Wolf Howl (Wolf Ridge Book 2) Page 17

  The witch’s mouth fell open as I took one step, and then another, towards him. My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to break my ribs as my blood felt as though it were curdling in my veins. Nothing was going to hurt my people. Not while I still had a thread of life left within my being.

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  Something changed within the Apophis witch. His casual stance and idle curiosity became something more vicious as he realised I was not going to roll over and die. I saw the coming attack. The way he was gathering magic far more powerful than I could express. The fire within me burned bright and the terror that had formed a concrete shell around me shattered.

  I lunged forward and sliced my knife through the air, aiming for his throat. The witch twisted at the last second, making me miss my mark. My knife bit into the flesh of his cheek. He let out a keening cry that brought tears to my eyes from the pitch and agony of it.

  Then he was gone, leaving nothing but a shadowy imprint on my mind. My body was screaming at me to stop and rest. I tried to catch my breath, but the blood witches were preparing their sacrifices and the night wasn’t done yet.

  The darkness had lifted, leaving me in familiar forest. The stone wasn’t far. I could end this.

  My breathing was harsh and rapid, giving me no choice but to lean against a tree and rest. Tears pricked my eyes as the emotion of it all hit me. There was a garou on that stone, terrified and in pain, about to lose their life. My own pack was at risk and would feel betrayed once they realised what I’d done. Over time, they would come to understand my actions, but I was beginning to see why being a guardian was such a huge weight.

  Closing my eyes, I calmed and steadied myself. This was my purpose in the world. I wasn’t going to give in to the exhaustion and shock of it all. My pack would survive the night, and we would work through the events of the past few days.

  Once I could breathe again, I continued my trek to the stone. The happiness that came with walking that route was entirely missing. It was supposed to be a beautiful peaceful place, and yet the weight of death and destruction hung in the air. Never again could it be where I lie with Cole in bliss. That stung more than I could express. The witches had stolen one of the small pieces of happiness.

  Sniffing the air, I caught the scent of entrails and fresh blood. Selfishly, I hoped they’d sacrificed the witch first. Circling around the area, I tried to get a good look at the scene before I rushed in. The witches were dressed in what I assumed was ceremonial regalia. Gold feathers had been woven into their pitch-coloured hair. Brightly coloured vests sat over simple deep red shift dresses.

  Blood coated the stone and dripped from the witches’ hands as they slowly circled around the twisted remains of a young woman. They spoke in deep guttural tones as they chanted in a heavy language that sent ripples through the air, making my hair stand on end. Magic was gathering in the space. I had a few minutes at best.

  The Apophis witch was nowhere in sight, but I could feel his presence. Gripping my knife in my hand, I knew that it was now or never. Walking as quietly as I could manage, I approached the stone from the centre, aiming to plunge my knife into the back of the closest witch. It wouldn’t kill her outright, but it should stop the ritual in its tracks.

  A young garou whined, his eyes went wide, and he struggled against slender gold ropes that bound him to a makeshift altar to the left of the stone. A shadowy form crept along towards the garou, and I found myself torn. The witch was closer, but the garou was my people.

  I raced across the small open space between the trees and the stone towards the altar. No more garou blood would be shed that night. A steely determination filled my very being as I focused on the garou. His fear morphed into brilliant hope as he watched me. The shadows coalesced around him as I pushed my muscles to work harder, my legs to move faster. It felt as though the distance was stretching out before me and I was getting nowhere. The garou’s eyes went wide and pain drained the colour from his skin as the shadows slid over his legs.

  Gulping down air, I leapt forward and swung my knife wildly at the shadows, trying to put myself between them and the garou. The shadows flickered and re-formed around the knife, while painting my skin inky black as cold seeped into the fibres of my being. My teeth chattered and my joints ached while my body slowed further and darkness crept around my vision. The garou looked into my eyes, begging me to let him live.

  I cut through his bindings and looked around wildly for the Apophis witch. Once again, the fire within me surged forwards, and I found the witch grinning at me, the rictus grin of a mad man. Teeth bared and eyes lost to a chaotic mind beyond saving, he stood still and stared me down. Daring me to take him on.

  The young garou rolled off the altar, landing hard on the ground beside him. He was as free as I could manage. The witch needed to die if this was to end. He opened his arms wide, inviting me to try and end his life. The witches’ chant was reaching a crescendo, and the magic began to swell. Something changed within the Apophis witch, and he closed his eyes, his face becoming blank as a death mask.

  I strode towards the Apophis witch with my teeth bared and my wolf side just below the surface. Every inch of me hurt, but I wasn’t going to give in. This would end that night.

  The Apophis witch flickered out of existence as I swiped my knife towards his throat. I let out a cry of frustration and turned to see the witches dancing around the mutilated corpse of the witch. They were turning their attention to the terrified garou, who remained frozen near the altar.

  “Run,” I snarled at him

  His eyes flicked to mine before he sprinted away into the forest. The witches cackled, a savage sound that writhed against my skin. I rolled my shoulders and prepared to take them down. Cole would forgive me for taking their lives. He’d have to.

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  The witches turned to face me as one. Their faces had contorted into ghoulish mockeries of people. Large reptilian eyes stared at me with twisted expressions on over-sized mouths full of sharp fangs.

  They moved as one, each step matching the others’ as they slowly moved towards me, cruel curved blades in hand. One of them paused to crouch down and dip her fingers in the glistening red of the witch’s blood. She dipped her fingers into the sunken cavity of her chest and closed her eyes, savouring the life-giving blood. My stomach revolted and threatened to empty right there. I pulled on the rage and focused everything I had on that pure fury. It was all I had left as my body was screaming to stop.

  The grotesqueries moved as though to form a circle around me and block my movements. I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, ready to hack the head off the closest one. Her mouth spread wider as the hideous cackle echoed all around me. I felt their magic battering against my weakened body. Somehow, the remnants of my guardian shield was holding, but it wouldn’t last much longer. Spiderweb cracks were forming throughout it. One touch of their knives, and it would be done.

  The witch seemed to bubble before her face cracked to reveal a dark snake skin beneath the leathery skin. I sighed; I was growing really tired of snakes. Twisting around, keeping her knife away from me, I darted in and sliced at her throat. My blade cut through the thick layer of scales, bringing deep purple ooze to drip out from the wound. The witch barely flinched. Her eyes flicked to me, and suddenly her sister was right behind me.

  My chest tightened and my heart stuttered as her knife slid over my ribs. The guardian shield melted away, and I knew my chances of surviving this had dipped to almost nothing. Sadness swept over me as I wished I could have kissed Cole just one more time. To see his radiant smile was all I asked.

  I wasn’t going to give up without taking at least one of those crazy bitches with me. The third one had the witch’s heart in her hand and took a great bite out of it while I twisted and ducked beneath the jerking swings of her sisters’ attacks. My instincts were taking over, removing the slow stuttering thoughts that would only get me killed.

  My body moved with a grace that I hadn’t known I was capable
of. The knives that would steal away my life essence cut through the air beside me, but I slipped away at the very last second, drawing cries of rage from the witches. Still, I was slowing, and the witches were closing in. The madness shone from their eyes as they closed the circle and my own attacks became clumsier.

  A familiar pale wolf form appeared out of the gloom and sank its teeth deep into the throat of the witch before me. His slender body drove the witch down to the ground and he tore her open with a savage shake of his head. He turned to me, waiting for my next command.

  I couldn’t spare a moment to speak as the witch to my left took her chance to take a swipe at my stomach. Fuelled by the presence of Adam, I dug deep and summoned the energy to hack through her wrist. Her shock made her pause long enough for Briar to bite into the witch’s legs, distracting her. Relief and glee filled me upon seeing the smaller wolf. My pack.

  The siblings tore into the witch, leaving me with the other two. I was slow, and weak, but I had my pack at my side. Blood coated their fur and fuelled me forward. Gulping down air, I desperately sought out some shred of strength.

  The closer witch swiped at my arms with a fury and insanity that made her clumsy. I fought my body to make it move faster and smoother. The blades almost cut through my unprotected skin. Adam ripped the throat out of the witch he and Briar had been attacking. They circled around behind me, ready to help me take down her sister.

  We were close. I just needed to find that last scrap of energy.

  Adam and I launched ourselves forwards in a unified attack. The witch’s mouth went wide. She pulled her blade up to impale me, but I twisted away at the last second, leaving space for Adam to drive her to the ground. Briar went to help pin her down, but the third witch blocked her approach. The young wolf danced around the witch, keeping her away from us while ducking under the savage strikes of the knife.

  I moved as quickly as I was able and felt relief flood through me when Adam bit through the witch’s wrist, removing the knife from the equation. I stomped on her throat before I crouched down to plunge my wolf knife into her chest. Cole would be hurt by my actions, at breaking my promise, but I hoped he would understand.

  Adam left the second I stomped on the witch’s throat. He joined Briar in her attack of the final witch. They took her to the ground, gnawing on her ankles and trying to rip through her clothes to get to her stomach. I tried to move quickly. I saw it all happen in slow motion. The way the witch’s hand rose with her knife poised. My legs refused to move as well as I needed. Briar’s blood bloomed over her beautiful pale silvery coat. She opened her eyes wide in shock. They were already turning glassy when I dropped to my knees and drove my knife deep into the witch’s chest. I stabbed again and again until she was still and lifeless.

  I screamed out in anguish and anger, calling for Cole and the witches. I needed to save Briar.

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  Briar was lying in her wolf form, panting, next to the dead witch. Adam kept nudging her with his nose and whining. My heart was breaking as I laid my hands on her and tried to find something deep within me to save her. Anything. She was my pack, and I couldn’t let her die there. Not like that. She had a long and wonderful life ahead of her.

  “I can save her,” Amy said softly.

  I didn’t know when the witch had arrived, but I was glad of her presence.

  “Do it,” I choked out.

  “There is a price.”

  “I don’t care. Do it.”

  “You will lose twenty years off your life.”

  “Amy. Do it,” I snarled.

  I didn’t care what it took to save her, I wasn’t going to allow Briar to die.

  Amy gently took Adam by the shoulders and moved the wolf aside so she could sit next to Briar. I kept my hands on the young wolf, desperately trying to give her some of my guardian magic to keep her going. Her breathing was so shallow, she was barely there. The glassiness had crept around her eyes, and I couldn’t bear it. This was my fault.

  The Maat witch stroked Briar’s head with the tenderness of a mother and whispered a beautiful song. It filled me with hope and spread out around us, leaving a delicate silver light in its wake. Slowly, Briar returned to us. She grew stronger beneath my touch, and I felt the years ebb away from me into her. Twenty years was nothing to ensure Briar lived.

  Cole hadn’t said a word as he carried me back home. He and Sky had appeared as Amy was saving Briar. I slipped in and out of consciousness. My body had been pushed far beyond its limits. Briar was quiet, but she was walking.

  I felt the tension in the air, the unspoken judgement and arguments that would come. Cole sat with me and kept feeding me pizza and Pop-Tarts until I couldn’t fit any more in me. Once my mind began to clear, he hooked his finger under my chin and made me meet his cold hard gaze.

  “Don’t do that ever again,” he snarled.

  I refused to look away.

  “I was doing what was right for the pack. You were badly injured. As a guardian, it is my duty to protect garou.”

  “You are my shadow, and my alpha. You have a duty to me.”

  “Which I was fulfilling by keeping you out of the fray. Sky said herself that one small cut of that knife would kill you.”

  He sighed.

  “Rosalyn, we’re a pack. Packs hunt together. You aren’t in this alone, and you had us all worried sick. You wouldn’t have made it through tonight without us.”

  I wanted to bare my teeth at him and push back, but he was right. I would make the same decision again if I redid it. Still, I saw his point.

  “Tell me everything about the Apophis witch,” Sky said.

  I sighed and Cole pulled me close to him. Relaxing into his protective embrace I tried to remember everything for Sky.

  “I don’t know what you need to know. He can shimmer in and out of existence, and he controls the shadow. The witches were pushing magic into him, but I don’t know if they succeeded with that. He didn’t quite look human any more. I cut his cheek with my wolf knife. I was aiming for his throat, but he was so fast.”

  Sky nodded.

  “If my reading is accurate, that wolf knife is your guardian weapon. Each guardian has a weapon that was imbued with their magic many centuries ago. It’s able to cut through magic and deliver harm where other weapons wouldn’t be able to. It’s a bit like your guardian shield; it helps you kick ass and keep the garou safe.”

  “The witches did succeed. They did push the magic into him,” she said flatly.

  “Don’t you dare blame that on me,” I snarled.

  She shrugged.

  “You did your best. Although the garou was there to lure you in. It was all a trap. So well done for falling into that.”

  My blood ran cold.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your blood was the final piece of that puzzle. The Apophis witch now has a touch of guardian magic, as well as the blood magic. So, he’ll be even more immune to magical attacks.”

  I bared my teeth at her.

  “How was I supposed to know that!?”

  “By reading the damn paperwork and waiting for us to share all of the gathered information! You ran off without us, and now you screwed up. You got lucky, but Cole’s right. Garou have packs for a reason. Don’t try and go this alone again.”

  Cole held me down when I tried to stand. I wanted to hit the self-righteous expression off Sky’s face.

  The worst part was, I knew she was right.

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  Sky returned to her coven, satisfied that the blood witches were no longer a threat. She made it clear that we would be helping her with the Apophis witch. I was just glad to have everything back to normal.

  The cookies and cream Pop-Tarts were all gone again. Briar had devoured the lot before I’d even realised we had a box in the house. Adam had brought home a huge box of books and hadn’t stopped reading all day.

  Cole was shadow boxing in the backyard, and I enjoyed watching the way the sunlight played over his tight muscles.
Things were finally looking good between us. I felt as though I was ready to take things to the next level when he was. My wolf side was sure that he was the right one, and Sky hadn’t been all that subtle about her feelings on that subject.

  Amy hadn’t spoken a word to me since she’d saved Briar. She had departed with a hug and a word that her goddess had a lot she needed from her over the coming weeks. Amy was quickly becoming pack, and I wanted to bring her into the safety of my little sanctuary. I’d spoken to Cole, and he agreed that Amy could have the last spare bedroom when she was ready. I needed my little pack under one roof where I could keep an eye on them and know they were safe.

  The feeling of warm contentment burst when the familiar sound of Natasha’s heels clicked down through the hallway. She had made no attempt to knock and simply strolled into my home.

  Cole walked into the kitchen and looked at her with his lips pressed into a thin line.

  “It is time, Cole,” Natasha said.

  “Time?” I demanded, looking between them.

  “I agreed to help Natasha with her pack problems,” Cole said.

  He hadn’t told me about that.

  “What pack problems?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. These are the problems of born garou and old blood lines,” Natasha said.

  Cole wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a gentle smile.

  “I won’t be gone long. Watch over our pack.”

  He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. A soft teasing kiss with promise of far more to come when he returned.

  “Keep in touch,” I said grudgingly.

  “I promise.”

  Natasha wore an expression of victory which made my skin crawl. There was something very wrong about her. Her eyes didn’t look like those of a full-blooded wolf. I looked away, deciding I was just being jealous again.