I slip from the driver’s seat and into the darkness, Sage padding out beside me on silent wolf feet. It’s late, well after 1AM, all the amorous lovers who might use this lookout long gone home. The trees part in the distance, a cliff giving an excellent view of the town below. I catch a whiff of Enforcer magic as Sage tucks close to me, huge head tall enough to reach my waist.
We move as one, quiet and stealthy, abandoning our ride for the edge of the trees. I know enough to stay hidden from prying Enforcer eyes as well as their magic, though we will have to time things perfectly if we expect to keep our arrival a secret for any length of time.
It feels odd to travel with Sage this way and yet not. How strange I feel more comfortable with him in this shape than I ever have with his human form. He’s very calm and seems to love being a wolf. At least, he tells me so every time I ask him in a moment of weakness and guilt.
It took me two days to accept he wasn’t losing his humanity, and another full one to embrace the fact he is more himself now than he has ever been. I have never believed in fate or destiny outside of the duty I must fulfill, but with Sage, I feel now he was born to be a wolf. I can only hope his poise and power can convince the councils and my people Sage is worthy of life. More, that he is a new creature who deserves to be respected and embraced.
This could all be over in a matter of minutes. I feel my heart begin to race as I look ahead, to success, before reining myself in. We are far from done, and though this plan might work, there is a very good chance it will also land us in the custody of the waiting Enforcers. Will they ask questions before attacking? It will depend on their orders. I didn’t exactly give Pender reason to trust me the last time we met. Enforcer Leader Tremere isn’t a terrible man, or a cruel one. But he follows orders. If Erica has decided we are too much of a problem to deal with, she might act impulsively.
Though I would feel very sorry for her, indeed, should anything bad happen to Sage or me on her watch. I am my own woman and far from a coward, but even I am afraid of Syd when she’s angry.
It’s hard not to let myself dream this might work, though, especially when we come to a halt inside the thin tree line and I look down over Wilding Springs. My gaze picks out Town Hall and the library inside, my heart constricting for the loss of Liam O’Dane and the birth of Syd’s son, Gabriel. I lift my head to glare at the Hilltop Hotel, the place of my first meeting with Syd and her family, the moment I realized there were witches who could be trusted and the freedom I longed for might not be just a far-off dream.
But when I look down again, I focus on one thing only. Not the white two-story with the big back yard bordering the small park. I’ll be there before long. No, instead I look south and west, to the edge of town and the darkness hiding the cavern where once a monster died.
Cesard, the Firbolg magician and his supernatural hitchhikers are long gone, though the vampire essence that possessed him now lives in Syd. But the cavern which served as his prison remains, the ancient wards blocking elemental magic still firmly in place. Syd has sheltered it with energy, kept it hidden all these years, but only to those who aren’t aware of its existence.
It’s the perfect answer, if this works. Walking in is no good. The barrier of power the Enforcers have around Wilding Springs will alert them if anyone passes, and they’ll be on us before we can escape. But this way, if I can ride us through the veil to its depths, there is a chance the power I use will be swallowed by the suppressing wards of the cavern. There are no guarantees, but I don’t expect any. At the very least, if the Enforcers do feel me open the veil, they won’t know where I’ve gone and no amount of searching will discover us. That way, I don’t put the Hayle coven at risk. Yes, Syd’s magic and the power of the family might disguise our arrival behind the wards surrounding Syd’s house, but there’s no promise the Enforcers won’t feel Sage and me anyway. The cavern blocks all power, giving us at least a ray of hope to grasp. If we can make it there, smother our path, we can then simply make our way on foot to Syd.
Hopefully, if they feel our passing, the Enforcers will think it’s only Syd returning, though Pender is now aware I have access to the veil.
So many ifs and maybes, and yet this is our only viable option. I will not get caught, not now. Not when the end is so close at hand. I can almost taste Caine’s blood in my mouth, teeth clamping together at the thought of ripping out his throat. Of rescuing my grandfather and making sure he is firmly on his throne. And, if I’m forgiven, bowing to his need and retaking my place as wereprincess.
I can’t think of what will happen to Sage, even if he is allowed to live. But in my best case scenario, he will at least be alive.
Sage butts my hand with his head. I know you want to go home, he sends. He’s been in my mind, the devil, though I’m fine with it, oddly. But you can’t yet. His green eyes are dark in the moonless night.
A stab of pain hits me as I again think of the dark-haired girl from California. I’ve tried to wall off the words of the young oracle girl. Zoe Helios’s prediction the werenation will fall if I return too soon burns holes in my optimism. He had to remind me when I’m ready to believe in success, didn’t he? But Sage is as practical as a wolf and stands there, supporting me, as I shiver and cling to his fur, my grandfather’s beloved face in my mind. Really, Charlie, he sends ever so softly. You have to stop doing this to yourself. It’s not your fault.
I nod, saliva filling my mouth as my stomach rebels. I know, I send, though my heart screams it is, it is all my fault. I brought this on all of us, by my selfishness, by refusing to let go of Sage when I should have. I could have dealt with Caine and his people. Even that bastard, Andre Dumont, and his despicable sons, without the worry and stress of trying to keep Sage safe. If only I hadn’t been so weak.
Sage stares at me in silence, tail curled around him where he sits in the scrub, black fur blending him into the night. When I’m finally dovetailing down into self-hate and being devoured by my guilt, he leans close and nips my leg. I cry out at the pain, not so much because it hurt, but because the sensation pulls me out of my inner torture.
Enough, he sends. We have a job to do.
A job that doesn’t involve going back to Ukraine to rescue my grandfather. How am I supposed to know when the time is right to return? Zoe never told me that. Am I supposed to guess? She mentioned a great trauma I must endure, but I will survive. Could it be my grandfather’s death she means? Must I wait until Oleksander is killed before returning? If so, it will be to avenge his murder and take Caine down. If it’s the last thing I do on this earth.
All of that is for later. I will put Sage first one last time, get him to safety, his situation sorted. And then I will deal with the revenants, the sorcerer-made pack who has invaded my werenation. And make sure they don’t survive the attention.
I reach for the veil, feel the fire in me burn, sizzle. It’s hotter now, since I spoke with Zoe. She, too, uses flame, though hers seemed to want to consume her, to devour me along with her. I can still feel her touch as I tap into the elemental power of my demon influence even as I tense and wait.
We stand in utter silence, Sage’s head tilted to the side, ears perked, a wolf statue with a white crescent scar on his shoulder. The wait seems to take forever before magic pulses over us, the Enforcer’s pass of power ebbing and flowing around me. They have no idea we are here. The feeling of the magic is calm, almost bored, routine. I hope such blasé focus will serve to our advantage.
One breath after the magic has passed over us I grasp Sage’s magic in mine. He softly bonds us together, rendering my grip on him unnecessary. I almost laugh, slightly giddy at the connection. He’s so beautiful inside.
It’s Sage who reaches for the veil, a subtle touch. I take over, slicing it cleanly first on our end, then the other, knowing exactly where I’m going. The boost of his power is more than enough. We leap through together though, just as I pass through, I’m certain I feel the pressure of Enforcer magic snapping to attention. The veil slurps shut before I can know for sure even as I drop to my knees in the dark beside the shaggy form of the black wolf.
***