Chapter 23 - Elias
I walked through the center of town, glancing around at the sand strewn across the ground, debris from nearby buildings littering the street. My men were working on going from building to building, checking for people and taking anyone injured to our now overworked healer and their apprentice.
Three of my men had died before we managed to chase the wraith off. Another half-dozen civilians as well. It would be back soon, though. With all the despair and chaos it had caused, it wouldn’t take long for the creature to heal and come back for more.
Sam appeared, a new scratch running down his face and along his neck, nearly carving through the tattoo there.
“Final counts are in,” he explained as he approached. “Eleven dead. Thirteen injured, but should be fine. Another four in bad condition, and the healer won’t know if they’ll make it until probably morning. Two buildings completely ruined. Another three in need of repair.”
“Tell the owners that we’ll cover all expenses,” I said.
Sam nodded. “It was heading toward the oasis,” Sam said. “I’ll bet my life on it.”
“Maybe change your phrasing for the time being,” I growled. “I’m not in the mood to lose anyone else. But, yeah, I’d agree with you.”
Emma had been right. It was looking for the source of magic in the area. Either it thought the oasis was the source, or it knew the underwater spring fed it and wanted to follow it.
I looked out to see a dozen worried faces, ones I knew had small kids around Grace’s age. And there were plenty of others who were probably at home, with their newly transformed children. Because if Grace had transformed, then it was almost inevitable that the other kids had as well.
I walked over to Rachel, who was hunched over an injured shifter, helping him with his bandages. She shot to her feet as I walked toward him, her eyes somber and grim.
“You okay?” she asked.
I gave her a smile I hoped was reassuring. “You know me,” I said. “I’m always all right.”
“Liar,” she said, with a faint smirk that evaporated almost instantaneously. She bit the inside of her lip as she stared out at the sand and debris scattered across the town square. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”
“It’s not good,” I said. “But I’ve got something I need you to do.” When she nodded, I continued, “I need you to go around to all the families with small children and check on them.”
Understanding spread across her face as color drained from it. “You think their kids shifted?”
“I know they did.”
“Oh, God. Grace?” When I nodded, she let out a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll go check on all of them. They’re going to be frightened.”
“Everyone already is,” I mumbled as I took in the chaos surrounding us, my eyes lingering on a motionless body nearby. “We’ll figure out a way to help all the parents and kids in the coming weeks, but it’s important to know exactly who and how many and how old.”
Rachel nodded, her back straightening as all the implications hit her. “I’ll keep you posted,” she said.
“Be careful,” I growled. “I know we ran off the wraith, but I don’t know for how long. We’ve pissed it off, that’s for certain.”
I wouldn’t forget its face as we finally beat it back, more annoyed and inconvenienced than injured, though we had given it some serious injuries to deal with.
I had swiped my claws across its face and bitten its neck, and I knew Sam had gouged its stomach and legs before it finally ran off.
But it wasn’t dead. We couldn’t kill it, not without Emma and her magic.
As I spoke with Sam and tried to start organizing search efforts to look for survivors in the destroyed buildings, the crowd parted, and I watched as Emma walked toward me, her head high.
Grace padded next to her, her tail swishing, large eyes taking in everything, her nose twitching as she smelled a dozen scents she had never known existed before.
I remembered that first transformation, how vibrant and new everything, even the most mundane things, had seemed with heightened senses.
Everyone watched her in silence, most with some level of suspicion.
I wanted to kill whichever elder had decided to let the truth of Emma’s magic “slip.” At least the part about needing magic to kill the wraith didn’t seem common knowledge.
I could sense Emma’s guilt at staying by Grace through the mating bond already.
She was blaming herself enough without others piling it on.
Grace sniffed again, and her head swiveled toward me. She panted as her jaw split into a grin, and she trotted past her mother to come up to me. Her tail swished as she nuzzled against me, her head just reaching my knee. I reached out and scratched behind her ears.
“How’s she doing?” I asked as Emma joined us.
“Good, I think. I’m not sure if she knows how to shift out, but she seems happy as a wolf at the moment.”
“They usually are for the first couple of days after the first shift,” I said. “She’ll want to be wolf more than girl for a bit while she figures out that balance. But I’ll show her how to change back later.”
I glanced around at the dozens of terrified pack members, all of them looking for answers that I currently didn’t have.
“How bad is it?” a woman asked.
“Bad,” I admitted. “But we have a plan. We just need to—”
“What good is a plan right now?” another person demanded. “If it can get this far into town without us being able to do anything about it, then what hope do we have?”
At that point, the crowd started to panic.
“How are we supposed to fight it?”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“It’s just going to come back and finish us off.”
“Why weren’t we ready?”
The words and accusations flew through the air. I didn’t blame them. People were scared. Some were angry.
As the throng grew more and more heated, Emma gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, then stepped forward, holding out her hand. The crowd fell silent.
“I know this is hard,” Emma said. “And we’re all struggling.
We all feel pain right now, some more acutely than others.
My heart breaks for the fallen and for their families, and we will honor them appropriately.
However, we aren’t going to give up. The sand wraith took us by surprise this time.
We won’t be caught off guard again. We have a plan. ”
“It sure as hell doesn’t feel like it!” one man yelled to a murmur of agreement. “Pretty sure we’re all just sitting ducks if we stay here.”
I growled in warning. No one was going to get away with talking to Emma like that.
I even took a step forward, only pausing when Emma’s hand reached out and grabbed my bicep.
I felt something I could only describe as a reassuring caress through the mating bond—Emma trying to soothe me.
She stepped in front of me, leveling her gaze at the man.
“The wraith feeds on fear and despair,” Emma said. “We can’t give in to it.”
“Easy for you to say,” the same male called. “What the hell were you doing while the rest of us were in danger?”
I caught the twinge of guilt through our bond, but she remained composed as she looked down at the man.
“I had to watch my five-year-old daughter shift for the first time because of the wraith,” she said, her voice even as her eyes warned the speaker was flirting with danger.
“I know plenty about despair and panic. No one wants to watch their kid go through that. And I’m not the only one who had to go through that today. ”
The man still sulked from his position, but he remained silent.
“We’re all hurting right now,” Emma said, her tone gentle and understanding while also remaining firm.
“We have to remain strong through it, or we’ll only give the wraith more strength.
Our pack is strong, but we have to stick together.
” She came to stand next to me, and her fingers slipped through my fingers, holding tight.
“Elias and I are here to help in whatever way we can. We’re going to start organizing repairs while also figuring out the best way to protect the pack. ”
We also need to plan a vigil, I thought to myself. I would mention it once Emma had finished. Right now, the pack’s attention had locked on her, held under her spell as she continued speaking. They were giving her their undivided attention.
“We’ll hold a vigil later tonight,” Emma said.
I blinked, trying to hold back my surprise. It was as if she had read my thoughts.
Not quite, I realized. It’s the mating bond.
I squeezed her hand as she turned to face me. “You did a good job,” I said. “Thank you.”
She shrugged, smiling. “I just said what I would have wanted to hear.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She glanced around, her forehead creasing as she studied the devastation. “One of us needs to start organizing repairs,” she said. “We also need to take stock of the dead and missing and start planning the vigil.”
“We also need to set up more frequent patrols,” I added. “I’ll need some of my men to handle those.” Probably Sam, I thought.
“Sam’s a good option,” she said, once again seeming to read my mind. “Rachel and I can go through town and start noting what needs fixing and who to include in the vigil.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you,” I said. “I know how hard it is with Grace right now, but you’re being incredibly strong.”
She nuzzled against me, and my wolf growled in contentment, relieved she was still okay, relieved she was feeling calmer than before.
“We can do this,” she said. Despite the confident tone, I felt a hint of worry through the mating bond, as if she was seeking reassurance.
I squeezed her hand as I pulled her closer toward me.
“We can,” I agreed.