?” one officer asked as he jingled the silver chains.
When I looked at him, I saw a cruel smile curling over his lips. After what Tollis had put everyone through, I didn’t blame him for wanting to do something like that, but it was still torture. Human cops still didn’t treat supernaturals like equals.
“Real fucking funny,” I snapped. “Because we all know you would bind a human psychopath with barbed wire, right?”
The cop glared at me, his smile melting away. His lips pressed into a thin white line, and I saw the muscles in his jaws jumping.
“All right, all right,” the captain said, stepping between us to break our staring contest. “Let’s get moving. Pick him up.”
The captain jerked a thumb at Tollis and watched as two officers, not the one with the chains, hauled him off the ground. Jameson, Spencer, and I stood back, letting them lead the way out of the circle of abandoned wagons. Two cops waited for us to move before they took up the rear. I guessed they didn’t trust us to walk behind them without trying to do them harm or run away. Whatever, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get back to the park and look for my friends.
Samhain (Matilda Kavanagh Book 2) Page 20
