7. Elowen
Elowen
T he abandoned quarry stretched before us like an open wound in the mountainside, its white stone walls reflecting the afternoon sun with blinding intensity. I shielded my eyes, my witch sight activating automatically to scan for magical traces.
Three quarry sites on this side of town, and this was the first. From the outside, it looked unremarkable—just another abandoned mining operation. But my senses told a different story. Magic lingered here, subtle but unmistakable, like the metallic taste before a lightning strike.
"Blood magic residue," I confirmed, kneeling to examine faded markings near the entrance. "Recent, but not fresh. Days old, maybe a week."
Rudy crouched beside me, his wolf senses complementing my magical perception. Through our new bond, I felt his focus sharpen, cataloging scents and sounds beyond human or witch perception.
"Pack enforcers were here," he murmured, running his fingers through dust. "At least four distinct scents, including Curtis." His jaw tightened at the name. "And witches. Three... no, four different magical signatures."
My heart leapt. "Can you tell if one was Rose?"
He closed his eyes, concentrating. "Similar magical trace. Could be Rose."
Hope and dread warred in my chest as I pushed to my feet. The thought of her being held captive for some dark ritual made my hands shake with barely controlled fury. Time was running out. Two days until the full moon.
"Let's check inside," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
We moved cautiously into the quarry, following a path that wound between massive blocks of cut stone. The walls rose around us, creating a natural amphitheater open to the sky. At the center, dark stains marred the white stone floor in a pattern too deliberate to be natural.
"Ritual circle," I identified, my voice tight with anger. "Classic blood magic configuration—seven points for channeling witch power, nine for wolf essence, and one central position for the ritual leader."
"The alpha," Rudy growled.
I knelt beside the nearest point, touching the stained stone gingerly. Magic sparked at my fingertips, but not the corrupted feeling I expected. This was cleaner, more focused. Protective magic—Rose's signature style.
"This is strange," I murmured, excitement building. "These aren't corruption sigils. They're countermeasures—protection spells worked into the ritual circle."
Rudy frowned. "Why would they include protection spells in a blood magic ritual?"
"They wouldn't." Recognition dawned as I traced the hidden patterns. "These were added afterward. Someone came back and modified the ritual space—weakened it, disrupted the corruption."
"Rose," Rudy said with certainty. "She found their ritual site and sabotaged it."
"Which would explain why they took her." I stood, surveying the circle with renewed determination. "She was interfering with their plans, undermining the blood magic directly."
Something glinted among the stones nearby. I reached down and picked up a small silver object half-buried in dust—Rose's protective amulet, the one she never removed, inscribed with our family sigil.
"She was definitely here." My voice broke as I clutched the amulet, its familiar magic warming at my touch. "And she left this deliberately for me to find. It's not broken or torn—it was placed."
Rudy took the amulet, examining it carefully. "There's something inside." His fingers worked the clasp, revealing a hidden compartment containing a tightly folded piece of paper.
My hands trembled as I unfolded it, revealing Rose's precise handwriting:
El—Seven witches, nine wolves, one traitor. Look beyond the obvious alpha. Blood magic serves a greater power. Katz knows the truth. Trust only those whose bonds are freely chosen, not magically compelled. Seven, nine, one = moon's fullest light. —R
"A greater power behind the alpha?" Rudy read over my shoulder, skepticism flowing through our bond.
"I don't know," I admitted, studying the note again. "But Rose specifically mentions Katz. He must know something crucial about all this."
I slipped Rose's note and amulet into my pocket, drawing strength from having something of hers close. Her message confirmed our theory about the full moon ritual but added new layers of complexity. A traitor. A greater power. The game was bigger than we'd realized.
As we turned to leave, a sound echoed off the quarry walls—stone shifting against stone. We froze.
"We're not alone," Rudy whispered, his body shifting protectively.
Through our bond, I felt his senses extend. "Pack enforcers," he confirmed quietly. "Watching the quarry. They know we're here."
I reached for my magic, feeling it respond with newfound steadiness. Since the mate bond, my power flowed predictably, the erratic surges that had plagued me since childhood now replaced by a constant current.
"Options?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
Rudy assessed the quarry layout. "They're blocking the main exit. But there's another way out through the upper ledges." He nodded toward a series of narrow paths cut into the quarry wall. "Used by the miners. Leads to the ridge above."
"Then that's our path." I squeezed his hand. "I'll cover our retreat."
His protective instincts flared, but to his credit, he didn't try to take charge. Through our bond, I felt his struggle between wolf-driven protection and respect for my abilities. The latter won, his nod conveying both trust and concern.
"On my mark," he murmured. "They're spreading out, trying to flank us."
We moved as one toward the quarry wall, keeping to shadows cast by massive stone blocks. I silently thanked Rose for the combat training she'd insisted on during my teenage years, lessons I'd complained about endlessly but now appreciated desperately.
The first enforcer appeared at the quarry entrance—a young wolf with the telltale red glow in his eyes that signaled blood magic influence.
"Now," Rudy breathed, and we broke from cover, racing toward the narrow path up the quarry wall.
The enforcers spotted us immediately, howls rising as they gave chase. Two shifted into wolf form, while the third maintained human shape, hands glowing with borrowed magic.
"Blood witch," I identified, recognizing the unnatural signature. "They've got witch magic working through him."
The corrupted wolf-witch raised his hands, sending a blast of perverted magic toward us. I countered instinctively, my shield spell snapping into place with surprising strength. The collision of magics sent sparks showering across the quarry floor.
We reached the narrow path, Rudy taking the lead while I provided cover. The wolf enforcers scrambled up the quarry wall on either side, trying to cut us off. The blood witch hung back, gathering power for another attack.
"Keep moving," I called to Rudy. "I'm right behind you."
The next magical assault came as we were halfway up the path—a wave of corrupted energy seeking to unravel my protective spells. But my magic held firm, responding to my will with newfound precision. I countered with a binding spell, briefly immobilizing the blood witch.
One of the wolf enforcers reached the ridge above us, preparing to pounce as we neared the top. Rudy sensed the danger, his warning flowing through our bond an instant before the wolf leaped.
I didn't think—just reacted. My magic surged outward, catching the enforcer mid-air and throwing him back with controlled force. The spell executed perfectly, without the wild fluctuations that had plagued me for years.
Rudy reached back, catching my hand to pull me up the final steep section. We crested the ridge together, emerging onto forested mountainside above the quarry.
"This way," he urged, leading us deeper into the woods where the trees would mask our scent.
We ran in silence, moving swiftly until the sounds of pursuit faded. Finally, we paused in a small clearing to catch our breath.
"That was..." Rudy studied me with newfound appreciation. "You handled that blood witch like he was nothing."
"My magic is different now," I explained, still processing the change myself. "Steadier. More responsive."
"The mate bond," he said. "It's stabilizing your power somehow."
I nodded, examining my hands where magic still tingled beneath my skin. "Rose always said witch magic was about balance and connection. Maybe having the mate bond—a permanent magical anchor—helps focus what was scattered before."
"We need to get to the second quarry site," I said, refocusing on our mission. The clock was ticking for Rose. "If they're watching this one, they might be monitoring the others too."
Rudy checked his phone. "The southern quarry is closer, but more exposed. The eastern one is farther, but provides better cover."
"Eastern," I decided. "Better to avoid another confrontation until we know more about what we're facing."
As we hiked through the forest, I turned Rose's note over in my mind, examining her cryptic warning.
"What Rose wrote about a greater power behind the alpha," I said. "What do you think she meant?"
Rudy frowned thoughtfully. "Pack structures are hierarchical by nature. Alphas lead, but they're not infallible. Sometimes outside influences can corrupt an alpha's judgment."
"Like blood magic."
"Yes, but Rose seemed to suggest something beyond that." He ducked under a low-hanging branch. "Someone directing the blood magic itself."
The implication was troubling. We'd been assuming the alpha was the central corrupting force. But if someone else was pulling the strings, manipulating both alpha and blood magic for some greater purpose...
"Whatever's happening at the full moon ritual must be the culmination of something bigger," I reasoned. "Seven witches, nine wolves, one leader—it's a powerful magical combination. That many practitioners could generate enough corrupted energy to affect supernatural communities far beyond Midnight Creek."
"A supernatural power grab," Rudy said darkly. "Using blood magic to create forced loyalty on a massive scale."
"Which is why we need to talk to Katz." I touched Rose's amulet in my pocket. "If he knows what Rose discovered..."
The eastern quarry was smaller than the first, more overgrown with decades of neglect. But the signs of recent activity were unmistakable—broken branches, disturbed undergrowth, magical traces lingering in the air.
"More blood magic," I confirmed as we examined the site. "But different somehow. Not ritual preparation, but... experimentation?"
The quarry floor held scattered marking circles, smaller than the ritual formation we'd seen earlier. Each contained different sigil combinations, as if someone had been testing variations of the same spell.
"Look at this." Rudy crouched beside one of the circles, indicating scratch marks in the stone. "Someone was bound here. Struggling against restraints."
I swallowed hard, pushing down the image of Rose being used for magical experiments. Through our bond, Rudy sensed my fear, his presence offering wordless comfort.
"These are structured tests," I observed, examining the variations between circles. "Methodical. Scientific, almost."
"Not the alpha's style," Rudy agreed. "He's more direct. Brutal."
"So someone else is involved. Someone with a research approach to blood magic."
The implication hung between us. An academic, perhaps. Someone with access to magical knowledge and a scientific methodology.
"Ready for the last site?" Rudy asked after we'd documented everything.
I nodded, checking the time. "We're losing daylight. The southern quarry is at least an hour's hike from here."
"We could come back tomorrow," he suggested.
"We don't have the luxury of waiting." My voice hardened as I clutched Rose's amulet. "The full moon is in two days. Rose has already endured to long in captivity. I won't leave her there another night if I can help it."
He nodded, his priorities aligning with mine. "But we approach carefully. No unnecessary risks."
The trek to the southern quarry took longer than expected. By the time we reached the site, twilight was gathering, shadows lengthening across the landscape.
Unlike the previous quarries, this one showed immediate signs of current use. Fresh tire tracks marked a service road. Wooden crates stamped with magical containment symbols sat stacked near a small outbuilding. Power hummed in the air, a mixture of natural ley line energy and something more disturbing.
"This is it," I whispered, my witch sight revealing layers of magical protections around the perimeter. "Their main base of operations."
We moved closer, keeping to the cover of trees along the quarry edge. From our vantage point, we could see into the main quarry floor, where a ritual circle far larger than the others had been meticulously carved into the stone. Seven crystalline pillars stood at points around the circle, each glowing with faint magical energy. Nine steel cages—wolf-sized—waited empty nearby.
"They're preparing for the full moon ritual," I breathed, recognizing the magical configurations. "Those crystals are meant to channel and amplify witch power."
"And the cages are for wolves," Rudy added grimly. "Forced participation."
Movement below caught our attention—a figure in a tailored suit examining one of the crystal pillars, making notes on a tablet.
"Oscar Katz," Rudy growled.
I placed a restraining hand on his arm. "We don't know which side he's on yet. Rose's note said he knows the truth, not that he's responsible."
Before Rudy could respond, more figures emerged from the outbuilding—two pack enforcers escorting a woman whose hands were bound with spelled silver chains.
"Rose," I gasped, surging forward instinctively, a mixture of relief and fury burning through me.
Rudy caught me, pulling me back into cover. "Wait. We can't just charge in. Look at the security."
He was right, but it took every ounce of self-control to stay hidden when Rose was right there, so close I could almost call out to her. Beyond the visible enforcers, magical wards shimmered around the perimeter, and I could sense more guards stationed at various points. A direct rescue attempt would be suicide.
Rose looked thinner than when I'd last seen her, and her shirt and pants were torn and dirty, but she stood straight, her expression defiant as Oscar approached her. They spoke briefly before the enforcers led her toward one of the crystal pillars.
"They're testing the channeling capabilities," I realized, watching as Rose was positioned beside the crystal. "Using her magic to calibrate the system."
Oscar made adjustments to the crystal, then stood back as Rose was forced to place her hands against its surface. Even from our hidden position, I could see her resistance, her refusal to cooperate fully despite her captivity.
Pride and rage warred within me—pride at her continued defiance, rage at those who dared to bind her. Through our bond, Rudy's emotions mirrored mine, his protective instincts extending to Rose.
"We need to get her out," I whispered fiercely. "But not like this. Not against these odds."
Rudy nodded. "We need reinforcements. Lola's loyal wolves, maybe. And a plan to counter those magical barriers."
"And we need to know exactly what they're planning." I watched as Rose was led back toward the outbuilding, her head held high despite the chains. "The full ritual, what it's meant to accomplish."
"Katz," Rudy growled, watching the professor continue his work. "He's at the center of this. Whether he's helping Rose or hurting her, he knows what's happening."
"We talk to him tomorrow," I decided. "Directly. No more speculation."
As darkness fell, we retreated from our observation point, careful to leave no trace. The trek back through the mountain forest was conducted mostly in silence, both of us processing what we'd seen, planning our next moves.