by SA Magnusson
Turning toward the car, I continued to hold the barrier and ran. I didn’t dare look over my shoulder, not wanting to risk the shifters seeing me, pursuing me, scaring me with the fact that they continued to chase.
Dried branches cracked under my boots. My heart hammered and I did my best to control it, taking deep breaths as I had trained to do. None of my martial arts training seemed particularly applicable when facing deadly wolf shifters full of magical power. Maybe I needed to talk to Master David about that. I wonder what he might suggest I do in that situation.
A flash of metal caught my attention. The car was near enough that I thought I could reach it, but the sounds of pursuit behind me followed far too closely.
I risked looking over my shoulder.
I wished I wouldn’t have.
Three shifters chased me. Two of them were continuing to elongate, but the third had already shifted into wolf form, and she—the lean and lithe form suggested this shifter was female—was nearly upon me.
My barrier might not withstand a fully shifted wolf. It had barely withstood the shifters in human form, and while I didn’t know whether they were more magically connected in their wolf forms, it seemed likely enough.
The wolf crashed into my barrier, sending me flying forward.
I twisted, making every effort to maintain my connection to my barrier. The wolf leapt, attempting to crash onto me, but the barrier held. Claws raked at it, sending sparks, but she hovered four feet above my face, her claws and her fangs ripping at the magical barrier.
I put everything that I could into maintaining it. Holding onto it became a matter of will, and when a second wolf joined the other, I knew with certainty I would fail.
Sending another surge of fear through me, I did everything I could to hold onto the barrier.
And then the third wolf joined.
All three of them tore at the barrier. While that was enough to frighten me, it was the fact they had fully shifted that bothered me the most. It meant Aron’s spell had failed. It was possible it meant Aron himself had fallen.
It was all I could do to hold them back.
I attempted to push the shifters away, but doing so took too much strength. After using magic like I had, I didn’t have the strength necessary to overpower them.
It was a matter of time before everything failed. When it did, when that barrier collapsed upon me, the wolf shifters would reach me, and considering the way they were tearing at the barrier, the moment those claws had a chance to get to me, they would rip into me.
Even if I had some way of healing myself, I doubted I would be able to recover from an attack like that.
Another wolf shifter snarled nearby, the sound loud and echoing through the trees.
The attack on me changed, becoming more frenzied.
The barrier continued to fail, slipping. Gashes formed within the barrier, and instinctively I knew to push more of my magic toward those broken sections, but even that wasn’t enough to recover.
Another snarl ripped through the forest.
One of the wolves jumped away from me. I didn’t have much time to think about where he was going as the other two continued their attempt to tear into the barrier. The effort of their attack squished me deeper into the ground. Mud and fallen leaves pressed into my shoes, an unpleasant sensation that added to my misery.
Another snarl.
It occurred to me that it wasn’t coming from the wolves attacking me.
More were coming.
There was no way I’d be able to withstand any more shifters. The car was tantalizingly close, and all I wanted was the opportunity to get over to it. Would there be any way to change the direction of the barrier, allowing it to help slide me across the forest floor?
Right now, the magic barrier created a shell around me. If I changed anything, that shell would no longer protect all of me, but at the same time, if I fortified one part of it, I might be able to use the speed of their attack to my advantage. It would leave another part of me exposed, but doing nothing meant I simply waited until they broke down the barrier. I wasn’t willing to wait for them to reach me.
The only problem was that changing it the way I thought necessary would leave my head exposed. If the other shifter that had broken off remained nearby, it was possible he could circle around.
With the car as close as it was, I had to risk it.
I dragged the barrier so that it covered my feet, angling upward. Fortifying it in this way kept the shifters from reaching me, and it thickened the barrier so that their attacks were less effective. It was easier to hold, too. I had assumed that holding a circular barrier would be easier, as circles were powerful when it came to magic, but this was much easier to maintain, taking far less strength.
And the shifters sent me sliding across the ground.
That was the effect that I wanted. It might actually work.
Another snarl ripped through the forest, this one behind me.
Maybe it wouldn’t work.
I craned my neck, afraid of what I might see but needing to know if the other shifter would reach me.
I was moving closer to the car, but it wasn’t happening fast enough.
A flash of fur caught my attention.
It streaked toward me and I curled in instinctively, trying to bring my barrier back around to cover my head, but even as I did, I knew I wouldn’t be fast enough.
Another snarl erupted and I pulled the barrier around me.
All I could do was wait for the barrier to collapse.
Surprisingly, it didn’t.
I looked up. A massive wolf circled the other two, keeping them from reaching me. It made a steady circle, drawing the other wolves away. They snarled and snapped at it, but he was large enough that they weren’t able to get close to him.
I didn’t want to be anywhere near whatever was taking place here. It was a battle of some sort between the wolves.
Could that be why the third wolf had run off? Had he heard that this other was near? Not only heard; he would have smelled this other wolf.
I scrambled backward, sliding across the ground as I tried to get closer to the car. When the cold metal door pressed against my back, the two wolves leapt at the larger one, but with a flare of magic, he threw them off. One of the wolves yelped and the other twisted in the air, landing on four feet before lunging forward again. With another surge of magic, he was thrown back.
I reached for the door handle, not wanting to be here for this battle of shifters, but at the same time not able to take my eyes off it. The massive wolf that had drawn the other two off was much larger than any of the other shifters that I had seen. He was grizzled, streaks of gray running through his fur, and the hackles along his back stood on end. His ears were pressed low to his body, and a snarl curled his lips.
I didn’t dare stay where I was any longer and yanked the door open to climb into the driver’s seat. Aron would kill me for getting his car dirty, but he was the one who had disappeared.
Could he have left keys behind?
I looked for the ignition and pounded on the button. It beeped at me, telling me I needed the key.
Could my magic override that?
As I started to reach for it, I restrained myself. My type of magic tended to be explosive, not the kind of magic I wanted to pour into the ignition of a car. I would be more likely to destroy it than to start it. If I did that, any chance of getting free would be gone.
I needed to find Aron.
It wasn’t as if I could leave him anyway. I didn’t know where he’d gone, but the fact that he hadn’t returned troubled me. Aron wasn’t without capabilities, but surrounded by all of these shifters, it might be more than even he would be able to withstand.
Reaching behind the seat, I grabbed for the bundle, pulling the sword free. The moment I did, a surge of power flowed within me. The sword called to some part of me, reverberating with that deep part that I didn’t like to acknowledge, but had no choice yet to do so.
>
With the sword, I might have enough magical strength to withstand a shifter attack.
I could stay in the car. I was safe here. There were protections placed upon it that would keep me safe. But if I remained here, not only would I not be able to start the car, but I wasn’t doing anything to help Aron, and he needed my help.
I stepped out of the car. Holding the sword out in front of me, I maintained a connection to my magic, letting it course from me to the sword, and pushed outward with a faint barrier. Using the sword was much easier. Had I been smart, I would have carried the sword when we first got out of the car, but neither Aron nor I had expected this kind of trouble.
I should have known better. I had seen the shifter in the emergency room, and I knew how injured he’d been. That kind of injury—and that kind of attack—suggested something was off.
With each step, I knew I was being ridiculous. This was not a fight I should even be taking part in. Not only wasn’t it my fight, but the type of magic and power on display here was well beyond me.
None of the wolves that had attacked me were nearby. And where had that massive grizzled wolf gone?
I followed the path my body had made in the ground, thinking that if nothing else, the direction the wolves had pushed me would guide me. They had wanted me to go somewhere, and if that were the case, I would follow the path they had wanted. It might lead me deeper into the forest, but I didn’t think it would lead me to the shifter Den.
A roar startled me and I froze.
Without meaning to, I sent a surge of power out through the sword. It formed a stronger barrier, but I relaxed it. That wasn’t what I needed to be doing. I needed to conserve my magic. If I were forced to face any of the shifters before finding Aron, I would need to have a handle on my magic. I just needed to be ready. The problem was I wasn’t sure what it would take.
Drawing my magic back in, I continued to look around the forest. This was a mistake, but I owed it to Aron. He was out here because of what I had seen, and had I not called him, he wouldn’t have come.
Another roar echoed from deeper in the forest, and this time I managed to avoid overreacting, not sending magic flowing out of me.
And then someone grabbed me on the shoulder.
Spinning around, the sword slammed into a magical barrier, carving through it.
Aron stood before me.
“It’s time to go, Kate.”
“Where did you go?”
“Not now. We can talk about it once we get out of here.”
He grabbed my arm and we hurried back to the car. As he climbed in, he frowned at the mud covering his seat but said nothing as he tapped the ignition, sending the motor rumbling. Shifting the car into gear, he revved the engine, the tires spinning as we tore out of the forest and back onto the gravel road.
“Do you want to tell me what that’s about?”
“That was a challenge,” Aron said.
“I heard that part, but what about the part with the shifters attacking us?”
Aron’s brow furrowed. He squeezed the wheel tight enough to whiten his knuckles. I worried that he might snap the steering wheel in half with the force of his grip. “That should not have happened. None of that should have happened.”
“Because you were with me?”
“Because the shifters have a truce with the mage council.”
“Could the truce have ended?”
Aron glanced over at me before turning his attention back to the road. With as fast as he was driving, I wanted his attention entirely on the road rather than on me. “You know we hold the Veil together. Without the shifters, the Veil would have collapsed long ago.”
“It’s not just the shifters who helped hold the Veil. You said the vampires hold their part.”
“They hold their part, but they’re reclusive, preferring to maintain their magical connection, doing only the minimum of what they have agreed to.”
“You’re saying you don’t think the shifters would have ended the truce.”
“There’s no reason for them to.”
“They were awfully eager to attack you.”
Aron nodded slowly. “And they know that I serve the council. They should not have attacked, not in that way.”
“What’s this about a challenge to Ariel?”
“She’s been challenged before. All alphas receive challenges from time to time. It’s the way of the wolf. Most of the time, the alpha maintains their grip on the pack, but occasionally a new leader will arise. It’s how Ariel managed to establish herself. Others have done the same over the years, but—“
“But you didn’t think Ariel could be beaten.”
“I have known many wolves over the years, and Ariel is the most powerful. The fact she was defeated in a challenge is worrisome.”
“You don’t think that one of her pack would be able to rise up and overthrow her?” I laughed, shaking my head. All of this felt surreal, but it was good to be back on the road, back with trees blurring past me, the hope of the interstate looming in front of us. From there we could race toward the cities, and I could be back at home and in my bed, attempting to pretend none of this had happened. “I’ve seen other shifters. Most of them are incredibly powerful. It doesn’t seem that much of a stretch to me to believe that another would be able to rise up and overthrow her.”
“Power within the shifter world is more than simple physical strength. It’s no different than power within the mage world. Physical strength is a part of it, but Ariel has enough magical strength that she compensates for what she does not have otherwise. There have been no wolves like her.”
I studied Aron, noting the respect he had for Ariel. Could he still have feelings for her? It didn’t matter to me—at least, it shouldn’t.
“Let’s just say that you’re right. There aren’t any others as powerful as Ariel. Not within her pack. Is it possible that another pack would have come here to challenge her?”
Aron remained silent for a moment. “It is possible.”
“But you don’t think it likely?”
“It’s hard to know,” he said. “The shifters keep to themselves, and even with the time that I spent here, I was not privy to all of their secrets.”
“I imagine the council would suggest you leave the shifters to themselves.”
Aron nodded.
“Someone sent a shifter to me in my ER. Someone wanted me to get involved.”
Aron looked over at me. “It seems that way.”
I took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this.”
“What is it?”
“I think we need to go have a conversation with that shifter.”
4
It was late by the time we returned to the cities and the hospital. Already I could tell my shift tomorrow would be painful. I’d be tired, which meant it would almost certainly be busy. It always seemed the days I wanted it to be slow were the busiest.
“You know where to find him?” Aron asked.
“He came in as a John Doe, so we’re going to have to look him up that way.”
The last time I’d searched for a John Doe, it had been Aron I’d been looking for. I had to hope the fact that the shifter had come in today would make him easier to find than searching for Aron had been.
We paused in the hospital lobby. It was spacious and well-lit and had that stale, antiseptic odor all hospitals I’d rotated through had. Tile gleamed from a recent polish, and one of the housekeepers rolled his cart through the otherwise empty lobby. Later in the day, it would be incredibly busy, but at this time of night, we were the only ones.
We paused near the elevator bank. “Give me a moment,” I said, pulling out my phone and flipping open the app for the EMR. I tapped through it, searching for my John Doe, and finally found him, though it took a whole lot more work than it should have. I just wasn’t all that skilled with searching through the program.
“There he is. Fourth floor.”
Aron tapped th
e up button and we stared at the elevator, neither of us saying anything until it came with a beep that startled me. The fourth floor was the surgical floor, which I should have known, especially as I was the one who had called ortho down to see him. We stepped off the floor and headed along the hallway. I ran into a nurse.
She was dressed in pale green scrubs, her stethoscope strung around her neck and a stern expression on her face. “Visiting hours are over.”
I flashed a smile. I could only imagine how I looked and should have given that more thought before coming up to see him. I’m sure that we both stunk from our time in the forest, and I had to be covered with leaves and debris. Considering how Aron’s seat had looked, I suspected I was covered with mud, too.
I couldn’t reveal to her that I was a resident here. That would open the wrong sort of questions.
“Aron?” I whispered.
There had to be some sort of spell that he could use on her, some way of whammying her so that she wouldn’t remember that we’d come here.
“I’m here to see my brother,” Aron said.
“And I said that visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow after eight. We expect all friends and family to cooperate with visiting hours. The patients on this floor in particular need their rest.”
Magic built from him and I debated whether I should say anything or let him simply blast her with the spell that he intended.
As I didn’t know what exactly he might do to her, I hesitated, saying nothing.
“Are you sure you can’t let us get into see his brother? He hasn’t seen him in a while, and when he heard about the mauling…”
The nurse’s demeanor changed. “You’re with him?”
“He is. We just thought we would see how he did. We heard he went through surgery but didn’t hear how surgery went.”
I watched the nurse’s face to see whether she might react poorly to the request. My experience with night nurses was limited to my time on the wards, and most of them were impatient with residents, irritated that they had to be a part of the training of new doctors who oftentimes were arrogant when they needed to show humility.
