Silas’ brow furrowed. “Why would the necromancer…” His expression lit with understanding. “Oh, shit.”
“‘Oh shit’ is right.” Abel blew out a breath. “We have to keep them safe.”
Unearthly screeches came from the front of the house.
“Maynard!” Abel rushed into the house. The kitchen was empty, and panic grew in the pit of Abel’s belly. “You check upstairs, I’ll check down here.”
Silas darted up the stairs.
Abel went through the hallway to find Anabelle standing in the middle of the parlor holding Maynard. The screeching was louder.
Maynard pointed to the window. “Monster.”
Outside the window was a creature that looked like its skin had rotted from its form. Made of tattered black rags and sinew. It banged against the window screeching, trying to get in. Abel’s mouth hung open for a moment before he went to the window and dropped the blinds down.
The window was buckling under the pressure of the creature outside. It smashed inward spreading glass throughout the room. Abel shielded Maynard from the shards.
The creature hovered outside the window, unable to break through the magical seal.
He turned to Anabelle. “Room without windows?”
Anabelle nodded picked up Maynard. Silas rushed in.
“But I can make it go away,” Maynard said holding his hands toward the window.
“No, I need you to be safe.” Abel gently pushed Anabelle toward the door.
Maynard raised his hands over Anabelle’s shoulders toward the window. “Watch.”
The screaming from the creature grew louder. Abel wanted to cover his ears from the pain of the sound.
Maynard closed his eyes and pressed his hands forward.
The creature screeched one more time before falling into a pile of dust outside the window.
“Whoa,” Silas gasped. “What was that.”
“I don’t know.” Abel scratched his head then glanced in Maynard’s direction. “How did you do that?”
“The smiling man helped me.” Maynard beamed with pride.
“Really? I’d like to meet this smiling man.” Abel wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I would too, just to thank him.” Silas said taking his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling Phaedra. I don’t know what that was, but if anyone knows it’s her.”
Abel studied Maynard carefully. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Maynard was unaware of the danger he had been in. Abel didn’t know how to react, only that he was relieved that his son was safe.
“Good. Your mother would never forgive me if anything happened to you…Ayry.” Abel felt a tinge of panic. “Silas, stay here I need to find Ayry.”
“She went to Dad’s.” Anabelle called after him as he burst out the door.
Abel started his motorcycle and it roared to life. He peeled out of the driveway and headed for Amon’s farm.
Chapter 6
Ayry rode through the familiar forest, darting past trees. Powder hadn’t forgotten how much Ayry loved to run. They both revelled in the exhilaration of the blowing wind and the trees became a green and brown blur as the sped past.
Ayry enjoyed the few moments of freedom from being a mom, a student, and all of the demands that life had put on her at such a young age. She couldn’t imagine her life without Maynard. He was all that mattered and keeping him safe was her first and only priority.
Guilt crept in that she wasn’t with him. What if something happened?
A deep feeling of foreboding came over her, sick like a rock sitting in her belly that she was trying to throw up.
“Whoa,” she told Powder bringing her to a stop. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone to call Anabelle to check in.
At the top of the screen, it read, “No Service.”
“Shit,” She hissed.
She rationalized for a moment that everything was okay, but the feeling didn’t subside.
Powder pawed at the ground and blew out her nose in warning. Her ears went flat back, and her skin twitched as she trotted sideways.
“What’s wrong?” Ayry patted her neck leaning forward against her.
She grew more agitated and trotted pulling to the side with her tail raised in the air. She was poising to take off.
“Easy,” Ayry said in a calming tone.
Her words did not soothe the animal. She arched her neck when she pulled on the reigns to hold her back. She reared up and took off running.
Ayry wrapped her fingers around a tuft of hair on her withers and held on tight. “Powder!”
Ayry didn’t try to reign her in. She dodged low hanging branches as she ran through the trees. She could feel the terror running through Powder and tried to find the threat.
Seemingly from nowhere a huge black wolf jumped from the woods in pursuit. She lamented not having a heightened sense of smell or an inkling that the wolf was present.
She loosened the reigns and let Powder run at full speed back toward the barn, but they were at least thirty minutes out and Ayry wasn’t sure Powder could keep up this pace.
She tried to get a look at the wolf for any distinguishing marks to identify him, but everything was moving too fast.
Powder came to a sudden stop, nearly throwing Ayry from her back. Blood curdling screeches filled the air, birds fled from the trees, and the forest fell completely silent for a moment before the wolf nearly caught Powder.
“Come on! Yaah!” She dug her heels into her belly to move forward, but she wouldn’t move.
She pulled the reigns to the side, hoping to get her to move in any direction away from the wolf. He reared up and darted to the right through the thicket. There was no path and Powder instinctively jumped over brush that was too tall to run through.
Ayry leaned down close to Powder and whispered, “Get us home.”
She stole a glance backward to see the wolf getting closer.
Something from out of nowhere knocked her off of Powder’s back. The horse was knocked to the ground on its side, but she scrambled to get up and move toward Ayry protectively.
Something hideous screeched as it moved toward Ayry. She could see the hollows where the eyes should’ve been, milky white and full of hate. His face was bloody, only consisting of exposed muscle, blood, and bone, a horror the likes of which she had never seen. The smell of rot filled the air as it drew closer to her. The monster waved his skeletal hand toward the horse and she was frozen in place, the only movement coming from her eyes. Panic, fear, and hopelessness came through in the form of a soft whinny.
The wolf stopped when he saw the creature then took a few steps backward before running in the opposite direction.
It was Ayry and this thing that embodied death face to face. She thought she saw a smirk in the grotesque countenance of the creature, the triumph of victory having cornered its prey and done its job. His master would be pleased and reward him.
As it drew closer, Ayry ran through a thousand scenarios of how this was going to end and none of them were good for her. She scrambled backward until she was backed against a large boulder and couldn’t move any further.
The only thought that mattered was who would take care of Maynard. She drew on the forest around her to combat this thing. Pulling from all that she knew, she forced the energy from her hands and pushed it backward, but the creature wasn’t fazed by the attack. It was relentless and unstoppable.
She pushed again, not strong enough to keep it back. It kept coming for her, closer every time until it finally reached her.
Its hands, bare bone, wrapped around her throat. She gulped a large breath before her airway was cut off. The horror floated in the air and brought its feet forward and pinned her hands to the rock. The other hand pressed on her chest and began digging its fingers into her flesh until tiny droplets of blood formed on her shirt.
She was unable to move or scream, paralyzed by fear. The creature drew closer to her face, drool dripping
from inside its cheeks, some sort of sweat or residue of evil.
She cringed at the feel of the icy cold moisture making a trail down her cheek onto her neck.
It opened its mouth wide enough to swallow her head whole. Her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of what was coming. She didn’t want to see it or feel it.
Failure.
She had failed. She would not be able to protect Maynard. She would not see him grow up and learn what a magical being he truly was. She wasn’t going to see him change the world.
The creature released his grasp on her. Her hands flew to her neck as she sucked in a lifesaving breath. She was dizzy and disoriented, her chest ached, and she glanced down at the blood that stained her shirt where the five sharp fingers tried to steal her heart.
The snarling of a wolf drew her attention, and she knew immediately it was Abel. Her savior.
He had knocked the creature off her and now he lay defenseless on the ground as the creature held him in place crushing his chest. The sound of bones crackling shattered through the air. Ayry knew she had to do something. She could see the wolf’s ribs breaking through his fur.
Without thought she pushed her hands out toward the creature. His back arched and arms flew outward and he directed his attention to Ayry again.
As he floated toward her with his feet running but never touching the ground, she drew all the energy she could and screamed, “No!”
A bolt of dark and light matter undulating through the air struck the creature and it was reduced to a pile of dust.
She ran to the wolf, skidding to a stop on her knees in front of him. “Abel!” She lifted his head into her lap as he writhed in pain on the ground.
She sobbed watching his pain. “Why did you do that?”
His words echoed in her mind. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”
“God dammit Abel.” Her own sobs caught in her throat. “I could’ve handled this.”
“Maynard needs you.” His eyes closed.
“Abel, don’t you dare die on me.” She sobbed clutching him closer to her chest. “Heal you fucker!”
She hesitated, trying to figure out where to put her hands on him. She’d never been a healer, but she needed him to heal, needed his ribs to go back inside and for him to not die.
“Come on! Heal!” Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the blood and dirt from the battle.
Ayry pressed her lips against his fur and focused her light into him. If he could take one more breath, she would sacrifice herself for him to live.
Abel sucked in a gulp of air. He remained mostly still as his ribs fused back together slowly. He stirred gazing up at her and stretched out his legs and lifted his head to shift to human form.
“Don’t shift. You aren’t healed yet.” She ran her hands along his coat to soothe him.
He rested his head back down on her leg.
Powder nudged Ayry and knickered softly. Ayry reached up and petted her face. “It’s going to be okay and we’ll head home.”
Powder took two steps backward and lifted her head as though on alert for any danger coming their way.
Ayry stroked Abel and watched as the sky turned to orange and red peeking through the trees.
Relief filled her that he was healing and going to be okay. It was quickly replaced with the anger she had been living with for five years since he left her.
She wanted to push him off her, walk away from him the way he had walked away from her.
Abel’s voice sounded in her head. “You have every right to be angry.”
“Why? I just want to know why.”
“I had to leave.”
“Because of Saul?”
“Yes. The pack, the coven, the sheriff…Had decided unanimously that ritual execution would be the punishment for Saul’s killer.”
“But they didn’t execute you. You never came to me, you never told me anything,” she argued.
“Your father stood up for me and protested that the punishment was too harsh in consideration of what Saul had done. Because of my troubled past, because I was part of the coven and the pack they gave me the option to cut all ties and leave.” Abel paused not wanting to go on.
“Dad never talked about it. Never said what happened. I told him that whoever killed Saul did us all a favor.”
“Phaedra didn’t see it that way. She saw it as one of her coven members being murdered, that she would’ve dealt with Saul and it was coven business. I had no choice. It was leave or there would be execution.”
“Why are you back now?” She asked, holding back tears.
“Because I wanted to be here for you. I never stopped loving you, Ayry. I also promised your father that if anything ever happened to him, I would protect you and Anabelle.” His eyes darted away from hers.
“I can take care of myself.”
He remained silent to avoid the argument. She was very capable, but everyone needs a little help sometimes.
“I can shift now,” he said, pushing his front paws on the ground.
“Don’t. You need to continue to heal.”
He shifted against her wishes and captured her gaze with his. “Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you, want to hold you.” He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her gently toward him. “To kiss you.”
Ayry couldn’t resist his full lips on her own. She surrendered and opened to him. He ran his hands down her back and pulled her tighter to him intensifying the kiss.
She wrapped her hands around his neck and nuzzled in closer to him. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Heat spiraled through her at his hands on her skin. The feeling familiar and exciting.
She allowed herself to be carried away by the passion that never died between them. She had all but forgotten what he had done. This is where she felt like all was right, in his arms with his lips on hers.
A wolf howled in the distance, bringing Ayry out of her trance. She startled and moved away from him. “It’s getting too dark and I don’t think we should be out here much longer. We need to get back.”
Abel took her hand in his. He bit his lower lip staunching the words he wanted to speak. “You’re right. Let’s head back.”
Ayry looked around the forest. It had taken on a haunting feeling as the reds were replaced with darker shades. “You should shift back to wolf form. I can put you on Powder.”
“I don’t think Powder will agree to that.” He shifted and tried out his paws taking a few steps. “I’m able to walk. Run if I needed to. You ride Powder back.”
Ayry took Powder’s reigns. “We’ll both walk.”
Ayry let out a tense breath as they came out of the narrow path single file and could see the light of the barn. Blake stood at the large door and started down the hill toward them. “I was getting worried about you.” He saw the state she was in, scratched, bloodied, and bruised, “What happened?”
Abel came from behind Powder and Blake took a step away from Ayry.
“It was pretty crazy.” Ayry continued toward the barn.
“Did Powder throw you?” Blake took the reins.
“No, we ran into some trouble.” Ayry glanced back at Abel.
Abel shifted into human form and eyed Blake suspiciously. “What was that thing?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” She put her hand on Powder’s neck. “You were awesome. Rest well my friend.” She addressed Blake. “Do you mind getting her settled in?”
“Not at all. Go get cleaned up. But not in the house, Barnett –”
“I’ll handle the Sheriff.” Ayry walked to the house without regard for the crime scene tape and stripped it off the door as she went in.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Abel chased after her.
Ayry struggled to not admire his solid body. Each of the muscles on his stomach well defined. Now that the crisis of him potentially dying was over and the heat from their kiss was gone her anger had returned. “I’m going to figure out what that thing was. You can
go now.”
“I’m not going anywhere. We need to talk,” he demanded boldly.
“We have nothing to talk about.” She didn’t look at him directly and began digging through the pile of books on the living room floor.
“We do. That’s not the first time I’ve seen one of those things. There was one at the B&B.”
Ayry froze in place for a moment and stood up. “Maynard.”
“He’s fine. It didn’t get into the house. Phaedra’s protection kept it out.” He glanced down, “Maynard was able to handle it.”
“He’s a smart little boy.” Ayry went back to the pile.
“He’s pretty special.” Abel wanted to ask her hundreds of questions about him. “He’s um…”
“Not your concern. You can go,” she said still digging through the pile.
“I’m not leaving you,” he insisted.
“Suit yourself, but please put some clothes on.” She was already devising a plan to get away from him as soon as she found what she was looking for.
Abel went outside to his motorcycle where he had left his clothes and returned fully clothed. “What are you looking for?”
“I’ll know when I find it.” She was opening books, then discarding them when they didn’t have what she wanted.
Abel watched and commented, “They’re all blank.”
“They aren’t.”
“You see something there?”
“Yeah, it’s a magus thing.”
“I thought that only men could be magus,” he said, recalling what Amon told him.
“You thought wrong.” She didn’t take her eyes off the pages of the book she was holding. “This is it.” She stood up and went into her father’s bedroom.
“What did you find?”
“A map.” She stood at the doorway and placed one foot in front of the other and looked at the open book counting her steps. She stopped and looked to her left. She reached and swiped at the air and her hand grabbed something. “Clever.” She smiled pulling downward. A small door opened in the ceiling and a ladder slid down to the floor.
“Whoa, where the hell…” Abel looked on in awe at the secret door.
Dark Moon Falls: Abel Page 5
