Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Dane
“You sure about us taking this path, Dane?” Tucker asks cautiously.
“Nope, that’s why we’re checking it out,” I tell him, not beating around with bullshit talk. “I wanna make sure all’s good before I suggest to the club we take this route. Coby suggested it to me when I was looking for new alternate routes for us to take. I don’t want to take the chance of Contreras catching up to us on a run. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I get what you mean.” Tucker grunts and scans the area, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t like the feel of this path, though,”
“Gotta agree with you.” I nod curtly and glance around. “Also, don’t like the fact Coby bailed at the last minute not coming with us.”
He was supposed to come with us. That was the plan, but he claimed to have some intel at the last minute he needed to look into, and because of that, he couldn’t do this with Tucker and me. I ended up calling in Abel and Jackson. The two of them were heading our way, coming in their animal forms. Right now, the gut feeling I’m getting, it’s the best way for them to come. I’m tempted to reach out to the rest of my brothers because of this shit.
Tucker and I could easily turn back around and get the hell out of here, but for some reason, I can’t just do that.
I don’t know what it is about his path that bothers me as much as it does, but I know it’s something. Just right now, I can’t figure out what it’s calling to me. My wolf is even on edge.
“Coby seem distracted to you?” Tucker asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“You notice that too, huh?”
“Can’t miss it.” Tucker takes a couple steps forward and comes to a stop, head cocked slightly.
I follow suit, hearing what he hears. The snapping of a twig. The rustling of grass and weeds. The smell of . . . shit.
A blood witch. Not just one or two, but more. Way, way more.
Fuck.
“Shift,” Tucker says, though he doesn’t have to. We both know we’re more powerful in our animal forms. Where I become a large wolf, he becomes a tiger that nearly matches my size.
“We do not want you, animals. You’re not what we want,” one of the blood witches states, coming into view. “We’ve come only to see why you would come onto land that is not yours. Nor is it ours.”
What the hell does this bitch mean by that?
“This land, it’s sacred ground. It is forbidden for anyone to be here.”
I look to Tucker, then turn back to the witch and shift. “What do you mean it’s forbidden? We never heard of that?” If this land was forbidden, I think we’d have known about it.
“‘Tis true. It’s a sacred land for those who wish to honor the dead,” the witch states, coming closer. “We do not come here unless we feel the presence of someone who should not be here. The dream walkers watch over the dead here. ”
The dream walkers watch over the dead here? What the actual fuck?
“There’s no dream walkers here,” I tell her and feel my wolf getting agitated by the blood witches’ presence. Blood witches had taken and killed our mother, and it’s something that hasn’t sat well with either of us since.
“‘Tis because they left when Death came. Death has no problem drawing fear out of them all.”
Didn’t we kill the person this witch is talking about?
I glance at Tucker, who is still in his tiger form. I could also sense my brothers closing in.
“We do not want a fight. We do not look to fight with you or anyone else,” the witch remarks, hands wide.
“Then exactly what are you doing here?” I demand.
“We’re here because with the dream walkers gone, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to watch over this part of the land. We might be blood witches, but if you will, not all blood witches are evil. We’re a small group who did not agree with the way things were done. It is not as it’s supposed to be when it comes to being who we are. Blood-to-blood witches are sacred and supposed to be used in the right way. Just like the land is supposed to be used properly for an earth witch. And water for a sea witch. Each elemental witch has their good and bad. It’s a matter of if they allow themselves to be overruled by the power they’re given.”
Gotta say, this sounds logical, but every blood witch I’ve ever met has been nothing but pure evil. The scent of them tangent and nauseating.
“What do you know about dream walkers?”I find myself asking.
The witch watches me closely before turning to look around the area. “I know that Death chased them all away. They all but disappeared. He did not appreciate losing them. He had plans to use them. The ones he was able to catch escaped. But we know they left behind one. An infant. The rumors that were from then, she was to be the sacrifice for she’s dream walker and human alike. She wasn’t going to be able to live among dream walkers and survive.”
I tense further, knowing this woman is talking about my mate.“She wasn’t going to survive among the dream walkers?”
“I’ve said enough, anchor. You now know this place is sacred, and without her, it should never be touched. Without the dream walkers to watch over the dead, evil can easily come in and bring back to life what should never be brought back.”
Tucker snarls next to me, and I can hear Abel and Jackson both doing the same. They’re protecting their brother by warning the witch they don’t take kindly to what they’re hearing. I don’t blame them. My wolf is more than ready to come back out and kill something.
I watch the blood witches slowly walk back the way they came. The witch who spoke stops, eyes coming to me. “You’ll be warned that Death cannot be killed without living again. He’ll be back again. You will not know when it happens when he comes, but he’ll come for you all. Not just your club, but the other one as well. The prophecies are coming to light one by one. You are the anchor that bonds your dream walker halfling. The blood of those to come into themselves will ripen, and soon, he’ll want them all over again. Their blood is what will make him powerful all over again.”
Struck stunned by the words the witch gave us, I watch her disappear into thin air, becoming vapor.
“What the fuck just happened?” Tucker snarls, having shifted back after the witches were gone.
“That’s a damn good question.”I don’t know what just happened other than finding out this land is somewhere I don’t want to come back to. Hell, they can have this sacred place all they want.
They can’t have it. It needs to be protected. My wolf snarls in my head. The dead come alive again, and everything will change. It’s what makes Raine so special. When the time comes, it’s us to keep her here instead of letting the dead take her as they will. She’s human and a dream walker. Don’t you see?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
If Death does indeed come back, he’ll want her. Want to be able to control her, but being able to hold her to me, keep her grounded, he won’t be able to touch her. I won’t let that happen. They’d have to kill me first, and that’s something my brothers won’t let happen without a war to end all wars. We’ve all got each other’s backs.
“We should get back to the clubhouse, fill Corbin and the others in on what we’ve learned,” Abel remarks having also shifted.
“Yeah, he’s not gonna like this.” I grunt.
“What did that witch mean this place was sacred ground and dead bodies? What bodies? I don’t see any markers for marking any graves,” Jackson states.
I hadn’t seen any either when Tucker and I first started looking around, making our way down this path. I’d only felt uneasy the farther we went .
“I don’t know, but I think we’re gonna have to find out more about this place,” I state and look between my brothers. “What we do need to do, though, is make sure this land stays protected.”
“Agreed,” Tucker remarks. “Maybe we could have the dragons?—”
“No,” I interrupt him. “If what that witch said is true, a dream walker has to protect it. How, I don’t know, but for now, we keep an eye on this place and don’t let anyone step on it without me present.”
“Thought she said your mate had to be present,” Abel reminds me.
“Yeah, but until I know exactly what’s buried in the ground here, I’m not letting her anywhere near this place.”
“What if it’s more dream walkers?” Jackson questions. “Like this is a burial ground for dream walkers.”
“That would make sense,” I mutter to myself more than I do anyone else. “Dream walkers would want to protect those who are of their own linage. If Death brings them back to life, they won’t be just dream walkers. They’ll be walking nightmares.”
“Fuckin’ hell.”
“Fuck.”
“When does it fuckin’ end.”
Each of my brothers say at the same time .
“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here. Get to the clubhouse.” I want to not only see my mate, feel her close, and know she’s with me still, but I also want to know what the fuck is up with Coby and why he backed the fuck out of coming with us. It can’t be a coincidence that he backed out at the last minute, he knows something, and I want to know what the fuck it is.