Finding the Power Within

by C. C. Masters

  Chapter 22

  Anna

  I stood in the courtyard with a huge grin on my face. Cody seemed like he was healed and was standing next to me with his hand in mine. When I had gotten back to the room, Cody was upset with me for leaving him behind while I went into danger, but excited when I told him that we had permission to go home. I decided not to tell him the entire story of what happened until we were home safe. I also needed to talk to him about what the prince had said about putting him under compulsion.

  As soon as I had walked into the room, Cody had told me that he loved and missed me. The compulsion should be gone by now, but I was still wary about any lasting effects. As soon as we could be alone I wanted to tell Cody everything.

  Caylee was waiting for Froston with us and chattering about how we should come back for the next festival.

  “I don’t think we’re going to come back that soon.” Or ever. I thought to myself. I would miss Caylee’s bright cheeriness and her big heart, but I would not miss any of the fae.

  I reached forward to give Caylee a hug without getting tangled in her mass of waist length red curls. “Thank you for everything that you have done for me since we got here. I’m going to miss you.”

  Caylee’s mouth dropped in shock and she gently patted my back. “Um… thank you, my lady.”

  I pulled back from her to look into her bright blue eyes. “Anytime you think you might want to come back to the human world, I have a place for you in my house. I can find you a job, or you can go to school, you can become anything you want.”

  Caylee tilted her head in confusion. “I don’t want to go to the human world, I like it here.”

  I just smiled at her. I might disagree with her choice, but I had to respect her decision. I just wish she would give it a chance.

  “I’m not sure what I’m going to do without you,” I told her quietly.

  She perked up. “Oh, you can always send for me if you need me.”

  Ideas started to percolate in my mind. Could I trick her into visiting and show her how awesome the human world was? Maybe I could tempt her into staying.

  Cody squeezed my hand. “Caylee is probably safer here for now, we’re not sure what we’re going home to.”

  I nodded reluctantly. “You’re right, Cody.”

  Froston stepped into the courtyard and made his way over to us. “Could I have a few moments with my daughter, please?” Caylee gave him a curtsey and then disappeared back inside. I didn’t let go of Cody’s hand, anything Froston had to say to me, Cody could hear.

  Froston’s eyes flicked down to our joined hands and a scowl shadowed his face, but he didn’t comment. “Anna, I’m sending you back to your world so that you don’t get caught up in the battle for the throne that is sure to occur here.”

  I nodded. I definitely wanted no part of that.

  “But I’m not willing to send you back alone,” Froston told me with a frown. “You need to keep moving forward with your magic. Learning should be easier when you are surrounded by your pack. Your connection with the pack will keep you grounded.”

  A sense of dread pooled in my stomach. “Who are you sending with me?” I asked reluctantly.

  Morpheus and Talen entered the courtyard and walked towards us.

  “No,” I told Froston. “Absolutely not.”

  “Just Talen,” he tried to assure me.

  Talen hadn’t tormented me the way that Morpheus had, but I didn’t trust any of the fae. I glared at Talen as he took his time crossing the courtyard. “How do I know I can trust him?”

  “You can’t,” Talen called to me cheerfully.

  Froston gave him a sharp look as I ignored Morpheus completely and studied Talen. The first time we met, I was more concerned with being kidnapped than I was at getting a good look at him. The second time, I was focused on Morpheus.

  Talen was tall and lithe like all the other male fae that I had met so far. His dusky gold skin and black hair gave him the air of an Egyptian god, or Tariq Naguib. He was dressed in clothes that would help him to blend in back in my world – jeans and a t-shirt - but the ethereal beauty that seemed to be etched into the fae’s DNA was going to make him stand out no matter what he wore.

  “What kind of magic do you have?” I asked, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice. There was no way I was bringing a fae with dangerous powers back to Seaside with me.

  Talen just smiled at me.

  Froston frowned. “Anna, it’s not polite to ask someone what kind of magic they have.”

  “It’s also not a good idea to admit that you lack the basic ability to sense another’s magic,” Morpheus mocked me.

  “Thank you, Morpheus. That will be all I require from you today.” Froston told him with a flick of his wrist.

  Morpheus’s face tightened at being dismissed so casually. He probably came to see me leave so he could get a few last minutes of torment in before I was out of his reach. Hopefully, forever.

  I extended my senses to get a feel for Talen. I think I had gotten in the habit of keeping that all locked down after the various attacks on me. What I felt from Talen surprised me. “You don’t feel like anything to do with winter, death, or destruction,” I said in surprise. Talen’s power reminded me of the beginning of spring – when the ice first started to melt and green buds started appearing on trees.

  “Talen’s story is his own to tell,” Froston told me cryptically. “But he has just joined our court recently.” He glanced over at Talen. “In the last hundred years or so?”

  Talen nodded, and Cody and I exchanged glances. The last hundred years or so was recently?

  I stepped up to Talen and looked him in the eyes. He was only an inch or two taller than me, so I didn’t even have to tilt my head up that far. “I’m not bringing you back with me without you making some promises first.”

  Talen cocked his head to the side with a sly grin. “I’ve already promised your father that I will not physically harm you or any of your pack members.”

  I shook my head. That was not good enough. “You will not harm anyone physically or emotionally. That includes my pack, other wolves you might meet, or any of the humans in my world.”

  Talen pouted. “And if I’m attacked?”

  I frowned. “You can defend yourself against true threats to your safety.” I felt like I was missing something. I wanted to cover everything I could think of because I knew how fae liked to mess with people, and they didn’t care if people got hurt. Talen’s power might seem benign, but I was sure that he was still more than capable of stirring up trouble.

  Cody cleared his throat. “You should also include our other allies – we have agreements in place with witches and the lamia.”

  Froston and Talen both scowled when they heard the word ‘lamia’ but I nodded. “No harming our allies in any way.” The last thing we needed was the fae coming back to our world and setting the races against each other.

  “Talen is going to stay by your side,” Froston informed me. “He will keep you safe and help you with your magic.”

  I nodded in agreement but inside I was already starting to worry. He was going to have to stay in the pack house with me, but what about when I went to work? Could I trust him alone in the house with my pack mates?

  “Do you have any healing skills?” I asked Talen hopefully. That was the magic that I wanted to learn.

  “I can heal the earth.”

  I sighed and looked at Froston. That wasn’t what I was hoping to hear, how was I going to progress with my healing skills? I wanted to talk to Austin about my idea for a clinic, but I didn’t really have the skills to back up any of my plans yet. The thought of Airmed coming to my world to help me learn to heal wolves and humans was laughable. I’m sure she would prefer waterboarding.

  I enacted barriers around Cody and myself to protect us from the elements. Froston had already explained that he had no choice but to open a portal in the human world in the Arctic because that’s where the veil was the
thinnest. Once we stepped into the Arctic, he could open a portal to anywhere in the human world and bring us back home.

  I took Cody’s hand and Froston’s magic caused my skin to buzz as he formed a portal. I took one last look at the castle that had been my prison for so long and then happily stepped through into the mass of swirling wind and snow that waited for us on the other side.

  Chapter 23

  Sam

  The sat phone did the beeping thing that let me know someone was trying to call in. I hurriedly snatched it up, eager for any news from the outside. The guys had all been driving me nuts in this little house, and James was seriously ready to rip someone’s head off. I wasn’t stupid – I was the most expendable person here, so it would probably be me.

  I ran to the mudroom, skidding as I slid on the slippery floor. I shouted for Trevor, but hurriedly started to suit up without waiting for him. The phone’s connection to a satellite wasn’t strong enough to connect completely indoors, we needed to be outside under an open sky. The antenna was already extended, but the weak signal was fading in and out. Hopefully, being outdoors would clear that up.

  Trevor walked into the mudroom just as I had pulled on the first outer layer that I needed to go out into the frigid temperature. “We have a call.” I told him excitedly.

  He gave me a brief nod and reached for his outdoor garb. James had already demanded that Rich and Davis help him out there with something, and Mike had just come off watch, so he was sleeping. I pulled on layer after layer, making it almost impossible for me to move comfortably. I covered my face with my scarf, put on my goggles, grabbed my weapon and I was ready to go.

  It felt good to have a weapon in my hands again. When overseas, my rifle is within reach at all times. It never leaves my sight and it is usually in my hands. When I first get back to the states, I always feel naked for at least the first week without it. During the day, I’m never quite sure what to do with my hands since I’m not holding it. During the night, I’ll wake up and reach for it, only to have a panic attack when it’s not there. It takes me a couple of minutes to realize where I am and that I already turned in my weapon to the armory.

  I had to wait another minute for Trevor to suit up before we were ready to head out. We made sure that the door to the main house was closed before opening the door to the outside. Freezing cold air blew into the room as we stepped out. We trudged a small distance from the house until the sat phone could pick up a steady signal.

  As soon as we got the signal locked down, I made the call and held it in between myself and Trevor. Caleb answered, and I could hear the excitement in his voice. “We have movement! Take down these coordinates.”

  Trevor plugged the numbers into the GPS as Caleb shouted them out. He had to repeat them several times because our signal was unreliable. “What should we expect?” I asked Caleb worriedly.

  The phone lost signal completely and I gave a sigh. If Caleb had been expecting danger, that would have been the first thing he told us, not the last. Caleb was probably hoping that this was Anna coming back to him, but my sixth sense was tingling. I had a feeling that this was not something good.

  “I don’t think we should be split up for this,” I told Trevor seriously, after he had promised to report back to Caleb ASAP. “I don’t like leaving Mike alone in the house and sleeping, he’s vulnerable.”

  Trevor looked at me for a moment before nodding. Movement showed over the next hill of snow and I tensed. But it was James, leading Rich and Davis back to the house.

  I waved frantically at James so that he would head over to me and Trevor, rather than to the house. His dark eyes weren’t visible behind his goggles as he trudged over to us, but I could feel the black mood wafting over him.

  Trevor explained the situation to James and got a sharp nod in return. “Davis, back to the house with Mike. The rest of us will check it out.”

  We waited until Davis had made it back to the house safely and shut the door behind him before following the coordinates that Caleb had given. They were very close to us – just over the next hill in the opposite direction that James and company had just come from.

  As soon as we crested the hill my eyes opened in disbelief and I brought my weapon into firing position. Four men, dressed completely inappropriately for the weather, were arguing amongst themselves in their language. None of them had weapons, and all of them looked like they were dressed for a summer renaissance fair. They were definitely fae. Further away I saw what looked like a small group of shifters – probably wolves if they were up here. Were those the wolves that we had been sent after?

  James held up an arm for us to stop. If these guys looked over in our direction, they would easily be able to see us. But this was our only chance – these guys had to be the fae that had taken Anna. Who else would just be wandering through the Arctic?

  “We attack, but leave one of them alive for questioning.” James ordered.

  Trevor and I looked at him in shock - they didn’t have weapons. And those hadn’t been Austin’s orders at all. He didn’t want to start a war with the fae, he wanted to reach Anna’s father and bargain to get her back. There was no guarantee that these fae had anything to do with Anna’s abduction and captivity. Murdering fae could set off a chain of events that we wouldn’t be able to stop.

  James felt our indecision because he growled, and I could feel the pulse of his power roll over us. James was powerful enough that he could have been pack master of his own pack – but I think he was aware that he lacked the temperament to be a leader like Austin. I wasn’t officially in their pack, so I wasn’t as affected as the others, plus I had a little extra protection that they weren’t aware of.

  I guarded myself against the wave of power that James had sent out, but Trevor and Rich both raised their weapons, ready to fire. Unfortunately for us, one of the suspected fae caught sight of us at that moment. James was the first to hit the trigger and the rat-tat-tat of the weapon made it obvious he had it on automatic.

  A fae dressed in bright red breeches and a matching top embroidered in gold waved his hand and our guns went flying. None of the fae were hit by any of the bullets, but we had their full attention now. My ears were ringing from the sound of the gunfire but I could make out that they were arguing even more intensively now. The shifters grouped more closely around the fae, looking nervously in our direction. I was completely unable to move as if I had been frozen in a block of ice. None of the other guys were moving either, so they must have been held by the same magic.

  I squinted at the bonds that held us. I could barely make out the magic that was woven to hold us in place, but my parents had shown me how to undo basic things like this as a child. I hadn’t done it in years, but I started to pick at the bonds, trying to get a grasp on a piece of magic I could use to unravel the whole thing. My magical abilities were almost non-existent, but that’s what made me able to stay under the radar and avoid anyone able to pick up on power signatures.

  A flash of light made me look up to see a portal opening right next to where the fae were standing. They looked up in surprise and I hurriedly worked on the magic encasing myself and the other guys while they were distracted. The first person that stepped out of the portal was what I thought was another fae, but he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He immediately caught sight of the first group of fae and shouted. They started flinging magic at each other as more people came out of the portal. I finally pulled at the right combination of magical threads and the hold fell apart.

  A man dressed in white and silver came through next to join the battle. James had immediately hurried through the snow to get one of the weapons that had been tossed away from us, so he missed who stepped through next. I gave a happy shout when I recognized Cody and Anna.

  They were also inappropriately dressed for the weather but didn’t show any signs of being cold. Anna stepped in front of Cody and I saw the faint glimmer of magic surround them that indicated that she had put up some kind of barrier.
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  That was new.

  I went for my weapon as quickly as I could but was frustratingly slow through the snow. The first group of fae stumbled back through a portal, carrying one who looked like he had been wounded in the battle. The group of shifters followed close behind and barely made it through before the portal closed behind them. James had retrieved a weapon and was trudging through the snow towards Anna and the others. I pitied anyone who tried to get in the way.

  Cody murmured into Anna’s ear and she gave a happy cry when she saw James heading towards them. I saw James waver for a minute, deciding on whether to greet Anna or go after Froston. Anna made the decision for him by running up to him and flinging herself on him. I had to laugh when she actually took him down, and the other guys joined in. The relief that came after surviving a battle always made me a little giddy and I found myself giggling almost uncontrollably.

  Chapter 24

  Anna

  I was crammed into the little house in the Arctic along with six wolves, two fae, and a panther, all of whom were glaring at each other in silence. I gave James’s hand a squeeze to try and get him to relax – it had no effect. When I had first clasped his hand in mine he had looked down at our hands and blinked in surprise, but he hadn’t objected or pulled away, so we were making progress.

  I cleared my throat. I could tell that managing this group was going to be up to me since I was the common denominator. “Thank you for bringing Cody and I back, Froston.” He gave a tight nod but didn’t take his eyes off of James – I already had to break things up once between them.

  “And Talen, thank you for agreeing to come back to Seaside with me to protect the pack.” Talen gave me a look. I doubted that he had volunteered for this, and he definitely wasn’t here to protect the pack, but I was trying to put a positive spin on things.

  “James.” I squeezed his hand for attention. “Froston and Talen have already agreed to come back to Seaside with us to protect our home against other fae.” I reminded him.