Chapter 19 #2
I rise up and walk forward, showing myself to the guard.
When he turns, I recognize him as Benji, a young wolf who used to live in Moon Hollow.
He’s a lot bigger and broader around the shoulders, but his ears stick out the same way they did when he was a kid.
He’s just that–a kid the Warden forced into guard duty.
“It's me, Benji,” I say. “Aster. The Seeress.”
Benji looks at me like I'm a ghost. I wonder what the Warden and Aiden told them about my disappearance, if they told them at all. “I need your help, child,” I say, channeling Oma. “Do as I say, and it will be all right.”
He hesitates. For a moment, he looks like he's going to trust me, but then he opens his mouth to howl for help.
In the next second, a shadow pounces on him, and he's yanked off his feet. Noah gets him into a chokehold, a big hand is clasped around Benji’s throat.
No, I wave my hands to sign when Noah goes to twist his neck.
I make the karate chop into my open palm sign for stop.
“Don't hurt him.” I mouth the words clearly, so he can read them.
Noah's eyes are bright as he takes in mine. I feel his rage emanating around him. It’s dark and terrible, like the rage of an alpha willing to do anything and kill anyone to get what he wants. It feels like Aiden.
Or not quite. This rage is protective. Noah would do anything and kill anyone for me, but he’ll also listen when I ask him not to. “Please spare him,” I beg.
With a grunt, Noah puts pressure on Benji’s neck until he goes limp, unconscious but still alive.
Noah signs something angrily, his teeth bared, and his eyes bright gold. He’s pissed that I risked myself.
He strips Benji out of his jacket, ties him up and uses a cloth to gag him, then drags him into the bushes to hide the body.
Benji will be able to get free when he wakes up, which makes me feel better.
If he can get free before someone finds him, he can make a choice to keep quiet or be punished for failing at his post.
“We have to move,” Noah says. He grabs my hand and together we run with our feet falling into a rhythm.
By some miracle, we make it the rest of the way to the tower without being caught.
There are a few patrols and guards we have to sneak around–some in wolf form, some in human form, but most of the pack is probably gathered in the throne room listening to Aiden give orders.
My heart beats fast from a couple of close calls by the time we get to the purification site.
The dark shape of the tower casts a shadow over the wooden bathhouse and standing stones our ancestors built around the mountain stream and waterfall.
Tingles spread over my body as we approach the sacred ground.
The scent of crocuses and daffodils and precious herbs rises in a rich perfume all around us.
I swear I can sense the magic. If I still had my gifts, I bet I would receive a vision.
The moon illuminates the many guards thronged around the bathhouse.
Their dark shapes are still, perfectly alert.
Noah pulls me behind an ancient oak, and I press close to him.
I'm not sure what to do. We need to sneak into the bathhouse, to the waterfall beyond, but there are so many guards. Too many for me to distract or for Noah to take out. The only reason they’re not pouncing on us is because they can’t catch our scent.
What are we going to do?
There’s a whistling sound, and a pop like an exploding rocket. The sound makes my wolf cringe and strain to burst out of my skin. I bite back a scream, tasting rust as my fangs graze my tongue. Only Noah holding me tight keeps me from startling and running away.
Far behind us, on the mountain, the red sparks fill the sky and fall with a crackling sound.
Fireworks.
My brain has gone numb. By the bathhouse, the guards in front of us are on their feet signaling to each other. Shouting. Half of them go running off towards the noise. It’s back the way we came.
Noah releases me, signaling. It takes me a few times for me to understand what’s happening. More fireworks crack and pop in the sky, bathing our faces with red and yellow.
This is the distraction Sully promised us.
It worked. It distracted the guards–for now. But some of those wolves will run straight to Aiden and the Warden, and they’ll send every enforcer swarming the borders, cutting off our exit. We have to go now.
Stay here. Noah makes a downward motion with two “y” hands palm down.
This time, he’s the one who rises and charges the guards.
He streaks like a shadow, lightning fast and silent, taking out the three wolves waiting before they register that they’re under attack.
He pounces so savagely, so quickly, it’s over in seconds.
Three wolves lie at his feet on the ground.
Energy surges through me–adrenaline so pure and overwhelming, I break into a run.
I streak towards him, and we both burst into the bathhouse.
Noah hesitates, but I’ve been here before, so I lead him through the wooden structure to the clearing beyond.
This is where the plan gets fuzzy. There’s no way to signal Liora without all the girls seeing us.
If they haven’t been drugged one of them could scream and call for help.
There are candles everywhere and bowls of incense.
The smell of pungent herbs is so strong it stings my nose.
I breathe through my mouth and search through the smoke.
Fireworks still blast in the distance. Water trickles.
Ahead of me is the silver plate of the freezing cold pool.
There’s a group of figures huddled near the waterfall.
A bunch of acolytes dressed in skimpy white shifts.
“Liora?” I call, when one of the figures breaks and runs towards me. I recognize her narrow face a second before her face splits into a snarl.
Vera.